The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Day Seven: Walking in Solidarity

Ordinary Time: January 24th

Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor; Optional memorial of Our Lady of Peace

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The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Day Seven: Walking in Solidarity

To walk humbly with God means walking in solidarity with all who struggle for justice and peace. Walking in solidarity has implications not just for individual believers, but for the very nature and mission of the whole Christian community. The Church is called and empowered to share the suffering of all by advocacy and care for the poor, the needy and the marginalised. Such is implicit in our prayer for Christian unity this week.   

Our Lady of Peace Our Lady Queen of Peace has been the patroness of the Catholic Church in Hawaii since 1827. The first Catholic missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands arrived at Honolulu Bay on July 7, 1827. These missionaries were members of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and of Perpetual Adoration and upon their arrival in the islands dedicated their labors to the patroness of the Congregation, Our Lady Queen of Peace and placed the Islands under her protection. It was in her honor that these missionaries erected the first Catholic Church. After more than a decade of contentious relations with the Hawaiian government, the missionaries were finally allowed to proceed with their evangelization work. In thanksgiving, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace was erected. Completed in 1843, a statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace was placed in the niche above the main altar. The Cathedral was solemnly blessed and dedicated to Our Lady of Peace on the feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1843. The original statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace is located in the Convent Chapel of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts in Picpus, France. During ...     http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2013-01-24