Pope Francis at Vespers says "It is important to pray together" - "rediscover the common roots of faith, let us preserve unity!" FULL TEXT + Video
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On the feast of the Conversion of St Paul, which marks the close of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis invites Christians to rediscover the common roots of the faith, and repeats his appeal to find a common date for Easter.
SOLEMNITY OF THE CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE
CELEBRATION OF SECOND VESPERS
LVIII WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
Saturday, 25 January 2025
____________________________
Jesus arrives at the house of his friends, Martha and Mary, when their brother Lazarus has already been dead for four days. All hope now seems lost, to the point that Martha's first words express her pain together with regret that Jesus arrived late: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (Jn 11:21). And at the same time, however, the arrival of Jesus lights the light of hope in Martha’s heart and leads her to a profession of faith: “But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you” (v. 22). It is that attitude of always leaving the door open, never closed! And Jesus, in fact, announces the resurrection from the dead not only as an event that will occur at the end of time, but as something that already happens in the present, because He himself is resurrection and life. And then he asks her a question: “Do you believe this?” (v. 26). That question is also for us, for you, for me: “Do you believe this?”.
Let us also pause on this question: “Do you believe this?” (v. 26). It is a short but challenging question.
This tender encounter between Jesus and Martha, which we heard in the Gospel, teaches us that, even in moments of desolation, we are not alone and we can continue to hope. Jesus gives life, even when it seems that all hope has vanished. After a painful loss, an illness, a bitter disappointment, a betrayal or other difficult experiences, hope can falter; but if each of us can experience moments of despair or meet people who have lost hope, the Gospel tells us that with Jesus hope is always reborn, because from the ashes of death He always raises us up. Jesus always raises us up, gives us the strength to resume the journey, to start over.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us never forget: hope does not disappoint! Hope never disappoints! Hope is that rope to which we are attached with the anchor on the beach. And this never disappoints! This is also important for the life of Christian communities, of our Churches and of our ecumenical relations. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by fatigue, we are discouraged by the results of our commitment, it seems to us that even dialogue and collaboration between us are hopeless, almost destined to death and, all of this, makes us experience the same anguish as Martha; but the Lord comes. Do we believe this? Do we believe that He is resurrection and life? That He gathers our labors and always gives us the grace to resume the journey together? Do we believe this?
This message of hope is at the heart of the Jubilee that we have begun. The Apostle Paul, whose conversion to Christ we remember today, declared to the Christians of Rome: "Hope does not disappoint, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rom 5:5). All - all! - have received the same Spirit, and this is the foundation of our ecumenical journey. There is the Spirit who guides us on this journey. These are not practical things to understand each other better. No, there is the Spirit, and we must go under the guidance of this Spirit.
And this Jubilee Year of Hope, celebrated by the Catholic Church, coincides with an anniversary of great significance for all Christians: the 1700th anniversary of the first great Ecumenical Council, the Council of Nicea. This Council was committed to preserving the unity of the Church in a very difficult moment, and the Council Fathers unanimously approved the Creed that many Christians still recite every Sunday during the Eucharist. This Creed is a profession of common faith, which goes beyond all the divisions that over the centuries have wounded the Body of Christ. The anniversary of the Council of Nicaea therefore represents a year of grace; it also represents an opportunity for all Christians who recite the same Creed and believe in the same God: let us rediscover the common roots of faith, let us preserve unity! Always forward! That unity that we all want to find, that it may happen. Doesn’t what a great Orthodox theologian, Ioannis Zizioulas, said come to mind: “I know when the date of full unity will be: the day after the final judgment”? But in the meantime we must walk together, work together, pray together, love each other together. And this is very beautiful!
Dear brothers and sisters, this faith that we share is a precious gift, but it is also a challenge. The anniversary, in fact, must not be celebrated only as a “historical memory”, but also as a commitment to witness the growing communion between us. We must ensure that we do not let it slip away, that we build solid bonds, that we cultivate mutual friendship, that we are weavers of communion and fraternity.
In this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we can also experience the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea as a call to persevere on the path towards unity. Providentially, this year, Easter will be celebrated on the same day in the Gregorian and Julian calendars, precisely during this ecumenical anniversary. I renew my appeal that this coincidence serve as a call to all Christians to take a decisive step towards unity, around a common date, a date for Easter (cf. Bull Spes non confundit, 17); and the Catholic Church is willing to accept the date that everyone wants to make: a date of unity.
I am grateful to Metropolitan Polycarp, representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to Archbishop Ian Ernest, representing the Anglican Communion and who is concluding his precious service for which I am very grateful – I wish him all the best when he returns to his homeland – and to the representatives of other Churches who are taking part in this evening sacrifice of praise. It is important to pray together, and your presence here this evening is a source of joy for everyone. I also greet the students supported by the Committee for Cultural Collaboration with the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches at the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the participants in the study visit of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute of the World Council of Churches, and the many other ecumenical groups and pilgrims who have come to Rome for this celebration. I thank the choir, which provides us with such a beautiful environment for prayer. May each of us, like Saint Paul, find our own hope in the incarnate Son of God and offer it to others, wherever hope has vanished, lives have been broken or hearts have been overwhelmed by adversity (see Homily at the Mass of Christmas Eve, 24 December 2024).
In Jesus, hope is always possible. He also sustains the hope of our common journey towards Him. And the question asked of Martha and addressed to us this evening returns: “Do you believe this?” Do we believe in the communion between us? Do we believe that hope does not disappoint?
Dear sisters, dear brothers, this is the time to confirm our profession of faith in the one God and find in Christ Jesus the path to unity. As we wait for the Lord “to return in glory to judge the living and the dead” (see Nicene Creed), let us never tire of bearing witness, before all peoples, to the only-begotten Son of God, the source of all our hope.
CELEBRATION OF SECOND VESPERS
LVIII WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
Saturday, 25 January 2025
____________________________
Jesus arrives at the house of his friends, Martha and Mary, when their brother Lazarus has already been dead for four days. All hope now seems lost, to the point that Martha's first words express her pain together with regret that Jesus arrived late: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (Jn 11:21). And at the same time, however, the arrival of Jesus lights the light of hope in Martha’s heart and leads her to a profession of faith: “But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you” (v. 22). It is that attitude of always leaving the door open, never closed! And Jesus, in fact, announces the resurrection from the dead not only as an event that will occur at the end of time, but as something that already happens in the present, because He himself is resurrection and life. And then he asks her a question: “Do you believe this?” (v. 26). That question is also for us, for you, for me: “Do you believe this?”.
Let us also pause on this question: “Do you believe this?” (v. 26). It is a short but challenging question.
This tender encounter between Jesus and Martha, which we heard in the Gospel, teaches us that, even in moments of desolation, we are not alone and we can continue to hope. Jesus gives life, even when it seems that all hope has vanished. After a painful loss, an illness, a bitter disappointment, a betrayal or other difficult experiences, hope can falter; but if each of us can experience moments of despair or meet people who have lost hope, the Gospel tells us that with Jesus hope is always reborn, because from the ashes of death He always raises us up. Jesus always raises us up, gives us the strength to resume the journey, to start over.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us never forget: hope does not disappoint! Hope never disappoints! Hope is that rope to which we are attached with the anchor on the beach. And this never disappoints! This is also important for the life of Christian communities, of our Churches and of our ecumenical relations. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by fatigue, we are discouraged by the results of our commitment, it seems to us that even dialogue and collaboration between us are hopeless, almost destined to death and, all of this, makes us experience the same anguish as Martha; but the Lord comes. Do we believe this? Do we believe that He is resurrection and life? That He gathers our labors and always gives us the grace to resume the journey together? Do we believe this?
This message of hope is at the heart of the Jubilee that we have begun. The Apostle Paul, whose conversion to Christ we remember today, declared to the Christians of Rome: "Hope does not disappoint, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rom 5:5). All - all! - have received the same Spirit, and this is the foundation of our ecumenical journey. There is the Spirit who guides us on this journey. These are not practical things to understand each other better. No, there is the Spirit, and we must go under the guidance of this Spirit.
And this Jubilee Year of Hope, celebrated by the Catholic Church, coincides with an anniversary of great significance for all Christians: the 1700th anniversary of the first great Ecumenical Council, the Council of Nicea. This Council was committed to preserving the unity of the Church in a very difficult moment, and the Council Fathers unanimously approved the Creed that many Christians still recite every Sunday during the Eucharist. This Creed is a profession of common faith, which goes beyond all the divisions that over the centuries have wounded the Body of Christ. The anniversary of the Council of Nicaea therefore represents a year of grace; it also represents an opportunity for all Christians who recite the same Creed and believe in the same God: let us rediscover the common roots of faith, let us preserve unity! Always forward! That unity that we all want to find, that it may happen. Doesn’t what a great Orthodox theologian, Ioannis Zizioulas, said come to mind: “I know when the date of full unity will be: the day after the final judgment”? But in the meantime we must walk together, work together, pray together, love each other together. And this is very beautiful!
Dear brothers and sisters, this faith that we share is a precious gift, but it is also a challenge. The anniversary, in fact, must not be celebrated only as a “historical memory”, but also as a commitment to witness the growing communion between us. We must ensure that we do not let it slip away, that we build solid bonds, that we cultivate mutual friendship, that we are weavers of communion and fraternity.
In this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we can also experience the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea as a call to persevere on the path towards unity. Providentially, this year, Easter will be celebrated on the same day in the Gregorian and Julian calendars, precisely during this ecumenical anniversary. I renew my appeal that this coincidence serve as a call to all Christians to take a decisive step towards unity, around a common date, a date for Easter (cf. Bull Spes non confundit, 17); and the Catholic Church is willing to accept the date that everyone wants to make: a date of unity.
I am grateful to Metropolitan Polycarp, representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to Archbishop Ian Ernest, representing the Anglican Communion and who is concluding his precious service for which I am very grateful – I wish him all the best when he returns to his homeland – and to the representatives of other Churches who are taking part in this evening sacrifice of praise. It is important to pray together, and your presence here this evening is a source of joy for everyone. I also greet the students supported by the Committee for Cultural Collaboration with the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches at the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the participants in the study visit of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute of the World Council of Churches, and the many other ecumenical groups and pilgrims who have come to Rome for this celebration. I thank the choir, which provides us with such a beautiful environment for prayer. May each of us, like Saint Paul, find our own hope in the incarnate Son of God and offer it to others, wherever hope has vanished, lives have been broken or hearts have been overwhelmed by adversity (see Homily at the Mass of Christmas Eve, 24 December 2024).
In Jesus, hope is always possible. He also sustains the hope of our common journey towards Him. And the question asked of Martha and addressed to us this evening returns: “Do you believe this?” Do we believe in the communion between us? Do we believe that hope does not disappoint?
Dear sisters, dear brothers, this is the time to confirm our profession of faith in the one God and find in Christ Jesus the path to unity. As we wait for the Lord “to return in glory to judge the living and the dead” (see Nicene Creed), let us never tire of bearing witness, before all peoples, to the only-begotten Son of God, the source of all our hope.
Source: Vatican Bulletin with Screenshot Vatican Media
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