Pope Urges Faithful to Long for Unity

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Hesychios

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Code: ZE07012104
Date: 2007-01-21
Pope Urges Faithful to Long for Unity
Hopes Longing Translates to Prayer and Collaboration
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 21, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is urging the faithful to long for Christian unity, nourished by prayer and charitable collaboration.

The Holy Father made this appeal today while addressing the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square following the Angelus. Today’s address falls within the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, being observed Jan. 18-25.

The Pope made reference to the prayer week’s theme from Mark 7:37, saying that Christ can do everything: “He is able to infuse in Christians the ardent desire to listen to the other, to communicate with the other, and to speak with him the language of mutual love.”

The Pontiff said ecumenism is “a profound dialogic experience, a mutual listening and speaking, knowing one another better. It is a task that all can undertake, especially in regard to spiritual ecumenism, based on prayer and on sharing what is possible for the time being among Christians.”

To relieve suffering

The Holy Father expressed the hope “that the longing for unity, translated into prayer and fraternal collaboration to relieve human sufferings, will spread ever more at the level of parishes and ecclesial movements and among religious institutes.”

The theme of this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was inspired by the Christian communities of Umlazi, South Africa, an area scourged by poverty and AIDS.

The materials for prayer and reflection are prepared jointly, translated and published by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.

In Rome, the week of prayer will close at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, with the celebration of vespers, over which Benedict XVI will preside in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

“I expect many of you at that liturgical meeting,” the Pope said, “given that unity comes about especially by praying, and the more unanimous the prayer the more pleasing it is to the Lord.”
 
Amen

In unity we always assume it means extending the hand of friendship to Protestants. But let us not forget it also means Orthodoxy too! 👍
 
Nice photos, congratulations.

We look forward to your calendar posting of ‘when the baby is due’.

Maybe we need also think about extending the hand of friendship and brotherly/sisterly love to non-Christians. 👍
 
I went to a funeral today there seemed to be some unity there, joining in prayer anyways.
 
Let’s make a **unity thread **of peace on Christmas Eve. Let’s see we will need a unity candle, so some one bring that.
We need a time zone let’s say from 9pm central to 1am central.

Let’s not put it on the prayer thread but the eastern thread.

We will need a prayer, I can write one to start us out like everyone put what is the most important thing in a unity prayer you see.

I have an idea I would like to start it out example;
KEEPER OF THE SOUL
On this holy night we lift our hearts in thanks to
Our Blessed Virgin Mary/Theotokos
and then others add what you love about Jesus.
I think it should end with in nominus patri etc.
Everyone add a prayer add to the prayer

WE will need a unity song so someone bring a unity song of Christmas.🙂
We can make this more than a Merry Christmas, we can make it a (four hour) forever Christmas Eve.

I will be at Church from 10 till 12 so will get in on the beginning and the end.
 
Christian unity is the gospel of Jesus Christ, particularly between East and West. However, we Catholics cannot seek a cheap or superficial unity.

At present the message of outreach to the Orthodox is getting out to Catholics. Catholics as a whole have a generally positive regard for the Orthodox.

I fear we Catholics have given an appearance of desperation which the Orthodox gladly use against us. The Orthodox are steeped in a thousand years of anti-Catholicism. Their prejudice against the Catholic Church is far deeper than that among the Protestants.

So we Catholics will have to be patient with the Orthodox and not expect changes over night. We have to speak clearly not only about our similarities but our differences. We have to keep before us the real flaws inherent in Orthodoxy and not let them off the hook.

The desire for unity with the Orthodox cannnot overshaddow our apologetic relationship with them.

God Bless us all, East and West, Protestant and Catholic, ut unum sint.
 
XtusVictor said:
Catholics as a whole have a generally positive regard for the Orthodox. The Orthodox are steeped in a thousand years of anti-Catholicism. Their prejudice against the Catholic Church is far deeper than that among the Protestants. We have to keep before us the real flaws inherent in Orthodoxy and not let them off the hook.
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I live without many Catolics - only Roman Catolics are Polish people living here for long time. These are very wonderful people most cases but do not have a positive regard for Orthodoxy. All things which are “Ukrainian” or “Russian” to them are backwards, primitive, and too mysterious. My view is that Orthodox people have generally good view of Catolics, althoug recognizing the real inherent flaws of Catolicism.

So, my friend, be optimistic - we look at you - you look at us and perhaps we see to much similar things. Maybe that will make it easier for Catolics to return to Orthodoxy and Orthodox to welcome Catolic believers.
 
When has an Eastern hierarch “urged the faithful to long for unity?”
 
flyersfan1088 said:
14 posts in and it’s already starting.
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It’ just a difference of opinion, my friend.

We read time and time again that “Orthodox should return to Holy Mother the Church” and that sort of thing. I read something like that almost every day here. Are we Orthodox not supposed to take offense at that, while you may take offense at how we look at it?

I submit that we each need to cut each other a little slack in this regard. We say it because we mean it, but not because we want to gall you. The same reason you say what you do.
 
flyersfan1088 said:
***It ***is already starting.
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I am not sure what IT is but presumably I have written not well. I mean no offense as I try perhaps wrongly to understand Catolic people’s point of view. How it is phrased is most important - all Christians (I hope and believe) would want Unity of God’s Churches. However, how is this to come about through reunification or through union (unija)? Reunification would return all churches to prior status. Unija as practiced since 1596 is most often to break off small parts of Eastern churches and bring them under bishop of Rome rather than their previous Patriarch. I pray much for Unity - I pray also that such Unions which fragment Christ’s churches will stop - I pray that true reunification - like in 1st millenija of Christian churches will be brought again.

Please if you can find it - read articles by Anton Kartashev about Christian Unity - he was eminent Orthodox theologian living in West. He explains how unity is not achieved by such Unions. Orthodox are not anti-Catolic we have just been too often hurt by such Unions (Berest, Uzhhorod, etc) which fragment the Churches and make true reunification less possible. This is not only a Catolic idea (such Uniji), some Orthodox have been interested in idea of Western Orthodoxy only to fragment further Western Christianity. I think this is bad thing also. It is hard to look through eyes of another - but if we could we would see Unity of Christ’s Churches not their further fragmentation.
 
Hesychios said:
It’ just a difference of opinion, my friend.

We read time and time again that “Orthodox should return to Holy Mother the Church” and that sort of thing. I read something like that almost every day here. Are we Orthodox not supposed to take offense at that, while you may take offense at how we look at it?

I submit that we each need to cut each other a little slack in this regard. We say it because we mean it, but not because we want to gall you. The same reason you say what you do.
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My point was I was hoping we could have at least one thread that didn’t cast stones across the fence. Don’t we already have enough of those threads?
 
Volodymyr said:
some Orthodox have been interested in idea of Western Orthodoxy only to fragment further Western Christianity. I think this is bad thing also. It is hard to look through eyes of another - but if we could we would see Unity of Christ’s Churches not their further fragmentation.
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Too late. Western Rite Orthodoxy has been around for over a century. With its existence, the Orthodox have lost all rights to complain about Eastern Catholic churches.

As for fragmentation in the East, you dont need Catholics to do that for you.
 
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