From The Bishop

‘We all have a responsibility to help people see that life is worth living’

We recently celebrated the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which ran Jan. 18 to Jan. 25 Christians around the world gathered in prayer focusing on what unites rather than what divides. Praying together provides a powerful sign of unity. Unity is something that the world needs more of today. From a Christian perspective, it is important to note that unity does not mean uniformity. In fact, there can be unity within diversity. A perfect example of this is the human body and St. Paul is famous for using this image to explain how we should relate to one another. In speaking to the Corinthians, St. Paul states, "But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it." (1 Cor. 12: 12-26) From this quote we see that the human body has many parts that work together to maintain harmony and health. Each part is needed and should not be discarded in an arbitrary fashion. The weaker and more vulnerable parts are not viewed with disdain; they are treated with greater respect because they are indispensable. There is no dissension or rivalry because each part knows it plays a significant role. In a spirit of unity, all members suffer and rejoice together. Is this not a powerful example of how we should live as members of the human family created by God? We are all members, who though different, should be united in working toward the common good that we share. In a world of division we need to witness to the fact that unity does not necessarily mean uniformity. The analogy of the human body teaches us that there can be unity in diversity when all members value and respect one another. There is no question that some people today feel like they are not a significant part of the human family. They are on the peripheries and may see themselves as insignificant and not a necessary part of the whole. There may also be stronger members who consider the weak and vulnerable to be useless and look upon them with disdain. In a 'throw-away' world some may be inclined to believe that certain members of the human family may be disposable. This is not acceptable because each person is valued. We need one another if we want to function as a healthy society. We all have a responsibility to help people see that life is worth living by assuring them that they do not face their challenges and difficulties alone. It is important to pray for unity; we also need to promote it by reminding people that they belong and are part of something greater than themselves. 'For united we stand and divided we fall.' Gerard Bergie is bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Catharines. bishop@saintcd.com Source: https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/opinion-story/9185626-faith-matters-use-power-of-prayer-to-both-unite-and-uplift/