Pope Francis: ‘May Week of Prayer
teach us to be more hospitable'
Pope Francis leads an ecumenical prayer service for the
close of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity calling for a more hospitable
culture, amongst ourselves as Christians and among our brothers and sisters of
different confessions.
By Linda Bordoni
“Hospitality belongs to the tradition of Christian
communities and families,” Pope Francis said during his homily at an ecumenical
prayer service that concludes the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Openness and care for the other, in particular for migrants,
was the theme at the heart of the Week of Prayer that saw the participation of
Christian leaders of all denominations gathered in Rome from 18 to 25 January.
The Vatican's Sistine Chapel Choir and a Choir of
Benedictine Monks sang at the service at Rome's Basilica of St. Paul Outside
the Walls which traditionally takes place on the Feast of the Conversion of St.
Paul.
The theme for the 2020 Week of Prayer was chosen by a group
of representatives from the Christian Churches in Malta from the Acts of the
Apostles: “They Showed Us Unusual Kindness”.
Pope Francis began his homily reflecting on that reading and
recalling that three different groups were on board the ship that brought Saint
Paul to Rome as a prisoner: a group of soldiers, a group of sailors, and a
group of prisoners – the weakest and most vulnerable.
He said that when the ship ran aground off the coast of
Malta, the soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to ensure that no one would
escape, but they were stopped by a centurion who wanted to save Paul.
Trusting in God
“Although he was among the most vulnerable, Paul offered
something important to his traveling companions”, the Pope explained, “While
everyone was losing all hope of survival, the Apostle brought an unexpected
message of hope.”
Paul trusted in an angel who had told him not to be afraid,
he said, and his trust proved well founded when all the travellers were saved
and once in Malta experienced the hospitality, kindness and humanity of the
island’s inhabitants.
This account from the Acts of the Apostles, the Pope
continued, “also speaks to our ecumenical journey towards that unity
which God ardently desires.”
Listening to the small and the weak
In the first place, the Pope said, “it tells us that those
who are weak and vulnerable, those who have little to offer materially but find
their wealth in God, can present valuable messages for the good of all.”
He invited those present to think of even the smallest and
least significant of Christian communities saying that “if they experience the
Holy Spirit, if they are animated by love for God and neighbour, have a message
to offer to the whole Christian family.”
Let us think, he added, of marginalized and persecuted
Christian communities: “As in the account of Paul’s shipwreck, it is often the
weakest who bring the most important message of salvation.”
God, Pope Francis said, saves us “not with the power of this
world, but with the weakness of the cross.”
And warning against the temptation to be attracted by
worldly logic, he urged all Christians to listen to the small and the weak,
“because God loves to send his messages through those who most resemble his Son
made man.”
Overcoming divisions
He explained that the account in Acts also reminds us that
God’s priority is the salvation of all.
God’s desire that everyone be saved, he said, “is an
invitation not to devote ourselves exclusively to our own communities.”
He said that if we overcome our divisions each person can
contribute to the salvation of all.
“Among Christians as well, each community has a gift to
offer to the others. The more we look beyond partisan interests and
overcome the legacies of the past in the desire to move forward towards a
common landing place, the more readily we will recognize, welcome and share
these gifts,” he said.
Hospitality
Finally, the Pope focussed on the third aspect that was at
the centre of this Week of Prayer: hospitality.
He dwelt on the passage in which Saint Luke says, with
regard to the inhabitants of Malta, “The natives showed us unusual kindness”
and recalled the welcoming actions and attitude shown towards the shipwrecked
travellers who were then repaid by Paul.
“From this Week of Prayer we want to learn to be more
hospitable, in the first place among ourselves as Christians and among our
brothers and sisters of different confessions. Hospitality belongs to the
tradition of Christian communities and families,” he said.
Pope Francis concluded greeting the many representatives of
Christian denominations gathered with him to conclude the Week of Prayer for
Christian Unity and said: “Together, without ever tiring, let us continue to
pray and to beg from God the gift of full unity among ourselves.”
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