Pope Francis: look to the Cross on the road to Christian unity

January 26, 2017

Concluding the celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis celebrated Vespers at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on January 25.

“For the Church, for every Christian confession, this is an invitation not to be caught up with programs, plans and advantages, not to look to the prospects and fashions of the moment, but rather to find the way by constantly looking to the Lord’s cross,” Pope Francis preached. “For there we discover our program of life.”

The cross “is an invitation to leave behind every form of isolation, to overcome all those temptations to self-absorption that prevent us from perceiving how the Holy Spirit is at work outside our familiar surroundings,” he continued. “Authentic reconciliation between Christians will only be achieved when we can acknowledge each other’s gifts and learn from one another, with humility and docility, without waiting for the others to learn first.”

 

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Further information:

• Celebrazione dei Secondi Vespri della Solennità della Conversione di San Paolo Apostolo, a conclusione della Settimana di preghiera per l’Unità dei Cristiani, 25.01.2017 (Holy See Press Office)
• 2017.01.25 Solemnity of the Conversion of St. Paul (YouTube Vatican)