The psalmist reminds us how good and how pleasant it is when brothers live in unity and in seeking this unity Paul offers three important exhortatory words: bear, strive, and preserve. Although the perfection of unity in community is one which will only be fully realized in the heavenly kingdom, we are called to strive for that unity and what Paul calls bearing with one another through love accentuates the effort required in this striving. And even when that unity is partially attained, it remains fragile and thus has to be preserved—requiring further effort and energy. Given all this required sustained effort and energy, it’s all too easy to give up on unity and learn to live with disunity and isolation from one another. And yet this is not life but living death and a foretaste of hell—surely not something a monk should be seeking!