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DAY 1

The fatherhood and care of God who rules the universe

Scripture Readings

Isaiah 63:15-17

Psalm 139:1-3, 13, 23, 24b

1 Corinthians 8:5-6

Meditation

Behold the mysteries of love, and then you will contemplate the bosom of the Father, which the only-begotten Son of God has revealed. God himself is love, and through love he is contemplated by us. And while in his ineffable reality he is Father, in his compassion he has become for us a mother. – Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215), Which rich man will be saved? 37:1-2.

How have you experienced God’s fatherly care and motherly compassion in your own life? What hinders us from recognizing each person as a child of God? How does acknowledging God as Father of all affect our perception of and relationship with others?

Prayer

Father of compassion, renew our faith in you and bind us together through your love, so that we can recognize each other as your children, and come together as one. We praise you through Jesus Christ, your only-begotten Son, in the communion of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

DAY 2

Creation as God’s work

Scripture Readings

Genesis 1:1-5

Psalm 148:1, 3, 9-14

Romans 8:19-23

Meditation

The first book given by God to rational beings is the nature of created things. Instruction by means of ink was added after the transgression. – Isaac of Nineveh (7th century), First Collection, 5.

We believe that God is present in all of creation although his presence is sometimes difficult to perceive. Creation is a gift of God subjected to suffering, often inflicted by human beings. How can we better recognize our responsibility for its care and preservation? If possible, spend some time in nature and contemplate how it connects us with the Creator.

Prayer

Lord God, Father of lights, strengthen our hearts in expectation and hope as we work for unity and together seek the harmony of all creation. Let us be burning lamps, until the day of the coming of your Son in glory, with all his saints in the everlasting kingdom. Blessed are you, now and forever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

DAY 3

The Incarnation of the Son

Scripture Readings

Jeremiah 33:14-16

Psalm 72:7, 12, 16-17

John 1:1-14

Meditation

He took upon himself all human passions, excluding sin. That is: he hungered who gives food to all the living. He thirsted who gives the water of life to his believers. He felt weariness who is the rest of the weary. He slept who always kept Israel vigilant. He wept who wiped away every tear from all eyes… He took on our passable body, so that he who is impassable might suffer with the passable body and he who is immortal might die with the mortal body, to free us who are guilty. – Gregory of Skevra (12th/13th centuries), On True Faith and Pure Conduct in the Virtues, 15-17.

How does faith in Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, inspire and shape our lives? How have you experienced Christ’s consoling presence in your life? Wherever we see someone who is thirsty, hungry, weeping or suffering, Christ is present.

Prayer

Lord God, our Father, draw our eyes to you so that we may walk from darkness to the light of your face, revealed to us in Jesus, your Son and our brother, who lives with you and the Holy Spirit now and forever and ever. Amen.

DAY 4

The Paschal Mystery: The Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus

Scripture Readings

Exodus 3:7-8

Psalm 16:5, 7, 10-11

Philippians 2:5-11

Meditation

God the Father was very merciful: he sent his creative Word who, in coming to deliver us, came to the very place and spot in which we had lost life, and broke the bonds of our fetters. His light appeared and made the darkness of the prison disappear and hallowed our birth and destroyed death, loosing those same fetters in which we were enchained. – Irenaeus of Lyon (c.135-198), Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, 38.

We know that we will all die. How does belief in Jesus destroying death change the way we approach this reality? “God lets himself be pushed out of the world on to the cross. He is weak and powerless in the world, and that is precisely the way, the only way, in which he is with us and helps us.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

As the Risen One, Jesus is with us until the end of time. In what ways does his companionship encourage you in your daily life?

Prayer

Lord our God, glorifying your Son Jesus, you have freed us from death. Through his resurrection, awaken our slumbering hearts, enlighten all who seek you and make the morning star shine upon us, Jesus Christ, the Living One, who is Lord forever and ever. Amen.

DAY 5

The Holy Spirit, the giver of life and joy

Scripture Readings

Ezekiel 36:24-28

Psalm 104:24-25, 27-29, 33-34

John 3:4-8

Meditation

“Your heavenly Father will give the good Spirit to those who ask him.”

This is the Spirit by virtue of whom is poured out in our hearts the love with which we observe the divine commandments, by loving God and neighbor.

This is the Spirit by virtue of whom we cry out: “Abba, Father.” It is therefore the Spirit who gives us the capacity to ask, and it is the same Spirit whom we desire to receive. It is he who makes us seek, and it is he whom we desire to find. – Augustine of Hippo (354-430),

Exposition on Psalm 118, 14:2.

God the Holy Spirit renews the face of the earth every day, calling us to cooperation. What are the sources of joy in your life and how are they related to the Holy Spirit? Where do we see the Holy Spirit at work, overcoming our divisions and drawing us into deeper unity, and how can we join in this work?

Prayer

God our Father, you have revealed to us the wonderous mystery of your life, sending your Son into the world and sharing with us your Spirit of holiness and joy.

Let us rejoice in the Holy Spirit, who renews the face of the earth and draws us towards unity. We confess our faith in you, the One God, three times Holy: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Blessed are you, now and forever and ever. Amen.

DAY 6

The Church: Community of Believers

Scripture Readings

Isaiah 2:2-4

Psalm 133

Ephesians 4:1-6

Meditation

The church is one, spread abroad far and wide into a multitude by an increase of fruitfulness. As there are many rays of sun but one light, and many branches of a tree but one strength based in its tenacious root … in the same manner the church, shone over with the light of the Lord, sheds forth her rays over the whole world, yet is one light which is everywhere diffused, nor is the unity of the body fractured. Her fruitful abundance spreads her branches over the whole world. – Cyprian of Carthage (c. 210-258), On the Unity of the Church, 5.

The Church is called to shed forth the light of Christ over the world. Where do you perceive this reality in your own context? Even though in Christ the Church is one body, historically the churches are divided. How have you experienced the pain of this division? The Church as the community of the Holy Spirit, the giver of peace, is sent to live and spread the message of peace in the world. In what ways might churches enable their members to fulfill this calling?

Prayer

God of heaven and earth, your Son Jesus Christ has revealed you as our Father and promised the gift of the Holy Spirit: grant to your Church to overcome the scandal of our divisions, so that we may bear witness to your life of communion, in the unity of our profession of faith and in the love of mutual service. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 7

Baptism into the Death and Resurrection of the Lord

Scripture Readings

Micah 7:18-19

Psalm 51:1, 7, 10, 12

Matthew 28:16-20

Meditation

Such is the power of faith in Christ, such the excess of his grace: As the element of fire, when it meets with ore from the mine, straightaway of earth makes it gold, even so and much more baptism makes those who are washed to be of gold instead of clay. The Spirit at that time falling like fire into our souls, burning up the “image of the earthly”, and producing “the image of the heavenly,” fresh coined, bright and glittering, as from the furnace-mold. – John Chrysostom (c. 350-407), Homily on the Gospel of John, X:2.

Christians are baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ. What does your baptism mean to you today? Sin disfigures us in various ways. Through baptism, God liberates us from this humiliation. In spite of different church traditions and practices, how does confessing “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5) affect our relationships with other Christians?

Prayer

God our Father, we praise you and bless your name. Accept our thanksgiving for the unity Christians already enjoy in the confession of Jesus as Lord. Hasten the day, we beg you, of the full mutual recognition of our churches in the communion that you desire, and for which your Son prayed. We ask this in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

DAY 8

Waiting for the Kingdom and the life to come

Scripture Readings

Revelation 21:1-4

Psalm 85:8, 10-12

Luke 12:35-40

Meditation

Whoever lives in love in this creation breathes the life coming from God. While yet in this world, one breathes the air of rebirth. In this air the righteous will delight at the resurrection. Love is the kingdom whereof our Lord mystically promised the disciples that they would eat in his kingdom: “You shall eat and drink at the table of my kingdom.” What should they eat, if not love? Love is sufficient to nourish a man instead of food and drink. This is the wine that gladdens the heart of man. Blessed are they who drink of this wine! – Isaac of Nineveh (7th century), First Collection, 43.

Love will be the reality of the Kingdom of God. Concrete actions of charity make this Kingdom present in our lives. Living in expectation of the Kingdom of God, how do we embody signs of the coming Kingdom in the world today? We are called to be ready for the second coming of the Lord. How do we prepare ourselves for it?

Prayer

O Lord, hasten the coming of your great and glorious day! In our darkness, many men and women no longer dare to hope. Protect the flame of faith in the hearts of the weak and the suffering. May the Church be a faithful herald of the victory of Christ your Son over death and a beacon of expectation for his return in glory. He is the Living One, with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen.