The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Suggestions & Resources)

The strife for ecumenism and Christian unity is located at the heart of our way of being church. It is not an appendix or an extra to our activities, but an outright necessity that is part of our identity of what it means to be Catholic. Together with the whole church we recognise in this strife a sign of the Holy Spirit working in our time.

“We will all be changed by the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. 1 Cor 15:51-58) is the theme of the week of prayer for Christian unity this year, prepared jointly by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches. While we grow towards one another, we also allow ourselves to be changed, be converted on a deeper level, and be spiritually transformed into the image of the suffering servant and be marked by his victory.

The themes of the eight days suggested to us for the week of prayer help us to grow into this change that Jesus wants to bring about. Each day is accompanied by a number of scripture texts for reflection and also for the liturgy, as indicated in the joined booklet (see below under Resources).

Day 1: “Changed by the Servant Christ”. Jesus came to serve and lay down his life. Where the Christian community understands itself as being called to serve a common humanity, the seeds of unity are planted.

Day 2: “Changed through patient waiting for the Lord”. Perseverance and patience are needed for any lasting transformation to take place.

Day 3: “Changed by the Suffering Servant.” The closer we come to the cross of Jesus and show solidarity to the poor and suffering people, the closer we come to one another.

Day 4: “Changed by the Lord’s victory over evil”. This day takes us deeper into the struggles against evil. Victory in Christ is an overcoming of all that damages God’s creation, and keeps us apart from one another.

Day 5: “Changed by the Peace of the Risen Lord”. Jesus unites His disciples, who were paralysed with fear. He opens up before us new prospects of life and of acting for His coming kingdom. The Risen Lord unites and strengthens all believers. Peace and unity are the hallmarks of our transformation in the resurrection.

Day 6: “Changed by God’s steadfast love”. The Paschal Mystery reveals this steadfast love, and calls us to a new way of faith. This faith overcomes fear and opens our hearts to the power of the Spirit. Such faith calls us to friendship with Christ, and so to one another.

Day 7: “Changed by the Good Shepherd”. Following the Good Shepherd, we are called to strengthen each other in the Lord, and to support and fortify the weak and the lost. There is one Shepherd, and we are his people.

Day 8: “United in the Reign of Christ”. Christ’s victory enables us to look into the future with hope. This victory overcomes all that keeps us from sharing fullness of life with him and with each other. Christians know that unity among us is above all a gift of God. It is a share in Christ’s glorious victory over all that divides.

The week of prayer for Christian unity this year is celebrated worldwide from 18 – 25 of January 2012. (However, we are also free in our area to choose other dates. In Lusaka, for example, some ecumenical fellowships were holding prayers for unity in June - outside the rainy season). Here some suggestions:

To hold a common prayer service. An approved outline that should be adapted to local liturgical practices is attached to the ecumenical document.
To hold common prayer services in each participating church throughout the week.
To encourage common Bible studies with the suggested themes of the document.
To use the material also for private prayer, done in the spirit of unity with all the Christians worldwide using the same texts.

The week of prayer for Christian unity is not a “once-for-all” event, but a week that marks cooperation and a genuine strife for unity in truth during the whole year. Different Parishes and ecumenical Fellowships in Zambia have established worthwhile and encouraging practices for example

common Palm Sunday processions,
common commemoration of world AIDS day (candle-light walks),
a month of common Bible studies, common “Christmas carols” or “Easter carols” – nights.
Some Parishes have established “encounter groups” and “ecumenical groups” at various levels, which help to bring Christian communities nearer to each other.

Not all Christian denominations can participate in common activities, as outlined above. Yet nothing can prevent us to engage with one another in the “dialogue of life” in the spirit as outlined in the ecumenical documents. We know this venture lies at the heart of Jesus, and he will sustain it with his Holy Spirit in unforeseen ways.

Resources:

The joined document & liturgical suggestions for the week of Christian unity (2012):

http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/documents/p2/2011/WOP2012eng.pdf

Common guidelines for a common Christian Witness:

http://fenza.org/docs/dialogue/ChristianWitness_recommendations.pdf

A text of Cardinal Kasper which clarifies fundamental questions at stake in the ecumenical endeavours and the differences in outlook on what it means to be church:

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/card-kasper-docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20030227_ecumenical-dialogue_en.html

Ut Unum Sit (John Paul II)

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25051995_ut-unum-sint_en.html

Catholic principles of ecumenism:

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/general-docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_19930325_directory_en.html

A text of Gotthard Rosner (given at the occasion of a seminar on ecumenism) may also help in the efforts of keeping ecumenism going at Parish level:

http://fenza.org/docs/dialogue/G_Rosner_Ecumenism.pdf.

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