Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

Lectionary: 300

"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....

 I mmediately, upon beginning his leadership of the Church, Pope Leo XIV echoed the prayer of Pope Saint John Paul II, "Ut unum sunt." That all may be one. 

That is the heartfelt prayer of Jesus as his earthly career was rapidly coming to an end. Knowing what must happen in the coming days, he prayed that the enduring, intentional, and effective unity of all his disciples would be born of his passion and death. Because it is the prayer of the Son of God, and because it is brought to fulfillment in the Real Presence of his Most Blessed Sacrament, Christians believe his words cannot fail. 

For just as from the heavens

the rain and snow come down

And do not return there

till they have watered the earth,

making it fertile and fruitful,

Giving seed to the one who sows

and bread to the one who eats,

So shall my word be

that goes forth from my mouth;

It shall not return to me empty,

but shall do what pleases me,

achieving the end for which I sent it.

Of this wholesome, healing unity will come "seed for the one who sows and bread for the one who eats."  The hunger that plagues human life is borne of our anxious, shortsighted greed. We do not believe the abundance we see so clearly in nature but must continually grab more for ourselves against an entirely theoretical shortage. Scarcity is as real as our sin, and no more real than sin. 

"In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth's resources and marginalizes the poorest," Pope Leo said in his homily during his inauguration Mass May 18. 

"For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: 'In the one Christ, we are one.'"

The word of God and the prayer of Jesus are infinitely more real and more effective than our base desires. This we believe.