The pursuit for unity with God

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

ONCE again, we are made to consider the greatest desire Christ expressed just before his passion, death and resurrection in the gospel reading of the Mass on Thursday of the 7^th Week of Easter. (cfr. Jn 17,20-26)

His desire was “that they (we, all of us) 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.” May it also be that Christ’s greatest desire would also be our greatest desire!

Again, we have to remind ourselves that this is actually the ultimate goal of our life. God wants us to be fully united with him through Christ in the Holy Spirit, a unity that also has as its necessary corollary, our unity with everybody else. It’s a unity that, as Christ said, is the same as that of the Father and Christ. In other words, the unity of the 3 persons of the Blessed Trinity.

It’s, indeed, a tall order. We can readily doubt as to the veracity of this revelation. But Christ clearly said it. We cannot doubt it anymore. We should just take that leap of faith, and say, “I believe.” And then, with God’s grace and with all the means Christ has given us, let’s act on this truth of our faith about ourselves.

We should consider seriously the fact that we need a working plan that would help us realize this basic truth of ourselves. We cannot overemphasize this basic need of ours to make plans and strategies.

We should have some clear vision of our goals and means and timetables involved. That way, we would have a better grasp of how to identify and handle issues, problems and challenges. That way, we would have a good sense of priority, especially nowadays when we are faced with many competing options.

Making plans and strategies may require some time and effort, but it’s an investment that is all worth it. The little time and effort required can actually multiply our time and make our efforts more productive at the end of the day. It’s like the little rudder that St. James talked about in his letter. (cfr. 3,4) Our plans and strategies can have the power to accomplish great things, like a rudder giving direction to a big boat.

In these complicated times of ours with so many issues, problems and challenges spewing out, the need for plans and strategies have become more indispensable so that we can study them better and know exactly what to do with them. The way things are now, these issues, problems and challenges really need to be studied well, making due consultations when necessary.

Of course, the most important goal of our plans and strategies is how to relate everything to God. And then we have to concretize how to make that plan practicable. Obviously, this would involve the whole idea of developing the virtue of order and keeping a keen sense of priorities. In this regard, the inputs of our Christian faith are necessary.

We need to look into our attitudes, practices and habits, and see which ones would reinforce this effort and which would hinder it. We have to know how to make plans and strategies that are realistic and are organic in the context of our personal circumstances. They have to be plans and strategies that know how to flex with the changing circumstances.

All these should give us the sensation that we pursuing unity with God and with everybody else.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com