Pope Benedict XVI: Unity of Christians Resides in Prayer

Unity 'Resides in Prayer'

Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged that we must "illumine oppositions and dark points in order to reach unity." While this is done in the necessary theological dialogue, it is accomplished "above all in prayer and in penance, in that spiritual ecumenism which constitutes the throbbing heart of the whole path: The unity of Christians is and remains prayer, it resides in prayer."

VATICAN City (Catholic Online) -- On November 18, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the participants of the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, whose present theme is: Toward a New Stage of Ecumenical Dialogue. Within the Pope's address is a key message for every Christian which gets right to the heart of unity: "The unity of Christians is and remains prayer, it resides in prayer": It was and is the prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ, as is so evident in our Savior's prayer to the Father on the eve of his Passion that "they may all be one" (Jn 17:21).

In his address, the Pope thanked God "for the fruits already gathered" through the work toward unity, and commended the pontifical council's labors of the past 50 years along the ecumenical path of the Church, observing that those years are years "in which a truer knowledge and greater esteem have been acquired with the Churches and the ecclesial communities, overcoming prejudices cemented by history."

As is always the case, every statement from the lips of our Holy Father is loaded with precious and relevant pearls of wisdom. Let us, for a moment, reflect on the notion of "prejudices cemented by human history."

If Christians will, with prayerful sincerity, examine our own hearts as well as the present state of Christianity, we will indeed find deeply rooted prejudices which are the sources of division, and which are often based on little more than some misunderstanding, heated argument or controversy long past. This is not to suggest that serious issues with which we must contend are nonexistent. Yet it is to say that, very often, Christians fail to enter into fruitful dialogue based on a sincere love and search for truth due to "prejudices cemented by human history."

It is vital to ask ourselves, "Do I love truth?" "Do I love unity?" We ultimately find at the heart of these questions another which is central to our very life: "Do I truly love God?" For love of truth and unity leads toward itself, into the oneness of God, and into a sublime, confident, comforting and tranquil embrace born of the Holy Spirit's unitive love. The ultimate unity in the fullness of truth, where the human and divine are merged into one, is found in the Catholic Church, that sacrament of salvation which flowed forth from Christ's pierced side on the cross, and which is formed in and sustained by the body and blood of the Risen Lord. Those who love truth and unity are called to that Church, into that One Body of Life.

These prejudices among Christians can also be based on nothing more than hearsay, falsehoods or partial truths that continue to be parroted time and again; yet, given their insubstantial nature, they nevertheless remain what often seems as nearly impenetrable structures of division. Over time, these schismatic constructs become so engrained in our way of thinking, so rigidly fastened to our own personal history as well as that stretching back over the centuries, that we fail even to unlatch our close-mindedness to the possibility of unity.

Yet it must be remembered that disunity is not of God. Disunity is not a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not found his Church twenty centuries ago with the purpose in mind that it would in the future be mistakenly viewed merely as one institution among others. Jesus very clearly said to St. Peter, "you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Mt 16:18-19).

Our Lord spoke the word "church" in the singular, not the plural. While this may seem a rather trivial point, it is not. It is one point among many others which points to the unambiguous fact that Christ founded a specific and definite Catholic (universal) Church. We must remember that for many centuries all Christians called themselves Catholic. The eclectic admixture of disunity and ever expanding schism that we find at present, and which traces its origin to certain points of human contention in history, is not the will of God. 

Yet this structure of disunity is not impenetrable, for the Holy Spirit of unity is constantly at work among his people, and progress is being made. Pope Benedict XVI observed that, while some think the path to unity, "especially in the West, has lost its élan," now there exists an "urgency to revive ecumenical interest and to give new incisiveness to the dialogues."

Pope Benedict XVI noted the growth that has occurred "in the theological dialogue," and, importantly, growth "also in that of charity." As a result, "several forms of collaboration have been developed, among which, in addition to those of the defense of life, the safeguarding of creation and the combating of injustice, important and fruitful has been that in the field of the ecumenical translations of sacred Scripture."

The Pope pointed out that along with ecumenical dialogue challenges appear: "the new anthropological and ethical interpretations, the ecumenical formation of the new generations, the further fragmentation of the ecumenical scene. It is essential to be aware of such changes and to identify the ways to proceed effectively in the light of the will of the Lord: 'That they may all be one'" (Jn 17:21).

In our Holy Father's desire for unity, joining himself with the will of the Lord that "they may all be one," he continued to reach out to the Orthodox Churches and the Ancient Eastern Churches, with which "very close bonds exist," reminding all that the Catholic Church will continue the dialogue of unity. This will be done "with passion," said the Pope, "seeking to deepen, in a serious and rigorous way, the common theological, liturgical and spiritual patrimony, and to address with serenity and commitment the elements that still divide us."

Pope Benedict noted with joy the progress that has been made with the Orthodox: "we have succeeded in touching a crucial point of encounter and reflection: the role of the Bishop of Rome in the communion of the Church." The Pope observed that the "ecclesiological question is also at the center of the dialogue with the Ancient Eastern Churches." "Despite many centuries of misunderstanding and separation," continued the Pope, "witnessed with joy is our having kept a precious common patrimony."

In his closing statements, Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that, "despite the presence of new problematic situations or difficult points for dialogue," the "aim of the ecumenical path remains unchanged." This path, continued the Pope, "is not, however, a commitment according to political categories, so to speak, in which the ability to negotiate or the greater capacity to find compromises come into play, from which could be expected, as good mediators, that, after a certain time, one will arrive at agreements acceptable to all."

Articulating the heart of ecumenical action as a "twofold movement" in which there "is the convinced, passionate and tenacious search to find full unity in truth," Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged that we must "illumine oppositions and dark points in order to reach unity." While this is done in the necessary theological dialogue, it is accomplished "above all in prayer and in penance, in that spiritual ecumenism which constitutes the throbbing heart of the whole path: The unity of Christians is and remains prayer, it resides in prayer."

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F. K. Bartels is a Catholic writer who knows his Catholic faith is one of the greatest gifts a man could ever have. He is managing editor of catholicpathways.com, and a contributing writer for Catholic Online.

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