|
Pope
Benedict XVI - General Audiences |
General
Audience
On Praying for Christian Unity
"Prayer Has Always Been the Constant Attitude of the Disciples of
Christ"
H.H. Benedict XVI
January 19, 2011
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We are celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, in which all
believers in Christ are invited to join in prayer to witness the
profound bond that exists among them and to invoke the gift of full
communion. Providential is the fact that prayer is placed at the center
of the path to build unity: this reminds us, once again, that unity
cannot be a simple product of human action; it is above all a gift of
God, which entails growth in communion with the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit. Vatican Council II states "[t]hese prayers in communion
are, without a doubt, a very effective means to implore the grace of
unity and constitute a genuine manifestation of the bonds with which
Catholics remain united with the separated brethren: 'For where two or
three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them'
(Matthew18:20)" ("Decree Unitatis Redintegratio," No. 8). The path to
visible unity among all Christians resides in prayer, because
fundamentally we do not "build" unity, but it is "built" by God, it
comes from Him, from the Trinitarian Mystery, from the unity of the
Father with the Son in the dialogue of love which is the Holy Spirit and
our ecumenical effort should be open to divine action, it must be a
daily invocation of God's help. The Church is His and not ours.
The theme chosen this year for the Week of Prayer makes reference to the
experience of the early Christian community of Jerusalem, just as it is
described in the Acts of the Apostles (we have heard the text): "And
they devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42). We must consider that
already at the moment of Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended on persons
of different language and culture: this means that the Church embraces
from the beginning people of different origins and, yet, precisely from
these differences the Spirit creates one body. Pentecost, as the
beginning of the Church, marks the enlargement of God's Covenant with
all creatures, with all peoples at all times, so that the whole of
creation will walk towards its true objective: to be a place of unity
and love.
In the passage quoted from the Acts of the Apostles, four
characteristics define the early Christian community of Jerusalem as a
place of unity and love, and St. Luke does not wish to describe only an
event of the past. He offers it to us as model, as norm for the present
Church, because these four characteristics must always constitute the
life of the Church. The first characteristic is to be united in
listening to the teachings of the Apostles, in fraternal communion, in
the breaking of the bread and in prayer. As I already mentioned, these
four elements are still today the pillars of the life of every Christian
community and constitute just one solid foundation on which to base our
search for the visible unity of the Church.
First of all we have listening to the teaching of the Apostles, that is,
listening to the testimony that they give of the mission, life, death
and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It is what Paul calls simply the
"Gospel." The first Christians received the Gospel from the mouth of the
Apostles, they were united to hear it and to proclaim it, since the
Gospel, as Saint Paul affirms, "is the power of God for salvation to
every one who has faith" (Romans 1:16). Still today, the community of
believers recognizes, in the reference to the teaching of the Apostles,
their own norm of faith: every effort made for the building of unity
between Christians passes through the deepening of fidelity to the
depositum fidei which the Apostles transmit to us. Firmness in the faith
is the basis of our communion, it is the basis of Christian unity.
The second element is fraternal communion. In the times of the early
Christian community, as also in our days, this is the most tangible
expression, above all for the outside world, of the unity among the
disciples of the Lord. We read in the Acts of the Apostles -- we have
heard it -- that the first Christians held everything in common and that
those who had properties and goods sold them to distribute to the needy
(cf. Acts 2:44-45). This communion of their goods has found, in the
history of the Church, new forms of expression. One of these, in
particular, is that of the fraternal relationship and friendship built
between Christians of different confessions. The history of the
ecumenical movement is marked by difficulties and uncertainties, but it
is also a history of fraternity, of cooperation and of human and
spiritual communion, which has changed in a significant way the
relations between believers in the Lord Jesus: we are all committed to
continue on this path. Hence, the second element is communion which is,
first of all, communion with God through faith, but communion with God
creates communion among ourselves and is translated necessarily into the
concrete communion of which the Acts of the Apostles speak, that is,
full communion. No one should be hungry in the Christian community, no
one should be poor: it is a fundamental obligation. Communion with God,
made flesh in fraternal communion, is translated, concretely, in social
effort, in Christian charity, in justice.
Third element. Essential also in the life of the early community of
Jerusalem was the moment of the breaking of the bread, in which the Lord
himself makes himself present with the only sacrifice of the Cross in
his giving himself completely for the life of his friends: "This is my
Body given in sacrifice for you ... this is the chalice of my Blood ...
shed for you." "The Church lives from the Eucharist. This truth does not
express only a daily experience of faith, but encloses in synthesis the
nucleus of the mystery of the Church" (Encyclical "Ecclesia de
Eucharistia," No. 1). Communion in Christ's sacrifice is the culmination
of our union with God and therefore also represents the plenitude of the
unity of the disciples of Christ, full communion. During this Week of
Prayer for Unity the lament is particularly alive due to the
impossibility of sharing the same Eucharistic table, sign that we are
still far from the realization of that unity for which Christ prayed.
This painful experience, which confers a penitential dimension to our
prayer, must become the motive for a still more generous effort, on the
part of all, in order that, eliminating all the obstacles for full
communion, the day will come in which it will be possible to gather
around the table of the Lord, to break the Eucharistic bread together
and all drink from the same chalice.
Finally, prayer, or as St. Luke says, "the prayers," is the fourth
characteristic of the early Church of Jerusalem described in the book of
the Acts of the Apostles. Prayer has always been the constant attitude
of the disciples of Christ, what supports their daily lives in obedience
to the will of God, as attested to us also by the words of the Apostle
Paul, who writes to the Thessalonians in his first letter "[r]ejoice
always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is
the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18;
Ephesians 6:18). Christian prayer, participation in Jesus' prayer is par
excellence a filial experience, as attested to us in the words of the
Our Father, prayer of the family -- the "we" of the children of God, of
the brothers and sisters -- that speaks to a common Father. To be in an
attitude of prayer, hence, implies being open to fraternity. Only in the
"we" can we say the Our Father. Let us open ourselves to fraternity
which stems from being children of the one heavenly Father and hence
disposed to forgiveness and reconciliation.
Dear brothers and sisters, as disciples of the Lord we have a common
responsibility to the world, we must carry out a common service: as the
first Christian community of Jerusalem, beginning from what we already
share, we must give a strong witness, founded spiritually and supported
by reason, of the only God who has revealed Himself and who speaks to us
in Christ, to be bearers of a message that directs and illumines the
path of the man of our time, often deprived of clear and valid points of
reference. Hence, it is important to grow each day in mutual love,
committing ourselves to overcome those barriers that still exist among
Christians; to feel that a true interior unity exists among all those
who follow the Lord; to collaborate as much as possible, working
together on the questions that are still open; and above all, to be
conscious that in this itinerary the Lord must assist us, he still has
to help us much because, without Him, alone, without "abiding in Him,"
we can do nothing (cf. John 15:5).
Dear friends, once again it is in prayer where we find ourselves
gathered -- particularly during this week -- together with all those who
confess their faith in Jesus Christ, Son of God: let us persevere in it,
let us be people of prayer, imploring from God the gift of unity, so
that his plan of salvation and reconciliation will be fulfilled in the
whole world. Thank you!
[Translation by ZENIT]
[The Holy Father then greeted pilgrims in several languages. In English,
he said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, all the Lord's followers
are asked to implore the gift of full communion. This year's theme --
"They devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, to
the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42) -- invites us to
reflect on four pillars of unity found in the life of the early Church.
The first is fidelity to the Gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed by the
Apostles. The second is fraternal communion, a contemporary expression
of which is seen in the growing ecumenical friendship among Christians.
The third is the breaking of the bread; although the inability of
separated Christians to share the same Eucharistic table is a reminder
that we are still far from the unity which Christ wills for his
disciples, it is also an incentive to greater efforts to remove every
obstacle to that unity. Finally, prayer itself helps us realize that we
are children of the one heavenly Father, called to forgiveness and
reconciliation. During this Week, let us pray that all Christians will
grow in fidelity to the Gospel, in fraternal unity and in missionary
zeal, in order to draw all men and women into the saving unity of
Christ's Church.
I offer a warm welcome to the students and staff of the Bossey Graduate
School of Ecumenical Studies. I thank the choir from Finland for their
praise of God in song. To all the English-speaking pilgrims present at
today's Audience, including those from Australia, Canada and the United
States, I invoke an abundance of joy and peace in the Lord.
Copyright 2011 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[In Italian, he greeted the youth, sick and newlyweds present:]
I now greet young people, the sick and newlyweds. Dear friends, I invite
you to pray for Christian unity. All of you who, with youthful
freshness, or with endured self-giving, or with happy spousal love are
committed to love the Lord in the daily fulfillment of your duty,
contribute to the building of the Church and her evangelizing work.
Pray, therefore, so that all Christians will accept the Lord's call to
the unity of the faith in his one Church.
[Translation by ZENIT]
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