Fraternal correction well understoodThe Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is generally celebrated from January 18 to 25, in this year 2022, is presented to us as an extension of the time of the Epiphany with the motto "We have seen his star rise and have come to worship him" (cf. Mt 2:2).
The Christians of Lebanon, who are in charge of the preparation of the guide materials proposed for this week, have chosen the Gospel passage of the Magi of the East as the theme for reflection and prayer together in an ecumenical perspective.
In this way, two emphases or perspectives of ecumenism are especially highlighted.
On the one hand, we are invited to participate in what we call the ecumenism of friendship, that is, to enter into the movement of rapprochement, knowledge and openness towards Christians of other confessions and, concretely, on this occasion, towards the world of the Christian East.
The other dimension of ecumenism that is proposed to us in a particular way this year is the close relationship between ecumenism and the evangelizing mission that the Lord has entrusted to his Church, which he has sent to carry the message of salvation to the ends of the earth.
Only from a greater mutual knowledge among the various Christian confessions will it be possible to recognize all that unites us, as well as the particular richness that each one brings to the world, offering, in a relationship of exchange and listening to what is good and valuable, the beauty of Christianity.
This year, during the Week of Prayer for Unity, we are invited to become more familiar with the life of the Christians of the East. It is a real opportunity to get to know their traditions, spirituality, liturgical rites, history and their present situation, marked by persecution and minority.
This openness to the East has been present in the hearts of recent Popes, from Leo XIII to the present day. It was especially St. John Paul II, the Pope who came from the East, with his expression of the "Christianity of the two lungs", who most actively encouraged this special love and veneration of the Catholic Church for the Christian East.
An enormous effort has been made in the Catholic sphere to promote reconciliation and forgiveness, dialogue and closeness, in short, communion with the sister Churches of the East. In this sense, it might be interesting, during this week, to read and reflect on some very significant documents of the Magisterium of the Church on this subject.
The first would be Orientalium Dignitas on the Eastern Catholic Churches of Leo XIII. The second proposal would be from the Second Vatican Council, the third chapter of the Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches. Unitatis RedintegratioThe Council's Decree dedicated to Ecumenism, where, in describing the various separated Christian communities, the esteem and special consideration given to the Eastern Churches is recognized, and a careful and prayerful reading of the Apostolic Exhortation would be very helpful. Orientale lumen of St. John Paul II, written in 1994.
It is necessary to clarify that, when we speak of the Eastern Churches, we have to distinguish between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Orthodox Churches. The former are part of the Catholic Church and are very important for ecumenical dialogue with Orthodoxy, even though their peculiarity has generally meant a painful situation of foreignness, since for Catholics they are very different in customs and rites and for the Orthodox they are catalogued, sometimes with harshness and hostility, as separate sisters. They, on the other hand, are true bridges between the two shores. On the one hand, they enjoy a common tradition, rites, spirituality and history with the Orthodox Churches and, at the same time, they are in communion with the Catholic Church.
This peculiarity gives rise to an ecumenical hope, for in them we see realized the promise of communion between East and West, as well as the realization of a unity that cannot be understood as uniformity but as harmony in the plurality that is recognized, welcomed and reconciled.
The other aspect of ecumenism that is very present in the motto and materials offered for the celebration of this week 2022 is the link that exists in Christianity between unity and mission, between ecumenism and evangelizing dynamism.
Certainly, the symbol of the Magi of the East and the star that guides them to Christ, recognized as the Savior of the world, refers to the distant peoples, the pagans, the distant ones who allow themselves to be questioned and guided by the signs that God sends to make his grace present in the midst of the world until they come to recognize it and believe in it.
Epiphany in the liturgical cycle of Christmas corresponds to Pentecost in the cycle of Easter. It is the celebration of the manifestation of the Glory of God to all the peoples of the earth, since He wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (cf. 2 Tim 2:1).
The Magi represent the whole of humanity, men of good will, those who are distant and foreign to the chosen people but who have also been called by God, by unsuspected and mysterious ways, to establish with them the new and definitive covenant.
Let us not forget that ecumenism was born at the beginning of the 20th century with the World Missionary Conference of Edinburgh in 1910, where it was noted that a serious missionary problem was the division of Christians. The preaching of the Gospel lost credibility when it was announced by brothers who were at odds with each other, and these confrontations became a paralysis for evangelization.
The division of Christians is an anti-Gospel witness and deforms the visible face of the Church of Christ. It is thus clear that ecumenical commitment and concern are born for the mission and enliven the dynamism of witness. The words of Jesus in Jn 17:21 are the successful expression of this link between unity and mission: "That they may all be one so that the world may believe".
Thus every prayer, every word, every gesture in favor of unity and harmony, in the midst of a world wounded by division, can be the star that illuminates and points to God's presence and closeness.
During this week of prayer for Christian unity, may the world be filled with stars, may the earth be united with heaven and, in the midst of such clarity, the light that comes from the East, may people recognize the God who became man, in Christ Jesus, to save us.
Prioress of the Monastery of the Conversion, in Sotillo de la Adrada (Avila). She is also a professor in the Faculty of Theology at the San Dámaso Ecclesiastical University in Madrid.
