Pope Francis at Ecumenical Vespers: walk the way of unity
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered the homily at an ecumenical celebration of Vespers on Monday evening in the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, to close the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In his prepared remarks, the Holy Father focused on the need for sadly still divided Christian communities to walk together in the way of the Lord, in the knowledge that unity is a gift of heaven and in the understanding that all service rendered to the cause of the one Gospel builds up the one true Church and gives glory to the one Lord, Jesus Christ.
“While we journey together toward full communion,” said Pope Francis, “we can begin already to develop many forms of cooperation in order to favor the spread of the Gospel – and walking together, we become aware that we are already united in the name of the Lord.”
Pope Francis placed his reflections in the key of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, calling Catholics and all Christians to forgive past wrongs and to move forward in pilgrimage together. “In this extraordinary Jubilee year of mercy, we must always keep in mind that there cannot be an authentic search for Christian unity without trusting fully in the Father’s mercy,” he said. “We cannot cancel out what has happened, but we do not want to let the weight of past faults continue to contaminate our relationships,” he went on to say.
“God’s mercy,” said Pope Francis, “will renew our relationships.”