Unity

of All Creation

"Would if none of us will be saved unless all of us are saved." I heard this thought provoking statement during a recent homily; it began a time of pondering for me on the oneness and unity of all humankind and of all creation. What challenges would there be in my life if I lived in the belief that my individual wholeness depends on the wholeness of all others and all creation around me?

I have been reading books that have assisted me in this pondering and in developing a new, wider view of life around me. Diarmuid O'Murchu in his book Our World in Transition discusses the changing paradigm from mechanistic to wholistic; from the principle that the "whole equals the sum of the parts" to the "whole is greater than the sum of the parts." Our call, he states, is "to participate in the spiritual unfolding of universal life." This call comes with a challenge to let go of much that binds us in individualistic thinking and selfish ways of living.

In her book Praying with Visionary Women, Bridget Mary Meehan portrays Sojourner Truth as a women who challenged concepts of her time concerning slavery and the equality of women. Meehan concludes the chapter with the statement, "When women of the world unite, what a mighty power for justice and love the human family will experience." This could well be expanded to when all the human family unites, what a mighty power for justice and love all of creation will experience.

This unity is included in the prayer of Jesus in John's Gospel, "so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you." Is this prayer of Jesus more than a prayer for oneness of his disciples and his followers? Is it rather for all peoples and for all creation? Can I allow this prayer to call me to a wider expansion of my views and my ways to a new vision of God's plan for the whole of creation?

Such a wider view of creation is needed as we come to August -- with its reminder once again of the horrible devastation and change to our world with the use of atomic bombs in 1945. We remain in a world held captive by war, hatred, and countless injustices. How can we hope that we are moving toward a new world vision of unity and the fulfillment of the prayer "that all may be one"?

I find hope in the views and challenges expressed in books and articles I read and more so in the lives of those who live in compassionate concern for others and for all of creation. Such is the story of Dr. Nagai who lost his wife when the bomb exploded over Nagasaki. In the telling of his story Patricia McCarthy says in her book The Scent of Jasmine, "With other survivors Dr. Nagai began building hope in the nuclear waste.... He kept a vision of a loving God and of the value of making an effort to keep on loving."

There are many around us who live in hope and who continually bring us closer to the ideal of the oneness of all creation. May our lives be a crucial part of this movement toward the wholeness we desire and seek. May we do so knowing that if all is not whole, we will not be whole.

© Copyright - "Rooted in Wisdom: Connecting at the Heart" art (in top graphic)
by Doris Klein, CSA. Used with permission.

"Unity of All Creation" by Marguerite Samz, OSM.