Newsletter - 23rd January 2022
Third Sunday in Ordinary time, Year C
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
18-25 of January marks the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This particular week was chosen for the octave (8 days) beginning with the Confession of St. Peter (when Jesus tells him, “on this rock I will build my church.”) and leading to the Conversion of St. Paul. It’s appropriate given Peter and Paul had to struggle to be in unity with each other. It’s quite a story told in the book of Acts.
As you know, Christ the King Parish has been entrusted to the Chemin Neuf Community, one of new movements in the Catholic church. One of the special charisms/calls of the community is a “passion for unity” - that is, unity in couples (our Cana mission), unity in the person (silent retreats, retreats for inner healing), unity with creation, unity between countries/cultures, and especially unity among Christian churches. We say we are a “Catholic community with an ecumenical vocation,” which means that while the majority of members are Catholic and we are in union with the hierarchy of the Catholic church, we have many members from other Christian denominations.
There are many avenues to ecumenism – official dialogues where theologians meet to discuss thorny issues, local initiatives where churches meet to serve, talk, or pray (see announcement for the Ecumenical service on 25 January, here at Christ the King), friendships, even marriages. The words that describe the Chemin Neuf approach to ecumenism is a “shared daily life.” When someone becomes your brother or sister in community, you learn that the closer we are to each other, the closer we are to Christ. We do suffer because we can’t share in the Eucharist so it is especially profound when we pray each day the following prayer:
Prayer for Unity of Christians
Lord Jesus, who prayed that we might all be one,
We pray to you for the unity of Christians,
According to your will, according to your means.
May your Spirit enable us to experience the suffering caused by division,
To see our sin, and to hope beyond all hope.
Amen
Nancy Wood, ccn
Focus of the week
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
The annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be held 18-25 January, 2022. This annual event is organised by the World Council of Churches and supported by our local Churches Together. This year’s theme is the visit of the Magi: “We saw his star in the East and have come to worship him…” (Mt. 2:2) and has been planned by the Christian churches of the Middle East.