Unity is not a future goal
From January 18-25, the Church throughout the world will celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a privileged time to listen together to the voice of the Spirit and renew the deep desire for communion among those who believe in Christ.
This year, our accompanying motto is a direct and provocative question from Jesus to Martha: “Do you believe this?”
A simple question in its form, but profound in its meaning, which invites us to return to the center of our faith and to ask ourselves, personally and as a community, what place Christ really occupies in our lives.
Unity is not only a future goal, but a path to be traveled based on shared faith, mutual listening, respect, dialogue and prayer. It is not a matter of uniformity, but of recognizing that, in the diversity of traditions, we are called to bear witness to the same Gospel, to the same love that precedes and sustains us.
Available resources.
The website of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity offers various resources to join in this time. Prayers, biblical reflections and an ecumenical celebration. They are also available in several languages.
Also, some Episcopal Conferences offer videos, reflections and other materials to accompany this time. In a special way, we highlight the resources for children and young people offered by the Spanish Episcopal Conference, which are available on its website.
Invited to join us for this week of prayer
As Daughters of Jesus, this time challenges us to live unity in our daily lives:
in our communities,
in our relationships,
in our way of looking at and welcoming others.
“Believing this” also means working for reconciliation, building bridges and allowing God’s love to tear down the walls that still separate us.
Let us pray together, let us pray a lot for this intention, with trust in Jesus, who is the one who is most interested that “all may be one as you and I are one”. We invite you to pray personally and as a community with this prayer:
Jesus,
You who approached Martha in her sorrow and asked her tenderly: “Do you believe this?”,
today you ask the same question to all of us who confess your name.We believe, Lord, that You are the Resurrection and the Life,
and that You call us to live united in the faith that flows from You.Forgive our divisions, our mistrust and our fears,
which have so often obscured the witness of your Gospel.We want to listen to you inside,
let your voice touch our hearts
and help us to trust you more and unite more among us.Give us the grace to know you internally,
in order to love and follow you more,
also on the demanding path of unity among Christians.We still find it difficult to understand each other as Christians,
we separate, judge or build walls without realizing it.Teach us to discern and choose what gives life, what unites, what builds community
and makes us more like You.Help us to discover that unity is your gift
and a task entrusted to our freedom, a gift to be cared for every day with simple gestures.Send us your Spirit to walk together, and lead us in gentleness and truth.
May we seek and find you in everything,
and may we, united, give more light, love and hope to the world. Amen.
May this Week of Prayer be an opportunity to rekindle our faith, to allow ourselves to be challenged by Jesus’ question and to renew our commitment to a more fraternal, humble and united Church.
