St James Catholic Church

January 18-25 marks the annual week of prayer for Christian unity.  It begins with the first of Peter’s confessions of faith and concludes with the feast of Paul’s conversion.  The theme for this year’s observance is:  “they showed us unusual kindness” (Acts 28:2).

There is so much division in our world on all levels.  Why does God grieve over such divisions?  Because He himself lives in a unity that goes to the very core of who He is.  Every time we pray “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” we are proclaiming that our God is a communion of Divine Persons.  God loves unity because He himself is one.  He lives in a community of love and, like any parent, delights when he sees his children loving one another and living in unity with each other.  It is why God gave us the gift of family.  It is why God has called us to live our faith together in a Church and not just as individuals. 

Can you imagine what a united Church could look like today?  Think of the kind of witness it could be to the world.  Instead of division and separation, we could become a model of love as we proclaim the Good News of Christ side by side.  Instead of arguing and fighting over doctrinal differences, world power, and politics, we could show the world what it means to care for each other as Christ has cared for us.

Or think of our witness as together we reach out to the poor, the needy, the sick, the uneducated, the prisoner, the outcasts and the stranger sharing our different gifts and skills.  As Jesus promised, the world would know that we are disciples because of our love for one another.

Love, Peace, Joy,

Fr. Bob