Shine Like a Saint Podcast, Episode 1

As Christians, and members of the body of Christ, we must realize we are more unified than our actions and words suggest. To be sure, there are significant doctrinal differences and divisions that must be resolved. But there are many beliefs and truths we share that unify us in our calling to bring the light, face, and Good News of Jesus into the world.

Our Christian leaders have made strides toward healing the divisions between Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants in the last 50 years, yet there is still much work to be done.

While there remain disagreements on the important doctrines, there is more that unites all Christians. 

How are we unified? All Christians share an abundance of beauty and greatness in Christianity.

• We are unified by our baptism with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

• We are unified because we have been anointed by and blessed with the gift of the same Holy Spirit. This is important, for without the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we are
  individuals; with the Spirit, we are unified as one.

• We are unified because we are the People of God. “One becomes a member of this people not by physical birth, but by being ‘born anew,’ a birth ‘of water and the Spirit,’ that is, by faith in Christ, and Baptism” (CCC 782).

• We are unified by our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and our profession of faith in the Nicene Creed.

• We are unified by the new and greatest commandments of love spoken by Jesus to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” and to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30–31).

• We are unified in and by our prayer to God the Father through Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Oh, how prayer unites us!

• We are unified because Jesus has redeemed all mankind, all of humanity through the end of time.

• More than anything, we are all unified because the same Holy Spirit lives in each of us.

• The Trinitarian God.

• The Holy Scriptures,

• The Nicene Creed

• Salvation in Jesus Christ

• The divinity of Christ.

• Tthe hope of eternal life in heaven.

So, while the leaders of the Catholic Church, the Orthodox, and the mainline Protestant denominations, together with others who have ecumenical (promoting and seeking unity) responsibilities around the world, work toward solving the doctrinal divisions, let us, brothers and sisters in Christ and privileged members of the Body of Christ, focus instead on what unites us. Let us work together in a way that magnifies our unified Christian beliefs, gives encouragement and courage to our leaders to break down the barriers that separate us, and glorifies God through Jesus Christ.