Office for Christian Unity
Thursday 27 June 2024
Meditation
You get as much as you hope for
Extract from “Peace, a path of hope: dialogue, reconciliation and ecological conversion”: message from Pope Francis on 12 December 2019.
The road to reconciliation requires patience and trust. Peace cannot be achieved if it is not hoped for. First and foremost, we need to believe in the possibility of peace, to believe that the other person has the same need for peace as we do. In this, God’s love for each of us can inspire us, a love that is liberating, limitless, free and tireless. Fear is often a source of conflict. It is therefore important to go beyond our human fears, recognising that we are children in need before the one who loves us and is waiting for us, like the Father of the prodigal son (cf. Lk 15:11-24). The culture of encounters between brothers and sisters breaks with the culture of threats. It makes every encounter a possibility and a gift of God’s generous love. It pushes us to go beyond the limits of our restricted horizons so that we can always aim to live universal brotherhood as children of the one heavenly Father.
May the God of peace bless us and come to our aid. And may every person who comes into this world experience a peaceful existence and fully develop the promise of love and life that they carry within them.
Intercessions
Prepared by our brothers and sisters in Lebanon.
To be adapted according to your location
The Church is always called to be sent out, to reach out to others. Even more so in Lebanon, where Christians and Muslims live together, this call is crucial if we are to be able to live together and allow all citizens to live in dignity.
Lord, we pray to you for authentic dialogue and sincere forgiveness, so that we can live more in brotherhood and solidarity.
In 2021, the ecumenical team “We Choose Life”, made up of Christian experts from the Middle East, published an important document on the future of Christians in the region, in collaboration with the Middle East Council of Churches. This document suggests concrete proposals for theological, societal and political renewal.
Lord, in the wake of this document, we pray for the renewal of the Churches in Lebanon and the Middle East. May they contribute more to promoting peace, justice and brotherhood.
Lord, we entrust to you the summer missions, in particular the Cana Session for couples in Lebanon and throughout the world. We pray to you especially for mixed couples of different faiths or religions. Fill couples and families with your Spirit of love and peace, so that they may be centers of unity for the world.
Lord, we entrust to you all the places of conflict, especially in Gaza and the Middle East. May your Spirit enlighten the consciences of political leaders and all the inhabitants, so that they may work for peace.