“Deus caritas est (God is love). “The faith of the Church” and, in particular, “the patient search for the full communion of all the disciples of Christ”, rest on that solid rock: on staring at this truth, the climax of divine revelation, the divisions, however continuing to be harsh and serious, appear likely to be overcome and do not discourage us”. It was affirmed by Benedict XVI in the Basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura this afternoon, while He presided over the Vespers during the feast for the conversion of Saint Paul. The Vespers were celebrated as conclusion of the Week of prayers for the unity of the Christians. “The conversion of the heart is the basis of the ecumenical commitment”, said the Pope during the homily, recalling His first Encyclical (Deus Caritas Est), dedicated to the subject of love and published exactly today. It is a “happy coincidence” which, He pointed out, “invites us to consider this meeting of ours, as well as (much more important) the whole ecumenical journey, in the light of the love of God, and of the Love that is God”. “The real love – explained the Pope – does not annul le legitimate differences, but harmonizes them within a superior unity, which is not imposed by the outer world, but by the inner world which gives shape, so to say, to the whole. It is the mystery of communion, which in the same way as it unites the man and the woman in that love and life community which is the marriage, it also shapes the Church as community of love, giving unity to a multiform richness of gifts and traditions”.
