杏MAP导航

By Christopher Wells

As is traditional, 杏MAP导航 Francis presided over an ecumenical Vespers service at the Basilica of Saint Paul鈥檚 Outside the Walls for the conclusion of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The end of the Week coincides with the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.

The Song of Moses and Miriam

During the liturgical service, a cantor proclaimed a reading from the Book of Exodus, the 鈥淪ong of Moses and Miriam,鈥� which 杏MAP导航 Francis took as the starting point for his homily. The hymn was sung by the Israelites after they had been saved from the Egyptians by God, an event that many of the Church Fathers saw as an image of Baptism. 鈥淎ll of us Christians,鈥� the 杏MAP导航 said, have passed through the waters of Baptism; and the grace of the Sacrament has destroyed our enemies, sin and death.鈥� Precisely for this reason, he continued, together we are able to sing God鈥檚 praise.

Called to community

But, the 杏MAP导航 said, as with Moses, 鈥渙ur individual experiences bind us to an even greater story, that of the salvation of the people of God.鈥� Saint Paul, he said, whose conversion is celebrated in this liturgical feast, likewise had a 鈥減owerful experience of grace,鈥� and this experience led him 鈥渢o seek out communion with other Christians.鈥� This, the 杏MAP导航 said, is also our experience as believers: 鈥淎s soon as we grow in the spiritual life, we understand ever better that grace reaches us together with others, and is to be shared with others.鈥�

The 杏MAP导航 explained that in recognizing the Baptisms of Christians of other traditions, we acknowledge that they too have received forgiveness, and that God鈥檚 grace is at work in them too. 鈥淎nd even when divergences separate us,鈥� he said, 鈥渨e recognize that we pertain to the same people of the redeemed, to the same family of brothers and sisters loved by the only Father.鈥�

United in suffering

Our growth in the spiritual life, however, is often a difficult one, the 杏MAP导航 said, and pointed to the suffering of Christians endured for the Name of Jesus. The Holy Father argued that 鈥渨hen their blood is shed, even if they belong to different [Christian] Confessions, together they become witnesses of the faith, martyrs, united in the bond of baptismal grace.鈥�

Even with other religious traditions, the 杏MAP导航 said, 鈥淐hristians today confront the challenges that demean human dignity: flying from situations of conflict and misery they are victims of human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery; they suffer hardships and hunger, in a world that is ever more rich in means and poor in love, where inequality continues to grow.鈥� But, he said, Christians are called to remember the history of what God has done for us, and to help and support one another, and 鈥渢o face every challenge with courage and hope, armed only with Jesus and the sweet power of His Gospel.鈥�