Last evening at 5:30pm local time, in the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls, the Holy Father presided over the celebration of the Second Vespers for the Solemnity of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the Apostle, and with this celebration, marked the end of the 49th Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which focused on the theme: Called to announce the marvellous works of God to all people (cf 1 Peter 2:9).
Representatives of other Churches and ecclesial communities present in Rome were also present for this celebration.
At the conclusion of Vespers, before the Apostolic Blessing, Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity presented greetings to the Holy Father.
I am the least among the apostles ... for I persecuted the Church of God. By the grace of God however, I am who I am and his grace in me has not been in vain (1 Cor 15:9-10). In this way, the Apostle Paul sums up the significance of his conversion. Having taken place after a dazzling encounter with the risen Jesus (cf 1 Cor 9:1) on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus, it was not above all a moral change, but a transformative experience of the grace of Christ, and at the same time a call to a new mission, the mission of proclaiming to all people this Jesus who he had first persecuted by persecuting his disciples. In fact, at that moment, Paul understood that there was a real unity and transcendence existing between Christ, living in eternity, and his followers: Jesus is alive and present in them and they live in him. Paul's vocation to be an apostle was not founded on his own human merit - he considered himself to be lowly and unworthy. It is however founded on the infinite goodness of God, who chose him and confided this ministry to him.
This understanding of what happened on the road to Damascus was also witnessed by Saint Paul in his first letter to Timothy: I give thanks to him who strengthens me, Christ Jesus our Lord, for he has found me worthy of trust by putting me at his service, I who first was a blasphemer, a persecutor and violent. But I received mercy, for I acted in ignorance, far from faith and the grace of our Lord who is exceedingly abundant in faith and care for us in Christ Jesus (1 Tim 1:12-14). The abundant mercy of God is the only reasoning upon which Paul's ministry is founded and at the same time, that which the Apostle has to share with others.
Saint Paul's experience is similar to that of the community to which Saint Peter addressed his first letter. Saint Peter spoke to members of a small and fragile community, exposed to the threat of persecution and applied to them the glorious titles attributed to the holy people of God: a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy people, people chosen by God (1 Peter 2:9). For those first Christians, as it is today for all the baptized, it is a source of comfort and constant wonder to know that we have been chosen to be part of God's plan for salvation carried out in Jesus Christ and in the Church. Why me Lord?; why us? Here we draw upon the mystery of God's mercy and God's choice: the Father loves everyone and wants to save everyone, and for this reason he calls some to be conquered by his grace, so that through them his love might reach all people. The mission of the entire people of God is to proclaim the marvellous work of the Lord, above all the Paschal mystery of Christ through which we have passed from the darkness of sin and death to the splendour of his new and eternal life (cf 1 Peter 2:10).
In the light of the Word of God which we have heard, and which has guided us during this Week of prayer for Christian unity, we can truly say that all believers in Christ are called to proclaim the marvellous works of God (cf 1 Peter 2:9). Over and above the differences that still separate us, we joyfully recognize that at the root of our Christian life there is still a call issued by God himself. We can move forward on the road toward full visible communion between all Christians not only to the extent that we spend time together, but above all according to the measure by which we are converted to the Lord, who through his grace has chosen us and called us to be his disciples. Conversion means allowing the Lord to live and to work in us. For this reason, when Christians from different churches together listen to the Word of God and seek to put it into practice, they are able to take truly significant steps toward unity. It is not only this call that unites us; we also share the same mission: to proclaim the marvellous works of God. Like Saint Paul and like the faithful to whom Saint Peter wrote, we too cannot do otherwise than to proclaim the merciful love that has conquered and changed us. While we journey toward full communion between us, we can already develop various forms of collaboration, working together and collaborating to promote the spread of the gospel. Walking and working together, we take account of the fact that we are already united in the name of the Lord. Unity is created as we journey together.
During this extraordinary jubilee year of mercy, we keep before us the fact that there can be no genuine search for unity among Christians without fully relying on the Father's mercy. We begin by asking forgiveness for the sin of our divisions which are an open wound in the Body of Christ. As Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the Catholic Church, I wish to ask for mercy and forgiveness for behaviour that is contrary to the gospel by Catholics against Christians from other Churches. At the same time, I invite all Catholic brothers and sisters to forgive, if presently or in the past they have been offended by other Christians. We cannot undo that which has been done, but we must not allow the weight of past sins to continue polluting our relationships. May the mercy of God renew our relationships.
In this atmosphere of intense prayer, I extend fraternal greetings to His Eminence, Metropolitan Gennadios, the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch; His Grace, David Moxon, personal representative in Rome of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and all the representatives of the various Churches and ecclesial communities in Rome, who are gathered here this evening. With them, we have passed through the Holy Door of this Basilica, remembering that Jesus Christ our Lord, the face of the merciful Father, is the only door that leads to salvation. I extend cordial greetings also to the young members of the Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches who are studying here in Rome with the support of the Committee for Cultural Collaboration with the Orthodox Churches, which is headquartered at the offices of the Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, as well as the students from the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey who are visiting here in Rome to deepen their knowledge of the Catholic Church.
Dear brothers and sisters, today let us be united in offering the prayer that the Lord Jesus himself offered to the Father: may they be one ... so that the world may believe (Jn 17:21). Unity is a gift from God our merciful Father. Here, at the tomb of Saint Paul, apostle and martyr, located in this splendid Basilica, we know that our humble prayer is sustained by the intercession of a multitude of Christian martyrs both past and present. They generously responded to the call of the Lord, giving faithful witness with their lives to the marvellous works that God accomplishes for us, and already experiencing full communion in the presence of God our Father. Supported by their example - the example that is found in the ecumenism of blood - and comforted by their intercession, we offer our humble prayers to God.
Representatives of other Churches and ecclesial communities present in Rome were also present for this celebration.
At the conclusion of Vespers, before the Apostolic Blessing, Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity presented greetings to the Holy Father.
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the celebration of the Second Vespers
for the Solemnity of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle
I am the least among the apostles ... for I persecuted the Church of God. By the grace of God however, I am who I am and his grace in me has not been in vain (1 Cor 15:9-10). In this way, the Apostle Paul sums up the significance of his conversion. Having taken place after a dazzling encounter with the risen Jesus (cf 1 Cor 9:1) on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus, it was not above all a moral change, but a transformative experience of the grace of Christ, and at the same time a call to a new mission, the mission of proclaiming to all people this Jesus who he had first persecuted by persecuting his disciples. In fact, at that moment, Paul understood that there was a real unity and transcendence existing between Christ, living in eternity, and his followers: Jesus is alive and present in them and they live in him. Paul's vocation to be an apostle was not founded on his own human merit - he considered himself to be lowly and unworthy. It is however founded on the infinite goodness of God, who chose him and confided this ministry to him.
This understanding of what happened on the road to Damascus was also witnessed by Saint Paul in his first letter to Timothy: I give thanks to him who strengthens me, Christ Jesus our Lord, for he has found me worthy of trust by putting me at his service, I who first was a blasphemer, a persecutor and violent. But I received mercy, for I acted in ignorance, far from faith and the grace of our Lord who is exceedingly abundant in faith and care for us in Christ Jesus (1 Tim 1:12-14). The abundant mercy of God is the only reasoning upon which Paul's ministry is founded and at the same time, that which the Apostle has to share with others.
Saint Paul's experience is similar to that of the community to which Saint Peter addressed his first letter. Saint Peter spoke to members of a small and fragile community, exposed to the threat of persecution and applied to them the glorious titles attributed to the holy people of God: a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy people, people chosen by God (1 Peter 2:9). For those first Christians, as it is today for all the baptized, it is a source of comfort and constant wonder to know that we have been chosen to be part of God's plan for salvation carried out in Jesus Christ and in the Church. Why me Lord?; why us? Here we draw upon the mystery of God's mercy and God's choice: the Father loves everyone and wants to save everyone, and for this reason he calls some to be conquered by his grace, so that through them his love might reach all people. The mission of the entire people of God is to proclaim the marvellous work of the Lord, above all the Paschal mystery of Christ through which we have passed from the darkness of sin and death to the splendour of his new and eternal life (cf 1 Peter 2:10).
In the light of the Word of God which we have heard, and which has guided us during this Week of prayer for Christian unity, we can truly say that all believers in Christ are called to proclaim the marvellous works of God (cf 1 Peter 2:9). Over and above the differences that still separate us, we joyfully recognize that at the root of our Christian life there is still a call issued by God himself. We can move forward on the road toward full visible communion between all Christians not only to the extent that we spend time together, but above all according to the measure by which we are converted to the Lord, who through his grace has chosen us and called us to be his disciples. Conversion means allowing the Lord to live and to work in us. For this reason, when Christians from different churches together listen to the Word of God and seek to put it into practice, they are able to take truly significant steps toward unity. It is not only this call that unites us; we also share the same mission: to proclaim the marvellous works of God. Like Saint Paul and like the faithful to whom Saint Peter wrote, we too cannot do otherwise than to proclaim the merciful love that has conquered and changed us. While we journey toward full communion between us, we can already develop various forms of collaboration, working together and collaborating to promote the spread of the gospel. Walking and working together, we take account of the fact that we are already united in the name of the Lord. Unity is created as we journey together.
During this extraordinary jubilee year of mercy, we keep before us the fact that there can be no genuine search for unity among Christians without fully relying on the Father's mercy. We begin by asking forgiveness for the sin of our divisions which are an open wound in the Body of Christ. As Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the Catholic Church, I wish to ask for mercy and forgiveness for behaviour that is contrary to the gospel by Catholics against Christians from other Churches. At the same time, I invite all Catholic brothers and sisters to forgive, if presently or in the past they have been offended by other Christians. We cannot undo that which has been done, but we must not allow the weight of past sins to continue polluting our relationships. May the mercy of God renew our relationships.
In this atmosphere of intense prayer, I extend fraternal greetings to His Eminence, Metropolitan Gennadios, the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch; His Grace, David Moxon, personal representative in Rome of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and all the representatives of the various Churches and ecclesial communities in Rome, who are gathered here this evening. With them, we have passed through the Holy Door of this Basilica, remembering that Jesus Christ our Lord, the face of the merciful Father, is the only door that leads to salvation. I extend cordial greetings also to the young members of the Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches who are studying here in Rome with the support of the Committee for Cultural Collaboration with the Orthodox Churches, which is headquartered at the offices of the Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, as well as the students from the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey who are visiting here in Rome to deepen their knowledge of the Catholic Church.
Dear brothers and sisters, today let us be united in offering the prayer that the Lord Jesus himself offered to the Father: may they be one ... so that the world may believe (Jn 17:21). Unity is a gift from God our merciful Father. Here, at the tomb of Saint Paul, apostle and martyr, located in this splendid Basilica, we know that our humble prayer is sustained by the intercession of a multitude of Christian martyrs both past and present. They generously responded to the call of the Lord, giving faithful witness with their lives to the marvellous works that God accomplishes for us, and already experiencing full communion in the presence of God our Father. Supported by their example - the example that is found in the ecumenism of blood - and comforted by their intercession, we offer our humble prayers to God.
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