From Monday, January 18 to Monday, January 25, the Feast of the Conversation of St. Paul, we will be celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Throughout the week, at Mass, we will be praying for greater unity among all Christians, that we may be one and so a more powerful witness of Jesus Christ in the world.
Please keep Christian unity in your prayers and consider reaching out to other non-Catholic Christians in mutual support and dialogue. Because of our common baptism, there is more that unites us than divides us.
Sadly we are living in a world that seems to look for division. So we need to pray for greater unity among all Christian denominations and non-denominations. We also need to pray for unity within the Catholic Church as forces continue to fear and division rather than beautiful faithful brothers and sisters.
This year's theme, "Abide in my love... You shall bear much fruit" (Jn 15:1-17). Jesus is the vine that nourishes us the branches. When we abide in him, we will be able to bear much fruit. And as branches, we are quite varied, though we belong to the one vine. Things like animosity, distrust, bigotry, and ignorance that separate us also block the life-giving sap of the vine. However, our varied and unified witness of the Lord gives glory to God and is sustained by the shared vine, Jesus Christ.
The theme also refers to the notion that we are to "abide in my love." It is through the love of Jesus that we come into being and our sustained into existence. And it is through Jesus' love that we find human fulfillment and are raised from sin to justification. The motivations to abide in our Lord's love are endless.
Some resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: