The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity unites all the Churches in Lahore
Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw said that the Holy Spirit will guide us to be one and will open our hearts and minds so that we can love, respect and support each other.
Lahore (AsiaNews) – Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw of Lahore opened the 54th Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on Monday.
During the ceremony, which was held in Lahore’s Sacred Heart Cathedral, he invited everyone from the different Churches to pray for Christian reconciliation and unity.
The Week is taking place from 18 to 25 January. Its theme, “Abide in my Love… You shall bear much fruit” (Jn 15:1-17), was chosen by the Community of Grandchamp (Switzerland). It expresses the community’s vocation for prayer, reconciliation and unity in the Church and in the human family.
During the prayer service for Christian Unity, Archbishop Shaw turned to the other church leaders and said it was Jesus' desire from the beginning that we be one.
“This week is especially for all of us to pray, and the Holy Spirit will guide us to be one, and open our hearts and minds so that we can love and respect each other, that we may support each other. We shall all have to pray for God to take this pandemic away and protect us so we can go back to our normal life.
“This year we have been very concerned about whether to hold this interreligious meeting or not, but we have organised it in a very modest way, believing in God’s grace. So that the words of Jesus ‘that they may become one’ can be fulfilled in our lifetime.”
Pastor Amjad Niyamat of the Presbyterian Church of Lahore in his prayer said that “we all belong to God as his children and that we should be united, and this unity is not only for the leaders but also for all the faithful.”
He also thanked the archbishop for bringing all the Churches of Lahore together to pray, noting: “May God bless our unity so that they can grow together in God's love.”
In his special message, Bishop Irfan Jamil of the Protestant Church of Pakistan said that while we celebrate intrareligious unity, we must follow the Gospel, which says: “you are the light of the world” and “Your light must reach to all, so all may know Him.”
God made us all but we must not forget to pray; it is our only support and the way to go forward, so that we may all be one and united, not only in happiness but also in our difficult times. It is only with the light of Christ that we can illuminate not only ourselves but the entire world,
Mr Benjamin, from the Presbyterian Church, told AsiaNews that seeing all of Lahore’s religious leaders together with a single vision of unity was a really beautiful moment. Indeed, we should be united not only this week but throughout our life.
A good number of priests, nuns, seminarians, pastors and faithful from different Churches participated in the service, praying to God for the richest blessings and his love upon all Churches.
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16/01/2022 08:00
