UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL
“I pray that they may be [one] in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” —John 17:21
Jesus prays that we would be one as He and the Father are One. Then the world will believe that the Father sent the Son. The people of the world closely observe Christians fighting with each other. The devil showcases to non-Christians our racism, denominations, divisions, and jealousies. This turns them off to the Gospel. Then, with world evangelization stalled through the disunity of Christians, Satan proceeds to massacre babies in the womb, destroy young people, break up marriages, pervert society, promote his kingdom of darkness, and lead people to eternal damnation. We can see why Jesus has prayed for two thousand years that Christians be one.
Jesus’ prayer for unity begins to be answered when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the Source of unity (Eph 4:3). “It was in one Spirit that all of us, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, were baptized into one body” (1 Cor 12:13). We are “one in the Spirit.” The Spirit reverses divisions which go back to the first sin and were exacerbated at the tower of Babel (see Gn 11:9). By the Spirit of Pentecost, all nations can once again communicate with each other and be restored to the unity of paradise (see Acts 2:5-11). Then, as at the first Christian Pentecost, the Spirit showcases our unity to lead thousands into God’s kingdom (see Acts 2:41), and the strongholds of the devil are destroyed (see 2 Cor 10:4). Come, Holy Spirit of unity, evangelization, and victory.
Prayer: Father, on this seventh day of the novena to the Holy Spirit, may I participate in Mass and receive Holy Communion. May I be in communion and union with You and all people.
Promise: “I find myself on trial now because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead.” —Acts 23:6
Praise: St. Bernardine re-popularized a unique symbol in honor of Christ – “IHS” – an abbreviation using the first three letters of “Jesus” in Greek. He is the patron saint of respiratory ailments.
