of the Holy Trinity
Salesian Family Celebration in Washington, D.C.
This past weekend (May 21-22),
members of the Salesian Family from all over the Northeast and eastern Canada
gathered at the St. John Paul II Center and the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception in Washington to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
dedication of the altar of Mary Help of Christians there. Yours truly was there
to photograph the events and report for the province newsletter. Here’s the
homily given at the noon Mass in the Shrine church by Fr. Timothy Zak, SDB, our
vice provincial.
In
the recently published book Dear Pope
Francis, the Holy Father answered questions from children from around the
world. The question-answer exchange shows the closeness of the Pope to the
children. One review says that the book “feels akin to sitting in on a series
of intimate conversations.” Here are a few samples of the questions:
“If God loves us so much, why
didn’t he defeat the devil?”
“Will my non-Catholic
grandfather go to heaven?”
“If you could cause one
miracle, what would it be?”
These
questions reveal what is in the heart of the young today—their interests,
worries, and hopes. With simplicity they are asking about complex realities.
The Pope answers with respect for the sincerity of the children, and he doesn’t
shy away from the difficulty of the issues. Using familiar images like soccer
and dancing, Pope Francis is able to write about profound spiritual and social
concepts. More than a teacher addressing students in a classroom, however, the
Pope is like a father offering comfort and advice to his children or maybe his grandchildren.
What
a wonderful example for us on this solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity! Each one
of us being invited into an intimate relationship with God, whom we can trust
with all our dreams and insecurities, like his dear children, knowing that God
loves us.
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|
The
Trinity by Franz Anton Maulbertsch
(1724-1796)
|
The
Trinity is the most sublime theological truth of our faith: far beyond our understanding,
far greater than anything we could ever hope for or imagine. We can never fully
comprehend God’s eternal holy Trinity and undivided Unity—the infinite majesty
and eternal glory of the Godhead, revealed as an intimate exchange of love; three
persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—but only one God.
Although
we cannot comprehend this mystery with our finite, human minds, we can profess
this truth and adore God in majesty. At every Mass we join our voices with those
of the angels and all the heavenly host as we sing, “Holy, holy, holy.” With
this song of praise and wonder, we acknowledge our unworthiness to be in God’s
presence, yet at the same time we are aware that we are always in his presence.
Even when we are not attentive to God, and sometimes try to ignore him, God is
always watching over us. Remember the simple lesson Johnny Bosco learned from
Mama Margaret, and which he had written in the Oratory playground: God sees you
and loves you. This is a grace, a gift. We don’t deserve it, and we can’t earn
it. But God delights in bestowing his grace upon us because God is Father, and
we are his children.
It
is Jesus, the Word of truth sent into the world by the Father, who has perfectly
made known to us what it means to be a daughter or son of God. He is the eternal
Son. In today’s gospel (John 16:12-15), we see the intimate unity that the
Father and the Son share: “Everything that the Father has is mine” (v. 15). The
Father holds nothing back for himself, but in love gives himself as Father to
the Son. At key points in the Gospels, we are able to listen in on the
conversations Jesus has with the Father. These reveal a complete trust in the
Father, even to the point of abandoning himself to fulfill the Father’s plan of
salvation. In love and trust, the Son empties his heart out to the Father,
freely expressing all his troubles, fears, and joys. Just before raising Lazarus
from the dead, Jesus raises his eyes and says, “Father, I thank you for hearing
me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said
this, that they may believe that you sent me” (John 11:41-42). See how Jesus
has complete trust in the Father, and how the Father has given everything over
to the Son! They are united in love.
Thus
Jesus has revealed to us what it means to have God as our Father, and what it
means to be a child of God, loved into being by the Father. The bond of love
between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit. The marvelous intimacy
shared by the Father and the Son is given to us too, “because the love of God
has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given
to us” (Rom 5:5). These amazing words of St. Paul to the Romans are an
encouragement for each of us to come before God with childlike trust, opening
our hearts to God’s love and giving ourselves back to God in love.
We
are in the month of May, a month traditionally dedicated to Mary, Mother of
Jesus and Mother of the Church. On Tuesday, May 24, the Church honors Mary
under the title Help of Christians. She is a model and a help for us to live
full of grace, in intimate relationship with the one true God, Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. Mary was chosen by God the Father to be the mother of his Son by
the power of the Holy Spirit. She is daughter, mother, and spouse. This is a
unique grace she received, with which she cooperated. It is God’s plan of
salvation that we too should receive the grace to call God Father, and have the
fullness of life in Christ as God’s children filled with the Holy Spirit. But
God will not force this gift upon us; it is a gift we must humbly accept; it is
a grace with which we must choose to cooperate.
 |
| The Annunciation by Giuseppe Andreis (1822-1880), showing
the Father and the Spirit at work as Mary receives Gabriel’s message |
When
we invoke Mary under the title Help of Christians, we get a sense of a mission
that has been given to her. She shares in the mission Christ gave to the Church
to go forth and announce the Good News, to draw all people together as the family
of God, to reach out with a special concern for the forgotten, marginalized,
and wounded, to care for the little ones and the poor. The grace of being
chosen by God was not for her glory, but so that she could further God’s plan
of salvation. Once again, she is teacher and guide for the pilgrim Church on
the journey of faith. She teaches us that God has bestowed upon us all abundant
gifts and many blessings, but not for our own selfish interests; not to be
closed in on ourselves, but open—open to God, open to encountering God in our
neighbor, open to surprises. God delights in blessing us so that we can go
forth and share the Good News and God’s gifts with others. Mary guides us as we
seek out the lost, raise up the fallen, and go out to the existential
peripheries offering consolation and hope.
During
this Jubilee of Mercy, we are being given a special opportunity to learn carefully
from Mary’s teaching and faithfully follow her guidance, as we open ourselves
up to be filled with God’s grace. Our devoted mother, she seeks the well-being
of her children; she wants to see us experience the joy of being united with
God. It is not a joy we keep to ourselves, but a joy that is meant to be given
away. And when we give of ourselves, the joy grows. The Pope showed his
practical wisdom when he recommended that we perform the works of mercy during
the Jubilee Year. In the care we offer our neighbor, we share the mercy we have
first received from God. Remember the ancient antiphon, “Where there is love,
there is God.” By practicing the works of mercy, we are helping others be aware
that God is present in their lives.
Even
if we cannot fully understand the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, we boldly
profess it as a revealed truth of our faith. Even if our songs of praise are
inadequate in expressing the majesty of God, we still adore God clothed in
glory. Well aware that we are unworthy, we testify to the experience of being
loved by God, of being drawn into the intimate relationship of Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit.
Recall
the simple and sincere trust of those children who wrote about their concerns
to the Pope. It was not because they could really be able to understand the
Pope’s answers to their profound questions that they wrote to him, but because
Pope Francis has given clear witness to God’s love and concern for all,
especially the little ones. With filial confidence, we come before God, not
because we could ever be able to understand him, but because we have
experienced the personal love of God. We have been drawn into the intimate
exchange of love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. With the psalmist,
our hearts cannot contain themselves, and we repeat, “O Lord, our God, how
wonderful your name in all the earth!” (Ps 8:2).
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