Feast of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Martyrs.

"TO BELIEVE IN CHRIST MEANS TO DESIRE UNITY; TO DESIRE UNITY MEANS TO DESIRE THE CHURCH; TO DESIRE THE CHURCH MEANS TO DESIRE THE COMMUNION OF GRACE THAT CORRESPONDS TO THE FATHER’S PLAN FROM ALL ETERNITY." (POPE ST JOHN PAUL II).

"Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “I pray not only for these, 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. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world." (John 17: 20.... 26).

Thursday 2nd June 2022, of the 7th Week of Easter is the feast of two early martyrs of the Church:  St. Marcellinus, Priest and Peter, Exorcist (+ 304). In prison, they converted many of their fellow prisoners including the jailer. Both were martyred under Emperor Diocletian.

In our key Scripture for today, Jesus prayed for Church Unity. He wants Christians to be of one heart and one mind so that the world would look at Christians and see Jesus in us.  The standard for this unity is: "Just as you [Father] are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me."

Today there may be more than 40,000 denominations in the world.  You may wonder: What type of answer is this to the Prayer of Jesus for unity of His disciples?
Why did God permit Christian disunity? This is surely a mystery of Divine Providence.

One of the greatest obstacles to Unity is that a sizable number of Christian denominations do not believe in the type of Unity that Jesus prayed for His Church. Number one obstacle to unity without doubt is Sin. Sin exists in all churches. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit deals  with sins in the churches. Can we still hope to see visible unity in our lifetime?

6.2. "Let the soul who is desirous of advancing in perfection hasten to My Sacred Heart." (St Gertrude the Great).

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com