UNITY OCTAVE 2017- DAY 5

The Love of Christ compels us

Reconciliation: 
Prayer for Unity in the Church, Jan18-Jan25

Commemoration of the 500^th Anniversary of the Reformation

The churches in Germany decided to commemorate this anniversary as a Christusfest (an ecumenical celebration of Christ). The Reformation was the occasion of a renewed focus on salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We rejoice in God’s salvation centered on the cross of Christ, who overcomes division and draws us together. This worship openly confesses and asks forgiveness for the sins of division which followed the Reformation. The service will celebrate Christ and his act of reconciliation, which moves the hearts of divided Christians to become ambassadors for Christ as ministers of reconciliation.

The theme “Reconciliation – the Love of Christ Compels Us” celebrates the irrevocable reconciliation that we have received through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ's love becomes the driving force that moves us beyond our division toward acts of reconciliation.

Through psalms and songs we gather in Jesus’ name in praise of God’s wondrous deeds. We confess our sins of division and make our plea for forgiveness. The proclamation of the Word highlights the reconciling action of Christ as “One who died for all” (v. 14). The faithful respond to this good news by accepting the call to be ministers of reconciliation .

THEME FOR DAY 5: EVERYTHING HAS BECOME NEW (2 Cor 5:17)

References:

Ezekiel 36:25-27     - Receiving a new heart from God
Psalm 126               - Being filled with joy
Colossians 3: 9-17 - Being renewed in Christ
John 3:1-8              - Being born in the Spirit

PRAYER FOR THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH God of all, we pray as one, that we may be one, just as the Lord Jesus prayed we may be one in Him. Your son Jesus compels us to be reconciled to one another. May our spirits be joined to your Holy Spirit, that we may witness to the visible unity of the Church. May we all recognise that we are truly one with you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and grow together in peace. We ask this in the name of Jesus our Lord Amen.

REIGN - DO IT YOURSELF

Perceive, Identify and Challenge

22nd January, 2017: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Is 8:23 - 9:3; 1 Cor 1:10-13, 17; Mt 4: 12-23

Christians divided among themselves is a terrible scandal to the rest of the world. We are in the midst of the Unity Octave or the Prayer week for Unity among Christians and today the readings seem to point to an application of the same to our day to day Christian living! It is easier to brush aside the message saying it is impractical, than to take it seriously and examine our situation - personally, and in our immediate context.

There is a great witness of the power of unity that is going on in our city these days - the youth protest at Marina. Let us not consider these young minds so trifle to be fighting so hard for a simple game with the bull. They are uniting for a greater cause and that cause is fundamentally unity! Unity is strength, unity is divine, unity is Christ-ian.

The Readings have a practical logic that they follow: they present a problem, they indicate the cause and then propose the challenge! The Problem: Darkness, gloom and hatred in the world. Cause: Divisions among persons, for whatever reason it be! Challenge: Repent and Accept the Reign of God. The readings taken together seem to present to us a Do-it-yourself guide towards making the Reign of God present amidst us.

Step 1: Perceive the Problem: the darkness, the gloom and the hatred that surrounds today. Killings, wars, provocative political policies, inhuman oppressive practices, social unrest, economic exploitations, manipulation of the powerless and the suppression of the voiceless - today it looks like the world is a dangerous place to live in and it seems to get worse by the day! Isaiah speaks from such a context in the first reading, as explains Matthew in the Gospel: people who sit in darkness and land overshadowed by death! The world is such, yes; but how is it around you and me! The first step the readings suggest today is to take note of our situation: look around...it could be your family, or your parish, or your locality - identify the darkness, the shadow of death that hovers, anything that does not allow you and those around you to live your life to the full.

Step 2: Identify the Cause: self-centered vision and egocentric outlook on life. Divisions on the basis of various categories - be it economic, social, religious, traditional or whatever - are opposed to the Gospel message. How sad it is to see a Christian community divided on the basis of caste! How painful it is to see a Christian community where there are still people who have absolutely nothing to live on, while there are others who can spend lavishly on unreasonable luxuries! How scandalous to see a Christian community that comes together on the Sunday, celebrates together the sacraments and goes back unaffected by each other! How contradicting to see a Christian family divide within - for the sake of property or money, due to ego clashes or owing to years of hatred! The second reading pleads that we identify the cause of those situations that does not allow us to live our Christian life fully!

Step 3: Accept the Challenge of the Reign: to repent and be the change! We want the world to change, but we are not ready to be the change. We are scared to be taken advantage of, we do not want to take any risks. We preach peace and pray for prosperity in the world, but what do we do for it in practice? Are we ready to forgive without hesitation, love without calculation, help without expectation, contribute without remuneration? Are we ready to just leave everything and follow Christ as the disciples did? Follow Christ, to preach the Reign, by first of all, living ourselves as the people of the Reign? If we are ready...then, the people who sit in darkness will see a light; those dwelling in the land overshadowed by death will see a light. Let us repent, be the change, and spread peace, love and life!

STRENNA 2017

UNITY OCTAVE 2017 - DAY 4

The Love of Christ compels us

Reconciliation: Prayer for Unity in the Church

Jan 18 - Jan 25

The love of Christ compels us to pray, but also to move beyond our prayers for unity among Christians. Congregations and churches need the gift of God's reconciliation as a wellspring of life. But above all, they need it for their common witness to the world: “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).

The world needs ministers of reconciliation, who will break down barriers, build bridges, make peace, and open doors to new ways of life in the name of the one who reconciled us to God, Jesus Christ. His Holy Spirit leads the way on the path to reconciliation in his name.

As this text was being written in 2015, many people and churches in Germany were practising reconciliation by offering hospitality to the numerous refugees arriving from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, as well as countries of the Western Balkans, in search of protection and a new life. This opportunity has not reduced even a bit today, and the people who need our touch of peace will always be there. Can we put behind ourselves all bias and prejudices and reach out to people in real need?

THEME FOR DAY 4: EVERYTHING OLD HAS PASSED AWAY (2 Cor 5:17)

References:

Genesis 19:15-26 Don’t look back Psalm 77: 5-15 God is always faithful Philippians 3: 7-14 Forgetting what lies behind Luke 9:57-62 Keep your hand on the plough
PRAYER FOR THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH God of all, we pray as one, that we may be one, just as the Lord Jesus prayed we may be one in Him. Your son Jesus compels us to be reconciled to one another. May our spirits be joined to your Holy Spirit, that we may witness to the visible unity of the Church. May we all recognise that we are truly one with you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and grow together in peace. We ask this in the name of Jesus our Lord Amen.

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Holy of Holies 

Celebrating Agnes - the Spouse of the Lord

Heb 9: 2-3,11-14; Mk 3: 20-21

Jesus is compared to the Jewish high priests who alone are allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, and even that, only once a year. Jesus has entered and has come from a place holier than the Holy of holies, infact he is the Sanctuary, the Altar, the Sacrifice and the High Priest. There is none who can be paralleled to him. But even Jesus could not reveal this without struggles - he was mocked at, he was criticised, he was called even a lunatic by his own people. Such was his dedication and consecration to the mission entrusted to him.

The same dedication and consecration we see in the young girl whom we celebrate today. St. Agnes, did not live more than 13 years of her life, but consecrated herself to the Lord and considered her life and her body totally belonging to the Lord. She stood against anything that could deviate her from the Lord and gave up even her life for the simple belief that "the Lord is my Spouse". 

Struggles, criticism, insults, misunderstandings, persecution, desertion, nothing should move us from belonging to the Lord. If they do, we would lose not merely our opportunity to enter the holy of holies, but the grace of living there forever!

UNITY OCTAVE 2017 - DAY 3

The Love of Christ compels us

Reconciliation: Prayer for Unity in the Church

Jan 18 - Jan 25

In 1993, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity issued the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms of Ecumenism and explicitly encouraged participation in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. So today the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity belongs to all Christians who are sincerely interested in the fulfillment of Christ’s prayer “that all may be one.” When he discusses prayer in common in his A Handbook of Spiritual Ecumenism, Cardinal Walter Kasper specifically mentions that “the celebration of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity world-wide is an initiative of singular importance to be encouraged and further developed.”

It is sponsored by the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. On a national basis, materials for the celebration of the Week of Prayer are the work of Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute in collaboration with the Commission on Faith and Order of the National Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Bishops’ Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

The 2017 theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity revolves around the occasion of the 500th anniversary year of the beginnings of the Reformation. The theme: “Reconciliation – The Love of Christ Compels Us” (2 Corinthians 5:14-20) has two accents: reflection upon the main concerns of the churches marked by Martin Luther’s Reformation and secondly recognizing the pain of the subsequent deep divisions which afflicted the unity of the Church. In selecting this theme, it is viewed as an opportunity to take steps toward reconciliation.

THEME FOR DAY 3: WE REGARD NO ONE FROM THE HUMAN POINT OF VIEW(2 Cor 5:16)

References:

1 Samuel 16:1. 6-7	The Lord looks not at outward appearances but at the heart
Psalm 19:7-13	The commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes
Acts 9:1-19	Saul becomes Paul
Matthew 5:1-12	The Beatitudes

PRAYER FOR THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH

God of all, we pray as one,

that we may be one,

just as the Lord Jesus prayed

we may be one in Him.

Your son Jesus compels us

to be reconciled to one another.

May our spirits be joined

to your Holy Spirit,

that we may witness to

the visible unity of the Church.

May we all recognise

that we are truly one with you,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit and

grow together in peace.

We ask this in the name of Jesus our Lord

Amen.

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

The New and the Old

Celebrating St. Sebastian - 20th Jan 2017

Heb 8: 6-13; Mk 3: 13-19

The Lord goes about forming a new community, the old is no more valid; the Lord promises a new covenant, the old is done away with. We are people of the new covenant and we are reminded of it today - a covenant that is unconditional, based only on love and no other performances or requirements. How much do I love God? As much as God loves me? 

St. Sebastian's life and witness speaks of this love - Sebastian was killed with arrows tied to the stake, for his faith. Under the command of the Emperor Diocletian, the soldiers used him as a shooting target for their practice. Pierced all over with arrows, Sebastian escaped death and appeared before Diocletian 6 months later, only to more vociferously denounce the way against the Lord. This time he was ordered to be beaten to death. That did not move Sebastian - he joyfully gave his life for his faith.

The times have come where we need to stand up for our faith, for our convictions, for our beliefs... are we prepared?

UNITY OCTAVE 2017- DAY 2

The Love of Christ compels us

Reconciliation: Prayer for Unity in the Church

Jan 18 - Jan 25

Do you know that it is 5th Centenary of Luther's Reformation... 1517 - 2017.

It is an important remembrance for the Non Catholic Brethren, and why not, even for the Catholics.

When the German national planning committee met in the autumn of 2014, to plan for this year's Unity Octave, it quickly became clear that this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this year should have two accents: on the one hand, there should be a celebration of God’s love and grace, the “justification of humanity through grace alone”, reflecting the main concern of the churches marked by Martin Luther’s Reformation. On the other hand, it should also recognize the pain of the subsequent deep divisions which afflicted the Church, openly name the guilt, and offer an opportunity to take steps toward reconciliation.

Ultimately it was Pope Francis’ 2013 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”) which provided the theme for this year, when they used the quote: “The Love of Christ Compels Us” (Paragraph 9). With this scripture verse (2 Cor 5:14), taken in the context of the entire fifth chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians, the German committee formulated the theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2017.

THEME FOR DAY 2: LIVE NO LONGER FOR THEMSELVES (2 Cor 5:15)

References:

Isaiah 53:4-12	He gave his life as an atoning sacrifice
Psalm 118: 1.14-29	God did not abandon me to death
1 John 2:1-2	Christ died for all
John 15:13-17	Giving his life for his friends

PRAYER FOR THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH

God of all, we pray as one,

that we may be one,

just as the Lord Jesus prayed

we may be one in Him.

Your son Jesus compels us

to be reconciled to one another.

May our spirits be joined

to your Holy Spirit,

that we may witness to

the visible unity of the Church.

May we all recognise

that we are truly one with you,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit and

grow together in peace.

We ask this in the name of Jesus our Lord

Amen.

WORD 2day: 19th January, 2017

Power from above

Thursday, 2nd week in Ordinary Time

Heb 7: 25 - 8:6; Mk 3: 7-12

Jesus possessed the power from above and that was sensed by all, specially the evil spirits that he often  encountered. It is by this power from above that he became the high priest who can save all of us - the power given to him by the Father. Each of us has received our share of this power to keep ourselves the people of God. What if we are mindful of this power and start using this power - ofcourse the opposition from the enemy camp will be more, but will we not set up ourselves as great signs of God's presence to this world that needs it so badly? And another question that is more crucially relevant is: to what end are you willing to use this power - your own selfish ends or for the greater glory of God?

UNITY OCTAVE 2017 - Day 1

The Love of Christ compels us

Reconciliation: Prayer for Unity in the Church

Jan 18 - Jan 25

Unity Octave has been observed from 1908 onwards as a step towards ensuring the Church or the People of God are united under One Lord and One Baptism. 

The chosen theme for this year is 2 Cor 5: 14-20. The Love of Christ urges is to throw away all divisions and thank God for the variety of gifts and charism, using it all for the One Kingdom that Our Lord wanted to establish on earth.

Can we pray from today onwards!

THEME FOR DAY 1: ONE HAS DIED FOR ALL

Other References:

Isaiah 53:4-12	He gave his life as an atoning sacrifice
Psalm 118: 1.14-29	God did not abandon me to death
1 John 2:1-2	Christ died for all
John 15:13-17	Giving his life for his friends

PRAYER FOR THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH

God of all, we pray as one,

that we may be one,

just as the Lord Jesus prayed

we may be one in Him.

Your son Jesus compels us

to be reconciled to one another.

May our spirits be joined

to your Holy Spirit,

that we may witness to

the visible unity of the Church.

May we all recognise

that we are truly one with you,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit and

grow together in peace.

We ask this in the name of Jesus our Lord

Amen.