by Bishop James Conley
Jesus lived during a time of great turmoil and division. He experienced this from the early moments of his life. Even in the womb, his parents, Mary and Joseph, had to make the long, arduous journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to enroll in the census. After his birth, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph had to flee to Egypt in order to avoid the murderous wrath of King Herod who was afraid the “newborn king of the Jews” would be a threat to his power.
Throughout his public ministry, Jesus spoke with authority and truth, and this drew many followers to him. It also brought detractors and conspirators who wanted nothing more than for this revolutionary by the name of Jesus of Nazareth to go away. It is within the context of this turmoil, fear, and unrest that Jesus suffers his passion, death and resurrection. Through this adversity Jesus brings about our salvation.
In his Gospel, St. John recounts Jesus praying to his Heavenly Father immediately before he is arrested in what is known as the “High Priestly Prayer,” the longest continuous prayer in Sacred Scripture. Jesus prayed this prayer at a moment of great tension. People were plotting to kill him and he knew this. Yet, he prays to his heavenly Father immediately preceding his arrest in these words: “I pray not only for them, 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” (Jn 17: 20-21).
As Jesus prepared for his looming death, he prayed for unity amidst division. Jesus came into the world to bring about unity. That was his desire. That remains his desire—and unity should be our desire.
From the beginning, God created us to be one with him and in him. That unity was shattered by Original Sin, the sin of our first parents. It caused a rupture in our relationship with God and with each other. As Word made flesh, Jesus has came to restore that unity with God and each other. To truly call ourselves Christians, that is, followers of Jesus, we must strive for the same unity.
The great apostle and evangelist St. Paul preached to his death the necessity of unity in Christ. He described the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. For our physical bodies to remain healthy, all its parts must work in unison. Likewise, in the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, there is no room for dissension. As he says in his letter to the Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).
St. Paul pointed out something that we don’t say enough: division among Christians is ultimately a scandal. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and we should be united in him. St. Paul, too, dealt with much adversity in his time. We, like Jesus, must pray and act for unity.
St. Paul pointed out something that we don’t say enough: division among Christians is ultimately a scandal. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and we should be united in him. St. Paul, too, dealt with much adversity in his time. We, like Jesus, must pray and act for unity.
I have been thinking about this exhortation of our Lord and St. Paul on the need for unity, especially in light of the many divisions that have arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We all know that there are differences of opinions in regard to the many means that have been employed to combat the virus, including masks, social distancing, vaccines and other measures. I don’t wish to get into all these different opinions, but I would like to offer some spiritual guidance as we approach them.
At baptism, God infused the virtues of faith, hope and charity within our souls. There is never a time where we are to put these virtues aside. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, charity is the “virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God” (CCC 1822). If we fail to love our neighbor, we fail to love God himself.
Practically speaking, in our interactions with others, we must love those who have different opinions than we do. People form their opinions on these matters from many different perspectives, and we should not presume ill motives for those opinions.
Currently, requirements for mandatory vaccinations or coercion to be vaccinated has caused much division locally and globally. To be clear, I support the use of vaccines to combat COVID-19. I, myself, have been vaccinated. I haven’t contracted the coronavirus. I don’t know if it is because of the vaccines that I have remained virus free, or some other reason. My 92-year old mother tested positive for COVID-19 this past December. She passed away Dec. 19. Vaccines were not available last December. Would she still be alive today if she had been vaccinated? I guess I will find that out one day.
Each of us, as unique individuals, have a right of conscience and the Church has a duty to protect this right. We also have a duty to the common good. If we are ill, we have an obligation to take measures to avoid exposing others, whether vaccinated or not. Each individual has the right to weigh risks and benefits for himself.
There was some well-intentioned concern about the moral acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines that have been tested on cell lines from aborted fetal cells. Abortion is a serious evil that can never be legitimized, rationalized, or excused because it is the direct taking of innocent life. We must fast, pray, and act to make abortion unthinkable.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in the Vatican said it is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetal cells in their research and production process “when ethically irreproachable Covid-19 vaccines are not available.” As I have encouraged in the past, we should contact the pharmaceutical companies which make the vaccines to encourage them to use ethical means of testing. I personally wrote letters to the major pharmaceutical companies who are producing these tainted vaccines strongly urging them to produce vaccines that are clean.
The CDF has said “the morality of vaccination depends not only on the duty to protect one’s own health, but also on the duty to pursue the common good.” As members of the Body of Christ, the common good must be pursued, but we must also protect the conscience of individuals. The conscience is not a little voice in our heads or acting according to our fleeting feelings, but rather a judgment—one’s last, best judgment of what we ought to do. Our Catholic consciences are formed by the teachings of Christ and his Church.
There are legitimate reasons for people to not want the vaccine, including natural immunity and low risk for the young. People should make this decision with the counsel of their doctors. However, even those who in conscience choose not to be vaccinated have a duty toward the common good. The CDF states that those who choose not to be vaccinated “must do their utmost to avoid, by other prophylactic means and appropriate behavior, becoming vehicles for the transmission of the infectious agent.”
The bottom line is we are called to live generously and give of ourselves in order to share God’s love and grace with others. We are to love others even if their personal opinions don’t align with ours. And, yes, we are to be sources of unity in a divided world.
The bottom line is we are called to live generously and give of ourselves in order to share God’s love and grace with others. We are to love others even if their personal opinions don’t align with ours. And, yes, we are to be sources of unity in a divided world.
On Oct. 7 we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, which is celebrated in gratitude for victory at the Battle of Lepanto. The Ottoman Turks had won many victories in the conquering of Christian lands. In 1571, they were threatening all of the Christian world. A fleet of ships was amassed from Spain, Naples, Sardinia, Venice, the Papal States, Genoa and Savoy, in what would be called “The Holy League” to mount a defense.
In a spiritual response, St. Pope Pius V demanded that all churches throughout Christendom be opened and the rosary be prayed for victory. While the Holy League was greatly outnumbered, they were victorious. Upon news of the victory, Pius V immediately declared Oct. 7 as Our Lady of Victory, which would later be called Our Lady of the Rosary. This Oct. 7 will mark the 450th anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto.
At that moment in 1571, a time of fear, tension, and adversity, all of Christendom was united together in the praying of the rosary. The world now faces a different challenge, but a serious one. As Catholics, let’s go to Mary and ask her for her intercession to grow in unity and love towards each other, even in these trying times.
