During this time of serious hardship, this #Prayer is even more necessary so that unity might prevail over conflicts. Our good example is fundamental: it is essential that Christians pursue the path toward full visible unity. #ChristianUnity

I strongly encourage all States and all people to work decisively toward promoting conditions necessary for a world without nuclear weapons, contributing to the advancement of #peace and multilateral cooperation which humanity greatly needs today.

Each one of us Christians is a branch of the one vine which is Jesus; and all of us together are called to bear the fruits of this common membership in Christ. #Prayer #ChristianUnity

#ChristianUnity can be achieved only as a fruit of #prayer. Jesus opened the way for us by praying. Our prayer for unity is thus a participation in the Lord’s prayer, who promised that any prayer said in His name would be heard by the Father.

The world’s faith depends on #ChristianUnity; in fact, the Lord asked that we be one “so the world might believe” (Jn 17:21). The world will not believe because of our convincing arguments, but because we have borne witness to that love that unites us and draws us near. #Prayer

After the Last Supper, Jesus prayed for His own, “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21). This means that we are not able to achieve unity with our own strength. Above all, unity is a gift, it is a grace to be requested through #prayer. #ChristianUnity

Jesus invites us to abide in Him so as to bear much fruit (see Jn 15:5-9). Abiding in the Lord means finding the courage to step outside of ourselves to take care of others' needs and give a Christian witness in the world. #Prayer #UnityOfChristians

Today The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins. This year, the theme refers to Jesus’s counsel: “Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit” (cf. Jn 15:5-9). #PrayTogether

Let us pray together for our brothers and sisters of Sulawesi, in Indonesia, hit by a strong earthquake. May the Lord console and sustain the efforts of all those who are engaged in bringing aid. Let us also pray for the victims of the airplane accident in Indonesia.