Christians throughout the world entered prayer for one of our more worthy causes that we hold in common and for which we seek in prayer and action, the cause of Christian Unity. The 2021 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated from Jan. 18-25. During this week Christians are invited to pray for reconciliation and unity within the Church. For the past 100 years Christians have entered this octave of prayer, set aside for all Christians around the world to jointly pray for visible Christian unity and move closer toward the fulfillment of Jesus’ Last Supper prayer “that all may be one.”
The theme of this year 2021, “Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit,” is inspired by John 15: 5-9. It was chosen to express the Christian community’s vocation to pray and work for reconciliation and unity within the church, our human family and all of creation.
It was the Switzerland-based Monastic Community of Grandchamp who prepared this year’s theme and event. The Monastic Community of Grandchamp is comprised of religious sisters from different church traditions brought together by a common commitment to prayer and Christian unity.
Pope Francis presided over Vespers with other Christian leaders to mark the closing of this 54th Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this past Monday. The ceremony took place where it always has in the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls, the papal basilica that is traditionally dedicated to ecumenical events and liturgies.
At his Wednesday General Audience, the pope reminded everyone that Jesus did not command his disciples to be united, but rather prayed that they might be. This, said the pope, “means that we are not able to achieve unity with our own strength. Unity is above all a gift, a grace to be requested through prayer.” He then laid out four points to consider this year during the Week of Prayer:
Internal Prayer — Our internal conflict of which Saint Paul spoke of wanting to do the good but finding ourselves inclined toward the evil too often. Our internal conflict, said Pope Francis, is a reminder that the true solution comes “by asking God for peace, reconciliation and unity.” He said Jesus prayed for his own, “that all may be one.”
“Our prayer for unity,” he continued, “is thus a humble but trusting participation in the Lord’s prayer.”
External Hardship — Pope Francis asked us to reflect on how often we pray for Christian unity. He said, “During this time of serious hardship, this prayer is even more necessary so that unity might prevail over conflicts.” Christians he insisted, need to pursue the path of visible unity, because the world will only believe in Christ if we bear witness “to the love that unites us.”
Fighting for Unity — “To pray means to fight for unity,” said the pope. This means fighting against the discord and division which disunity sows by magnifying the defects and mistakes of others in our view. Pope Francis said that God, however, offers us another path. “He takes us as we are, different, sinners, and nudges us towards unity.”
Pope Francis encourages all Christians to encourage unity in our homes and workplaces with the tools that God has given us all, “prayer and love.”
In Christ’s Love — Finally, Pope Francis reflected upon the theme, “Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit.” “The root of communion and love is Christ who makes us overcome our prejudices to see in others a brother or sister to be loved always,” he said. In our search for unity the Christians see one another on the same path, different as we are.
“Let us begin to pray for them and when possible, with them,” he concluded, “We will thus learn to love and appreciate,” one another.
This year given the restrictions worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, the World Council of Churches (WCC) invited all Christians throughout the world to join online in prayer for Christian unity.
In a letter, the acting Secretary-General of the WCC, Rev. Loan Sauca wrote, “As restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic make it difficult to physically gather in many places, this global online celebration will allow us to pray together wherever we are.”
The online prayer event can be found on the website of the World Council of Churches.
Let us abide in the love of Christ, so that we may bear the good fruit of Christian unity.
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