By Father Timothy Gollob
Special to The Texas Catholic
During the month of January when we heard many things about unity in our United States of America, it was also well to meditate upon unity in the church during the Year of Faith.
It is one of the marks of the church that it should be one, holy, apostolic and catholic. That the church is holy has been challenged during these past years. It is obvious that the church has the sacraments and prayer as the means to holiness, but many people do not take advantage of these.
During this Year of Faith, it would be an excellent practice to pray for all our leaders that they be holy. That this church is apostolic and has valid and documented proof in the history of the world. Many of the roots of the church are deep in the traditions and in the monuments of the past. Modern science is digging deeply to illustrate the verity of these beginnings.
That the church is catholic, with a small c, means that the worship and the dogma and the morals of the church are for all people of all races and times and continents. Anyone who has traveled the world can attest to the fact the Catholic Church is alive and vibrant in whatever country one might wander into.
That the church is one is a challenge. We see people on various sides of issues speaking out against members of their own church. Liturgies are in a multitude of languages. Old ways of thinking and of believing are reinterpreted. But in all this, a wonderful unity emerges.
We have one faith, one savior, one baptism, one pontiff here on earth. Despite hard times and deep divisions, the church has pulled back into one many times. Our country is a good example of this. Our motto is “In God We Trust.” Our coins proclaim “E pluribus, unum” or “From many, unity.”
There is one sun created by God to shine on all humankind. There is one moon to reflect the glory of the sun during the darkness of night to remind us that all is not gloom and doom. God will overcome!
Father Timothy Gollob is the pastor of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Oak Cliff.
