Reflection
“The Spirit of God is always with Us at this time, in this place. We awaken in our time to a Universe which is holy, to creation which is not an event in the past, but a living event of the present. We enter a new mode of human presence where we are not merely observers, but where each of us is a participant in this moment of evolution. Like all other creatures, we carry with us wisdom and values, the dynamics of the universe. But unlike other creatures, we must choose whether and how we will live in harmony within this sacred web of creation.We have the capacity to wonder, and to celebrate this great mystery of existence within such a magnificent universe! In us the universe enters into a great celebration of itself.”
Prayer
May the sacred web that unites us with each other, our God and all creation, ignite communities of light and hope throughout the Earth.
Action
Reflect on the fact that you are part of one sacred community. Consider that you have the capacity to move this community toward good by the way you live your life. Appreciate the wonder of the magnificent universe, the beautiful earth, the amazing web of life within which you live.
Suggested Reading
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
Psalm 19
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.
John 17:21
We need to strengthen the conviction that we are one single human family. We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it.
Pope Francis
Together we can do great things.
Mother Teresa
We believe our loving God is present in all creation and desires its flourishing.
Sisters of St. Joseph
The universe is but one vast symbol of God.
Thomas Carlyle
That the universe is a communion of subjects rather than a collection of objects is the central commitment of the Ecozoic. Existence itself is derived from and sustained by this intimacy of each being with every other being of the universe.
Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry, The Universe Story
f we could but recognize our common humanity, that we do belong together, that our destinies are bound up in one another’s, that we can be free only together, that we can be human only together, then a glorious world would come into being where all of us lived harmoniously together as members of one family, the human family.
–Desmond Tutu
Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.
Stephen Hawking
When our focus is toward a principle of relatedness and oneness, and away from fragmentation and isolation, health ensues.
Larry Dossey
I understood at a very early age that in nature, I felt everything I should feel in church but never did. Walking in the woods, I felt in touch with the universe and with the spirit of the universe.
Alice Walker
You don’t get unity by ignoring the questions that have to be faced.
Jay Weatherill
While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God’s creation.
Maya Angelou
Believers are never told to become one; we already are one and are expected to act like it.
Joni Eareckson Tada