Living in Unity - Weekday Homily Video

 In these past few days Jesus is presented in the gospel as giving last instructions before he departs from the disciples. Back at home, the schools that are run by Congregation of Holy Cross are private boarding schools. When parents drop off their children at the beginning of the term, you hear words like, take care of yourself, mind your behaviors, work hard, be careful, always talk to the warden if you need something from us.

These are the kind of things people say when they are leaving or departing from school. Those words are always full of love for the child being left behind. What the parents are doing out of love is entrusting the future well-being of that child to himself or herself.  

Praying for Oneness

The gospel today, we have Jesus looking like he is giving instruction before departure, no, He is praying for the disciples. In this departing prayer, He is entrusting their future to God. Praying that they all remain intimately united in Jesus and the Father. He wants them to be one in the way Jesus and his Father are one. It is to be noted, that, Jesus prays three times for oneness. “That they may all be one” “That they may be one” “That they may become completely one.” This oneness for which he prays is modelled on the unity of the Father and Jesus, their shared life. Rather than giving instructions, Jesus is praying to the Father for their oneness.

The unity Jesus prays for, is not something about engaging in uniformity, (we don’t have to think the same, have same views, have same personality), but an invitation into divine, loving communion. The very life of God lives within us. This bond of love invites us to transcend all differences in our Christian life to become a reflection of God’s love to the world. From that unity we should/must be able to speak of God’s love, God’s hope and God’s faith in us all.

Seeking Unity

We live in a world where divisions, conflicts, fractures between countries, in our lives, in relationships, in families and places of work do exist. Jesus’ prayer for unity highlights the importance of seeking healing and unity in those spaces. Our lives must reflect his divine unity and love in a way that draws those around us toward hope and connection. When a fractured world sees believers, loving, forgiving and dwelling in harmony, it becomes a living testament to the reality of God’s invisible presence and transformative power. Disunity on the other hand obscures that message.

Let us pray as Jesus prayed for unity, for the graces we need, that our lives and relationships, may be an outward and visible signs of God’s inward and invisible presence. Let our oneness or unity take a tangible and visible form to show the world the invisible and spiritual life and presence of God. Each time we live within this divine unity, divisions diminish, and relationships reconcile.

• Today’s Readings
  
  
• Father Fulgens’s inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center today. You can watch the entire Mass on the Family Rosary Video streams channel on YouTube.
  
  
• Join the Rosary (11:30 am ET) and Mass (Noon ET) livestreams on the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page, Monday – Friday. Invite your friends and family to pray with you as well.