Vatican City, Jan 28, 2008 / 12:57 pm
On Saturday at the Roman basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, the Pope presided at the celebration of the second Vespers for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. The ceremony focused on this year's theme of praying unceasingly for Christian unity.
In his homily, the Holy Father referred to the conversion of St. Paul, emphasizing that the saint's “knowledge that only divine grace could have achieved such a conversion, never abandoned him.”
“At the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we are more aware than ever of how much the work of recreating unity, which requires all our energy and commitment, is in any case infinitely beyond our capacities. ... It is not in our power to decide when and how this unity will be fully achieved. Only God can do so.”
Benedict XVI recalled the theme of this year's Week of Prayer – “pray without ceasing” - indicates that this “invitation addressed by St. Paul to the Thessalonians retains all its validity. Faced with the weakness and sin that prevent the full communion of Christians” the exhortations of the Apostle “have retained all their pertinence and this is especially true for the command to ‘pray without ceasing’”.