Pope: All Christians have a common mission, to pass on to others the mercy they received

In today’s General audience, Francis spoke about the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The common baptism of Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants is an eloquent sign of a source of faith recognised by all. “We are invited to rediscover this, and do so together, going beyond our divisions."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) –  During his General Audience this morning in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, Pope Francis, reflecting on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, told the 10,000 people assembled that, by virtue of their baptism, Christians, “Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants, form a royal priesthood and a holy nation. This means that we have a common mission, which is to pass on to others the mercy we received, starting with the poorest and the most abandoned."

The pope’s inspiration comes from the biblical text proposed this year for the event, namely the First Epistle of Peter (1 Peter 2: 9-10), where he says, "But you are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light’.”

This passage, the pontiff noted, "was chosen by a Latvian ecumenical group, commissioned by the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. In the middle of Riga’s Lutheran Cathedral there is a baptismal font dating back to the 12th century, back to the time when Latvia was evangelised by Saint Meinhard."

"That font,” he added, “is an eloquent sign of a source of faith recognised by all Christians in Latvia: Catholics, Lutherans and Orthodox. Such origin is our common Baptism. The Second Vatican Council says, ‘Baptism therefore establishes a sacramental bond of unity which links all who have been reborn by it’ (UR, 22). The First Epistle of Peter is centred on the first generation of Christians to make them aware of the gift they received in Baptism and of the requirements it entails. We too, in this Week of Prayer, are invited to rediscover this, and to do so together by going beyond our divisions."

"First of all, sharing Baptism means that we are all sinners and that we need to be saved, redeemed, and delivered from evil. It is this negative aspect that the First Epistle of Peter calls ‘darkness’ where it says, God ‘called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.’ This is the experience of death that Christ made his own, and which is symbolised in Baptism by the immersion in water, and followed by the re-emergence, symbol of resurrection to new life in Christ.

When we Christians say that we share a single Baptism, we say that all of us – Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox – share the experience of being called out of the merciless and alienating darkness by the encounter with the living God, full of mercy. All of us in fact, unfortunately, experience egoism, which generates division, closemindedness, and contempt. Starting over with the Baptism means rediscovering the source of mercy, a source of hope for everyone, so no one is excluded from God's mercy. No one is excluded from God's mercy."

"Sharing this grace creates an unbreakable bond between us Christians, so that, by virtue of the Baptism, we can really consider all of us brothers and sisters. We are really a holy people of God, even though, because of our sins, we are still not a fully united nation. God’s mercy, which works in Baptism, is stronger than our divisions. It is stronger. To the extent that we welcome the grace of mercy, we become ever more fully God's people, and become capable of proclaiming to everyone his wonderful works, starting from a simple and fraternal witness of unity. We Christians can announce to everyone the power of the Gospel by committing ourselves to share the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. This is a concrete show of unity among Christians: Protestants, Orthodox and Catholics."

"In conclusion, dear brothers and sisters, all of us Christians, by the grace of Baptism, have received mercy from God and have been welcomed into his people. Everyone, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants, we form a royal priesthood and a holy nation. This means that we have a common mission, which is to pass on to others the mercy we received, starting with the poorest and most abandoned. During this Week of Prayer, let us pray that all of us disciples of Christ can find ways to work together in order to bring God’s mercy to every part of the earth."

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