The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an important opportunity for us in the Sword of the Spirit to pray for unity with Christians from around the world and from various church traditions. We work with materials provided by the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches in conjunction with the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity of the Catholic Church. The brothers and sisters of the monastic community of Bose in northern Italy were tasked with composing the 2025 materials. This year, our theme is “Do you believe this?” (John 11:26), from Jesus’ conversation with Martha, the sister of Lazarus.

We are remembering also the 1,700th anniversary of the 1st Ecumenical Council (in 325) of Nicaea (modern-day İznik, Türkiye). This Council was called to address the controversy about the nature of the Son of God, particularly His divinity. This argument was causing division among and within…