Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

We are all called to live in Christian unity with each other. This is what Jesus wanted for his people. He wanted us to be one in body and spirit, sharing in one hope... the second coming of himself and the salvation of our souls. He wanted to be our one and only Lord, leading us in one faith and one baptism. He wanted his Heavenly Father to be ours so we might be one holy family. The key to unity with God is to humbly accept God as our Father, our Brother, and our Spiritual Spouse.

Are we living in a manner worthy of the call we have received? How can we cultivate the humility, gentleness, and patience to bear with one another through love? What can we do to keep our unity with God and others?

O Lord, give us the grace to live out our baptismal calling.

Amen.