PRIEST: In this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity we listen to Jesus challenging us to fulfil the Text that the captives are set free, the broken healed, the blind liberated with sight. But the Church too is imprisoned in division, too often blind to the scandal of disunity, and wounded by intolerance and mistrust. So we are less able to proclaim the Good News to the Poor. Let us embrace the Lord’s forgiveness, that he may heal the wounds of division in His Body, the Church, and so empower us afresh for His Mission.
READER: For our complacency with what we are and what we have
for our failure to open our eyes to recognise the values of others…
LORD HAVE MERCY…
For yielding to our impatience in dialogues
with our Christian brothers and sisters of other traditions;
for when we are not willing to welcome them,
listen to them and receive them
CHRIST HAVE MERCY…
When we make no effort to understand forms of thought,
of witness to the Gospel and of spirituality & prayer different from our own;
for not having the courage to blend love with the search for truth
LORD HAVE MERCY…
PRIEST: May the God of perfect unity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
fill us with mercy, clothe us with forgiveness,
and empower us with reconciliation,
that together we may heal the Church
and build a world of unity and peace,
bringing all to everlasting life…
AMEN!