On 26th January, the Holy Father, during the vespers in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome bringing the week for ecumenical prayer to a close, recalled that this year the theme for the week of Prayer for Christian Unity had been proposed by the Christian Community of Jerusalem with an invitation to meditate on the apostles’ model of life: “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.” Acts 2,42.
“Searching to re-establish unity between different Christians,” said the Pope, “can therefore not be reduced to a recognition of reciprocal differences and achieving pacific co-existence: we yearn for that unity for which Christ himself prayed and that by its very nature appears in the communion of faith, sacraments and ministry. The path towards this unity must be felt as a moral imperative, a response to a precise call of the Lord. For this reason, we have to defeat the temptation of resignation and pessimism, which is a lack of trust in the power of the Holy Spirit."
The homily by the Holy Father, delivered on the day the Church celebrates the conversion of St. Paul, recalled how the great missionary apostle never forgot the bond of communion with the Church of Jerusalem, always supporting the collection for the Christians of that community, considering it not only a work of charity, but the sign and the guarantee of unity between the new Churches that were formed and the primitive Community of the Holy City, a sign of the unity of the sole Church of Christ.
These words have a deep meaning for everyone who took part in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Jerusalem. The presence of numerous Christian confessions in the Holy Land made these encounters unique. Nowhere else in the world did so many Christian confessions come together as in Jerusalem. Ecumenism here is something concrete, a tangible need and a reality that takes shape. The last meeting was hosted in St. George’s Anglican Cathedral on Sunday 30th January. The prayer, presided by Rt Revd Suheil s. Dawani, had the nostalgia of a last encounter. Having the chance to meet with the other expressions of Christianity was an enrichment for everyone.
The Anglican Bishop recalled how one of his first official actions after taking seat four years ago was to set up a department for peace and reconciliation and he underlined how “reconciliation” is much more than just a word, it is an event or an experience that involves the whole person and has to become a style of life.
The term “reconciliation”, continued Revd Suheil, should be indicative of the very nature of the church. We cannot be indifferent but we must be active in seeking reconciliation. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite did not do evil, but their indifference in itself was evil. The Bishop stressed that from this point of view, as Christians we have the ministry of reconciliation, especially in this world where man increasingly experiences division.
“Go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (ref. Matthew.5,23-24). Reconciliation becomes a prerequisite for communion with God and with the others. The homily came to an end with the invitation to love each other in the facts and in truth, not in words. The prayer was accompanied discreetly but with great impact by the organ and violin. During the final procession, the organist displayed his talent, attracting everybody’s attention : they stayed to listen to his performance before going to the refreshments where in a fraternal climate greetings were exchanged at what was unfortunately the last encounter of this week of ecumenical prayer, leaving in many the desire to meet again as soon as possible.
Marco Gavasso
“Searching to re-establish unity between different Christians,” said the Pope, “can therefore not be reduced to a recognition of reciprocal differences and achieving pacific co-existence: we yearn for that unity for which Christ himself prayed and that by its very nature appears in the communion of faith, sacraments and ministry. The path towards this unity must be felt as a moral imperative, a response to a precise call of the Lord. For this reason, we have to defeat the temptation of resignation and pessimism, which is a lack of trust in the power of the Holy Spirit."
The homily by the Holy Father, delivered on the day the Church celebrates the conversion of St. Paul, recalled how the great missionary apostle never forgot the bond of communion with the Church of Jerusalem, always supporting the collection for the Christians of that community, considering it not only a work of charity, but the sign and the guarantee of unity between the new Churches that were formed and the primitive Community of the Holy City, a sign of the unity of the sole Church of Christ.
These words have a deep meaning for everyone who took part in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Jerusalem. The presence of numerous Christian confessions in the Holy Land made these encounters unique. Nowhere else in the world did so many Christian confessions come together as in Jerusalem. Ecumenism here is something concrete, a tangible need and a reality that takes shape. The last meeting was hosted in St. George’s Anglican Cathedral on Sunday 30th January. The prayer, presided by Rt Revd Suheil s. Dawani, had the nostalgia of a last encounter. Having the chance to meet with the other expressions of Christianity was an enrichment for everyone.
The Anglican Bishop recalled how one of his first official actions after taking seat four years ago was to set up a department for peace and reconciliation and he underlined how “reconciliation” is much more than just a word, it is an event or an experience that involves the whole person and has to become a style of life.
The term “reconciliation”, continued Revd Suheil, should be indicative of the very nature of the church. We cannot be indifferent but we must be active in seeking reconciliation. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite did not do evil, but their indifference in itself was evil. The Bishop stressed that from this point of view, as Christians we have the ministry of reconciliation, especially in this world where man increasingly experiences division.
“Go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (ref. Matthew.5,23-24). Reconciliation becomes a prerequisite for communion with God and with the others. The homily came to an end with the invitation to love each other in the facts and in truth, not in words. The prayer was accompanied discreetly but with great impact by the organ and violin. During the final procession, the organist displayed his talent, attracting everybody’s attention : they stayed to listen to his performance before going to the refreshments where in a fraternal climate greetings were exchanged at what was unfortunately the last encounter of this week of ecumenical prayer, leaving in many the desire to meet again as soon as possible.
Marco Gavasso