Union of Hearts and Minds

To dream of a different future, we need to choose fraternity over individualism as our organizing principle. Fraternity, the sense of belonging to each other and to the whole of humanity, is the capacity to come together and work together against a shared horizon of possibility. In the Jesuit tradition we call this unión de ánimos, union of hearts and minds. It’s a unity that allows people to serve as a body despite differences of viewpoint, physical separation, and human ego. Such a union preserves and respects plurality, inviting all to contribute from their distinctiveness, as a community of brothers and sisters concerned for each other.

We sorely need this kind of unity. It is hard to build a culture of encounter, in which we meet as people with a shared dignity, within a throwaway culture which regards the elderly, the unemployed, the disabled, and the unborn as surplus to our well-being.

—— Excerpted from the book Let Us Dream by Pope Francis

As we celebrate the Feast of St. Valentine, let us especially pray for a unity of hearts and minds as we reflect on our journey together as Church.

Gratefully,

Fr. Dan, Pastor