Pope: Jesus sustains our hope as we journey toward Him in unity
Vatican news
On the occasion of the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, which marks the close of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis invites Christians to rediscover the common roots of faith and reiterates his call to find a common date for Easter.
By Christopher Wells
Even though everyone faces moments of despair or knows people who have lost hope, “the Gospel tells us that Jesus always gives hope,” Pope Francis said Saturday evening at the Basilica of St. Paul outside the walls. “He continually raises us from the ashes of death and gives us the strength to move forward, to start again. »
In his homily for the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul – which also marks the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel account of Jesus’ meeting with Martha after the death of his brother Lazarus. In response to Martha’s profession of faith in the resurrection of the dead at the end of time, Jesus assures her that he himself is the resurrection and the life, and asks her: “Do you believe this?”
This Gospel passage was the theme of this year’s Week of Prayer and teaches us, the Pope said, “that even in moments of deep desolation, we are not alone and we can continue to hope.”
And this is important not only in our own lives, but also “for the life of Christian communities, our Churches and our ecumenical relations,” the Pope said. If we sometimes feel overwhelmed or discouraged, Jesus nevertheless comes to us. “Do we believe it?” » asked Pope Francis. “Do we believe that He is the resurrection and the life?
The Holy Father that the message of hope of the Gospel “is at the heart” of the Jubilee Year. This hope, which comes from the Holy Spirit, is also the foundation of the ecumenical path.
Pope Francis also highlighted that 2025 will see the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the first of the great ecumenical councils, which produced the Nicene Creed. This creed, declared the Pope, “is a common profession of faith which transcends all the divisions which have torn the Body of Christ over the centuries”; and the anniversary of its proclamation, “an opportunity for all Christians who recite the same Creed and believe in the same God”.
“Let us rediscover the common roots of the faith,” exclaimed the Pope. “Let’s preserve unity! »
Finally, Pope Francis took the opportunity to renew his call for Christians to work together “to take a decisive step towards unity around a common date for Easter”, recalling that this year, Easter falls on same date for the two Julian feasts. and Gregorian calendars.
Concluding his reflections, Pope Francis insisted: “In Jesus, hope is always possible” and it is Jesus “who sustains our hope as we journey towards him in unity.” Returning to Jesus’ question to Martha, Pope Francis asked, “Do you believe this?” Do we believe in communion with one another?
And he ended his homily with the exhortation: “Dear brothers and sisters, it is the moment to confirm our profession of faith in the one God and to find in Christ Jesus the path to unity… let us never tire to bear witness, before all people, to the only Son of God, the source of all our hope. »
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