Oratio pro Unitate was commissioned by Musiqa Houston for collaboration with members of Mercury Chamber Orchestra.

I sought to compose a prayer for unity in response to the divisive activities happening in the world in 2025. It is a response to hatred, bigotry and all other forces that inhibit us from collectively giving empathy to one another and protecting foundational principles that strengthen our ability to make positive societal advancements for the future. I have chosen 2 texts from the Latin Vulgate Bible that speak of love and unity:

1 Corinthians 12: 12 (NIV): “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. (Sicut enim corpus unum est et membra habet multa omnia autem membra corporis cum sint multa unum corpus sunt ita et Christus.)

Colossians 3:14 (NIV): “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
(Super omnia autem haec caritatem quod est vinculum perfectionis)

-Brian Raphael Nabors (2025)