Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “Division and incommunicability, consequences of sin, are contrary to God’s plan for humanity… "speaking" and "listening are essential conditions for building the civilisation of love.” This statement was part of the homily delivered by Pope Benedict XVI on the last day the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Thursday 25 January, feast of the Conversion of St Paul, during ecumenical Vespers at the Basilica of St Paul’s outside the Walls in the presence of representatives of other Christian communities. In his homily the Pope reflected on the theme chosen for this year’s Week of Prayer for Unity, “He makes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak”.
“The words ‘He makes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak’ are the good news which announces the arrival of God’s Kingdom, the healing of incommunicability and division - the Pope explained-. This message is found in all the teachings and activity of Jesus who travels to villages, towns and open countryside ‘And wherever he went, to village or town or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were saved (Mk 6,56).”
Recalling the Gospel account of the healing of the man who was deaf and dumb, the Pope said “in the Christian perspective, listening is a priority… Therefore listening to the Word of God is a priority for our ecumenical commitment. It is not we who build or organise the unity of the Church. The Church does not build up herself, she lives not of herself but of the creating word which comes from the mouth of God. Listening together to the Word of God; practicing lectio divina of the Bible, reading linked with prayer; letting ourselves be surprised by the unchanging and inexhaustible newness of God’s Word; overcoming our deafness for words not in keeping with our prejudices and opinions; listen and study, in communion of believers of every era; all this is part of a the path to travel to reach unity in the faith, in response to listening to the Word.”
“Those who wish to listen to the Word of God can and must then speak and share it with others - the Pope said -, to those who have never heard it, or those who have forgotten it and hidden it under the thorns of the anxieties and illusions of the world”. He added: “We must ask ourselves: have we Christians become too silent? Do we perhaps lack the courage to speak out and bear witness like those who witnessed the healing of the deaf and dumb man? Our world needs this witness; it waits especially for the common witness of Christians. Hence, listening to God who speaks, implicates reciprocal listening, dialogue among Churches and Ecclesial Communities. Honest and sincere dialogue is the indispensable path for advancing towards unity… In dialogue we listen and we communicate; we compare positions and with God’s grace we reach an agreement in his Word accepting its demands which are valid for all.”
The Holy Father continued “ecumenical dialogue includes fraternal correction and leads to reciprocal spiritual enrichment in sharing authentic experiences of faith and Christian life”, but for this to happen “we must never tire of imploring for the assistance of God’s grace and the illumination of the Holy Spirit”, like Christians all over the world have done during this "Week", or will do with the Novena which precedes Pentecost, “lifting up their prayers with trust that all the disciples of Christ may be one and that, listening to the Word, they may bear united witness for the men and women of our day”.
Pope Benedict XVI concluded entrusting to the intercession of Saint Paul “tireless builder of the unity of the Church”, the fruits of the many fraternal meetings and dialogue during 2006. “In those events we experienced the joy of brotherhood but also sadness for the tensions which persist, while clinging always to the hope which the Lord instils in us”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 26/1/2007 - righe 46, parole 673)
