In the northern hemisphere, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated from January 18-25, while the southern hemisphere observes the ecumenical event around the time of Pentecost.

In Jerusalem, it begins on the first Saturday after January 19. Thus, this year's Christian Unity Octave will be observed in the Holy City from January 25-February 2.

WHY IS THE DIFFERENCE?
It is to respect the Armenian Apostolic Church, which celebrates Christmas on the night of 18-19 January, according to the Julian calendar.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, observed annually by the Church, ended on Saturday, January 25 but its themes continue to be exemplified across the Western and Eastern Church in a variety of areas, including racial and denominational divides.

RACIAL RELATIONS

“It is a heresy in sacred love to make choice among God’s commandments, which to observe, and which to violate.”

It turns out that St. Francis de Sales is not the patron saint of shoppers; he is the patron saint of writers, and it is his writing that forced me to consider the question whether I am a heretic when it comes to love.

As the worldwide Catholic Church prepares to celebrate the first Sunday of the Word of God this weekend, Bible scholars in the U.S. hope the commemoration strengthens Scriptural devotion in American households.

‘Opening the Way to the Scriptures’

Background
In his Apostolic Letter of 30 September 2019, Aperuit illis, Pope Francis established the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time as the ‘Sunday of the Word of God’. It is a day devoted to the celebration, study, and spreading of the Word of God. Bishop Dermot Farrell, Bishop of Ossory, has written a pastoral letter, Opening the Way to the Scriptures, to mark ‘Sunday of the Word of God’ in the Diocese of Ossory. Please see the full text below:

An editorial by the Prefect of the Dicastery for Communications on Pope Francis’ Message for the 54th World Day of Communications.

“Amid the cacophony of voices and messages that surround us, we need a human story that can speak of ourselves and of the beauty all around us.”

“Even when we tell of evil, we can learn to leave room for redemption; in the midst of evil, we can also recognize the working of goodness and give it space.”

Pope Francis has released his annual message for the Word Day of Social Communication, a reflection on the Biblical text Exodus 10:2: "That you may tell your children and grandchildren".

“That you may tell your children and grandchildren” (Ex 10:2)

This Sunday, January 26, His Holiness Pope Francis will lead denominational representatives in the first Sunday of the Word of God, a new annual occasion committed to celebrating and studying the Bible.

Announced by Pope Francis at a press conference on January 17, the celebration will take place on January 26 in St. Peter’s Basilica and parishes around the world. The day’s events in the Vatican will be centered around a Papal Mass and a public reading of the Gospel of Matthew in the afternoon.

A RENEWED COMMITMENT TO SCRIPTURE AND UNITY

BBC Arabic satellite channel has reported that the losses incurred by Syria over the past decade amount to $226 billion as 27 per cent of buildings and compounds were destroyed, while the poverty rate stands at 60 per cent of the population.

Satellite channels are confined to giving figures… but do we realize that every figure is an indication of a tragedy? It is craze… this is a report that reflects a bleak future for Syria with no hope in the offing.

Thank you for your years of loving active service. Thank you for your prayers as you grow daily feebler, daily closer to Our Lord.

I see you, grandma. I see you in your weakness and pain. I see your struggle to stand, to cook, to do the work you have been doing every single day for the past 65 years.

You have lived as Martha, the one who served the Lord through an active life (Luke 10:38-42). You served your husband, your family, and your God faithfully for all of these years. And now your body will not let you do it anymore.