By Leon Bent –
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began in 1908 as the Octave of Ecumenical Christian Unity, and focused on prayer for Church concurrence. The dates of the week were proposed by Father Paul Wattson, co-founder of the Graymoor Franciscan Friars. He conceived the week beginning on the Feast of the Confession of Peter, the Protestant variant of the ancient Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, on 18th January, and concluding with the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul on 25th January.
Pope Pius X officially blessed the concept, and Benedict XV “encouraged its observance throughout the Roman Catholic Church.” At least once a year, Christians are reminded of Jesus’ Prayer for his disciples that, “they may be one, so that, the world may believe” (see John 17.21). Hearts are touched and Christians come together to pray for unification. John’s discourse is rich in Christological content.
“Every year, Christians across the world gather in prayer for growth in indivisibility. We do this in a world where corruption, greed and injustice bring about inequality and division. We are called together to form a united witness for justice and for Christian Solidarity that, becomes a means of Christ’s healing grace for the brokenness of the world. Only by living Jesus’ prayer can we witness to congruence in diversity.” This accord among Christians must be visible that the world can see and believe.
What can you and I do? We can strive for collaboration as powerful witnesses to the reality of God’s love. We must become ‘one’ to synthesize the Body of Christ, the Church. We must pray for the 33,820 Christian denominations, avoid gossip, refrain from exaggerating, broadcasting the scandals in the Hierarchy or the churches. Instead, we should build others up, work together in harmony, give our time and money for bridge-building and loving dialogue, exalt Christ and refuse to be sidetracked, arguing over divisive matters (Life Application Bible, NIV). We can envision uniformity that is not only spiritual, but also visible and organizational, so that, it is clearly visible to the world (Eph.4:4-13). The eternal intimacy of the Trinity is the fountainhead and pattern of ecclesial concord (17:11, 21-22). The Nicene Creed delineates the four marks of the Church as, “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic” [Note on 10:16 – Ignatius Catholic Bible; One Shepherd & One Flock (Jn. 10:16); CCC 813-22].
The theme for the week of prayer in 2019, “Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue,” is inspired by Deuteronomy 16:18-20. The 5th Book of the Torah is called “the beating heart of God!” The reflections for the eight days and the worship service will be focused on the chosen theme. To deepen our reflection on unity and justice, the topic of each day has been carefully chosen to present struggles that result from injustice. The themes are:
Day 1: Let justice roll down like water (Amos 5: 24)
Day 2: Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes,’ or ‘No, No’ (Matthew 5:37)
Day 3: The Lord is gracious and merciful to all (Psalm 145: 8)
Day 4: Be content with what you have (Hebrews 13:5)
Day 5: To bring good news to the poor (Luke 4: 18)
Day 6: The Lord of hosts is his name (Jeremiah 10:16)
Day 7: Woman, great is your faith! (Matthew 15:28)
Day 8: The Lord is my light and my salvation (Psalm 27: 1).
[The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity & The Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches].
Pope Francis is deeply concerned about the disunity of Christians. He said that “conflict, tension, and division” hurt the Church, “and so, the Church does not have the attractive face we would like her to have; she does not express love, the love that God desires.” He went on to say, “if we look at the divisions that still exist among Christians, Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants and other Christian persuasions, we ought to become aware of the herculean effort required to make this unity fully visible.”
We cannot overcome the divisions on our own. “Our congruity is not primarily a fruit of our personal consensus or of the democracy in the Church, or our effort to get along with each other; rather, it comes from the One who creates unity in diversity…. The Holy Spirit is the prime mover! This is why prayer is important. Pray to the Holy Spirit that he may create harmony within the splintered churches.”
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) undertakes various activities to foster unity and seek support of the laity, in the light of various challenges faced by the church. The CBCI Council for the Laity said, an action plan is being formulated for the purpose of integration in the Church and to foster support and protection of the faithful. The Council has also called upon the faithful and churches to stand unified to face the “challenges against” their faith and morals. It also plans to form a ‘National Laity Team’ with representations from the 174 Catholic Dioceses to serve as the “Laity face of the Church” in India, it said.
“The quintessence of CBCI is unity in diversity,” it continued. “Despite the enormous cultural, linguistic, ecclesial and traditional diversities and divergences of the regions and the churches represented by the bishops in this vast subcontinent of India, the CBCI envisages weaving a myriad fabric of harmony and unity.”
What is striking about John 17:1-26, which is generally known as the Farewell Prayer, or the High Priestly Prayer, said as an intercession for the birthing of the Church, then. It is by far Jesus’ longest prayer in any of the Gospels. However, rather than being minimalistic, Jesus’ prayer paints a grandiose picture of the rich contours of Christian belief that hold His people together in the world.
Now, this gold nugget! Today the Church needs “practical ecumenism,” so that, the power of the Holy Spirit gives rise to an ecumenism in the midst of all human activities. These efforts help bring about everywhere, many different “networks” of Christian friends, disciples of Christ, “friends of God,” for the conversion of the world. Then, the nets will be filled to overflowing, while the fishermen fulfil Christ’s command, united in human and Christian friendship, the love of God the Father will grant them the full communion for which his Son prayed—and is praying for in heaven.
This unification will become a reality with one condition: that “we never stop dialoguing with our God, living and loving, with the Holy Spirit, with Christ our Lord, and with Mary, Queen of Heaven and Mother of the Church. There you will obtain each day the light of doctrine, apostolic desires, zeal for souls, a universal and refined charity” (St. Josemaría , Letter, 24 October 1965, no. 76).
And, this final flourish! The Church is united in a shared destiny. For as Jesus finishes His prayer, He looks beyond history to eternity, and expresses His final will for His Church. He prays that His people will be with Him where He is and see His glory. This is the Church’s destiny: both, to be with Christ and to see Him as He is, and the vision of Jesus, for billions of Christians, will be the Beatific Vision of God.
Tuck this in the folds of your subconscious: At the centre of OT theology is this tripartite promise, “I will be their God, they will be my people, and I will dwell in their midst” (Exodus 6:7; Jeremiah 32:38). The Most High God will surely fulfil His assurance!
A little bird tweets in mellifluous tone: May Christians of every single communion travel in “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph.4:5), all the paths of the earth, making them divine with the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and have 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi. On April, 28, 2018, Leon received the Cardinal Ivan Dias Award for a research paper in Mariology.