WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

LISTEN
   Psalm 139:1-3, 13, 23, 24b
LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
You sift through my travels and my rest;
with all my ways you are familiar.
You formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
Probe me, God, know my heart;
try me, know my thoughts.
See if there is a wicked path in me;
lead me along an ancient path.

Read more:
1.26 Why did Jesus die for us?
4.7 Do Christians live differently from everybody else?
4.8 What is the relationship between faith and actions?
7.5 What does having a relationship with God really mean?
7.60 How can I recognise God in every human being?

THINK
1. How have you experienced God’s fatherly care and motherly compassion in your own life?
2. What hinders us from recognising each person as a child of God?
3. How does acknowledging God as the Father of all affect our perception of and relationship with others?

PRAY
Father of compassion, renew our faith in you and bind us together through your love, so that we can recognise each other as your children, and come together as one. We praise you through Jesus Christ, your only-begotten Son, in the communion of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

ACT
Perform an act of charity for someone with whom you do not have a good relationship.
Commit to respect and love those with whom you do not share the same beliefs and values.

LISTEN
  Genesis 1:1-5
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth —
and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters —
Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light.
God saw that the light was good. God then separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”
Evening came, and morning followed—the first day.

Read more:
1.1 Doesn’t the Big Bang rule out faith in God?
1.2 But seriously, did all that Adam and Eve business really happen?
1.6 Can I recognise God in nature and in the world?
6.5 Why should I care about the environment? Must I believe in climate change? How is this linked to solidarity? Should we look for a new planet?

THINK
1. We believe that God is present in all of creation although his presence is sometimes difficult to perceive.
2. Where in the creation around you can you experience and recognise the presence and glory of God?
3. Creation is a gift of God subjected to suffering, often inflicted by human beings. How can we better recognize our responsibility for its care and preservation?

PRAY
Lord God, Father of lights, strengthen our hearts in expectation and hope as we work for unity and together seek the harmony of all creation. Let us be burning lamps, until the day of the coming of your Son in glory, with all his saints in the everlasting kingdom. Blessed are you, now and forever, and to the ages of ages. AMEN.

ACT
If possible, spend some time in nature and contemplate how it connects us with the Creator.

LISTEN
  John 1:1-14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.

Read more:
1.29 Wasn’t Jesus really just a good person and a wise guru?
4.4 How can I follow Jesus, and what is my calling?
4.45 Is Catholic social teaching about caring for the poor?
7.63 Is serving the underprivileged the same as serving Jesus? Should I do that too?
7.18 Why would I want to share my faith? What is the difference between apologetics and pointlessly arguing?

THINK
1. How does faith in Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, inspire and shape our lives?
2. How have you experienced Christ’s consoling presence in your life?
3. Wherever we see someone who is thirsty, hungry, weeping or suffering, Christ is present.

PRAY
Lord God, our Father draw our eyes to you so that together we may walk from darkness to the light of your face, revealed to us in Jesus, your Son and our brother, who lives with you and the Holy Spirit now and for ever and ever. AMEN.

ACT
Visit someone who is lonely, sick, imprisoned or in need of your help and treat them as if you were doing it for Christ.

LISTEN
  Philippians 2:5-11
Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Read more:
1.28 Why did Jesus have to die such a horrific death?
1.36 Is it the Will of God that people die?
1.37 Can suffering help us to come closer to God?
1.49 When will the end of time come about?
1.50 How important is the Resurrection?

THINK
1. We know that we will all die. How does belief in Jesus destroying death change the way we approach this reality?
2. “God lets himself be pushed out of the world on to the cross. He is weak and powerless in the world, and that is precisely the way, the only way, in which he is with us and helps us.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
3. As the Risen One, Jesus is with us until the end of all time. In what ways does his companionship encourage you in your daily life?

PRAY
Lord our God, glorifying your Son Jesus, you have freed us from death. Through his resurrection, awaken our slumbering hearts, enlighten all who seek you and make the morning star shine upon us, Jesus Christ, the Living One, who is Lord for ever and ever. AMEN.

ACT
Find a way to give hope to someone who has lost the joy of living because of suffering or because they do not see the meaning of their life.

LISTEN
  Ezekiel 36:24-28
I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the lands,
and bring you back to your own soil.
I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean;
from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.
I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes,
observe my ordinances, and keep them.
You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors;
you will be my people, and I will be your God.

Read more:
1.31 Who is the Holy Spirit?
1.32 What does the Holy Spirit do? Do I need him?
1.33 God is one, and at the same time he is three. Isn’t that nonsense?
3.4 Can prayer help me to make the right decisions?

THINK
1. God’s Spirit renews the face of the earth every day, calling us to cooperation.
2. What are the sources of joy in your life and how are they related to the Holy Spirit?
3. Where do we see the Holy Spirit at work, overcoming our divisions and drawing us into deeper unity, and how can we join in this work?

PRAY
God our Father, you have revealed to us the wondrous mystery of your life, sending your Son into the world and sharing with us your Spirit of holiness and joy. Let us rejoice in the Spirit, who renews the face of the earth and draws us towards unity. We confess our faith in you, the One God, three times Holy: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Blessed are you, now and for ever and ever. AMEN.

ACT
Develop a close relationship with the Holy Spirit and make it a habit to ask for His guidance in your daily decisions, and help in building up holy habits.

LISTEN
  Ephesians 4:1-6
I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner
worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Read more:
2.1 What is the Church? Who is part of the Church?
2.11 What are the origins of the Church? How did it all start?
2.12 One Church − then why all the division among Christians?
2.13 How can I be sure that the Church is telling the truth?
2.14 Can I be a good Christian without the Church?

THINK
1. The Church is called to shed forth the light of Christ over the world. Where do you perceive this reality in your own context?
2. Even though in Christ the Church is one body, historically the churches are divided. How have you experienced the pain of this division?
3. The Church as the community of the Holy Spirit, the giver of peace, is sent to live and spread the message of peace in the world. In what ways might churches enable their members to fulfil this calling?

PRAY
God of heaven and earth, your Son Jesus Christ has revealed you as our Father and promised us the gift of the Holy Spirit: grant to your Church to overcome the scandal of our divisions, so that we may bear witness to your life of communion, in the unity of our profession of faith and in the love of mutual service. Through Christ our Lord. AMEN.

ACT
Make a commitment today to studying the Bible, to know your God and your faith better, and to explain your faith to those around you. Make Bible study a habit.

LISTEN
  Matthew 28:16-20
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Read more:
3.35 What are the sacraments?
3.36 What is the effect of Baptism?
3.22 What is the baptismal font? Why are there statues in the church?
4.49 What is Evangelisation?
8.11 Why should parents baptise their children? Is it not better to let them decide for themselves later?

THINK
1. Christians are baptised into the death and resurrection of Christ. What does your baptism mean to you today?
2. Sin disfigures us in various ways. Through baptism, God liberates us from this humiliation.
3. In spite of different church traditions and practices, how does confessing “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5) affect our relationships with other Christians?

PRAY
God our Father, we praise you and bless your name. Accept our thanksgiving for the unity Christians already enjoy in the confession of Jesus the Lord. Hasten the day, we beg you, of the full mutual recognition of our churches in the communion that you desire, and for which your Son prayed. We ask this in the power of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

ACT
Celebrate the anniversary of your baptism each year with friends and family, including also those who have not yet been baptised. If you do not know your baptismal date, ask the parish office to help you find out.

LISTEN
  Luke 12:35-40
“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table,
and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Read more:
1.49 When will the end of time come about?
3.7 How can I make time for prayer? Where is God in daily life?
4.50 How can I help to spread the Gospel?
5.12 Is the end of the world near?
5.16 How do Christians prepare for death?

THINK
1. Love will be the reality of the Kingdom of God. Concrete actions of charity make this Kingdom present in our lives.
2. Living in expectation of the Kingdom of God, how do we embody signs of the coming Kingdom in the world today?
3. We are called to be ready for the second coming of the Lord. How do we prepare ourselves for it?

PRAY
O Lord, hasten the coming of your great and glorious day! In our darkness, many men and women no longer dare to hope. Protect the flame of faith in the hearts of the weak and the suffering. May the Church be a faithful herald of the victory of Christ your Son over death and a beacon of expectation for his return in glory. He is the Living One, with you and with the Holy Spirit. Now and forever and ever. AMEN.

ACT
Set aside time to be alone with God and pray to prepare your soul for the coming of Jesus. Remain faithful to your sacred time with God. Every day.