Celebrating Christ’s victory over the self

On Thursday the Diocesan Ecumenical Service will be held at St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral in Valletta at 6.30 p.m. where Archbishop Paul Cremona will be preaching. What is the characteristic of this annual week of prayer carried out together by Christians of all denominations for unity?

We all pray together for the Church to achieve the kind of unity that the Lord himself intended the Church to show, that is, clearly not the absorption by one denomination of all the others but the truly fraternal communion that Our Lord himself proclaimed.

These prayers are obviously not exclusive of the wider ecumenism that extends beyond those who explicitly profess themselves to be Christian to include at least all those who profess belief in the One and same God that Jews, Christians and Muslims alike adore.

All these three groups proclaim themselves to be the sons of Abraham. The differences between Jews, Christians and Muslims do not concern the nature of the God who is adored by all three.

The three great monotheistic religions of the world all acknowledge that God speaks to human beings through His prophets. It emerges clearly in the Maltese word used for God, which is Alla, the same word also used by Jews and Muslims, although there had been cases of some Muslims who have objected to the use of this common appellative on the grounds that the Christian idea of God is not as fully respectful of the absolute unicity of God that there is in the Holy Koran, since the Christian idea is that of the Trinity, or Three Persons in One God.

Christians on the other hand strongly maintain that the Trinity in no way denies the absolute unity of God but only asserts that this unity is articulated in three Persons, where the word person is derived from the Greek word prosopon.

The International Committee has chosen as the theme for the 2012 Week of Prayers for Christian Unity ‘We will all be changed by the victory of Our Lord Jesus Christ’ taken from St Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians. How are this year’s Polish organisers approaching this theme?

They reflected on the history of their own country where it emerged most clearly, during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, that it was when a role that carried with it a certain authority was fulfilled as an act of service to the weakest and least powerful that the service which yielded the greatest glory to God resulted.

The victory St Paul is mentioning is only possible through spiritual change and conversion.

During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity we are invited through Biblical readings, commentaries, prayers and questions for reflection to enter more deeply into our faith and on our change in Christ. Would you take us through the various aspects of this journey that will lead us to the final celebration of Christ’s reign, by way of his cross and resurrection?

There are eight steps leading to our re-living Paul’s encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus.

On the first day the image of the Servant Christ is taken as our model. On the second day the image of the human being waiting for his complete transformation by the Lord is taken as a preparation for the visible unity of the Church not as we plan it but as God gives it. This is followed on the third day by the image of Christ presented as the suffering Servant of God by the Prophet Isaiah.

As one contemporary theologian puts it: the closer we come to the cross of Christ, the closer we come to one another. The witness of Christians together in situations of suffering assumes remarkable credibility. In our shared solidarity with all who suffer we learn from the crucified suffering servant the lessons of self-emptying, letting go and self-sacrifice. These are the gifts we need from His Spirit on our way to unity in him.

On the fourth day we reflect on the Lord’s victory over evil. Because of our divisions we cannot be strong enough to fight against the evils of our time. United in Christ, delighting in his law of love, we are called to share in his mission of bringing hope to the places of injustice, hatred and despair.

On day five the change is completed by accepting the gift of the peace of the Risen Lord. By the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Risen Lord invites his disciples into his mission of bringing peace, healing and forgiveness to all the world. Peace and unity are the hallmarks of this transformation.

On the sixth day, God’s fidelity and steadfast love are highlighted. In the words of the Gospel, Christ assures his disciples of God’s love, the final confirmation of which is the Saviour’s death on the Cross. At the same time, he invites and challenges them to show love to one another. Jesus’ relationship to his disciples is based on love. He does not treat them merely as disciples but calls them His friends.In a spirit of love, even when the progress on the way to full visible unity seems slow, we do not lose hope.

God’s steadfast love will enable us to overcome the greatest opponent and the deepest divisions.

On the seventh day the theme chosen is fulfilled through our change by the Good Shepherd. He, who by his life, teaching and conduct strengthens all who have put their trust in his grace and support, invites us to co-operate unconditionally with him. Thus fortified, we will be able to help one another on the road to unity.

The final day evokes the communion of love in the Kingdom of Christ.

Fr Peter Serracino Inglott was talking to Miriam Vincenti.