As monks trying to live in community we feel inspired by the psalmist’s assurance: How blessed it is when brothers live in unity, and yet wonder if this noble goal is attainable. Saint Paul gives us some encouragement with the crucial words: bearing with and striving. Advocating, as he does that we bear with one another in love, reminds us that, this side of eternity, fraternal love and authentic community aren’t necessarily about good feelings, absence of tensions, or general conviviality among the brothers. When love is understood in terms of seeking the good of the other then feelings of affection or of antipathy are unreliable indicators of love or a lack thereof. And the fact that Paul advocates striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit, tells that even when the reality is close to the ideal, unity among the brothers needs to be actively preserved because our sinful and changeable nature can easily undo this blessed state. Assisted by the prayers of Saint Matthew, then, let us not grow weary in our struggle to live in unity for there is no better preparation for heaven where, having been made perfect, we will no longer have to bear with one another, and where that unity will never again be lost.