Reflection
. Unity has a powerful impact in a fractured world desperately in need of reconciliation and healing. It is our calling to live a life of unity of belief in Jesus’ message that enables us to infuse an authentic and conscious belief in love and reconciliation into the world consciousness. Diversity makes working out unity more challenging. We tend to focus on otherness rather than likeness. Jesus prayed for the unity of those who would believe in him through the witness of the apostles. His prayer was “That all may be one.” The gospel message calls us to work toward unity in the midst of diversity.
Prayer
That all may be one.
Action
What can I do to foster unity among people? What does unity in diversity mean to me? Do I accept differences? Do I appreciate the richness of diversity?
Suggested Reading
I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one,as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us.
John17: 20-23
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Psalms 133
Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1 Corinthians 1:10
Unity does not imply uniformity; it does not necessarily mean doing everything together or thinking in the same way… Do not be afraid of differences!
Pope Francis
The Holy Spirit was able to bring us into harmony, like musical instruments, so that our heartstrings could vibrate in a single melody.
Pope Leo XIV
We are already one. But we imagine that we are not. And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.
Thomas Merton
He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings.
Buddha
…the more a person becomes spiritually minded or advances towardsGod, the more tolerant he becomes and the less differentiation he sees.
Meher Baba
You are the people who are shaping a better world.
Dalai Lama