“May they all be one”: we were born for that page of the Gospel

One day I took shelter in a dark cellar with my new companions. We had the Gospel with us. By candlelight I opened it. There was the prayer of Jesus before his death, “Father... may they all be one” (Jn 17:21). It was not an easy text for young women like us, but those words seemed to light up one by one and they imprinted in our hearts the conviction that we were born for that page of the Gospel, that is, to contribute to bringing about the unity of men and women with God and with one another, and in this way fulfill God’s plan for mankind.

We met again on the feast of Christ the King and gathered around an altar. We said to Jesus: “You know how unity can come about. Here we are. If you want to, use us.” The liturgy of the day impressed us: “Ask of me, - it said - and I shall give you the nations as your birthright, the whole wide world as your possession” (Psalm 2:8). We asked; God is all powerful.

Jesus said: “May they be one in us, so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). If Christ is present in the unity of brothers and sisters, the world believes. This is what happened around us. After a few months about 500 people of all ages, men and women, of all vocations and of all walks of life wanted to share our Ideal. Everything was held in common among us, as it had been in the first Christian communities.