E PLURIBUS UNUM

A REFLECTION FOR TRINITY SUNDAY

After the thirteen original colonies broke away from their King back in 1776, the Latin phrase E Pluribus Unum soon became an official motto of the revolutionaries, and they included it in the new nation’s official seal in 1782.  The idea was, of course, that out of the union of these thirteen colonies there had arisen one single nation, the United States of America.  And the fact that the motto itself was composed of thirteen letters certainly added to the power of its symbolism.

The idea of unity being forged from diversity, however, did not originate with the good old US of A.  Other countries had already come together to form a larger united nation.  Before the ninth century, for example, England had been comprised of seven distinct independent kingdoms.  And before that we can’t forget the Roman Empire that unified almost all the known world at the time, as did Alexander the Great before that.

In short, mankind strives naturally for unity.  It does so because we were all created in the same image and likeness of God.  And God, as we all know, is three Persons in one God—the Most Holy Trinity.  One God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity.  In the majestic words of the Athanasian Creed, we acknowledge that “in this Trinity none is afore or after another, none is greater or less than another: but the whole three Persons are co-eternal together, and co-equal.”

And we are made in the image and likeness of this God.  In the sight of God, all men are created equal, at least in the sense that they have mortal bodies and immortal souls.  We are all subject to the same laws of God and nature.  We enjoy the same pleasures, suffer the same pain, and will be subject to the same judgment for our behavior.  We are one in our humanity.

And yet, we are diverse.  We are one mankind in many different forms.  We differ in racial characteristics like hair and skin color, language, culture, and a host of other ways.  This diversity also reflects God, the aspect of Trinity in God.  It is certainly no coincidence that there are three general racial classifications on this planet, Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Negroid.  Together, we form a living, breathing reflection of God’s triune nature, three races that form one humanity.

While the three races may be equal in the eyes of God, we are sadly, not necessarily equal in each other’s eyes.  Diversity has led not to unity in the case of man, but to inequality and even persecution and hatred between us.  While it is evident that the natural (and sometimes man-made) differences in our history, environment and ability to form civilizations may have had unfortunate consequences in our dealings with each other, it is incumbent on us as Catholics to recognize the underlying and inherent equality which makes us all brothers—children of the same God.  The answer to today’s problems lies in the Holy Trinity.  Diversity should not be abused, but rather encouraged where it adds to the richness of Creation.  And true unity is never going to be the fruit of violent change or some kind of artificial globalism, but rather in the common recognition of these three Persons in one God.  It used to be called Christendom.  Our prayer today must be that all men may find their common destiny in their union in the one true Church, in the one true Faith, and with the same one true God.  E Pluribus Unum!