On Unity
From LanceaSanctum
Given by Father General Aroex Xaviar Bastian Valario de la Cruz in July 2006.
Brothers and Sisters:
Cardinal DuMont has spoken of the necessity of unity as a result of her vision. We, too, have been discussing a greater show of unity in these past nights. Our unity, however, must be more than just a show. I do not call upon you to anoint and follow a single leader, for that is not our way, and would be too easy to unify many while further alienating others in our covenant. No, we must choose a somewhat more difficult, but ultimately more rewarding path, individually choosing to unify with our brothers and sisters.
The unity which does exist in our covenant has grown out of the difficulties of our early days and out of the striving for a goal. That goal is revealed to us clearly in the Testament, and we must always remember its charges to us, and that each brother and sister of the Lancea Sanctum works towards that goal. It is our faith in God and our belief in the sanctity of the cause of Longinus that unifies us.
Our unity, to be real, must stand the severest strain without breaking. I know that my unity with all my brothers and sisters cannot be destroyed by national boundaries and differences in creed. One of us may hit the mark, while another blunders, but heed not these distinctions! Only from the alliance of us as one, working with and through each other, can great things be born.
I take as my guide the hope of a saint: in crucial things, unity; in important things, diversity; in all things, faith. Our unity can be so powerful that we may use it to magnify our faith and cast its truth into every vampiric soul. We must remember that God calls to not just the Sanctified, but to all vampires. We must remember that on the altar of prejudice, when we crucify our own or others, the blood of all vampires is the color of God. We must respect the vampire of noble covenants other than our own, who carries out, in different places, a struggle parallel to ours. He is our ally, be he at the other end of the world or in the same city.
I dream of the realization of the unity of the Lancea Sanctum, whereby its leading lights combine in their efforts and join with all our brothers and sisters to solve the problems of this covenant. God has laid this charge at my feet, a gauntlet cast in challenge. I shall pick up that gauntlet and go forth to do His work, or I shall die in the attempt.
18 August 2006: Follow-up
Brothers and Sisters:
As we contemplate not mere acts of unity, but actual pursuit of unity, in light of the visions revealed to us by Cardinal DuMont, I ask you to look at your own actions of late, particularly in regards to your own brothers and sisters, and ask yourself if you have acted in unity with them.
Have you, when you find something that another of the Lancea Sanctum has done that offends you or counters your own goals, talked to that brother or sister in order to resolve your differences? Have you considered putting your goals aside, or on hold, in order to let that brother or sister achieve what is needed for the greater good of the Lancea Sanctum?
I am a politician, this is true, and I play the same games all politicians play, bargaining influence and favors back and forth in pursuit of the goals I have set for myself, but I do not betray my faith. I do everything that I can to remove brothers and sisters, as well as the non-Sanctified followers of the Testament, from harm's way before taking an action against someone or something. Sometimes it cannot be done, for to do so would harm our cause, and I must trust that the Sanctified and the congregations they lead are prudent and nimble, able to protect themselves, but it is never an action to be taken lightly, to put them in danger, whatever the cause.
So I ask you, do you do the same? Do you consider the dangers of confronting another of the Sanctified directly, particularly in public? Do you consider how we must look to others, when we even argue in public? Do you think of how it is that you came to be in opposition to another of the Lancea Sanctum, perhaps discovering that you have been manipulated by those of other covenants? It could be a matter of choice feeding grounds, where you find yourself supporting your non-Sanctified allies against another of our covenant. It could be a matter of possession of a thing, or who shall guide one of the young. It could be a matter of opposing one of the Lancea Sanctum who has taken Praxis from a non-Sanctified you consider to be an ally.
It could be many things, great or small...but have you done everything you can to fix the situation, to keep our image of unity and strength, to avoid violence, particularly to avoid the death of any of the vampires involved? It is true that we can find ourselves on opposite sides of a conflict, but when that happens, what have you done to resolve it quietly, without public shouting, without violence, without the loss of our Damned lives?
It is a question without an easy answer. No two circumstances are ever exactly the same. You must examine your faith, your conscience, and your desires, and balance them against the needs of the covenant, the teachings of the Testament, and, as far as you can discern, the Will of God.
If you have not made this examination, as best you can, and then acted on it, then you are not acting in the name of unity, or in the best interests of the Lancea Sanctum. If we cannot have unity within, how can we ever expect to have unity without? If we cannot display unity without, then how can we ever have unity within?
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