December 22: O Rex Gentium, O King of all the Nations

O King of all the nations, 

the only joy of every human heart;

O Keystone of the mighty arch of humanity:

Come and save the creature 

you fashioned from the dust.

We live in an area with a lot of subdivisions. Developers get to design a lifestyle for people. How much are we defined by where we choose to live (if we are fortunate enough to have the resources for such a home)? Am I the 'golf course lifestyle' person, or the 'pool and playground lifestyle' person or perhaps the 'secluded woods and large lots lifestyle' person? But think of that word subdivisions. Even in something as probably benign as planned neighborhoods, we've created boundaries, distinctions, and accentuated differences... divisions.

God created us, all of us, male and female, Christian and Jew and Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist, agnostic and even atheist, in God's image. And every time we separate ourselves from one another, emphasizing our differences in religion or economic status, race or culture, language or gender, we fundamentally ignore the deep-down truth of Who we all belong to, and for Whom we long at the very center of our being.

Our world is groaning, weighted down with discord, violence and prejudice. We pray for the ultimate unity and peace which only the One who created all can provide.

• What if you and your child played a game today, taking at least 10 minutes amongst the crowds on the highway or in the mall or wherever, and making sure to recognize in your own heart and mind every person you see as made in God's image? Every person is your sister, your brother- since we ARE all children of God? (And don't forget your own sisters and brothers, they count, too!)
• What do you learn from doing this?
• In your own words, or the words posted above, pray today's antiphon with your child, asking God to help us be governed by a desire for getting along in peace with each other.