There is a saying that goes, “The worst brings out the best in people.” Our current pandemic situation affirms this. Nowadays, we see individuals and various organizations in different parts of the country open up community pantries, spearhead relief operations and volunteer for various charity works. It brings me joy to see that through these charitable and humanitarian endeavors, people from varied walks of life and even those from different religious denominations became united and worked as one. I thought that the pandemic would distance us from one another but the opposite happened. It destroyed the barriers of societal differences and strengthened the bonds of brotherhood. It abolished the line caused by differences in religious beliefs and widened the possibility for unity.

In today’s gospel, Jesus prays for unity among all those who believe in Him, “That they may all be one” just as He is one with the father. Jesus reveals to us the kind of followers He wishes to have and the characteristic of a true Christian community – a community that is UNITED.

As I see it in today’s world, unity is one characteristic that is hard to attain because of pride, arrogance, and selfishness. How will we be able to obtain unity despite all these? The Gospel message tells us to remain in the love of God. We must dig deep into ourselves in order to see the truth of our dignity as God’s beloved. God loves each one of us as He loved His only begotten Son. The love of God is our driving force to unity. If there is one characteristic that binds and motivates those individuals, groups, and organizations in establishing community pantries and engaging in various charitable works, it is LOVE.

By: Sem. Paulo O. Magistrado

Today’s Gospel

Jn 17:20-26

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“I pray not only for these,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”