The advance of telecommunications, European union, and global economics all speak of the drive towards unity, making it one of the key features of our times. The ecumenical movement is another of these features. It's not a merely human project. Like faith itself, the unity it seeks is God's gift.

But with only 14 months to go to 2000, a year which is to be a special celebration of the Christian family, anything that reminds us of the pain of division is a jolt. It brings Jesus's prayer for unity the night before he died vividly to mind, and is a stimulus to work even harder for full unity between the churches.

When will this unity come about and what will it be like? We don't know. We're journeying towards a future unknown to us but which we believe in. Our faith tells us how full unity will be a tremendously effective witness in the realising of the kingdom Jesus brought on Earth.

One of the emerging insights in contemporary worldwide ecumenism is that legitimate diversity enhances and contributes to the churches' unity. In his book, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, John Paul II speaks of the divisions in Christianity as possibly having been permitted by God as "a path continually leading the church to discover the untold wealth contained in Christ's Gospel . . .".

He comments that "perhaps all this wealth would not have come to light otherwise . . .".

And he concludes: "It is necessary for humanity to achieve unity through plurality, to learn how to come together in the one church, even while presenting a plurality of ways of thinking and acting, of cultures and civilisation."

In view of this, we can be grateful for increasingly cordial relationships among Christians of different churches and communities. But at the same time, this view helps us realise that simply collapsing our differences or forgetting them doesn't bring the unity Jesus wants, nor does it help us to hear and appreciate the richness of each other's traditions.

What, then, are we to do? We need to go ahead with doctrinal ecumenism, accompanied by that of charity and prayer in common. A priority, however, in learning how to come together is what has been called "an ecumenism of life".

Such an ecumenism is built on the patrimony common to us as Christians. We have so much that unites us, our baptism, the Old and New Testaments, the creeds, the gifts of the Spirit.

While we strive towards full sacramental communion we can learn to cultivate and live more profoundly the other "communions" we share in common. In this, we can always improve and help one another to share more in the life of Jesus Christ, the One who makes us one.

Despite real differences, the glass is half-full and not half-empty. Already we have a real communion in the Word of God. This is not something limited to places of worship. The Gospel can be put into practice in the market-place.

The fruits can be shared together beyond the doors of our churches. Striving together to bring the Gospel into all areas of society can be an expression of the real communion that exists in our sharing of the gifts of the Spirit.

Last year, for instance, in Graz, Austria, there was a large ecumenical gathering of over 12,000 Christians (including groups from Ireland), organised by the Conference of Evangelical Churches and the Council of European Episcopal Conferences.

At a time when Europe is searching for a soul, this gathering was prophetic. Problems were not denied, and yet people spoke of the good atmosphere, of a journey that's really being undertaken together, of the assembly's serious theological investigation, and of an ecumenical spirituality that's emerging as one to be lived in the various fields of human endeavour.

The ecumenism of life presupposes the fostering of its spirituality as one of reconciliation. At its heart is mutual love. This can be lived between Christians and between churches, drawing them to be a gift to one another. It's a spirituality which recognises the one truth may be expressed in different ways, seen from different points of view, made more beautiful by the variety of expressions. It is not that one church or another has to die but each should be reborn as new in unity.

As members of churches and Christian communities in dialogue, historical patience is clearly a prerequisite. But this is not to be equated with passivity. Lived in the diversity of everyday life, a true ecumenism of life radiates out into the very fabric of society.

A Catholic couple I know in Northern Ireland come to mind as one example. Living in a village that was quite polarised, they got involved in a local community project proposed by a Protestant clergyman.

Spurred on by the belief in what already unites us as Christians, they soon found themselves actively engaged in an initiative that brought together clergy of different denominations, local politicians of various parties and many of the residents from both sides of the community. Genuine mutual understanding grew.

Certainly, theological differences and difficulties are not to be underestimated. None of these, however, can stop the ecumenism of life.

Not wanting to pre-empt God's moments and times, it is important to be at one with our own churches, respect their disciplines and have patience with the process of doctrinal dialogue.

But a renewed commitment to the ecumenism of life based on our common Christian patrimony gives a contribution towards doctrinal unity.

The one who said of himself "I am the Life" inspires us with confidence: "Be courageous, I have conquered the world".

Father Brendan Leahy is a lecturer in theology at the Mater Dei Institute of Education and at Clonliffe College. He is a member of the Dublin Diocesan Advisory Committee on Ecumenism.