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“What is unity? It is something marvellous! Because it’s that unity which Jesus had in mind when he exhorted strongly us to ‘love one another’, even to be ready to die for one another. The unity intended by Jesus when he said, “Where two or more are united, I am there in their midst,” is not a combination of persons or merely a group of people. He is present because unity truly manifests and brings about the presence of Jesus. I remember how surprising it was for me to read the correspondence from the early days when we first began to live like this and started to experience the presence of Christ in our midst. We hadn’t experienced it before because our Christianity was very individualistic. For example, one letter says:
Oh unity, unity, what divine beauty! Who would dare speak of it? It is ineffable! You feel it, see it, enjoy it, but it’s indescribable. Everyone rejoices in its presence, everyone suffers from its absence. It is peace, joy, love, ardour, the atmosphere of heroism, of the highest generosity. It is Jesus among us!
How can we explain this reality? Well, the Risen Jesus said something fantastic: ‘I will be with you always, until the end of the world’ (Mt 28:20). He said that he would be with us everyday, always. But where is he? Undoubtedly he is present in the Church because the Church is the Body of Christ; in a special way he is with those who proclaim the Gospel because Jesus told them so. We know that Jesus is particularly present in the Eucharist, He is there. Jesus is in his Church and also in his Word. The words of Jesus are not like ours; they are a presence of Jesus and in nourishing ourselves with them we nourish ourselves with Jesus. Jesus is with the successors of the Apostles, with our Bishops. He is in them and he speaks through them. Jesus is in the poor. He said that he is in the poor – that he is hidden behind all those who suffer. But Jesus also said, ‘Where two or more are united,’ so he is also present in the community.
I have realized that today that section of the world which does not believe in God, which has other beliefs, is particularly touched by this presence of Jesus. ‘By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another’ (John 13:35). This is a way of bearing witness to Christ which is deeply felt today because, you see, what does unity do? Paul VI said in a parish of Rome that unity generates Christ in our midst, unity expresses Christ, it manifests and reveals him. Jesus is not a reality of 20 centuries ago; He is in his Church today and he repeats his words to us. Jesus is present – here and now – and this is what is so beautiful about unity. It shows this presence of Jesus. In fact, Jesus said: ‘May they be one so that the world may believe’. This is true. The Movement has tried throughout these years to keep faith in this presence of Jesus, of the risen Lord in our midst. And we attribute the worldwide spreading of the Movement to his presence. He paved the way and he gave witness to Christianity.
Then what should we do? What conclusion should we draw?
During these days I have had the opportunity to come into contact with many Dutch people and I have admired one thing which I have not found in other countries: in every heart of these Dutch people there is love for the Netherlands and a great love for the Church in the Netherlands. So what should we do? This love must become concrete. Let’s try to bring the presence of the risen Jesus in our families, in the parishes, everywhere, through this mutual love which was the secret of the early Christians. And what consequences will the risen Lord bring? A new springtime, and everything will come back to life. This is my wish for you.
And the fruits? What fruits will this presence of Jesus bear? The same that we noticed when we began the Movement: a great joy, peace, the fruits of the Spirit. So my wish is that when you leave here, you may have in your hearts this desire: I will do everything possible so that the risen Lord may be in our midst!”
