Gospel of St John 17:21 (Douay-Rheims)
All Christians certainly share in the New Covenant and as such we all have a spiritual communion with one another, but we are called to a much closer unity. Christ prayed at the Mount of Olives that we may be one as He and the Father are one. Christ and the Father don't say two different things about contraception, Eucharist or anything else. They are of One Voice.
St Josaphat the Bishop of Polotsk was martyred for his attempts to reconcile the Eastern Orthodox is his eparchy with the Catholic Church and reestablish unity.
Sts Athanasius and Maximus the Confessor suffered much during their lives because they preached the truth about the nature of Christ and refused to lead others into separate Churches. Much of their suffering could have been eased if they had led some kind of "Reformation", but like the prophets of the Old Testament they remained steadfast through the Holy Spirit and corrected their brothers and maintained the unity of God's people by converting and convincing others away from false ideas about our God.
May God bless all who read my ramblings,
Adopt A Catholic Blog
1 comment:
Thank you for this gentle reminder of God's calling for unity. I struggle with this at times, especially in my job as a nurse. I've finally come to realize after almost 20 years, that God puts us in people's paths for a reason. That reason -- to be Christ-like,and see Christ in others.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
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