Migration, a complex issue, is having a growing impact on the lives of many people, countries and churches around the world. Argentina is one of the countries where there have been many waves of immigration that have affected not only the national context but also the lives of the churches. The initial project for this year's prayer for unity comes from an ecumenical group in Argentina that chose the biblical text and theme that arises out of a reflection on the fact that Argentina is a nation built by native peoples and immigrants.
Several reasons for immigration might be identified such as famine, wars, and religious persecutions. Two stories from Argentina's recent past illustrate these situations and show the need for the churches to work together to seek unity in order to respond in common witness.
1. A family fleeing from violence emigrates and finds a home in Argentina.
There they find security but have to face a new culture which they do not understand, a language that is not their own, and a history with which they cannot identify. Sometimes the local population does not appreciate their presence. This family feels happiness and at the same time sadness. They leave behind fear but now they discover discrimination. In some cases they have to accept being economically exploited; this is the price that they have to pay to protect their lives and raise their children. The new country takes them in and rejects them at the same time. They have faith and they wait for the light that will guide them in the darkness.
2. A young woman comes to the big city looking for a job.
She grew up in the northern countryside and leaves it for a better future. She leaves her family, her friends and now she faces a different kind of society. Her skin and her accent reveal that her origins are in the country; probably she also has native blood. For this too she has to pay a high price. She experiences the bright lights of the big city but also the sadness of loneliness. She is a foreigner in her own country. She often feels she is treated as if she has no right to enjoy the good life. She has no one in whom to confide but she still has hope that she will find her place.
Such situations led the local group to reflect on how the word of God gives us strength in difficult circumstances and even reminds us that all of God's people are pilgrims on the way to the kingdom. The Bible presents us with many examples of peoples who migrate from place to place for many of the same reasons as the populations of today. Abraham and Sarah, Jacob, Amos, and Joseph, Mary and Jesus are biblical examples of immigrants.
The experience of immigration reveals a world that is divided. The unity of Christians needs to be the paradigm for the unity of humankind. Christians possess a "treasure in clay jars" (2 Cor 4:7) which is the glory of Jesus Christ the Lord, namely his victory over sin, death, persecution and hatred. His treasure is, as Paul says in 2 Cor 4:5-6, the knowledge of God's glory that burns brightly in Jesus as he has revealed the depths of God's love and mercy for all creation, especially the poor.
The text of 2 Cor 4:5-18 calls us to recognize that we carry a treasure that does not belong to us but which has been given to us as a gift from God to strengthen us when we are suffering and encourage us when we are sad. We carry this treasure within the fragility of our human existence so that it becomes clear that this gift has its origin in God and is not of our own making. God invites us to witness to him through our human weakness.
The body of Christ is undivided and for this reason we must overcome the divisions among Christians that are a counter-witness to this truth. We recognize that the barriers are great and that our own intellectual and physical force is not enough to heal our sins of division. The unity of the church must be brought about by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, so that each step toward unity is seen as God drawing us nearer to his kingdom.
We need to accept the challenge of the apostle Paul who said that "We believe so we speak" (2 Cor 4:13). Not to speak is to hide the visible reality of Christ at work in us, which is the basis of the church's action in the world. So with the strength that is given to us, we have to go toward our neighbour to share the light of Christ and to recognize that together we are in debt to God who gave the life of his Son for the salvation of humankind. These themes are illustrated in the worship service and the eight days, which are planned as follows:
In his letter to the Corinthians Paul encourages his Christian brothers and sisters with the message of hope represented in Jesus Christ. Jesus is God's message, revealing God's glory and the light that continues to shine in a world of darkness (2 Cor 4:5-6). This is the hope born in the hearts of men and women who are aware that its source is in God and not in ourselves. It is this treasure that sustains the pilgrims and the migrants in their fragile human condition (Day 1 - 2 Cor 4:7).
Common faith in Christ is our hope and our treasure. In our world, many men, women and children experience the weight of persecution, affliction and abandonment as they are forced to leave their homes and live on the streets, constantly separated from their familiar surroundings. Paul reflects on the experience of persecution, offering the consolation of Christian faith; since Jesus assumed our human condition that it might be lifted up, the strength of God is revealed in our weakness. Hence we are neither crushed nor driven to despair , we are not forsaken or struck down because we have faith (Day 2 - 2 Cor 4:8).
The mystery of redemption is revealed in situations where, through God's grace, the human spirit makes visible the image of Christ in the fragility of our bodies. In this fragility we see the death of Christ carried in the body but through God's mercy the image of Christ is also revealed. Too often the sinfulness of discrimination reveals a culture of death, that is nothing more than a desire to eliminate difference, which is the other. The mission of the churches is to find ways to affirm together the image of Christ in the other as a source of riches, a valuable gift. The presence of Christ manifested in our bodies renews us so that we make visible the image of God, a dignity that cannot be erased. It is only when we appreciate this treasure that all bear in their human nature that we can welcome others, recognizing their resemblance to God (Day 3 - 2 Cor 4:10).
It seems like a contradiction but as long as there is life in us, we must learn to be given over to death, to die to self that Christ might live in us. In doing so, we open our minds to the very importance of life itself - a life that has been entrusted to Christ that his life might be visible in us. All Christians are called to witness to the fact that sin no longer has power over us. This is where the churches must witness together in the world to the dignity of life, new life in Christ (Day 4 - 2 Cor 4:11).
In the precarious conditions in which both pilgrims and immigrants find themselves, Christian churches united "In the same spirit of faith" offer their voices to foreigners and the dispossessed. It is because we confess this same faith that we are able to find words to speak out.
The theme of Day 5 (2 Cor 4:14) encourages Christians to reflect on the necessity to speak out courageously against the desperate situations of the homeless, the refugee, the immigrant, the street person, migrant populations and indeed, all who are in distress. We believe in the renewing power of God in Jesus Christ and so together we speak out with courage against all that destroys the dignity of the human person.
It is the mission of the church in society to be a sign of God's grace. The values of this passing world are not necessarily those of the kingdom of the blessed. Jesus has entrusted to each Christian and the churches together, the mission of living out the integrity of the kingdom of God as a new force, renewing human society. The justification that we have been freely given through God's grace obliges us to live as justified in the world (Day 6 - 2 Cor 4:15).
In spite of many difficulties and persecutions, we must not lose heart. Saint Paul encourages us to remain strong because we not only bear the death of Christ in our body but also his life. The church is called to show forth the victory of Christ over death by being a community of courage. The perseverance of those seeking Christian unity is an important reality for the faint hearted and those tempted to give up the struggle, for it illustrates the strength of God's grace in spite of many difficulties. Jesus prayed for the unity of all those who bear his name precisely so that the world might come to believe. In spite of obstacles on the path to Christian unity, in the face of adversity the churches must act together with courage and perseverance to offer this divided world a paradigm of unity and to be a sign of the power of the death of Christ over all the forces of sin and darkness (Day 7 - 2 Cor 4:16).
On Day 8, we reflect on how the suffering that we endure prepares us for "glory beyond all measure" (2 Cor 4:17). This is not a utopian vision of how all human struggle will end since Paul calls us to reflect on how, if we are united by faith to the sufferings of Christ, we will be transformed by the grace of his resurrection. We bear both his suffering and resurrection in our body. This is why Paul exhorts us to look beyond what we see with mortal eyes to the eternal truth that is revealed in the glory of Christ. The unity of all those who believe in Christ is made visible when Christians truly take up their task in the world through which they are passing.
Each of the eight days proposes a prayer for the unity of all those who believe in Christ. The value of prayer for unity cannot be stressed enough since it is the place where all Christians, through the power of the Holy Spirit, humbly recognize that the unity that God wills for the church is itself a gift. Let us then pray continually that we may be ready to receive this gift and carry it in the clay jar of our human frailty.

Biblical Reflections and Prayers for the Eight Days

Day one We have this treasure in clay jars (2 Cor 4;7) Hope
Gen 15:1-7 Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great
Ps 16 You are my Lord, I have no good apart from you
Heb 9: 8-12 Jesus Christ, high priest of good things to come
Lk 24: 13-35 We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel
Commentary
Abraham puts his trust in God's pledge. He leaves a comfortable existence to travel to the promised land. With his family he becomes a foreigner, an immigrant called to make a painful but certainly fruitful and liberating change in the land of Canaan.
The pilgrims of Emmaus are forced to return to their old dwelling place in order to find again that initial impulse which had led them to follow Jesus, even to the foot of the cross. As they hear again from Jesus the stories of "Moses and all the prophets", the confidence and love which is the sign of the divine treasure within them - the foundation of their hope - is restored in their anxious hearts. Every Christian shares this hope: it does not protect them from the struggles of life but empowers their lives with a serene and confident force.
To leave one's homeland, to reach out towards the other, towards the stranger, can lead to reaching out and growing together with the other so that one offers to God a "big heart" capable of holding the treasure which God wishes to place in each and every one of us. This big heart is the clay jar of our humanity which itself remains of dust. It seems weak and pathetic in the presence of that treasure which on the contrary, grows ever larger within it.
Christians must make known together this treasure shining in glory on the face of the resurrected one. They demonstrate their common heritage when they show themselves to be a reconciled community.
Prayer
Our Father, Despite our weakness, you have made us witnesses to hope, faithful disciples of your Son, who desires to show evidence of his victory in a sceptical and troubled world. We carry this treasure in clay jars and we fear that we shall bend in the face of suffering and evil. Sometimes we even doubt the power of Jesus' word when he says ?hat all may be one? Restore in us the knowledge of that glory which shines on the face of Christ so that by our actions, our commitment and our whole lives we proclaim to the world that he is alive and that he is working among us. Amen.
Day two
We are afflicted in every way but not crushed (2 Cor 4:8) Faith
Ex 5: 6-17 Let heavier work be laid upon them
Ps 128 You shall eat the fruit of the labour of your hands
Heb 11: 13-27 They desire a better country
Mt 2: 14-15 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night and went to Egypt
Commentary
The century which has just come to an end was marked by many different forms of political, social, cultural and economic oppression. In some ways migration is still affected by certain of these ongoing realities. Emigrants quit their homelands in search of a better life, far from persecutions and famines. They seek opportunities which are refused them in their own situation or seek refuge from political or economic systems which chase them from their homes. When they arrive they very often suffer exploitation similar to that suffered by the Jews in Egypt.
The immigrant is a person in distress. That person has had to abandon his home and his relations to confront life in different cultural and social conditions, with all the problems that involves. The immigrant meets uncaring people and cruel situations in which can be seen the distinguishing marks of sin and thus the principal causes of emigration.
Emigration can also be experienced as an act of faith, as Abraham left the home of his ancestors for the promised land, or Moses led his people away from slavery. In the same way Jesus, Mary and Joseph escape from Egypt to save their lives in danger from powerful Herod. Today, as yesterday, in the midst of all dangers, God shows us the way leading to life.
Persecuted but not discouraged, millions of people draw from their faith in God the strength to stand firm in the face of discrimination on the grounds of race, skin colour, gender, culture, language or purchasing power.
Migration often has consequences for ecumenical life. It brings members of different churches together and leads them to make a fresh start in the search for unity. We are all, in one way or another, migrants upon this earth. We are all pilgrims on the way towards the house of the Father. The churches, too, are invited to advance together along the path towards unity, that path which our Lord has opened up for us.
Prayer
God our Father, whose Son knew exile in Egypt. We ask you to accompany the migrants of our times. May the Holy Spirit touch each human heart; May the barriers that separate us fall, suspicion founder, hatred cease. May your Spirit breathe new life into your churches in their pilgrimage towards unity and help them to overcome their divisions and go forward in justice and in peace. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day three
So that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies (1 Cor 4:10) In the image of Christ
Gen 1: 26-27 In the image of God he created them, male and female
Ps 45 Your God has anointed you
1 Tim 6: 11-16 Keep the commandment without spot or blame
Mt 5: 14-15 You are the light of the world
Commentary
The human person carries in him - or her - self the image of and resemblance to God. It is the sign of an integrity which nothing - neither weakness, sin nor oppression - can destroy. This mysterious truth constitutes a lasting call to spiritual growth in order to reach the measure of Christ.
Christ himself lives within the Christian, within the Christian's very body, mind and soul. The Christian, woman and man must make plain, in real-life situations, the life of Christ which is within them. They are called to stand firm in obedience to the demands of the gospel until the Lord's coming again.
This witness involves the believer's whole being, including the body. Over the ages members of different churches have suffered (and still suffer) martyrdom, giving faithful witness in making the supreme act of obedience to Christ. Often the cause of martyrdom is to be found in the origins of exile. The Christian is thus called to be transformed in likeness to Christ, revealing Christ's life within his own.
"I am the light of the world"; "You are the light of the world". This light must shine forth through works of justice, charity, compassion, in such a way that it becomes a revelation of the saving grace of God. Men and women are thus enabled to glorify the Father who desires salvation for us all.
As the church, we are called upon to change cultural practices which prevent a great part of the world's population from being accorded human dignity, above all in the case of migrants. For those same elements which divide people and nations are to be found in the sin which divides churches and prevents their true witness. Moreover, unity between believers cannot be separated from the struggle to overcome the barriers dividing society.
Prayer
God of love Powerful creator of all life Encourage us to discern in ourselves and in each of our brothers and sisters Your image and resemblance. Give us the strength necessary to obey the imperative of your all-embracing love.
God of love, We pray that our witness will lead to the unity of the churches; and that with one voice we may call upon all humanity to be responsible for creation and for our neighbour. Amen.
Day four
That the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh (2 Cor 4:11) Dignity of Human Life
Ezra 1: 1-4 Any of those among you who are of his people - may their God go with them!
Ps 50 The heavens declare his righteousness
Rm 6: 6-14 Dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus
Mk 9: 33-37 Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all
Commentary
Many aspects of life are hard. The most degrading conditions are imposed on people. For many, their very existence is something rather to be endured, and they are sunk in despair and terror.
Christ invites us to take up the challenge of living in a way that meets the demands of his kingdom. His presence among his people marks each one of us. The power of his resurrection delivers us from all death-dealing temptation. If we are aware of his presence among us - risen, but bearing the traces of the despised, rejected or excluded - we can understand the importance of the least among us. If we had believed that simple fishermen were less capable of teaching than the doctors of religion, we would never have heard the message of the apostles, nor that of a carpenter from Nazareth.
That is why we must encourage each other to question the kind of society which excludes people and neglects their material and spiritual needs.
In this struggle at the heart of the societies in which we live, we may be tempted to give up, believing that we are all alone. But we must not lose courage, for others among God's children are also working to maintain the dignity of human life and are thus making visible the life of Jesus within our mortal existence.
The church is called to reveal this light shining in the darkness. Confronted with a divided world our quest for unity is vital. It is our common calling to show the power of the resurrection in order that the world might believe. Faced with war and with distress of all kinds, surrounded by struggles for temporal power and by discord, we must not attempt to escape together but, guided by Christ, commit ourselves to help the world change course.
Prayer
O God, we commit ourselves to you as we have confidence only in your strength. Quieten our bodies and our minds, Come into our hearts, And in our daily tasks help us to appreciate the power of renewal which you offer us.
O God, open up for us the road to unity Lead us by the hand along the way of your kingdom to be witnesses of hope. May we not succumb to despair for through his own resurrection Christ has overcome death.
O God in whom we hope Give us your Spirit of truth, courage and strength that we may go forward together towards the full, visible unity of the church. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Day five
I believed and so I spoke (2 Cor 4:13)
Josh 1: 1-9 Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed
Ps 113 He raises the poor from the dust
Eph 2: 11-22 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens
Mk 7: 24-30 For saying that, you may go
Commentary
At a time of uncertainty and fear after the death of Moses, Joshua spoke out boldly in God's name and urged the people of Israel to cross the Jordan and occupy the land which God had promised to their ancestors: land which they had left in search of food. He urged them to be strong and brave and act in accordance with God's law.
Many generations later there were still Canaanites living in part of the land and it was a Canaanite woman who came to Jesus and courageously asked him to heal her daughter. When Jesus answered, rather harshly, that it was not right to take the children's bread, she argued back that even the dogs under the table eat the children's bread. A Gentile and a woman, her care for her daughter caused her to break down barriers of culture, tradition and gender with courage and audacity. Jesus had a plan of action and urgency in carrying it out. He believed that he must go first to the house of Israel. Nevertheless he was moved by the courage and the response of the woman. On his side also he reached out across these same barriers and said "for saying that you may go - the demon has left your daughter".
In the letter to the Ephesians, the Gentile Christians are reminded that they were once "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenant of promise". But now in Christ Jesus those who were once far off have been brought near. He has broken down the dividing wall and the hostility between Gentile and Jew and reconciled both groups to God in one body through the cross. Today Christians are compelled by the law of Christ to reach out across barriers of culture and race to welcome refugees and strangers and to minister to their needs. We can also learn much from the deep Christian faith of immigrants amongst us who have crossed boundaries to come to our land and who are equally part of the body of Christ.
As individual Christians and churches we are challenged to testify with courage to the truth of the gospel. As we do so, we must seek to live out and to show to the world the unity which Jesus desires for his children for divided churches are weakened in their mission. To be the Church of Christ is a gift which brings the enormous responsibility of helping those without faith to discover that the love of God is the only answer to their need. We should ask God to heal us from our lack of unity and enable us to speak out with faith and courage.
Prayer
O God you inspired your servant Joshua to speak out with courage in a time of need and lead your people to the promised land. Your Son, Jesus Christ, reached out across barriers of culture, class and gender giving healing and hope to those in need. He is our peace and in his flesh he has broken down dividing walls and created in himself one, new humanity. We pray with faith for Christ's body, the church in the world today.
You have entrusted us with the task of advancing your kingdom here on earth, help us to do so united and not divided. Allow us to hear your voice and not insist on our own priorities. Move us to overcome our divisions and live according to your law of love. Strengthen us to reaffirm our commitment to you. Allow us to share your love. Lead us to meet all those in need of your blessing especially the refugee and the stranger in our midst. Together we form the body of Christ in whose name we pray. Amen.
Day six
So that grace as it extends to more and more people (2 Cor 4:15) The Justice of God's Grae
Deut 10:17-22 Who executes justice for the orphan and the widow
Ps 103:1-13 The Lord is merciful and gracious
Rom 3:21-31 They are now justified by his grace as a gift
Mt 5:1-12 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
Commentary
Sin is the source of all forms of injustice in the world. By rejecting God's righteousness we deprive people of their dignity and of their existential rights. Unjust structures and abuse of human rights are the result of this situation. We believe that God has justified us in Christ, out of his deep love for us. God's righteousness is expressed through his reconciling and outpouring grace. Through the death and resurrection of Christ he makes us all worthy of being his daughters and sons destined to eternal communion with him.
As Christians we are sent to proclaim together the righteousness of God and the power of his grace. Our mandate is to spread the justice of God by our witness. We are called to become instruments of God's kingdom, as just men and women who live for God and seek to reveal his love and justice to all. In as much as we have our homeland in heaven, we also look for a more just society and renewed life on earth, making more visible what God desires for his sons and daughters.
In the experience of migrant peoples, we see one of the many faces of injustice in our times. Societies which are economically unjust expel their members by driving them into hunger and poverty, denying them human living conditions, and blocking their access to health and education. Others must emigrate because of war, or the impossibility of practising their faith freely. Such is the world in which we must cry out for a long-awaited justice. God identifies himself with the poor, the weak, the sick, the foreigner, the child, the elderly, the widow. That is why in the Beatitudes we are invited to be promoters of that justice, which goes beyond worldly justice. This includes a search for ways to overcome those structures which discriminate against people, transforming them into means of peace and justice for all.
Our unity and vital mission is a sign of our hope. Our communion in Christ is a visible expression of the new humankind. A spiritual vision of the life we have in Christ is the essence of all justice and the basis of human rights. Our active solidarity with powerless people makes the power of God's righteousness visible.
Prayer
God, thank you for your grace, which makes us your daughters and sons in Christ. You call us as your children to be advocates of your grace-filled justice in the world. Grant us grace to work, without fear, for the justice which is the only way to a real peace and a human society. Loving God, strengthen the bonds which unite us, and call us to a life where the unity of believers is reflected in the actions of every community of faith. Powerful God, steer us once again to come nearer to each other, so that your will and not ours be put to work. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Day seven
So we do not lose heart (2 Cor 4:16) Perseverance
Neh 7:73-8:3, 9-10 Do not mourn or weep
Ps 118:5-9, 19-24 Open to me the gates of righteousness
Acts 7:54-8:5 Those who were scattered... went proclaiming the word
Mk 10:28-30 A hundredfold now in this age... with persecutions
Commentary
Life takes its toll on us. We have all experienced pain and struggle. Life particularly leaves its scars on the bodies of refugees, displaced peoples, the homeless, on the bodies of all those who continuously face more obstacles than solutions. Days come and go, each bringing their troubles: suddenly a woman must abandon her land; little children find themselves in a strange country; a man must leave aside the trade he learnt from his father, which is of no use to him any longer; a family is forced to exchange its native language for another, its native customs for foreign ones. These are people who have fled from death, hunger, exclusion. In our time there are thousands who silently make their way to unknown lands, lands which do not always receive them with love and understanding.
The first Christians also knew about hardship and struggle, and their way of responding to and understanding their situation offers future generations of Christians insights into the faith foundations of perseverance and solidarity. At the critical moment when Stephen was put to death and the church of Jerusalem was beset by a severe persecution, its scattered members found the inner resources and strength to continue to proclaim the word, instead of being paralysed by fear. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, encouraged them not to lose heart despite being afflicted and struck down, but to understand these experiences as a way of carrying in their bodies the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus could be made visible. This clear connection between their own struggles and the death and resurrection of Jesus reflects how the power of the resurrection had changed their understanding of suffering and death.
Today we ask ourselves how we can bear witness to the renewing power of resurrection, when we face the hurting bodies of the refugee and the poor, when we encounter their profound suffering and their battered lives. Again and again we open our eyes and stumble across the hard truth that there is much within our world which destroys, rather than encourages, life. At the same time, we know it is still possible to both see and witness to the renewing and restoring action of God in our midst. Christians responding together in these privileged contexts have a special opportunity to be bearers of light and hope, even through the smallest acts of kindness and hospitality. Voices rise and hands reach out in solidarity with our struggling sister, our discouraged brother. We come to learn that in every act of mercy toward a crucified people we encounter Christ himself, and we are reminded that the mission which all Christians are invited to share in is God's own. Moreover, those who suffer often reveal to us, in their tired bodies, that gratitude is still possible, that there is still hope, that not all is lost if we trust in the One who makes all things new. Paradoxically, in the context of suffering and hurt, the gospel is shown to restore what is broken.
Prayer
Almighty God, we are united in our belief that you are present alongside all who suffer and are oppressed, united in the call to be instruments of hope and compassion to all in need: Direct our hands towards those of the downtrodden, the poor, the refugee. When we are inclined to ignore our neighbour in need, open our eyes and hearts yet again to their pain. Encourage the faith and hope of those struggling with discouragement or despair, those whose lives have been bruised by hardship. Lead them with tenderness to find you even in the midst of their darkest experience. Amen.
Day eight
Preparing for us an eternal weight of glory ...(2 Cor 4:17) Called to unity on the path to glory
Is 33:17-22 The Lord is our King, he will save us
Ps 42 Hope in God; for I shall again praise him
Eph 4:1-6 One Lord, one faith, one baptism
Jn 17:20-26 To see my glory
Commentary
At a time Jerusalem was threatened with invasion, the prophet Isaiah looked forward to the day when God would reign and Jerusalem would be ? quiet habitation, an immovable tent, whose stakes will never be pulled up and none of whose ropes will be broken? Refugees on the move in our world today, seeking political freedom or economic stability must often long for the time when they will no longer have to move from place to place, living in rough tents or hiding in lorries. They look for a place where they can live permanently in security and peace and well being.
The church understands itself as sharing this pilgrim state. We are a pilgrim people, strangers in this world, journeying in faith towards the heavenly Jerusalem, yearning to see the face of God. Often the pilgrim people of God share something of the longing of refugees for stability and peace and the coming of God's kingdom in this world.
While Christianity understands all human existence as marked by the insecurity of the pilgrim state, it sees the church as having the prophetic vocation of setting forth a vision of what God is preparing for us, an "eternal weight of glory" which casts our present struggles into a larger framework of hope and promise. This future which God is fashioning is characterised by a unity in which the human race is caught up, through the Holy Spirit, in the oneness which Jesus shares with the Father. This unity is already given to us as a gift in the Spirit here and now: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in all." The church is to live as a sign in the present of that unity which in its fullness we hold only as the promise of God.
Instead, we have presented ourselves to the world with disagreements which have created confusion where we are called to shed only light. Our ecumenical calling is to rediscover and make visible the unity which always comes as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes Christians seem to give up on this task. As a pilgrim people we must lay hold of the hope and certainty that we shall be made one in Christ as we shall see the glory which God gave to Christ "before the foundation of the world."
Prayer
Lord, show us your mercy and by the power of your Spirit remove the divisions amongst Christians so that your church may appear more clearly as a visible sign in the midst of all nations.
Lord, grant us renewed love, a true wisdom, and a new impulse for that unity so that the eternal message of your Son may be received as good news for all.
Lord, rekindle our faith and our hope, that we may journey with joy towards your heavenly kingdom, trusting in your promise of eternal glory. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Amen.

* Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity *
e-mail: Office1@CHRSTUNI.VA