We Are Called to Unity
A Prayer for Peace
Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!
We have tried so many times and over so many years to
resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of
our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have
we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many
lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried…
But our efforts have been in vain.
Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace;
guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our
hearts, and give us the courage to say: "Never again war!";
"With war everything is lost". Instill in our hearts the courage
to take concrete steps to achieve peace.
Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you
created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give
us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to
see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister.
Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to
turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our
trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into
forgiveness.
Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience
and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation.
In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words
"division", "hatred" and "war" be banished from the heart
every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our
tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that
the word which always brings us together will be "brother [and sister]",
and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace,
Salaam!
Amen
Source: Pope Francis, "Prayer for Peace"
"WE ARE CALLED TO UNITY"
"Unity is a gift...unity is harmony...unity is a journey...and unity is for mission....It is a message that we are called to bear witness to with one another, not against one another or apart from one another. "
— Pope Francis, "Unity is a Gift, Harmony, Journey and Mission" (June 10, 2022)
Which groups are you included in and which are you excluded from? Unity does not imply uniformity; it does not necessarily mean doing everything together or thinking in the same way. Nor does it signify a loss of identity. Unity in diversity is actually the opposite: it involves the joyful recognition and acceptance of the various gifts which the Holy Spirit gives to each one and the placing of these gifts at the service of all members of the Church. It means knowing how to listen, to accept differences, and having the freedom to think differently and express oneself with complete respect towards the other who is my brother or sister. Do not be afraid of differences! (Address of Pope Francis, October 31, 2014)
Jesus prays for our unity and that we all may be one in, with, and through God (see Jn 17:20-23). How do we begin to do this? By recognizing our common human dignity that we are all created in the image and likeness of God, that God loves each of us unconditionally, and that we are called to love one another as God loves us. Rather than being limited by “group think,” we individually and communally surrender ourselves to be guided by the life-giving Spirit and bring God’s reign of love, peace, and justice to the world. CST can help guide us.
We tend to think dualistically, in “either/or” terms rather than in a unitive way of “both/and.” Our language can become both inclusive and exclusive at the same time. For example, if we identify an object only by its color, such as the color “red,” we are, in effect, excluding all other objects that are not “red” in color.
This dualistic way of thinking applies to a number of different ways we tend to identify, classify, or categorize people such as by their gender, age, occupation, education, language, nationality, race, religion, status, financial worth, sexual orientation, and so on. The more detailed the classification system is of a group, the greater the number of people excluded from that group.
We generally become members of those groups whose classifications we identify with and satisfy. Those who are members of the groups one identifies with are generally classified as “us” and all others who are not members of this “us” group are demonized or classified as “them.” Of course, those who are the “them” are also part of their own “us” groups. Each “us” group believes its views and solutions to problems are the only correct ones and those of the “them” groups are not. Hence, with either/or thinking, important issues generally do not get resolved for the common good.
We are called to resolve issues by striving for unity. As Pope Francis has stated:
VIDEOS
"Thomas Merton - Non-Dualism" (Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM)
"Using Radical Empathy to Get Past 'Us vs. Them' Thinking"
"Are You Open-Minded?" (TEDx Talk)
"Dying of the Dual Self" (Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM)
"Catholic Mindfulness"