Prayer for Christian unity
Week of prayer for Christian unity
Permit it not, o Lord, that Thy people should cease from being, and try to remove sin by means that are themselves sinful, or to cure evil by another evil
18 - 25 January 2010
Week of prayer for Christian unity
Holy Father,
who hast glorified Thy Son Jesus
and hast conferred upon Him power over all flesh,
so that he may grant eternal life
to all those who have believed in Him, God and Saviour;
we give Thee thanks that Thou hast vouchsafed unto us men
to know the consubstantial unity
beteen Thee, Thy Son, and Thy Holy Spirit
to which Thou hast called us
by the prayer that Thy Son made onto Thee:
«That they may all be one;
even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee,
that they also may be one in us,
so that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me» (Jn 17:21).
Indeed we believe
that the unity to which Thou hast called us
is necessary for the witness
of the mystery of Thy work in human nature,
a nature prone to corruption and disintegration
because of sin and selfishness.
Likewise, this unity is necessary that the world may believe
that it has no other hope
but in the person of Jesus, Thy dearly beloved Son,
whom Thou hast sent to join the things of heaven with the body.