Feast of the Holy Trinity (Jn. 3:16-18) “Love to Live”
Feast of the Holy Trinity (Jn. 3:16-18) “Love to Live”
The dogma of the Holy Trinity is a teaching of the Christian faith that we desperately need today. The idea was transformative for the early church. The belief can be the same for us. The concept was a revolutionary way to look at God in the first century. And it still is.
We have two primary ways to view God. The God that is described in the Old Testament was a God that looked at the world from a distance. God was the all-powerful creator. God was the judge, the great evaluator. God was seen as so far above human beings that none of us could look upon God and live. The God I describe was hard to please, a task master who could be angry at one moment, yet loving and tender in the next. But the main characteristic of God was that God was separate from humanity. Somehow there was a disconnect.
The philosopher Aristotle says that all things have certain qualities. He lists ten. Just to simplify things we could say that things are either substance or relationship. An example of a thing that is a substance is a tree, a rock, a flower. An example of a thing that is a relationship is a father, a mother, a son, a daughter. The idea of the Trinity moved God from being a substance to relationship.
Why is this point of Theology so important for us? Because relationships are essential to life and happiness. Once there was a German king named Fredrick. He lived in the 13th century. He wanted to perform an experiment to see what language children would speak if they were never spoken to. He took several babies away from their parents. He isolated them in a room. He gave instructions to the caregivers that the babies should never be spoken to. Also, that all touching should be kept to a minimum. His theory was that the babies would end up speaking German. He thought that language was part of the natural make-up of people. People would automatically speak the language of the racial group. His great experiment proved something else, however. The babies without human interaction ended up dying.
In modern times other experiments have been performed. We now can analyze the brain to see which parts are stimulated when a person has different experiences. A lot of study has been done about the isolation people endured during COVID. What has been found is that when a person experiences loneliness the same part of the brain is stimulated as when a person experiences physical pain. Chemicals are emitted that cause the body to react to try to alleviate the pain. If a person is lonely for too long, then this causes health problems. Some experts say being lonely is more detrimental to health than smoking, drinking heavily, not getting enough sleep, etc.
Human beings are meant for relationships. We are especially meant to have a relationship with God. We read about the relationship that God had with Moses in the book of Exodus. In the passage, we read God walks by Moses on the mountain. If we read the whole story we hear how God tells Moses that what the Lord wants is intimacy with him. Moses argues that he cannot have intimacy with God if he cannot see his face.
God says you cannot see my face, because it is just too overwhelming. But I will show you more than anyone else has ever seen. God walks by Moses on the mountain. God caresses Moses with his hand. Moses sees the back of God, but more importantly God describes what he is like. “The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.”
A better way of saying all of this is that human beings need love. As one scientist put it, “Anything that promotes feeling of love is healing. Anything that promotes isolation, separation, loss, hostility, anger, cynicism leads to sickness.” In our world there is a go it alone attitude. Somehow it is thought of as virtuous not to need anyone else. Because of this mental illness, despair, atheism, are on the rise. All of this is the road to nowhere. The core belief Christians have is that God is all about relationship. God is our loving parent. God is our brother. God wants intimacy with us. We are always special in the eyes of God. Every generation needs this transformative message. Do we believe this truth? If we do, we will seek to always give love. We will always rejoice when we receive love.
Reflection Questions:
1. Was I taught to stand on my own two feet? What does that mean?
2. Do I ever feel lonely? Do I catch myself withdrawing from others for any reason?
Dear Parishioners,
On the weekend of June 10th and 11th, we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi. This feast is always special, but it is even more special this year as we are in the midst of a Eucharistic revival.
As a part of our commemoration, we will have a Eucharistic procession around our property after the 11 a.m. Mass. Eucharistic processions started in the fourteenth century in Europe. The motivation for such a procession was to answer those who were losing appreciation of the sacramental life of the church. The faithful would carry the Eucharist through the street on the Feast of Corpus Christi.
It should always be recognized that the purpose of Eucharistic devotions like the processions is to lead the faithful back to the celebration of the Mass. The Eucharistic action is primary and came first. Eucharistic devotions are secondary.
Everyone is invited to take part in the procession following our 11 a.m. Mass. We will have a Eucharistic moment, silent adoration, and benediction at the end of the procession.
May our Lady pray for us this week,
Fr. Mark