One of the last prayers of Jesus recorded in the gospel is that "they all be one as you and I are one." As he prayed to the Father on his way to the cross, peering down the road to calvary, Jesus thought of us, prayed for us, hoped for us, and acted in such a manner that makes our unity possible for he reconciled us to the Father by the blood of the cross.
Jesus not only prayed for unity but he acted in a manner to make unity not only a real possibility but a Divine Command brought about by the shedding of his blood & the giving of his life.
On this Friday, as we remember that act meant to unify, the cross on calvary and the life given, here are a few words from our Pope on Christian Unity
"The unity of Christians is and remains prayer, it resides in prayer. On the other hand, another operative movement, which arises from the firm awareness that we do not know the hour of the realization of the unity among all the disciples of Christ and we cannot know it, because unity is not "made by us," God "makes" it: it comes from above, from the unity of the Father with the Son in the dialogue of love which is the Holy Spirit; it is a taking part in the divine unity. And this should not make our commitment diminish, rather, it should make us ever more attentive to receive the signs of the times of the Lord, knowing how to recognize with gratitude that which already unites us and working to consolidate it and make it grow. In the end, also in the ecumenical path, it is about leaving to God what is only his and of exploring, with seriousness, constancy and dedication, what is our task, being aware that to our commitment belongs the binomial of acting and suffering, of activity and patience, of effort and joy."
That they may all be one. The mystical body of Christ longs to be one body, one Sprit in Christ.
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