A Devout Exercise for the Unity of the Church

Scott Richert on the Octave for Christian Unity:

One of the chief preoccupations of Pope Benedict XVI's pontificate has been attempts to increase the unity of the Church. He has repeatedly reached out to the Eastern Orthodox; set up a structure for Anglicans to return to Rome; begun the process of reconciling the traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X; extended the use of the Traditional Latin Mass, to (among other things) preclude further traditionalist schisms; and approved the issuing of a very important document that makes the Catholic Church's understanding of ecclesiology, which must be the basis for any ecumenical dialogue, crystal-clear.

Pope Benedict's monthly prayer intentions often focus on Christian unity, as indeed do his prayers intentions for January 2011. And so, during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, let us join with the Holy Father by offering as our Novena of the Week A Devout Exercise for the Unity of the Church.