VATICAN CITY, 21 JAN 2009 (VIS) - In today's general audience, held this morning in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope recalled how the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began last Sunday, inspired this year by the words of the Prophet Ezekiel: "That they may become one in your hand".
"Full unity, for which the Lord prayed and for which all His disciples must tirelessly strive, is linked to the very life and mission of the Church in the world", he said. "For this reason it is important that all Christian communities become aware of the urgent need to work with every possible means to achieve this great objective".
"Aware that unity is above all a 'gift' of the Lord", Benedict XVI continued, "it must be implored with tireless and faithful prayer, escaping our own concerns and addressing ourselves to Jesus. This is the invitation the 'Week' makes to believers in Christ from all Churches and ecclesial communities. Let us respond generously".
From the words of the Prophet Ezekiel it is clear that "the Lord wishes all His people to proceed patiently and perseveringly towards the goal of full unity. Such a commitment requires humble and docile adherence to the command of the Lord, Who blesses it and makes it fruitful".
"Ezekiel's vision has particular significance for the entire ecumenical movement, because it highlights the vital need for authentic interior renewal in all members of the People of God, a renewal which only God can bring about. ... The week of prayer for unity thus becomes, for all of us, a stimulus to a sincere exchange of ideas, to an ever more humble acceptance of the Word of God, and to an ever deeper faith.
"The Week", he added, "is also a good occasion to thank the Lord" for "the meetings, dialogue and fraternal gestures He has allowed us to accomplish". In this context the Pope recalled his three meetings with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, and the patriarch's participation in the Synod on the Word of God held in the Vatican in October 2008. He also spoke of his "sharing the pain of the Patriarchate of Moscow for the passing of our beloved brother in Christ, His Holiness the Patriarch Alexis II. I remain in communion of prayer with these our brethren as they prepare to elect a new patriarch of their great and venerable Orthodox Church".
He went on: "I have also had the chance to meet representatives of the various Christian communities of the West, with whom I continue to consider the important witness Christians are called to give today, ... in a world ever more divided and facing so many cultural, social, economic and ethical challenges".
In this Pauline Year, said Benedict XVI, "let us make St. Paul's longing our own", for the saint "spent his life entirely for the one Lord and for the unity of His mystical Body, and with his martyrdom rendered a supreme witness of faithfulness and of love for Christ".
"The desire dwelling in our hearts is that the day of full communion may come quickly, when all the disciples of our one Lord may finally celebrate the Eucharist together, the divine sacrifice for the life and salvation of the world".
Following the audience, as is the tradition on today's feast of St. Agnes, the Pope blessed two lambs, the wool of which will be used to make the palliums bestowed on new metropolitan archbishops on June 29, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles.
Subsequently, in a brief ceremony, the Holy Father received the tile of honorary citizen of the Austrian town of Mariazell, home of a famous shrine which he visited in September 2007.
AG/CHRISTIAN UNITY/... VIS 20090121 (630)
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