Rome, 14 February 2019
My dearest children, may Jesus watch over my daughters and sons for me!
In my recent journey in several Central American countries, I was able to experience once again the blessed unity of the Work. We should not fail to be surprised by this sign of God’s mercy towards us. Our Father once said, referring to 14 February 1930 and 14 February 1943, “It was not for nothing that the Lord made those two manifestations of his goodness fall on the same date. (…) Ask the Lord to teach you to love the unity of the Work just as he wanted it, from the first moment” (14 February 1958).
During the Last Supper Our Lord prayed for the unity of those who would be his disciples: “Ut omnes unum sint” (Jn17:21); that we may all be one. This is not merely the unity of a humanly well-structured organisation, but the unity given by Love – “as You, Father, are in me and I in You” (ibid.). The first Christians offer a clear example of this: “The company of those who believed were of one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32).
Precisely because it is the result of love, this unity is not uniformity but communion. It is unity in diversity, shown in the happiness of living together with differences, learning to be enriched by others, nurturing an affectionate atmosphere around us. Jesus pointed out that this unity is a condition for effectiveness in passing on the Gospel: “So that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). This unity, therefore, does not make us into a closed group, but opens us up, as part of the Church, to offer our friendship to everyone in this magnificent evangelizing mission.
Let’s make a renewed effort to live in and practise unity, beginning with those closest to us. Then, with God’s grace – which is the source of that unity – we will be able to overcome the obstacles that arise along our path.
A very affectionate blessing from
your Father