Over a cup of coffee, I would first apologize to you, then say: “THE N.E. PATRIOTS ARE GOING TO SUPER BOWL!!!”  There; sorry, but I had to get that out of my system!

Now, over a cup of coffee, I would share with you my concerns over the Presidential Inauguration that took place last Friday in Washington D.C.  Never in my life, have I been more worried about the person whom the nation has elected to guide it for the next four years; and there have been some past Presidents, that while I may have fiercely disagreed with them, I respected them.

Of equal concern to me has been the type of nation that this election has revealed.  Public television recently showed a program, entitled “The Divided State of America.”  We seem to be a country that is more separated, that is more angry, and refuses to speak to another, in a respectful manner.  Even in the American Catholic Church, there is little agreement; a survey of Catholics who voted showed that a majority of white Catholics voted for Trump; a majority of Latino Catholics voted for Clinton.  It is interesting that in today’s Sunday reading from St. Paul’s First Letter to Corinthians had this statement:

For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you.  I mean that each of you is saying, ‘I belong to Paul,’ or ‘I belong to Apollos,’ or ‘I belong to Cephas,’ or ‘I belong to Christ.’  Is Christ divided?

Could we change the wording, and have “each of you is saying, ‘I am for Trump,’ or ‘I am for Clinton.’  Is Christ divided?”  We, as a community of believers, need to realize, need to experience that around the altar of the Lord, we are one with Christ; we are all united in the Body of Christ.  This is something we all need to work for.

Over a cup of coffee, I would share with you that the Catholic Church, and many of the Christian churches are in the middle of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  Acknowledging that we are a divided worldwide community of believers; many people are working to find a path to unity.  We realize that we need prayer, because apart from Christ, not drawing on the power of His grace, we can achieve little.  Before I carry my empty cup to the sink, I leave you with a prayer that was distributed in 2008:

O God, source of perfect unity, pour out your grace upon your Church at prayer.   Heal the divisions and mistrust past years have wrought among your children.  We pray without ceasing for conversion of heart and a deeper faithfulness to the gospel.  We pray for a closer relationship with Christ Jesus who prayed ‘that all may be one.’  Fill us with the desire to unite ourselves to his prayer of unity.  May we live as one, as you are one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.