Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - During his Wednesday audience on 17 January, the day before the start of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 18 to 25 January involving Christians all over the worldk Pope Benedict XVI recalled the annual recurrence and encouraged those present to “live these days in prayerful listening to the Spirit of God, to make significant steps on the path to full and perfect communion among all Christ’s disciples. The path to unity is certainly long and arduous but nevertheless rather than lose courage we must continue along it relying first of all on certain support of the One who promised his followers, shortly before he left for heaven: «Behold I am with you until the end of time» (Mt 28, 20). Unity is a gift of God and fruit of the working of His Spirit. This is why prayer is important. The closer we come to Christ, converting our hearts to his love, the closer we come to one another” the Pope said
The Holy Father reminded those present that to conclude celebrations in Rome for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on 25 January he will gather with representatives of other Christian communities in Rome for Ecumenical Celebration of Vespers in the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls. He then mentioned with regard to this week of prayer kept by all Christians his recent visit to Turkey: “in meetings with representatives of difference Christian Churches and Ecclesial Communities in recent years I have sensed the deep desire for unity, especially during my moving recent visit to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in Istanbul, Turkey”.
Recalling that “in some countries including Italy the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is preceded by the Day of Jewish-Christian Reflection, on 17 January… to intensify reciprocal knowledge and esteem and strengthen relationship of friendship between the Christian and Jewish communities, a relationship in which there have been positive developments following the Second Vatican Council and the historic visit made by the Servant of God John Paul II to Rome’s Major Synagogue… the Pope said “I ask you today to pray to the Lord that Jews and Christians may grow in respect and appreciation for one another and work together to promote justice and peace in the world”.
Reflecting on the Gospel phrase chosen as the theme of this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,- “He even makes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak” (Mk 7, 31-37) - Pope Benedict XVI explained: “We Christians, spiritually deaf and dumb because of original sin, in Baptism receive the gift of the Lord who places his fingers on our face and so transmits the grace of baptism which enables us to listen to the Word of God and proclaim it to our brothers and sisters. Indeed from that moment on it is our duty to grow in knowledge and love of Christ so we may effectively announce and bear witness to the Gospel. This theme, which highlights two aspects of the mission of every Christian community ,— proclamation of the Gospel and testimony of charity — underlines how important it is to put into practice the message of Christ with concrete initiatives of solidarity. This fosters progress towards unity because any relief, however small, to the sufferings of others offered by Christians together helps render visible their communion and fidelity to the Lord’s command”.
The Holy Father concluded stressing the need to pray for Christian unity not just once a year but every day of the year. “Moreover shared efforts to alleviate suffering, the search for the truth of message of Christ, conversion and penance are compulsory steps with which every Christian worthy of the name must join his brother and sister to implore the gift of unity and communion”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 18/1/2007 - righe 44, parole 651)
