Why Latin? Why Unity?

Latin is a giant “Keep Out” sign to Protestants. So why did a Protestant pick the Latin phrase Ut Unum Sint for her blog?

But before I get into the story of the name of my blog I want to talk about my experience with Latin. When I was a young girl there were two things that I learned about Latin. The first was from a movie called George and the Dragon. The movie was a 2004 adventure and action movie. It tells a version of the story of Saint George. In the movie Princess Lunna, who is played by Piper Perabo, is getting married to her determined fiancé, Lord Garth, played by Patrick Swayze. Before I continue, it has been years since I have seen this movie. So I don’t remember it super well. During the movie Lunna was about to get married. From what I can remember the wedding starts in Latin. I turned to look at my parents and asked, “What are they saying?”

My dad got a sad look in his eyes. He then told me that the Catholic Church doesn’t believe in being inclusive. That they have a “right way” of doing things and Latin is the “right way” to do anything. Insiders will be think that this is the correct way of doing things while outsiders will be very confused.

My other experience with Latin is from jokes. In my Protestant church the children would often joke about summoning demons with Latin chanting. So my child brain thought that Latin was exclusive and evil. So again, why is my blog’s name the Latin phrase Ut Unum Sint?

After a week day mass I talked with my friend. Since it was after Christmas she gave me a gift and I also gave her a gift. During our conversation I told her that I wanted to write a book that I had the working title Partly Catholic: A Protestant Explores the Catholic Church's Dogma on Mary. She told me that I should start a blog. I then went home and prayed. I prayed, “Lord, do you want me to start a blog?”

I slept on the idea. I went to work and prayed, “Lord, should I start a blog?” My work is pretty boring, so I had a lot of time to pray. The next morning I went to Gemini which is a Google AI chat bot. I asked it how to start a blog, because I wanted too. It gave some good tips. I also had the thought to call the blog “Partly Catholic.” But I wanted to be inclusive to Protestants and Orthodox.

So I decided to name the blog Ut Unum Sint, because my deep prayer, “Lord, make us one as you are one.” When I learned about the phrase Ut Unum Sint was part of Jesus’ prayer, “That they may be one.” This prayer can be found in John 17:21. John 17 is a chapter called Jesus Prays for His Disciples. The whole context is:

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” John 17: 20-24 (New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition)

For the past few months I have been praying for unity in the church. Like I said my prayer for the last few months has been “Lord, make us one as you are one.” Since I have been praying this prayer for so long I decided to name the blog Ut Unum Sint which is Latin for “That they may be one.” So that is how I picked the name for my blog.