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?