Choosing Unity Without Losing Integrity - 26th Sun of Ord Time - Episode 45

Be with the Word

Overall Takeaway

Listening in charity and trying to understand another’s point of view does not mean we need to agree with the other person. When Christ calls us to unity, it’s important to understand He’s calling us to unify in a love for God and one another--not necessarily in a singleness of ideas.

Key Verses from Sunday Readings

“When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies,
it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.
But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed,
he does what is right and just,
he shall preserve his life.”

“Remember your mercies, O Lord.
The sins of my youth and my frailties remember not;
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way.”

“Complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,
united in heart, thinking one thing.
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.”

“Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave”

“'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'
He said in reply, 'I will not, '
but afterwards changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, ‘but did not go.
Which of the two did his father's will?”

Where Catholicism Meets Psychology

We often underestimate how much parents affect children, but we also underestimate our ability to be able to break out of old patterns.

We have freedom and choices to make; with that comes both hope and responsibility.

We’ll be judged by how we play the hand we’ve been dealt, yet God provides many graces to those who seek to do His will. The requirement is our humility.

Humility is psychologically difficult for all of us. There is self-protection in pride. We need to seek humility and be small like a child, trusting that we have a loving Father in God and mother in Mary.

Right now, we see a great deal of division within the Church. We see infighting about liturgical practices, COVID responses, masks, and many other issues of the day.

When Christ calls us to unity, He’s asking for a unity of spirit and of love -- not a similarity of ideas. How can we all be part of the mystical Body of Christ? It’s easy to lose the ability to understand where another person is coming from in the divisiveness.

Action Item

Think about how you are both supporting the unity of the Church and how you are undermining that unity. Take those observations to prayer. What is getting in the way of greater unity? Envy? Fear? Jealousy? Take it to prayer because of how important unity is to Our Lord.