Editor’s note: this is the second-place essay in the annual contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity sponsored by The Catholic Register and the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement-Graymoor. Veronica Marie Carswell is a student at Toronto's Don Bosco Secondary School.

In a good world, everyone would be accepted and respected despite their differences. In a perfect world, everyone would be accepted and respected because of their differences.

Teach all peoples, of all nationalities, the word of God [2015 Friars' Essay 3rd place]

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Editor’s note: this is the third place essay in the annual contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity sponsored by The Catholic Register and the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement-Graymoor. Michael Bellucci is a student at Toronto's Bishop Allen Academy.

The passage of John 4: 1-42 tells us how Jesus travelled to Samaria and did an almost unspeakable thing for that time. He associated himself with a Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans had a long-standing prejudice towards each other and they never got along. When Jesus went to a well to get water, He spoke with a woman who was not only a Samaritan, but had five husbands and was looked down upon in her community. When Jesus spoke to the woman, even she was astonished He was talking to her.

Diversity, not division for unity

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Editor’s note: this is the third place entry in the annual essay contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity sponsored by The Catholic Register and the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement-Graymoor. Zita Lee, a Grade 12 student at Markham, Ont.’s St. Brother André Catholic High School, took third prize.

Love and compassion will unite Christianity

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Editor’s note: this is the second place entry in the annual essay contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity sponsored by The Catholic Register and the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement- Graymoor. Kelly Cheung, 15, a student at Thornhill, Ont.’s St. Robert Catholic High School, took second prize.

According to the Bible, the basic definition of a Christian is a person who acknowledges their faith to Jesus Christ and His teachings. Although all Christians share similar beliefs and values, they are not all the same. Their differences have resulted in three main branches of Christianity: Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant. These sectors were created because of different interpretations of the Bible but not the division of Christ. There is only one God, one Christ whom all Christians believe in.

We should all be united in Jesus Christ

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Editor’s note: this is the winning essay in the annual essay contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity sponsored by The Catholic Register and the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement-Graymoor. Nathan Ko, a 15-year-old student from Markham, Ont.’s St. Brother André High School, is this year’s winner.

Christian unity does not equal uniformity

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Editor’s note: This is the third-place essay in the annual essay contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity sponsored by The Catholic Register and The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement- Graymoor.

Christian unity solidifies God’s plan for us all

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Vaz, 15, is the second place winner in annual contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity sponsored by The Catholic Register and the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement- Graymoor. Vaz is a student at St. Francis Xavier Secondary School in Mississauga, Ont.

Corrie ten Boom once said, “A wall with loose bricks is not good. The bricks must be cemented together.” In the same way, as Christians we need to be cemented together in God’s ever-binding love because without unity, God’s plan for us is like the loose bricks. God’s plan involves the whole community. The big question is, “How do we achieve Christian unity?” The answer to this question can be found when examining the passage in Micah 6:6-8.

Winning essay tackles how to achieve Christian unity

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Editor’s note: This is the winning essay in the annual essay contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity sponsored by The Catholic Register and The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement- Graymor. Joel George, a 16-year-old student from Scarborough’s Francis Libermann High School, is this year’s winner.

Friar’s Essay winners announced, students take home an iPad2 and Kindle Fire

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TORONTO - Natalie Wong is the first-place winner of the Friar’s Essay Contest sponsored by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and The Catholic Register for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

High school students between the ages of 14 and 18 were asked to submit an essay no longer than 500 words answering the question: “What must be changed in order to attain Christian unity in the Church?”

Students were asked to reflect on the Scripture passage of 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, given the theme for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Jan. 18-25: “We will all be changed.”

2012 Friar’s Essay Contest

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The 2012 Friar’s Essay Contest winners have been announced.

The annual contest is sponsored by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and The Catholic Register for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

You can read about the three lucky winners here: "Friar’s Essay winners announced, students take home an iPad2 and Kindle Fire".

We will be publishing the winning entries in the coming weeks in the newspaper and here at CatholicRegister.org.

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