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Church unity Octave.

The Church Unity Octave is observed every year from the feast of St. Peter's Chair, January 18, to that of the conversion of St. Paul, January 25.
It was approved and blessed by the late Pope Pius X in 1909. His Holiness Pope Benedict XV, by a Papal Brief, dated February 15, 1916, extended its observance of the Universal Church enriching it with Indulgences.
(Catholic Missions Vol 13-14 January 1919).

Prayer:

•    Ant. That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that Thou has sent me.
      ℣. I say to thee, that thou art Peter,
      ℟. And upon this rock I will build my Church.
      Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst say to Thine Apostles: peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, look not upon my sins, but upon the faith of Thy Church; and vouchsafe unto Her that peace and unity which is agreeable to Thy will: Who livest and reignest God forever and ever. Amen.

NB. It is also recommended that one decade of the Rosary (at least) be said for the particular intention of each day; also that Holy Communion be received as often as possible during the Octave, daily if possible, certainly on the First or Last Day of the Octave in order to obtain the Plenary Indulgence. Source: Catholic World, Volume 106 Paulist Fathers, 1918

(...) We possess today a prayer movement for Church Unity, the purpose of which is to gather into the one true Church all those who have unfortunately withdrawn from the Catholic religion and to unite them against the prevailing forces of Liberalism and Materialism. For, as His Holiness Pope Benedict XV remarked in an Apostolic Brief dated Feb. 25, 1916, "in the Unity of Faith the foremost characteristic of the Truth shines forth, and it is thus that the Apostle Paul exhorts the Ephesians to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, by proclaiming that 'there is one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism." Noting the approval extended to this Octave of Prayer by the Catholic Hierarchy, he asserted that “with a glad heart, therefore, we have heard from the Society which is called 'of the Atonement,' established in New York, that prayers have been proposed to be recited from the Feast of the Chair of Blessed Peter at Rome to the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, in order that this aim of Unity might be obtained from the Lord and at the same time we rejoice that these prayers, blessed by Pope Pius the Tenth, of recent memory, and approved by the Bishops of America, have been circulated far and wide through the United States."

(...)

Our generation is reaping the woeful consequences of an incredulity which has succeeded in excluding Christ from modern life, especially from public life. The deep spiritual crisis that has overthrown the sound principles of private and public morality is the result of cleavage from the Church in the course of centuries and the divorcing of civil power from every kind of dependence on a Supreme Being. Cut off from the age-old teaching authority of the Catholic Church, many of the separated brethren have gone so far as to overthrow the central dogma of Christianity, the Divinity of the Saviour, and have hastened thereby the advance of spiritual and moral decay.

Now, in this hour of perhaps irrevocable decisions, the Church may well be envisioned as the voice of one crying in the wilderness, appealing to her wandering children to be united with her in the unity of faith and worship, so that their return to the Christian way of life might be a bulwark against the menace of modern pagan teaching. She alone, in the words of St. Augustine, "is the holy Church, the one Church, the true Church, the Church which strives against all heresies." She alone fully recognizes the widespread atheistic and anti-Christian tendency rampant in the world, threatening to destroy all the ancient Christian institutions, the life of which consists in a supernatural principle, and to erect on their ruins and with their remains an illusory millennium of universal happiness, a new order which would rest on the quicksands of changeable and ephemeral standards contingent upon the selfish interests of groups and individuals.

Already, through the mysterious workings of divine Providence, this invitation extended by the Church has received long awaited welcome from many who now perceive the inability of all human efforts to replace the laws of God and the unifying and elevating influence of Christ's love. But this is not enough. For, however much this hour of disillusionment has become an hour of grace, "a passage of the Lord” for some, sincere Catholics must humbly recognize their grave responsibility to work and pray that the tireless and salutary occupation of the Church in the spiritual and religious re-education of mankind might bear fruit in the reestablishment of the Christian heritage over the whole world. On the minds of all those who seek refuge from the vortex of error and anti-Christian movements they should impress the words Our Holy Father addressed to the College of Cardinals on June 2, 1944. “How much more potent and efficacious would be the influence of Christian thought and Christian life on the moral sub-structure of the future plans for peace and social reconstruction, if there were not this vast division and dispersal of religious confessions, that in the course of time have detached themselves from Mother Church! Who, today, can fail to recognize what substance of faith, what a genuine power of resistance to anti-religious influence is lost in so many groups as a result of separation."

As never before, the collaboration of the laity in the Apostolate of the Hierarchy must have as its central theme Christ resplendent in His Divine Kingship, if He is to "grant the gifts of peace and unity to all nations." For “in the recognition of the royal prerogatives of Christ and in the return of individuals and of society to the law of His truth and of His love lies the only way of salvation." If Christian thought is to succeed in maintaining and supporting the work of restoration in individual, social and international life, then all who are working for a plan that does not conflict with the religious and moral content of Christian civilization must acknowledge that the Church which Christ founded on earth is the infallible spokesman on faith and morals for the whole world. For the Catholic Church alone possesses, in her infallible pronouncements, the fullness of the principles of Christian morality in all its ramifications. Because of the special assistance of the Holy Spirit promised to the Apostles and their successors, the episcopate united to the Roman Pontiff, she alone teaches men to observe all things whatsoever Christ has commanded. Further, only the Church possesses, from her very institution, a visible unity in doctrine, government and worship. Therefore, only she can establish an organic unity of all men-a supernatural union based on an all-embracing love deeply felt and practiced, rather than a unity which is exclusively human, external, superficial, and by that very fact, weak.

One of the most efficacious means for assuring a just and lasting peace is a Catholic Unity of all those who, seeking brotherly communion in Christ, humbly submit themselves and obey the Vicar of Christ as teacher and ruler of the Church. That is the end of the Prayer Octave for Church Unity founded by Father Paul James Francis, S.A., in 1908. It seeks to restore to God the honor denied Him for so many centuries and to acquire for men the fullness of the Christian heritage which alone can determine the most firm foundation of true peace, that interior peace which cannot be found except by coming close to the spiritual light of Bethlehem's cave.

Catholics especially must unite with Christ who prayed to His Heavenly Father "that they all may be one, even as thou, Father, in me and I in thee; that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou has sent me." And it is incumbent on them to make known the observance of this Octave to all others who sincerely seek eternal salvation, the promotion of the temporal welfare of peoples, their true prosperity, order, and tranquillity. During this Church Unity Octave, from Jan. 18 to Jan. 25, all should pray especially that God the Father may send His Holy Spirit to direct and guide statesmen, that He might inspire their thoughts, their feelings and deliberations, making them spiritually and materially vigorous and firm against obstacles, mistrust, and peril, so that as a result of their deliberations, a new order under the patronage of Christ the King may be established which will lead many wanderers back to the Unity of supernatural faith and love as found in His Mystical Body. For, says St. Ambrose, "great is the glory of justice; for she, existing rather for the good of others than of self, is an aid to the bond of union and fellowship amongst us. She holds so high a place that she has all things laid under her authority ... but the Church, as it were, is the outward form of Justice, she is the common right of all. For all in common she prays, for all in common she works, in the temptation of all she is tried ... For this reason, Paul has made Christ to be foundation, so that we may build upon Him the works of Justice."

Source: GREGORY FIGUEROA, S.A. Atonement Seminary, Washington, D. C. The American Ecclesiastical Review, Volume 114 Herman Joseph Heuser Catholic University of America Press, 1946

Painting of Saint Anthony, by Piero di Cosimo, c. 1480

"Wrath is about to strike the Church and she is about to be delivered up to men who are like to senseless beasts. For I saw the table of the Lord's house, and mules around it standing on all sides in a ring and kicking up their hoofs at what was within, the same as the kicking you have when a frisking herd runs wild. You surely heard," he said, "how I moaned; I heard a voice saying: "My altar shall be desecrated."

So spoke the old man; and two years later came the present assault of the Arians and the plundering of the churches, when they took the vessels by force and had them carried away by the pagans; when, too, they forced the pagans from the shops to their meetings and in their presence did as they pleased on the sacred table. Then we all realized that the kicking of the mules presaged to Antony what the Arians are now doing like so many senseless beasts.

When he saw this vision, he consoled his companions, saying: "Do not be discouraged, Children, for as the Lord has been angry, so will He bring us recovery later. And the Church will quickly regain the beauty that is hers and shine with her wonted splendor. You will see the persecuted restored and irreligion retreating again to its proper haunts and the true faith asserting itself everywhere with complete freedom. Only, do not defile yourselves with the Arians. This their teaching is not of the Apostles, but of the demons and their father, the Devil. Indeed, it is sterile and unreasonable, and it lacks right sense - like the senselessness of mules."(...)
"He exhorted them "not to grow lax in their efforts nor to lose heart in the practice of the ascetic life, but to live as though dying daily; and, as I have said before, to work hard to guard the soul from filthy thoughts; to emulate holy men. Do not go near the Meletian schismatics, for you know their wicked and unholy teaching. Have nothing to do with the Arians, for the irreligion of these is plain to everyone.And if you should see the judges supporting them, you must not permit yourself to be confused: this will come to an end - it is a phenomenon that is mortal and bound to last for but a short time. Therefore, keep yourselves clean from these and watch over the tradition of the Fathers, and, above all, the orthodox faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, as you have learned it from the Scriptures and as you have often been put in mind of by me."

Source:The Life of Saint Antony, by St. Athanasius

Prayer: " We unite, great Saint, with the universal Church in offering you the homage of our affectionate veneration, and in praising our Emmanuel for the gifts He bestowed on you. How sublime a life was yours, and how rich in fruit were your works! Verily, you are the Father of a great people and one of the most powerful auxiliaries of the Church of God. We beseech you, therefore, pray for the Monastic Order, that it may re-appear in all its ancient fervour, and pray for each member of the great Family. Fevers of the body have been often allayed by your intercession and we beg for a continuance of this your compassionate aid — but the fevers of our soul are more dangerous and we beg your pity and prayers that we may be delivered from them. Watch over us, in the temptations which the enemy is unceasingly putting in our way. Pray for us that we may be vigilant in the combat, prudent in avoiding dangerous occasions, courageous in the trial and humble in our victory.

    The angel of darkness appeared to you in a visible shape, but he hides himself and his plots from us. Here again, we beg your prayers that we be not deceived by his craft. May the fear of God’s judgements and the thought of eternity penetrate into the depth of our souls. May prayer be our refuge in every necessity, and penance our safeguard against sin. But above all, pray that we may have that which you counselled above all —the love of Jesus — of that Jesus who, for love of us, deigned to be born into this world so that He might merit for us the graces with which we might triumph — of that Jesus who humbled Himself even so far as to suffer temptation that so He might show us how we were to resist and fight."

Source: Dom Prosper Gueranger:

"One night when Joseph was peacefully sleeping at Bethlehem, an angel's voice aroused him from his slumbers, and he saw before him one of the messengers of the Most High, who said; "Arise, and take the young Child and His Mother, and fly into the land of Egypt, for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him." Hence observe :

1. That God's ways are so different from ours. We should have expected that He would exert His divine power in behalf of His only-begotten Son, and that the soldiers of Herod would be struck with blindness on the road, or would somehow fail to discover where Jesus was, or perhaps would come and fall prostrate at the feet of the new-born King. How different the course enjoined by the angel ! Apparently so clumsy a way of saving Jesus from His enemies! Yet such are God's ways — clumsy in the eyes of men. What strange presumption it is that I should criticize the divine arrangements as I sometimes do !

2. That the conditions of safety seemed so unnecessarily hard. Why to Egypt — a pagan land, the very name of which was a synonym for bondage and misery? Was this the only way to preserve the life of the Son of God? To all this one answer: It was God's will, and that was enough.

3. But after all it was but a vision of the night, perhaps a dream or a mere subjective fancy, could anything so wild and imprudent come from God? To all this one answer: I know the message came from God, and I cannot and will not evade the divine command. "

Meditations for Christmas . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891