The Week of Unity coincided this year with the Year of Mercy, thus we can rename it as "the Week of Merciful Unity "or "the Mercy Leading to Unity".
At the Jordanian level, the Catholic Center for Studies and Media has held a seminar with speakers, namely Beit Jala Latin Patriarchate Seminary rector Fr. Jamal Khader, who is a specialist in the history of the fraternal Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches, and Greek Orthodox priest Fr. Ibrahim Dabbour. Present at the seminar were several heads and representatives of churches in Jordan. The addresses made by the two speakers and the interlocutions of the attendees asserted the need to emulate the 40-year old Jordanian model of having the Christian feasts unified, whereas the Churches in Jordan mark Christmas day according to the Gregorian Calendar and Easter according to the Julian Calendar. This tradition has continued incessantly for 40 years, and it may be emulated in other countries particularly in the Middle East.
A state of annoyance still prevails, namely the failure to conclude "ecumenical prayers" that incorporate all the Churches of Jordan since some sides claim that this very week concerns them exclusively. This led to a state of turmoil.
In this year, Jordan Caritas set a pioneering and outstanding model by reacting positively to His Holiness Pope Francis' declaration of a jubilee year which carried a resounding and dear title, namely the "Jubilee Year of Mercy." Thus, Caritas Jordan, in cooperation with the Latin Vicariate in Amman, inaugurated a restaurant named, "The Restaurant of Mercy" which provides hot meals on daily bases to some 500 people for free. Anyone who knocks on the door of this restaurant is allowed in and is never asked about religion or Church affiliation. People are welcome because they belong to human, and human dignity is equally respected everywhere as this is the genuine crux of unity.
From this premise, the Christian unity, or as referred to in the aforementioned seminar as "the train of unity," is in its early stages. It is hoped that it will proceed despite some stumbling. Today we will conclude the Week of Unity with the Church's marking St. Paul's admission of the validity of the Lord Jesus mission. While St. Paul was on his way to Damascus to inflict harm on whoever holds Christian faith in heart, he experienced a vision of the resurrected Jesus. The Light of the Lord Jesus and His voice saying, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutes" made him fall off his horse, the horse of war and fighting... He consequently became a preacher and was proud to be so… We earnestly need this very light and voice to drop us off the horse of delusions and pride, and consequently follow the path of mercy and peace rather than the path of intransigence and division.
As the Week of Unity comes to an end, with the outset of February we will mark the week of harmony among religions. So long that the train of Christian unity encounters huge challenges, what can we say about the train of harmony among religions? Is it proceeding in a better way? In this case, we cannot talk and express views about harmony since it needs internal harmony and has to be in concurrent with what we hold in the bottom of our hearts. We need mercy among the followers of religions in order to reveal the image of the Merciful God.
The Year of Unity manifests itself in the Year of Mercy, especially in the Restaurant of Mercy that welcomes everyone…
Bon Appétit!
