This week’s service has been prepared by the brothers and sisters of the Community of Marseille.
Reflection text
Excerpt from the Address of His All Holiness Bartholomew I During the Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary of Lourdes Basilica on November 4th
Source : https://eglise.catholique.fr/conference-des-eveques-de-france/cef/assemblees-plenieres/assemblee-eveques-france-novembre-2025/567099-allocution-patriarche-bartholomee-eveques-lourdes/
The Eucumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was invited to address the Bishops’ Assembly of France gathered in Lourdes from November 4th to 9th, 2025
Each year in the month of January, we find ourselves in the week we call “The Prayer for Christian Unity.” The custom is beautiful; the sentiment is just. But is it sufficient? Do we risk creating a symbol among us, a moment where we convene once per year to remember the wound of the schism before going our separate ways as though it were nothing? These words might seem harsh, but it is frightening that sometimes these types of ceremonies do not have the intended result. They become a form of spiritual bureaucracy, a rite fulfilled to assuage the conscience rather than awaken the heart. And yet, prayer for unity cannot be a formality. It should rise up from our depths–like a cry, a supplication born from the pain of the Body of Christ murdered by the division of its members.
And what if each week of the year could be like this? And what if each Sunday, when we gathered in the same place for the breaking of the bread, it became not only the day of paschal joy, but also that of shared pain–the pain of division? When, standing in front of the holy altar, we cannot commune from the same chalice; it is not simply canonically illicit: it is a profound wound. It is a tragedy. It is the sign of a lack of love, a failure of our witness in the world. Here is the true reason for praying for unity: not the words prayed, but the silent suffering of each liturgy celebrated separately. When the schism no longer hurts, it is when we have ceased to love. And when we have ceased to love, it is when we have already died.
Intercessions
To be adapted or modified according to the place and circumstance
The ecumenical committee of Marseille has decided to organize a French-speaking Christian Forum in the next few years. The idea of this Forum arose in different countries through the Ecumenical Council of Churches and seeks to grow and deepen the relationships between brothers and sisters in Christ as well as between Churches which would never, hardly ever, or would have had very little chance of encountering each other.
Lord, we pray that at each phase of their preparation, the members of the community be inspired to forge relationships and invite leaders of Churches which do not usually encounter each other.
The next Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026 will be prepared by an ecumenical group coordinated by the Armenian Apostolic Church. Christians will assemble at the American Apostolic Cathedral in Marseille for a filmed celebration that will be broadcasted on national television during the “Day of the Lord” program.
Lord, we entrust these meetings of preparation to you so that they may open our hearts to the reality of diversity of these Eastern Churches and grow our brotherly love and desire to receive the gift of unity among our Churches.
From November 27th to November 30th, Pope Leo XIV will travel to Turkey, where he will meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Iznik, formerly known as Nicea. “How could we celebrate the first council of the undivided Church now that we are divided?” Patriarch Bartholomew asked during his address in front of the assembly of bishops in Lourdes. He added further, “There, we will not celebrate a victory, but we will confess the wounds of our division”.
Lord, we entrust the Pope’s travel to you: may your work of reconciliation be furthered. May our Churches find the path of dialogue and peace. May this tireless work of dialogue and peace spill over into all of the world.
Prayer for Christian unity
Lord Jesus, who prayed that we might all be one,
we pray to you for the unity of Christians,
according to your will,
according to your means.
May your Spirit enable us
to experience the suffering caused by division,
to see our sin
and to hope beyond all hope.
Amen.
(Prayer written by members of the Chemin Neuf Community
inspired by a prayer of Father Paul Couturier)