The Prayer’s week for the unity of the Christians reminds us, went on the Pope, "that ecumenism is a deep dialogic experience; it is ‘listening to oneself’ and ‘talking to oneself’, to know oneself better". According to Benedict XVI, it is a "task which anybody can perform, especially in relation to ‘spiritual ecumenism’, based on the prayer and on the currently possible sharing among the Christians". Therefore, the Pope hoped that "the yearning for unity, translated into prayer and brotherly collaboration to relieve men’s suffering, could spread more and more on the level of parishes and ecclesial movements, and among religious institutes". The Pope also thanked "the Ecumenical Commission of Rome’s Vicariate, as well as the parsons of the city, who encourage believers to celebrate the ‘Week’". In general, he added: "I am grateful to all those who pray and operate for unity, with conviction and constancy, in any part of the world". Finally, the Pope asked for Mary’s help, praying her "to encourage all believers to let their intimate worlds being opened by Christ to mutual communication, in charity and truth, letting them become one heart and one soul with Him".
