My brothers and sisters: In this month of January, Pope Francis invites us to pray for the gift of diversity in the Church. Let us pray that the Spirit help us recognise the gift of different charisms within the Christian community, and to discover the richness of different ritual traditions in the heart of the Catholic Church.It is important to note that this month’s prayer intention does not ask of us to have diversity for diversity’s sake in order to make a political statement. In the Church, there is diversity in unity because the diversity comes from the same source that is God. As St. Paul writes in his First Letter to the Corinthians, God grants us many charisms, but they originate from the same Spirit. Moreover, these charisms do not exist for their own sake, but serve the purpose of inspiring us to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the world. We have also been invited to discover the richness of different liturgical traditions in the Church. Many of us are familiar with the Latin Rite, but it is one of many liturgical traditions. Those who come from countries such as Ukraine, Egypt or Lebanon are well aware of this reality, as Catholics there worship the Lord in a different rite, and with it comes different devotional practices and sensibilities. Sometimes, when we are too accustomed to one way of doing things, we become resistant towards other ways. This goes for both the way we worship the Lord, our devotional practices, and the different ways through which we evangelise. Let us welcome a diversity that originates from the same source and leads us towards the same destination. May God bless you today.Watch previous Pray with Pope Francis videos here.
