Vatican
City, 17 January 2014
(VIS) - Today the Pope received in audience an ecumenical delegation
from the Lutheran Church of Finland during their annual pilgrimage to
Rome. They have been celebrating the feast of Saint Henry of Uppsala,
patron saint of Finland, in this manner for 25 years now.
The
Holy Father addressed them, saying: “The Apostle asks the members
of the community of Corinth, marked by divisions, 'Is Christ
divided?' This question has been chosen as the theme for the Week of
Prayer for Christian unity, which begins tomorrow. Today it is
addressed to us. Faced with voices that no longer recognize the full
and visible unity of the church as an achievable goal, we are invited
to not give up our ecumenical efforts, faithful to what the Lord
Jesus himself asked of the Father: 'That they may all be one'.”
“At
the present moment, the ecumenical path and relations among Christian
are undergoing significant changes due primarily to the fact that we
must profess our faith in the context of societies and cultures where
reference to God, and everything that recalls the transcendent
dimension of life, is always less present. We notice it especially in
Europe, but not only here.”
“It
is precisely for this reason that it is necessary for our witness to
concentrate upon the centre of our faith, upon the announcement of
God's love that is made manifest in Christ, his Son. Here we find the
room to grow in communion and in unity among, promoting spiritual
ecumenism, which is born directly from the commandment of love that
Jesus left his disciples. The Second Vatican Council also made
reference to this dimension: 'This change of heart and holiness of
life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of
Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical
movement, and merits the name, "spiritual ecumenism”.'
Ecumenism is, in fact, a spiritual process, which is carried out in
faithful obedience to the Father, in fulfilment of Christ's will, and
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”
Pope
Francis bid the delegation from Finland farewell, inviting them all
to “call tirelessly upon the help of the grace of God and the
illumination of the Holy Spirit, bearer of reconciliation and
communion, who leads us into full truth.”
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment