The Universal Church celebrates the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity from the 18th to the 25th of January every year. This year’s theme is: “They showed us unusual kindness” (cf. Acts 28:2).
This year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity materials prepared by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches (mainly composed of 350 member churches including the Protestant Churches and Orthodox Churches) mentioned the story of how Paul was shipwrecked in the Acts of the Apostles (Chapters 27-28).
In the account of the Bible, the centurion and soldiers took Paul and other prisoners under escort to Italy. During the journey, they encountered the tempest. They made great efforts and survived the shipwreck. The voyage resulted in the loss of cargo, but when the ship finally ran aground, everyone was rescued.
This story enables various Church denominations to reflect that on the path of Christian unity, in spite of the tempests and destruction, the Lord intends the salvation of all peoples.
The materials for the 2020 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity have been prepared by the Christian Churches in Malta and Gozo. These coastal regions have witnessed the crisis of thousands of refugees being stranded on these islands.
Nonetheless, Christians on Malta still show their concern for the refugees who have escaped from natural disasters, war and poverty. The fate of refugees is determined not only by the forces of wind and rain, but also by politics and human indifference. In the face of such crises, the challenge before Christians is introspect if we have flung ourselves into the camp of indifference or whether we are willing to show them “unusual kindness” in order to bear witness to God’s love.
The Under-Secretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Cardinal Michael Czerny sj, previously shared the dramatic experiences of his family’s flight from the then Czechoslovakia to Canada during World War II. Having encountered a lot of challenges to get out of the Nazi-controlled Czechoslovakia, they finally received help from a high-school classmate of his parents, who sponsored and welcomed them. The remarkable thing is that this classmate had himself with his family emigrated to Canada only a few years before, but they still generously assisted Czerny’s family to settle in a new environment.
This love and hospitality are major factors on the path to Christian unity. Last November, Pope Francis met with a delegation of the Salvation Army, led by its international representative and CEO, General Brian Peddle. He said, “The gratuitous love that inspires acts of service to those in need is not only a leaven; it also has the fragrance of freshly baked bread. It attracts and convinces. Young people in particular need to breathe in that fragrance since in many cases it is absent from their daily experience. In a world where selfishness and divisions abound, the noble fragrance of genuine self-giving love can offer a much-needed antidote and open minds and hearts to the transcendent meaning of our existence.”
The concluding day of this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is the 25th of January, the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle. That day is also the first day of Chinese New Year. We wish all our readers a prosperous and joyful Chinese New Year! SE
