Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

"In this Week of Prayer for Unity, Christians — Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant —meet with greater fervour to pray together.  The purpose of this particular week is to encourage the Christian community to devote itself more intensely to prayer, in order to experience at the same time how beautiful it is to live together as brothers and sisters. Despite the tensions sometimes caused by existing differences, these days give us in some way a foretaste of the joy that full communion will bring when it is finally achieved."
Pope John Paul II

“Commitment to the unity of Christians is not just a task for the few, or an appendage to the life of the Church. Each is called to offer his or her contribution to help take those steps towards the full communion of all Christ's disciples, never forgetting that it is, above all, a gift constantly to be implored from God.”

Pope Benedict XVI
 

“The Gospel proclaims that in and through Jesus Christ, authentic unity with God - and through Him, in the Spirit, with one another - is the plan of God for the entire human race. The Church is the way to that unity. For the Church to continue the redemptive mission of Jesus effectively, she must be one. It was not the Lord’s plan that she be divided. It is His plan that she be restored to full communion."

Pope Francis

(Mt 2:2)
 

The reflections for the eight days and the worship service is based on the Gospel according to Matthew 2:1-12. This journey of prayer has themes:
Day 1: Raise us up and draw us to your perfect light: "We observed his star in the East." (Mt 2:2) 
Day 2: Humble leadership breaks down walls and builds up with love: “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?” (Mt 2:2)
Day 3: The presence of Christ, turning the world upside down: "When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.” (Mt 2:3)
Day 4: Though small and suffering, we lack nothing: “And you, Bethlehem... are by no means least.” (Mt 2:6)
Day 5: Guided by the One Lord : “Ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising.” (Mt 2:9)
Day 6: Gathered in worship around the One Lord: “They saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage” (Mt 2:11)
Day 7: The gifts of communion: "Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” (Mt 2:11)
Day 8: Beyond the familiar routes of separation to God’s new paths: “They left for their own country by another road.” (Mt 2:12)

Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity [excerpted from www.geii.org]