What does it mean to belong to one another?

In his Letter to the Romans, St. Paul offers a powerful image of Christian community: many people, with different gifts and different callings, becoming one body in Christ. Our unity does not require sameness. Rather, the Body of Christ is strengthened by the gifts, experiences, cultures, perspectives, and vocations that each person brings.

This is the invitation at the heart of our 2026–2027 theme, Beloved Community: Many and One.

“So we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.”

— Romans 12:5

Throughout Scripture, God continually calls people into relationship—with God and with one another. Jesus gathers disciples around a common table. The early Church discovers a community in which people pray together, share what they have, break bread, and care for one another (Acts 2:42–47). St. Paul later reminds the Corinthians that although the body has many parts, every part belongs and every gift has a purpose (1 Corinthians 12:12–27).

Christian community, then, is more than simply gathering in the same place. We become the Body of Christ through relationship, participation, and service.

Romans 12 places this vision within an even larger call to discipleship. Paul begins the chapter by inviting believers to be “transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2). That transformation does not remain private. It changes how we recognize our gifts, how we treat one another, and how we participate in the life of the community. Renewal leads outward.

That movement speaks directly to the mission of the Office of Renewal & Outreach. We create spaces where people can step away, listen, learn, pray, encounter new perspectives, and return to their lives and communities renewed. Through lectures, retreats, workshops, conversations, and shared experiences, we hope to nurture both personal transformation and a deeper awareness that our lives are connected to one another.

Our theme also resonates deeply with the charism of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. To recognize ourselves as members of one body is to pay particular attention to those whose voices may be overlooked, whose gifts may go unrecognized, or who find themselves at the margins. A blessed community does not simply welcome people into an existing circle; it allows every member to help shape the community we are becoming.

Many Gifts. One Body. One Mission.

Throughout this year, we invite you to consider:

What gifts has God entrusted to me?
Whose gifts am I being invited to recognize?
Where am I being called into deeper relationship?
How might my own renewal become a source of hope and service for others?

Our programs throughout the year will approach these questions from different perspectives, but they share a common invitation: to discover that formation is not something we undertake alone.

We are many. We belong to one another. And together, in Christ, we are called to participate in God's work in the world.