*****
The doctrinal image of the Trinity is a difficult concept to understand. In fact, one might recall being taught that the Trinity is a mystery. The best way to approach this mystery might be to consider the experience of God. There is no denying that we indeed have a continued experience of God. St. Francis de Sales refers to the experience of the Trinity as an example of God’s continual dialogue with us. For De Sales, we continually experience this Triune Go, because he never stops communicating with us through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. St. Paul said it best in his greeting to the Corinthians which we hear every time we gather for the liturgy: “May the grace and peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always.”
However, this notion of three persons and one God is a concept that is difficult to understand. Maybe that is why St. Augustine was one of the first to refer to the dogma as a mystery and why St. Patrick is often depicted as trying to explain the Trinitarian mystery using the 3-leafed clover. The notion of a triune God will always be difficult to explain and understand. And maybe that explanation - or the attempt at explanation - is best left to the theologians.
In the meantime, it is appropriate to consider the fact that one day a year the Church does not celebrate an event such as the Incarnation or Resurrection, or the miracles or teachings of Jesus. Rather, this is the only Sunday of the year when we celebrate a dogma. On this Sunday, Trinity Sunday, we celebrate the mystery of three persons, one God. What we celebrate then is the ongoing experience of the Triune God, a God who constantly reveals to us something of what it means to be divine – and by extension, therefore, something of what it means to be human.
Think about it. Every time we bless ourselves with the sign of the Cross, or when we baptize, or begin Mass, we always do so in the name of the Triune God. There simply is no way to avoid it. On Trinity Sunday and on every Sunday that we gather, we can celebrate the Triune Godhead in a variety of ways, including spending time with the theological concepts offered that day. Today, that reflection would mean spending time with the notion of a Triune God. Also, one could also celebrate today by taking advantage of the offer for continued dialogue with our God.
As we hear in today’s first reading taken the Book of Deuteronomy, God continues to reveal himself to his people. What might this triune God be revealing to us today about not only about what it means to be divine, but also what is also means to be human?
*****
“Anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal…”
No sooner had Mary received the announcement from the Angel Gabriel that she would be the mother of the Messiah than she “set out and traveled to the hill country in haste” where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. (Recall that in the context of the Annunciation, Mary had learned that her cousin was pregnant.) As if Mary did not have enough on her plate already, she dropped whatever she was doing in order to offer assistance to Elizabeth for “about three months”. Mary did not wait for the request; Mary anticipated the need.
One of the hallmarks of the Salesian tradition (and as embodied in the Sisters of the Visitation, founded by Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal) is this notion of “anticipating the need of our neighbor”. This quality invites us to be “on the lookout” for opportunities to do good for others. Simple things like:
• holding open a door for another;
• offering to help carry someone’s groceries;
• assisting someone who may have dropped something on the floor;
• checking in on someone who is under the weather;
• being the first to greet someone or to call someone by name;
• asking how someone is doing today.
These are ordinary, everyday ways of honoring others by simply acknowledging their presence and by recognizing that they exist. Here is where Paul’s admonition in his Letter to the Romans comes into play. Insofar as each day is loaded with countless opportunities to honor people by anticipating their needs – by “looking out” for their interests – such efforts could understandably become wearisome over time. In the Salesian tradition, we need to approach each new day as yet another God-given gift: the invitation to offer to do good things for others rather than waiting for others to ask us to do good things for them. Mary embodied the virtue of anticipating the need of another in her decision to offer her cousin Elizabeth assistance without waiting to be asked. In so honoring her cousin, she brought honor to herself.
Today, how might we honor Mary by following her example through our willingness to anticipate the needs of one another?
*****
“The heart of the just one is firm, trusting in the Lord.”
In a conference given to the Sisters of the Visitation on ‘Hope’ (July 1620), Francis de Sales remarked:
“O my God, how happy should we be if we can accustom ourselves to make this reply to our hearts when they are anxious and troubled about anything: ‘The Lord will provide,’ and after saying that, to have no more care, anxiety or disturbance…Great indeed is the confidence that God requires us to have in His paternal care and in His divine Providence. Why should we not have it, seeing that no one has ever been deceived in it? No one ever trusts in God without reaping the fruits of His confidence…Continue to trust in God. Do you think that the God who takes care to provide food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth – which neither sow nor reap – will ever forget to provide all that is necessary for the one who trusts wholly in His Providence, seeing that we are capable of being united to God, our sovereign good?” (Conferences, Conference VI, pp. 89-90)
Is your heart anxious or troubled about anything? Then, speak with God. Pray to God. Walk with God. And most importantly, trust in God and reap “the fruits of His confidence.”
*****
“To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.”
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:
“Consider the nobility and excellence of your soul. It is endowed with understanding, which knows not only this visible world but also that there are angels and a paradise. It knows that there is a God, most sovereign, most good and most ineffable. It knows that there is an eternity and knows also what manner is best designed for living well in this visible world so that our soul may be joined with the angels in paradise and enjoy God for all eternity. Moreover, your soul has a most noble will and that same will is capable of loving God...”
“‘O beauteous soul!’ you must acclaim, ‘Since you can know and desire God, why would you beguile yourself with any lesser thing? Since you can advance your claim to eternity, why should you beguile yourself with passing things? One of the prodigal son’s regrets was that he might have lived in plenty at his father’s table whereas he had eaten among the beasts. O my soul, you are made for God! Woe to you if you are satisfied with anything less that God! Raise your soul aloft on this consideration. Remind it that it is eternal and worthy of eternity. Fill it with courage for this project.” (IDL, Pat V, Chapter 10, pp. 282-283)
Amid all the things that you may experience and the people that you may encounter today, remember to lift up and to raise your soul aloft by reminding yourself of the respect and reverence with which you must treat yourself, worthy, as you might be, of eternity right here – right now – in this visible world. For that matter, remember to lift and raise up the souls of other people by also treating them with respect and reverence, too.
*****
“Just as seaman who set sail with a favorable wind and in fair weather never forget the cables, anchors and other things needed in time of danger and storm, in like manner even though God’s servants enjoy the sweet repose of holy love, we must never be without the fear of divine judgments so that we may use it in the storms and assaults of temptations. Again, just as the apple’s skin – a thing in itself held in small esteem – still helps greatly to preserve the apple it covers, so fear, which in itself is of little value in comparison with love, is yet very useful for preserving love during the dangers of this mortal life…Although fear is very necessary in this mortal life, it is unworthy of having any place in eternal life, where there will be certainty without fear, peace without distrust and rest without care. Yet, such services as fear may provide on behalf of love will be rewarded in heaven.” (TLG, Book XI, Chapter 17, pp. 245-246)
As the psalmist reminds us, fear is merely the beginning of wisdom. Fear is a first step, a means to a much greater end, a good that is vividly illustrated in the twofold commandments in today’s Gospel: the love of God, and the love of neighbor. When it comes to living a God-like life, a little fear goes a long way, especially when just starting out on the journey. But in the long run, it is love – and only love – that will enable us to go the distance on our pilgrimage to our heavenly home.*****
“The trouble was that the title Son of David had itself become entangled with the idea of a conquering Messiah. It had got involved in political and nationalistic hopes and dreams, aims and ambitions. Jesus was saying that the title Son of David, as it was popularly used, is a quite inadequate description of himself. He was Lord. This word Lord is the regular translation of Yahweh (Jehovah) in the Greek version of the Hebrew scriptures. Always its use would turn peoples’ thoughts to God. What Jesus was saying was that he came not to establish any earthly kingdom but to bring people to God.”
For a person who had a noticeably clear sense of his own identity, have you ever noticed how Jesus consistently refers to the primacy of his Father’s will in his life? Ironically, Jesus’ dedication to his Father’s will did not diminish Jesus – in fact, it made Jesus even more influential in the lives of others. As followers of Jesus, it is good for us to remember that doing our part in helping to build up God’s kingdom is not all about us: it’s all about God.*****
“The works of God are to be made known with due honor…”
“Saint Boniface (Latin: Bonifatius) (c. 675? – 5 June 754), born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex in Anglo-Saxon England, was a leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the German parts of the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He established the first organized Christianity in many parts of Germany. He is the patron saint of Germany, the first archbishop of Mainz and the ‘Apostle of the Germans’. He was martyred in Frisia in 754, along with 52 others. His remains were returned to Fulda, where they rest in a sarcophagus which became a site of pilgrimage. Facts about Boniface's life and death - as well as his work - became widely known, since there is a wealth of material available - a number of vitae, especially the near-contemporary Vita Bonifatii auctore Willibaldi, and assorted legal documents, possibly some sermons, and above all, his correspondence.”
“Norman F. Cantor notes the three roles Boniface played that made him ‘one of the truly outstanding creators of the first Europe, as the apostle of Germany, the reformer of the Frankish church, and the chief fomenter of the alliance between the papacy and the Carolingian family.’ Through his efforts to reorganize and regulate the church of the Franks, he helped shape Western Christianity, and many of the dioceses he proposed remain today. After his martyrdom, he was quickly hailed as a saint in Fulda and other areas in Germany and in England. His cult is still notably strong today. Boniface is celebrated as a zealous missionary; he is regarded as a unifier of Europe, and he is seen (mainly by Catholics) as a German national figure.” (http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=29)
Boniface clearly made known the works of the God with due honor by his evangelical zeal and by giving his life for the sake of the Gospel. Today, how might honor Boniface through our attempts to make known the works of the God through our attempts at praising the Lord in our relationships with others?
