Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches

Introduction to the theme for the year 2010

      During the past century reconciliation between Christians has taken on very different forms. Spiritual ecumenism has shown how important prayer is for Christian unity. Great energy has been put into theological research which has led to a large number of doctrinal accords. Practical cooperation between churches in the social field has given birth to fruitful initiatives. Alongside these major accomplishments, the question of mission has had a particular place.

The Eight Days

      During the 2010 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity we will reflect each day on chapter 24 of Luke's gospel stopping at the questions which it asks: Jesus' questions to his disciples; the questions the apostles ask of Christ.

      Each of these questions allows us to highlight a particular way of witnessing to the Risen One. Each of them invites us to think about our situation of church division and about how, concretely, we can remedy that. We are already witnesses and we need to become better witnesses. How?

by praising the One who gives us the gift of life and resurrection (Day 1)
by knowing how to share the story of our faith with others (Day 2)
by recognizing that God is at work in our lives (Day 3)
by giving thanks for the faith we have received (Day 4)
by confessing Christ's victory over all suffering (Day 5)
by seeking to always be more faithful to the Word of God (Day 6)
by growing in faith, hope and love (Day 7)
by offering hospitality and knowing how to receive it when it is offered to us (Day 8)

(See website: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/weeks-prayer-doc/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20090630_week-prayer-2010_en.html