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Master·evangeli.net

Today's Gospel + short theological explanation

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter
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Gospel text (Jn 17:20-26): Jesus prayed saying: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me …”

Ecumenism

Fr. Antoni ORIOL i Tataret (Vic, Barcelona, Spain)

Today, in his priestly prayer, Jesus asks especially for the unity of his followers. To "be Christian" should be seen in terms of "We", just as God himself is a "We in one" (Three persons in the one Being-God) Many initiatives have come about to help get over this division between the different confessions.

We’re talking about that unity instituted by Jesus, and for which he prayed so intensely to God the Father and that the Holy Spirit made visible on the day of Pentecost. The efforts of the various Christian communities to recover this unity is called "ecumenism", which is a word derived from the Greek and which means "that which extends to the whole world" and therefore "universal". Indeed, "universal" is the meaning of the word "Catholic" It follows that, by definition, Catholics have an obligation —and the honour— to be the ones who put the most effort and prayers into the recovery of this lost unity.

—Lord, let me live this truth, and grant us the gift of unity!