“Where disunity is present the spirit does not dwell”. Fr. Drake shared these words in his homily at mass on Wednesday Morning September 2, 2020. They really struck me. I sat and prayed with those words throughout the remainder of mass.
There is a lot of disunity in our world. I truly do not ever remember such polarization among Americans in my lifetime. The hate, the division, the violence, the anger, the resentment, the grief, the pain; it all propagates disunity. There is no longer the common ground of simply being American, in fact there is a great hatred for America by some Americans, which I cannot understand.
We have lost respect for each other, for our nation, for our history, for those who fought to preserve what our founding fathers struggled and sacrificed to build. We have lost sight of those things that we share in common, the bonds that tie us to one another. We have segregated ourselves by our political affiliations, our approaches to dealing with COVID – we have mask wearers and non-mask wearers, our religious beliefs, our race, our gender, our education, if we believe in God; our stance on abortion – pro-life or pro-choice. We have allowed everything to divide us rather than looking at the qualities that unify us. We are all part of the human race, we are Americans.
For all of our technological advances – we can now meet virtually, get directions from our phones, information is always not further than our fingertips; humanity has taken a turn for the worse. What was once a civilized society has set communities on fire, destroyed families and local businesses, murdered police officers simply because of their career, looted businesses, blocked access to hospitals, beaten each other senseless because of different beliefs, insulted and harassed one another, attacked the elderly and unassuming under the guise of protest, and each action has been justified as a right to protest. The disunity has continued to grow.
I have felt that disunity. It has permeated our culture and has seeped into my own life in ways I had never expected. That disunity has disrupted my peace. It has made it apparent that “where disunity is present the spirit does not dwell.”
While disunity exists broadly in our society, we each experience it in profound ways personally. It can be present within our own families, in our work environment, in our social groups, within our church families or parish life, with our friendships. Disunity exists everywhere, so how we address it and deal with it is integral.
Some of it can be repaired and healed through conversation, dialogue, patience, and time. But what do we do about the disunity that cannot be readily fixed? Like the fractures within our entire society and the hate and division that continues to fester. It can take a toll on each of us as individuals, causing grief, anger, depression, and emotional fatigue.
Everybody has different coping mechanisms. Mine include working out, walking the dogs, talking things over with my husband, and prayer. Each activity brings a sense of peace. Working out, weightlifting, general physical exertion relieves the tension that builds up from the worry and frustration. Walking the dogs helps to clear my mind and focus on the pure joy and unconditional love that dogs are privileged to enjoy. Talking things out with my husband brings different perspectives and new ideas into focus. But I get the most peace through prayer, particularly when I surrender everything to God. That is sometimes difficult to do, surrender everything…the worries, the fears, the anxiety, the frustration, the tension…the disunity. When I do, however, I feel immensely better.
I need to remind myself of the fact that God is in control, not me. I need to remember that God has a plan for everything, including this disunity that has permeated our very existence. There is a reason for everything because God doesn’t waste anything, including the pain, the anxiety, the anger, and even the unknown. I do not know what His plan is, but if I put all my concerns back on Him and just trust, everything will turn out as He has designed.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t pray for peace, or for unity, or for empathy and understanding in our society, or for love, or for charity, or for the healing of our nation; those are precisely the things that I pray for every day. But I also pray to know God’s will for my life and to follow Him to the best of my ability.
I think maybe that is what God is asking of each of us, to pray. To pray for each other. Maybe if we did that more and tore each other down less we would not experience the disunity that exists in our world. In fact, I am sure that we wouldn’t. So today, give all of your concerns to God – “cast all of your anxiety on him who cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7), pray for one another – “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed” (James 5:16) and ask God to heal our country and thank Him for all of blessings in your life – “Do not worry about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). And today, please pray for me and I will continue to pray for you.
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