They showed us unusual kindness.
Friday, January 10, 2020 at 4:38PM January 18-25 is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The worldwide celebration is both the seed and the 
fruit of this striving for ‘unity in diversity’. This year’s theme calls us to move from shared prayer to shared action.
An excerpt from the service prepared for the Week and from the website weekofprayer.ca
....We ... pray for unity among Christians and reconciliation in the world. Divisions among Christians have existed for many centuries. This causes great pain and is contrary to God’s will. We believe in the power of prayer. Together with Christians all over the world, we offer our prayers as we seek to overcome separation.
The resources for this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity have been prepared by different Christian Churches in Malta. The history of Christianity in this small island nation dates back to the time of the apostles. According to tradition, St Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, reached the shores of Malta in the year 60 CE. The narrative describing this eventful and providential episode is conveyed to us in the final two chapters of the Acts of the Apostles.
This text signals the beginning of Christianity in Malta - a small country made up of two main inhabites islands, Malta and Gozo, as well as other islets - at the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, halfway between the southern tip of Sicily and Northern Africa. This biblical land lies at the crossroads of civilizations, cultures and religions.
(As an island nation, boats are an important part of Maltese life. The Scripture reading in this service describes a perilous sea voyage by the Apostle Paul. A boat is also symbolic of the sometimes tempestuous journey Christians make together towards unity.)
Our prayers and reflections ... during this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, are centred on the hospitality shown by the islanders towards those who had just been shipwrecked: “They showed us unusual kindness” (cf. Acts 28:2). May the love and respect we show each other today as we pray for Christian unity be with us throughout the whole year.
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