Prayer of thanksgiving to the Most Holy Trinity, as on Day 1 and everyday of this Novena
Readings:
1. From the address of the Holy Father during his visit toArchbishop Rowan Williams at Lambeth Palace
"On the one hand, the surrounding culture is growing ever more distant from its Christian roots, despite a deep and widespread hunger for spiritual nourishment. On the other hand, the increasingly multicultural dimension of society...........brings with it the opportunity to encounter other religions. For us Chrisitians this opens up the possibility of exploring, together with members of other religious traditions, ways of bearing witness to the transcendant dimension of the human person and the universal call to holiness, leading to the practice of virtue in our personal and social lives. Ecumenical cooperation in this task remains essential, and it will surely bear fruit in promoting peace and harmony in a world that so often seems at risk of fragmentation.
"At the same time, we Christians must never hesitate to proclaim our faith in the uniqueness of the salvation won for us by Christ, and to explore together a deeper understanding of the means He has placed at our disposal for attaining that salvation. God wants 'all to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth' (1Tim 2:4), and that truth is nothing other than Jesus Christ, eternal Son of the Father, who has reconciled all things in Himself by the power of His cross. In fidelity to the Lord's will, as expressed in that passage from Saint Paul............, we recognise that the Church is called to be inclusive, yet never at the expense of Christian truth. Herein lies the dilemma facing all who are genuinely committed to the ecumenical journey."
2. From the Holy Father's address at the end of Evening Prayer in Westminster Abbey
"Our commitment to Christian unity is born of nothing less than our faith in Christ, in THIS Christ, risen from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father, who will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. It is the REALITY of Christ's person, his saving work and above all the historical fact of His resurrection , which is the content of the apostolic kerygma.................beginning in the New Testament itself, which hase guaranteed the integtity of its trnsmission. The Church's unity,.............can never be other than a unity in the apostloic faith, ..........It is this faith which unites us to the Lord, makes us share in the Holy spirit, and thus even now, sharers in the life of the Blessed Trinity, the model of the Church's koinonia here below."
Petition:
Blessed John Henry Newman, We remember "the challenges, the blessings, the disappointments and the signs of hope which have marked our ecumenicl journey." Pray for us, that we may "entrust all of these to the Lord, confident in His providence and the power of His grace." We beg your intercession that we will be given " strength and direction as we persevere on our common journey." Pray for us that we may "recognise the challenges which confront us, not only along the path of Christian unity, but also in our task of proclaiming Christ in our day." Intercede for us that we may grow in "fidelity to the word of God, precisely because it is a TRUE word, (and) demands an obedience which leads us together into a deeper understanding of the Lord's will, an obedience free of intellectual conformism or facile accommodation to the spirit of the age. " Pray for our Holy Father who with all his heart has sought to encourage us, demonstrating that obedience in his fidelity to his own mininsty as Successor of Peter, "charged with a particular care for the unity of Christ's flock".
Blessed John Henry in you we honour one "whose vision was nurtured by your Anglican background and matured during many years of ordained ministry in the Church of England." Teach us "the virtues that ecumensism demands: on the one hand, (you) were moved to follow (your) conscience, even at great personal cost; and on the other hand, the warmth of (your) continued friendship with former colleagues, led (you) to explore with them, in a truly eirenical spirit, the questions on which (you) differed, driven by a deep longing for unity in faith. Watch over us and intercede for us that we may in the same spirit "renew our determination to pursue the goal of unity in faith, hope, and love, in accordance with the will of our one Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ". Amen
(Quotes within the Petition from the Holy father's addresses at lembeth Palace and Westminster Abbey)
Please make you personal petition
1 Our Father; 1 Hail Mary; 1 Glory be to the Father
Blessed Bartolo Longo, pray for us (See Vultus Christi in bloglist sidebar here)
Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us. Amen
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