Vatican City, Jan 14, 2009 / 15:22 pm
Catholics around the world will begin a week of prayer for Christian unity this coming Sunday using a passage from Ezekiel that resonates with the experience of the local Church divided between North and South Korea.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an annual celebration that is held every January 18- 25, and is promoted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
The overall theme for 2009 comes from Ezekiel 37:17 which reads, "That they may become one in your hand."
The week of prayer has a text for reflection and prayer associated with each day of the week, and organizers say that this year’s texts come from "the experience of the churches in Korea." The Church in Korea, which was divided by the break between the North and the South in 1948, identifies with the prophet Ezekiel, "who also lived in a tragically divided nation and longed for the unity of his people," organizers explain.