CCR Sweden Newsletter Jan 2024
by Bengt Malmgren
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY January 18 – 25
[letter pdf]
“You shall love the Lord your God … and your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27)
The material for the 2024 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has been prepared by an ecumenical team from Burkina Faso, led by the local Chemin Neuf Community (CCN). The theme chosen is: “Love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself” (Lk 10:27). Brothers and sisters from the Catholic Archdiocese of Ouagadougou, Protestant churches, ecumenical bodies and the CCN in Burkina Faso generously collaborated in drafting the prayers and reflections and experienced their work together as a real path of ecumenical conversion.
It is a real testimony about loving God and neighbor in the midst of security crisis. - Burkina Faso is currently experiencing a serious security crisis, which affects all the communities of faith. The country’s social cohesion has deteriorated dramatically. Terrorist attacks, lawlessness and human trafficking have proliferated, this has left over three thousand dead and almost two million internally displaced persons. In the context of this dire security situation, social cohesion, peace and national unity are being undermined. Christian churches have been expressly targeted by armed attacks. Priests, pastors and catechists have been killed during worship, and the fate of others who were kidnapped remains unknown. But despite this, a degree of solidarity is emerging between the Christian, Muslim and traditional religions. Their leaders are working to find lasting solutions for peace, social cohesion and reconciliation.
The love of Christ that unites all Christians is stronger than their divisions, and the Christians of Burkina Faso commit themselves to walking the path of love of God and love of neighbor. They are confident that God’s love will overcome the violence that currently afflicts their country.
During this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we ask the Lord to come to our assistance, to tend our wounds and so, enable us to walk the way of ecumenism with confidence and hope.
[Read more on CHARIS homepage].
PRAYER FOR CCR COMPOSED BY F RANIERO CANTALAMESSA
A prayer composed by His Eminence Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa O.F.M. Cap. is published on CHARIS homepage. His prayer will remain for the whole current of grace a precious invocation to the Holy Spirit, so that the CCR may continue to spread the grace of a New Pentecost!
Here is the prayer in english:
Spirit Paraclete,
thou who hast raised up in the Church
the Charismatic Renewal,
descend again with power
on all the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the world.
Grant that the whole “current of grace”
be animated with new momentum.
With your holy anointing,
enable all of us to proclaim the good news to the poor
and to heal afflicted hearts.
Purify what is unclean in the Charismatic Renewal,
Heal what is wounded in it,
Warm what is chilled,
Straighten what is astray.
Bring together the scattered children of God
and Christians divided among them.
Renew our courage,
fill our loneliness in the world,
create in us intimacy with God!
Come, Holy Spirit, from the pierced side of Christ on the cross!
Come from the mouth of the Risen One!
Come and renew the face of the Church. Amen
His Em. Card. Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa O.F.M. Cap.
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Let us all take this prayer to heart and pray it regularly with faith so that we may become living and clean channels of God's power and grace throughout the Church and throughout the world.
CHARIS BOOKSHOP
On the CHARIS website there is a webshop for books that have been published about the Charismatic Renewal. It is recommended. [Link here]
/Bengt Malmgren