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?