My dearest Fellow Christians who have been called by Baptism into the one family of God, greetings and and peace and love from the Church of Assumption Grotto and all the Catholic churches of Detroit.
"First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, asking that by God's will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you--- or rather so that we may be be mutually encouraged by each others's faith, both yours and mine." [St.Paul].
Dear Pastor Jones and all my dearest brothers and sisters, thank you for inviting Fr. Amah from Nigeria and myself to followship with you today. Let us begin by making Jesus' prayer for unity our very own today. Let us pray his Prayer with Him and in Him and for Him:
"Father, that they may be one, just as You and I are one, that they may be one in us."
When Jesus said this, He was revealing our call into the Trinitarian Life of God. Unity is another Name for God because God is three Divine Persons IN One God. But, how canwe be in there with Them to be as Jesus said, "one with us"? We are only human; humans can't enter into the Divine Family Interaction of the Blessed Trinity. We can't understand how we can; but God seems to have planned to share with us His Divine Family's life. The key it this: The Father sees His Son, Jesus, in us and lets us come in. The Father affirmed Jesus when He said at Jesus' Baptism: "This is My Beloved Son; listen to Him." And according to Fr.Bernie Owen, S.J. who teaches classes in Spiritual Direction according to Ignatian Spirituality, he said to me personally: "Hear the Father saying to you: 'This is my beloved son.'"
So, we are to be considered "sons" and "daughters" of God because we bear the image of Jesus in us. We are made in the image and likeness of God; and because of our Baptism, we are made in the image and likeness of Jesus.
God the Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit are all about ONENESS. Oneness and Unity are the signs of God's Presence. The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of Unity - not division.
Jesus personally seems to like Unity a lot. He sees Nathaniel and says: "Here is a true Israelite; and there is not duplicity in him." So, "duplicity" Jesus sees as un-godly. Jesus sees Unity as Godly.
The disciples and Jesus are suppose to be united. They are, except for one: Judas, who respresent division. There was much division within Judas. He was triplicity of soul: his political self, his greed self and his non-believing self. Satan, the god of division, entered Judas. And from the Last Supper, Judas went out; "an it was night! Division is the kingdom or darkness.
So, given all of the above, here is some wisdom for us to lie:
"God is Love and Unity; wherever there is Love and Unity, there is God."
"Satan is hate and disunity; wherever there is hate and disunity, there is Satan."
Let's look at a few DIVISIONS in the world:
Jesus said: "Thou are Peter; and upon this rock, I will build my Church." Did you notice that Jesus did not say "Churches". Jesus absolutely did not put Church in the plural. But Satan knows he cannot keep Jesus' Church from being established. He does not have the power to do that. But Satan does the next best thing: he divides the Church into the East and West Church: Orthodox and Roman Chruch. This division has lasted for over 1100 years; so he has done his job pretty well. Additionally, in the West, he has flooded the Christiandom with 20,000 denominations. Yet, the Holy Spirit is more powerful and is calling all these demominations to into one family. Pastors - like Pastor Jones - act in and by the Holy Spirit in letting the Sacred Heart of Jesus beat anew and alive in us by calling us to "love one another" as one family in God. Here now in this church we are being led by the Holy Spirit in sharing the Word in worship and in song, in the Love of God, and in deeply-felt fellowship. Jesus said: "Where two or more are gathered in My Name, there I am in the midst them." Therefore, Brothers and Sisters: we are church!
So, let us fight against the following DIVISIONS: the works of Satan:
1) Divorce....but Jesus said: "What God has joined, let no man put asssunder."
2) Wars....any and all! Wars are the Joker that Satan plays over and over again.
3) Abortion: a deadly dividing baby from the mother and from her emotional attachment to baby.
4) All death - murder/suicide - divides a human being's body from its soul.
5) Race divisions: "Race" should refer in English to ONE race: the Human Race. All other so called "races" are mere nationalities. But using "race" in the plural is not only poor English; it is poor biology and Human Paleontology. All Nationalites are of the same species: human beings. Using the plural of "race" is the product of a culture that is divided in their own minds as to what the "human race" really means. All peoples on the earth are of the same Human Family that God has created. Dividing humans into "races" is Satanic.
6) Politics: different parties who war with each other instead of working for the public good. More time and money are spent on division in American Politics than in helping people get jobs, food, medical care. ObamaCare is an abomination because in that alleged care is our monies spent/allocated to support Planned Parenthood's abortion industry. This abortion industry kills our young and rips them from the family of God and man. How is that unity?
7) Church divisions within the church: In all parishes, there are always one or two who oppose a pastor's lovingly trying to lead his flock to Jesus. This opposition comes from pride of a particlular sheep who feels he/she knows better than the pastor how to get his flock to heaven. Some mean well; but the fact remains..division is not of God.
8) Just as in all parishes, in All families - the domestic Church - there are arguments or disrespect that are divisive. And we know where division comes from. Satan knows that the domestic church - the family - is his first line of attack. Let us be on our guard for the fiery darts of the evil one by putting up the shield of faith and putting on the helmet of salvation and brandishing the sword of the Word of God! Amen? Amen.
9) All categorizing of peoples of other faiths - such as Jewish or Muslim - as some kind of people of a different species which makes them to be feared. Fear is the handmaiden of disunity. Jesus said: "Fear is useless; what is needed is trust."
In contrast to the above, All UNITY IS FROM GOD:
1) The One, Holy and Catholic [Universal] Church founded by Jesus Christ is a SOURCE of Unity in the World. All Masses in the World for each day have the same Old and New Testament readings: All Catholics of the World are reading the same Scriptures for each day..We are united in the Word of God! And we are united to Jesus in the reception of Holy Communion into the One Body of Christ.
2) All ecumenical outreaches such as our own Pastor Jones is doing by lovingly inviting me and Fr. Amah to come to his Church to be united in prayer, in worship and in the Word of God: to be family in the love of Jesus which is pleases Jesus very much.
Once, one of the apostles complained to Jesus that there was a man who was working miracles in His name but was "not walking with us". Jesus' answer was: "If he is not against us; he is for us...let him alone." Jesus is absolutely aware of every pastor/teacher who is working miracles in His name. Amen?...Amen! St. Paul said that people will know that we are disciples of Christ by the way we love one another. Christians are recognized by this: "See how they love one another." So, I know Pastor Jones is a man of God. That is why I have come with Fr. Amah this afternoon because when Pastor Jones invited me and Father Amah to come today, that was an assureness that Jesus has invited us to come. And we are glad to be here...in fact: "It is good for us to be here" as St. Peter once said. Pastor Jones is answering Jesus' own prayer: "Father that they may be one just as You and I are one that they may be one in us."
3) All Christian counseling to help mothers to give birth to their children and not abort is a loving Unity that unites us all as one family. Abortion separates family; but giving birth unites them.
4) All Peace Makers are creating Unity in the world. For an up-to-date example of a peace maker, consider the role of Medea": There is a film called "Medea and the Family". Have you seen it? I did, and Medea is absolutely playing the role of a modern-day prophetess: she heals families and brings them together. Yes, she can be rough; but still she brings the Word of God to all those in disunity: the Word is this in essence: "Love God by loving one another." Her religion is one of Love..and that is what Jesus said to do: "Love one another and I have loved you."
Therefore, let Jesus' prayer be each one of ours this very day and always: "Father, that they may be one, just as You and I are one, that they may be one in us." May Jesus' blessing be upon all of us and make us all one family today. Amen.
Love, Pio from Detroit and Fr. Amah from Nigeria.
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