Daily Catholic Lectio. Thu, 5 June ’25. Being One in Union

Daily Catholic Lectio

Thu, 5 June 2025

St. Boniface – Bishop and Martyr

Seventh Week of Easter – Thursday

Acts 22:30; 23:6-11. John 17:20-26

Being One in Union

“May they all be one! As you, Father, are in me and I in you, may they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me!” (John 17:21)

Today’s Gospel reading ends the Farewell Discourse of Jesus, which we have been reflecting on in recent days. Jesus now prays not only for his immediate disciples, but also for all believers who will come to faith through their word. His prayer and desire are that they all may be one.

This oneness, however, is not about uniformity but about unity in diversity, about being united while remaining distinct. The intimate relationship between Jesus and the Father becomes the model for the kind of closeness we are all invited to share. The unity visible among the disciples becomes the tangible sign to the world that Jesus has indeed been sent by the Father. In the Gospel of John, Jesus had already used the image of the vine and the branches to convey this communion: it is only by abiding in union that the branches are nourished and able to bear fruit.

The Synodal Assembly celebrated in the universal Church from 2021 to 2024 echoed this very call to unity. In its preparatory document, Pope Francis used the image of a community, emphasizing the closeness and interconnectedness among “Jesus, the apostles, and the people” as foundational to a synodal Church.

Taoist thought offers a poetic insight: “When you move your little finger, you stir a star far away.” As human beings, we are created for relationship. Our communities, relationships, and shared life are essential for our flourishing. Recognizing our closeness with one another is the beginning of becoming “one.”

Today’s world, however, with its emphasis on individual freedom and privacy, isolates us into separate islands. In isolation, we are easily defeated. Hence, connection—with our family, workplace, society, parish, and the Church—is vital. The rising tendency to highlight differences more than shared belonging fosters division. When we focus more on how we differ from the one next to us than on what unites us, disunity sets in.

“A threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9). May we choose unity over division, communion over isolation, and togetherness over separation.

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy