Service

Service without relationship is self-service.

Growth in Love

To grow in Christ is to grow in love. Christ's heart is filled with love for all people and for all of creation. Spiritual disciplines are not to be done for themselves, they are places of transforming grace where Christ shapes our hearts for love. We especially begin to grow in love to the least in society. There are so many people society casts aside as poor, ugly, stupid and a whole host of other terms. Remember, these are people that we created in the image of God and for whom Christ died on the cross. The Christian sees through the world's stereotypes into the reality of a Christ like view of people as beloved. Part of our calling as Christians is to help people discover their belovedness.

Unity

As people we are infinitely different and there are endless combinations of DNA. While we are different our life all flows from the same source, the voice of God. We are at the same time different and the same.

The same Spirit flows and gives life to all people whether they recognize it or not. Realizing the same Spirit gives life for all people enables us to pray for people and relate to them based on our unity in the mystical body of Christ. This will allow us to begin to love our neighbor as ourself since we will realize that while we are different we are connected at a level that is deeper than any of our differences.

This deeper spiritual reality will enable us to live more peacefully and in harmony with one another. It gives us the ability to "forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us". The commonality of our common forgiveness is the source of our divine connection with Christ and the Trinity.