A reflection on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The readings are Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40; Psalm 33; Romans 8:14-17 and Matthew 28:16-20.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, a day in which we celebrate and meditate on the mystery of the Trinity, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #234 (easy to remember) describes as the “central mystery of the Christian faith and life.” That means it’s pretty important. It is foundational and fundamental to all the other mysteries of our Faith – because it is the mystery of God in himself.
This central mystery is the mystery that says that God is one God, three persons: God is one God, three persons. It’s not three gods – ONE God. Three persons –not three different parts of God, like the Shamrock that St. Patrick uses to explain the Trinity. It is not three different states of God like water (that’s sometimes also used to describe the Trinity); liquid, solid and gas. It’s not three aspects or qualities of God: creator, redeemer, sanctifier – no, it’s three PERSONS. One God. It’s hard to understand.
That’s why we call it a mystery. But it’s not a mystery like a murder mystery, Agatha Christie or Scooby Doo mystery that we have to solve. No, when the Church talks about mystery, it means something that it’s so amazing, so wonderful that it cannot be fully described in human terms. It cannot be fully understood. In the Church we use the word ‘mysteries’ a lot. Pay attention at Mass to see how many times you hear the priest use the word ‘mysteries’: “as we prepare to celebrate these sacred mysteries” – or “the mystery of faith”. When we pray the Rosary, we pray the “mysteries of the Rosary”. And we have a few Mysteries that are hard to explain: the Mystery of the Eucharist, the Mystery of the Incarnation, the Mystery of the Cross… and the mystery of the Trinity is the central one and, probably, the hardest one to understand: ONE God; and at the same time THREE completely distinct persons who are each independently, fully ONE God. “Oh most Holy Trinity, undivided unity” we sometimes sing.
A reflection for the 5th Sunday of Easter, Year B. The readings are: Acts 9:26-31,
Psalm: 22; 1 John 3:18-24 and John 15:1-8.
There have been a few difficult times in my life, when I have had the Grace (yes, absolutely it’s because of Grace!) not to pray for the outcome that I want, but to pray for a good outcome. I didn’t even pray for God’s will, but that, whatever the resolution to the crisis, it is one that is good for all those affected by it. I suppose that what God thinks is good may be different from what I think is good, but at least I’m pretty sure that whatever God wants is good (whether I agree with it or not).
And so I am comforted to read today’s Gospel – to hear Jesus say that if we remain in him we will bear much fruit. That means that Jesus wants us to be fruitful. He wants the outcome of all things to be good.
That’s what being fruitful means: leading to good things. When we are fruitful, what we say and do always lead to good things. When we abide in Christ, it always leads to good things – it leads to good fruit.
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A reflection for the 1st Sunday, Lent, Year B. The readings are Genesis 9:8-15; Psalm 25; 1 Peter 3:18-22 and Mark 1:12-15.
When you think of Lent, what do you think of? Do you think of feasting or fasting? Do you think of partying or penance? I tend to think of Lent as a time of preparation – we have 40 days to prepare for Easter, which is the most important feast for Christians. Easter is more important than Christmas; it’s more important than any other feast because that’s when we celebrate the Resurrection. That’s when we celebrate that Christ, through his passion, death and resurrection, destroyed death forever, so that you and I can go and be with him in Heaven.
So we are preparing for Heaven.
And, as with anything that is important, preparing means hard work: it means doing things that we don’t feel like doing and not doing things that we feel like doing. It means sacrifice. That’s why it’s a time of penance – that’s why we emphasize prayer, fasting and alms-giving.
Read more…A reflection for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. The readings are Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 25; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 and Mark 1:14-20.
Last Saturday I went to visit my friend Lara. She has ALS – Lou Gehrig’s disease, which is a degenerative disease that affects the nervous system and nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. ALS affects muscle control and the symptoms get worse over time. ALS begins by causing muscle twitches or spasms, or maybe slurred speech. Eventually the patients have difficulty walking and then cannot walk, they cannot speak, have difficulty swallowing. Most ALS patients die when they simply cannot breathe. Lara was diagnosed 9 months ago – most people live with ALS about 5 years, but some can live 10 years.
We had a very nice visit. She told me about what she wanted for her funeral. I told her she didn’t have to make some of those decisions yet; she still has time. She can still walk, she can still talk and eat. I gave her Communion. We prayed. I asked her if she wanted to receive the Sacrament of the Sick and she said she would think about it. I told her to let me know if she needed help with that. On Monday, her husband called me to say they had left messages with the priest so Lara could receive the Sacrament of the Sick but had not heard back, so I called the priest and helped arrange it. On Tuesday morning Lara received the Anointing of the Sick.
deacon pedro 