Reuniting A House Divided

I was shooting the breeze with a colleague the other day talking about college football, hobbies and work when the issue of family came up. He mentioned that there is a side of the family he no longer speaks to due to conflicting belief systems.

While understandable, it is still a sad and unfortunate circumstance in today’s society. Let’s face it, with family, it tends to be a little too easy to play the game of divide and conquer. I admit it, there are relatives I do not converse with due to geographic location, their sports team affiliation, (yeah, I’m a guy and we get personal when it comes to our teams!) or simply because I do not like them. And yes, religion and politics does tend to play a factor as well.

Division: The New Unifier?

Division not only occurs in the family but it has become the new norm among friendships, acquaintances, employees; even children in school are experiencing and/or taking part in divisiveness many of us never thought possible. There is a story of one young girl who was bullied by her classmates. With the urging of a parent the bullying continued. It was only a matter of time before the poor young lady chose to end it all instead of live a life filled with pain, constant shaming, regret and endless rejection.

In a broader context, race relations are a complete disaster. Cops, soldiers and our flag are spat upon and mocked. The vulnerable are viewed as useless and a burden to society, hence we have abortion on demand and a rising dependence on euthanasia. The Catholic Church is now on the docket. Division, sadly, has become the new unifier.

Evil’s End Goal

I have to confess, I am far from guiltless on this issue. Due to past hurts, I used shame and divisiveness as a shield from being hurt again. These methods are used to self-medicate past wounds and insecurities and while they seemingly protect you, the reality is it traps you, brick by brick in a self-made prison cell. The end result is isolation and despair. As a society, we are not only isolated and filled with despair, we are beginning to cross the line into hopelessness.

Many of us have asked, “How did we fall so far so quickly? How did evil spread so far and wide in such a short span of time?” Evil hinges on what is diabolic which means to scatter, divide and rupture.[i] Evil thrives off the game of divide and conquer.

What We Can Do

As I was wrapping up dinner, my colleague told me, “If you have any advice I am all ears.”

Immediately, my thoughts turned to Our Lady. Regarding the division we are experiencing on a global scale, I invite you to think of her healing hand over division like this:

Our Mothers

Think back to when we were kids. When our mothers would take us to the playground, the last thing she would want is to see us playing alone in the sandbox. Our mothers were always there for us to organize the play-dates, afterschool activities, field trips, walks to the park, you name it! Why? They never wanted us to feel lonely. As my mother would tell me, “I just want you to be happy!”

Any halfway decent mother desires her children to be loved abundantly and to love abundantly in return. And any wise mother knows that inevitably division will rear its ugly head. This is where mothers bring in one of their greatest and most loving attributes: intervention.

Her Tender Intervention

When a mother witnesses any kind of division, she is the first one to rush in and bring tenderness, love and compassionate understanding. She suffers with and embraces the pain of her little one (compassion) and comprehends the suffering, anxiety, anger and feelings of loneliness (understanding).

Our mothers empathize, love, listen and seek every route possible to replace that division with unity. She seeks common ground to undo any hurts and she bridges that gap with loving tenderness. A good mother never desires to see her child endure bullying or abuse and she does everything possible to prevent that. If and when it does occur, (I was bullied in grade school and high school), she removes her child from that situation and uses every means necessary to undo the damage and give healing to her little one.

And I would ask you to really think about this: why would Our Lady be any different? Why would she, the Queen and Mother of the Son, in anyway want to sow the seeds of division among us? The Father gave us the Mother to bring hope (her Son) into the world. The Son gave us his Mother to unite all of us in the love of the Father!

Mary: God’s Masterpiece of Unification

She is the great unifier; God’s symbol and masterpiece of peace, tender mercy and boundless love. She is the Father’s great symbol of his redeeming love for humanity. Symbol means to gather up, unite, bring together.[ii] A masterpiece, just like a great work of art such as Michelangelo’s Pieta, is a sign; a symbol of the incredible beauty which springs forth from the heart of the artist. Just like a masterful work of art unites us in awe-inspiring admiration, Our Lady is given to us to unite all of humanity in peace, understanding and love.

When we find common ground in a relationship, she is the catalyst who provides it. Pope St. John Paul II knew this element of the Virgin all too well. When speaking to Muslim men, he did not shy away from our differences, he did however point out what we had in common and encouraged us to work with those similarities towards a common good.[iii]

A Personal Note About Her Intercession

On a personal note, I sent a letter to a relative I have not spoken with in quite some time, and needless to say, our opinions tend to be on opposite ends of the spectrum. I placed that note in Our Lady’s hands and he invited me to his house of Thanksgiving Dinner!

And, my friend, this is a mere drop of water in the vast ocean of Mary’s intercession for us. When we ask her for a rock, she gives us Everest; when we ask her for a creek, she gives us the Caribbean. If you ask her for unity amidst division, she will bring you love, joy and compassion beyond anything you could ever imagine! I encourage one thing: Just ask and let her do the rest!

In a time such as this, when unity, love and compassionate understanding are so needed, no one can provide it better than Our Lady. Our Lady Undoer of Knots, Pray for Us!

[i] West, Christopher. The Theology of the Body Explained. A Commentary on John Paul II’s Gospel of the Body. Boston, MA. Ascension Press. 2003.

[ii] West, Christopher. The Theology of the Body Explained. A Commentary on John Paul II’s Gospel of the Body. Boston, MA. Ascension Press. 2003.

[iii] Weigel, George. Witness To Hope. The Biography of Pope John Paul II. New York, NY. Harper Collins. 1999