FRANCISCAN BRIDGES SHARING OUR LIVES, HOPES AND VISIONS Holy Family Convent
Fall, 2012
Issue #44
ONENESS What does Oneness mean? Why is it so important for our daily spiritual life? Oneness was the topic of a sermon given by a monk in the new Holy Resurrection Monastery at St. Nazianz. At the time he spoke, I had no intention of writing about it months later, but some thoughts stayed with me and pursued me to think further about them. Oneness, he said, as I recall in my faded memory, does not come from everyone thinking alike, nor does it come from belonging to the same institutionalized structures, or even from following Jesus’ teaching. No, it comes from the Spirit of Oneness within each of us, that Spirit with which Jesus baptized us. It occurred to me that the Source of our deep unity with each other comes from the oneness of the Spirit, while at the same time, in an amazing way, it allows for a diversity so great that it is almost incomprehensible. Our lives are rooted in the ONENESS of God. He created us in His image and likeness which gives us the ability to understand and love each other. Understanding Oneness We sometimes clarify an idea best when we focus on its opposite. In this case the opposite of Oneness is Separation. When we see ourselves and others as separate from our Creator, we begin to see evil in the world surrounding us. We are no longer able to recognize the Divine within each person or
group. And, what are the results? Wars, violence and terrorism surround us. Governments and individuals seek to dominate over others rather than seek to cooperate with others for the good of all. Cooperation is too often seen as a weakness rather than a strength. Power over others rather than power for others becomes the goal. The dominant one becomes blind to the true identity of his/her opponent, who is also created in God’s image and likeness. Years ago, when I attended a conference on marriage at St. Louis University, I recall the speaker saying that too often when a couple get married, the man thinks, “Now we are one, and I am the one.” So, it is imperative for all of us to think about the meaning of oneness. We can so easily begin to see ourselves as the one that others are to become.
Biblical Passages on the Oneness of the Spirit One Single Stock Acts 17: 26-29 From one single stock, he...created the whole human race...he is not far from any of us...it is in him that we move, live and exist...we are all his children. (New Jerusalem Bible) (See p. 2)
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One Spirit 1 Corinthians 12:13 It was in one Spirit that all of us, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, were baptized into one body. All of us have been given to drink of the one Spirit. (New American Bible) 1 Corinthians 6:19 You must know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is within—the Spirit you have received from God. (New American Bible) Unity in the Spirit Ephesians 4:3-4 Make every effort to preserve the unity which has the Spirit as its origin and peace as its binding force. There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope given all of you by your call. (New American Bible)
pool of universal truth. On the website (see references) describing this book it says: “When their inherent similarities are revealed, the collected wisdom of the world’s religions shows a profound “Oneness” of the human spirit. ...These similarities have the overwhelming effect of creating unity, where differences dissolve and the soul can wonder—why do we have such conflicts?” One of the many principles shared by all religions that the author describes for us is LOVE YOUR ENEMIES. He says, “Without awareness of the “Oneness of all people” even small differences can escalate into major confrontations, so much so that a resolution becomes impossible. …”Only by becoming aware of the Divine within us—the Divine that is within every person—can the basis for lasting peace and harmony be established.” (pp. 52 -53)
The Spirit and the Truth 1 John: 5-6 ...The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth. (New Revised Standard Version)
Mother Teresa, who wrote the Introduction to the first edition of the book (1989), says about the book, “I pray that this book accomplishes what God wants it to.”
Searching for the Oneness of the Spirit We are much more apt to find the Oneness of the Spirit within all of us if we search for what unites us rather than for what divides us. An amazing awareness, I believe, comes to all of us when we learn that all of the major religions have more in common than in what divides them.
Oneness in the Universe Perhaps the oneness in the universe that the new scientists are telling us about will help us understand better the oneness in humanity. The new scientists, mainly the quantum physicists, are telling us that everything in the universe is interconnected. Nothing can be understood in isolation from its surroundings.
I discovered a book by Jeffrey Moses called ONENESS: GREAT PRINCIPLES SHARED BY ALL RELIGIONS. He gathers together the essential beliefs of all the major religions in order to show that underneath the surface of apparent differences there lies a
Kathleen Fischer in her book, RECLAIMING THE CONNECTIONS, A Contemporary Spirituality, says it well. “Quantum physics has taught us that nothing exists in itself, but only in relation to something else which is in turn related to something else, and so on to the furthest reaches of the universe.” (p. 4)
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She then applies this to our spirituality. “Every act of love strengthens the cosmos, and every act of hatred weakens it in some way. Both grace and sin are social as well as personal...We are constituted by our relationships.” (p. 5) The presence of each person in our life living or deceased, influences who we are and affects our relationships with all others and with whom we come in contact. Christian Mysticism Christian mysticism may be the best way we can understand Oneness. Transformation into the image and likeness of God is the goal of Christianity in both the Eastern and Western traditions. We were created to become ONE with God and His People. We might think of the Kingdom of God as a network of relationships between God and His People. Here lies our strength, our joy, and our true happiness. Maria Jaoudi in her book CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM, East and West, gives us a few insights into the great mystics, such as Gregory of Nyssa and Bonaventure. Imaging God, they tell us, is the call for every Christian. “One mirrors Christ above all through loving God in one’s thoughts, for these are what influence and motivate every aspect of our being. ‘Finally, all of you have unity of spirit, sympathy, love of [all], a tender heart and a humble mind’ (1 Peter 3:8).” (p.78) The Future We are living in an age when the desire to bond together is strong. Networks of people with similar interests keep springing up all over the world, enabling people to connect with and support each other. Is this the invisible hand of God moving us in the direction of Oneness with God and His
Kingdom? Or, are we so centered on our individual needs and societal pressures that we cannot see the larger vision of God and His Kingdom? Positive signs for a Spirit-directed outcome are all around us. However, we need to find them ourselves, since the media tends to focus us on the worst and to overlook the best. For example, news about war has repeated coverage but the astounding successes for peace movements around the world are rarely reported. The following are a few developments in the world today that can give us hope for peace: The incredible technology for communicating instantly around the world provides the means to make a difference that was formerly thought to be impossible. Social movements are uniting people together around the world enabling them to make incredible changes. For example, Arab Spring in the Middle East has successfully overthrown entrenched dictatorships. Occupy Wall Street has successfully called attention to the enormous inequality of wealth in our own country. Active nonviolent groups around the world are resisting wars and bringing peace into violent areas. Through exploring on a research engine, such as Google, or Dogpile, we can find a rich source of information about the work of these groups. In bringing this work to light, we can encourage each other to fulfill our destiny to live in Oneness with God and His People. Conclusion Although this Oneness may seem to be in the distant future, we have many reasons to believe we are moving in the right direction. The (See p. 4)
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Conclusion (Contd.) contemporary developments cited above are among these. More importantly, we were all created to be One with God and His Kingdom, and we have been empowered by the Spirit to make this possible. Dorothy Ranaghan does a good job of explaining the work of the Spirit in our lives in her book, BLIND SPOT—War and Christian Identity. Although her book needs to be read in its entirety, I have tried to select a few brief excerpts, hoping I did not distort her message. She says, “Instead of seeing themselves as ‘following’ or ‘imitating’ Christ, Christians need to be and act, as Christ in the world. They have the same Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. They have the very power of God.” (pp. 55-56) She says that Christians must “enter into Christ’s very life and be wiling to live a different kind of life. The Spirit of God makes this possible.” (p. 56) References Evans, Tony, ONENESS EMBRACED, Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2011. Fischer, Kathleen, RECLAIMING THE CONNECTIONS, A Contemporary Spirituality, Lanham, Md: Sheed & Ward, 1990. Jaoudi, Maria, CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM— East and West, New York: Paulist Press, 1998. Moses, Jeffrey, ONENESS—Great Principles Shared by all Religions, New York: Ballantine Books, 2002.
Ranaghan, Dorothy Garrity, BLIND SPOT— War and Christian Identity, Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 1011. Website: www. onenessonline,com Note: All the above books, except Kathleen Fischer’s RECLAIMING THE CONNECTIONS are in the Silver Lake College Library.
READ, REFLECT, AND PRAY Separation—A False Belief “It is erroneous to conceive of humankind, made of the Spirit of God, ever separated from God, and inevitably, living in fear, guilt, shame and consequently suffering because of the false belief.” —Steve Brannon Compassion “The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living being, which are all part of one another and involved in the other.” —Thomas Merton Hope “He who does not hope for the unexpected will not find it.” —Heraclitus
FRANCISCAN BRIDGES is published four times a year by the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, Manitowoc, WI to promote sharing their lives, hopes and visions. Editor: Sister Ruth Ann Myers Assistant Editor: Sister Kay Elmer