Trinity

Dt 4:32-34, 39-40; psalm 33 Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own; Romans 8:14-17; Mt 28:16-20

"Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much  as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love him.  Yet God has revealed this wisdom to us through the Spirit" 1 Corinthians 2

"Our God comes, he keeps silence no longer," Psalm 50.  The silence has been broken by God's revelation. 

"We acknowledge the Trinity, holy and perfect, to consist of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  In this Trinity there is no intrusion of any alien element or of anything from outside, nor is the Trinity a blend of creative and created being.  It is wholly creative and energizing reality, self-consistent and undivided in its active power, for the Father makes all things through the Word and in the Holy Spirit, and in this way the unity of the holy Trinity is preserved."  St.Athanasius (born 296 died 373 a Doctor of the Church and Bishop of Alexandria)

Every time we get together to celebrate God' s love at the altar of the Eucharist in the house of God we begin with the sign of the cross, and the priest begins, "the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."

We begin by invoking that energizing and creative energy to recreate us anew, to renew the very essence of our being so that we might truly live as sons in the Son and cry out 'Abba, Father.'

In that celebration we are empowered to be who God says we are, not who we say we are.  This is true integrity, not that we be who we say we are but we embrace the identity God bestows upon us and be who He says we are. who we are made to be.

Who are we but "sons of God," "Children of God," and "heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ" as St. Paul tells us in the second reading.  How do we stand in this true integrity.

As St. Paul tells us in the second reading, If only we  suffer with Christ we will be glorified with him.

"If only we suffer with him," St. Paul tells us in the letter to the Romans. "If only" means there is no other way.  

In age that wants to eliminate suffering St. Paul ask us to embrace it and receive true strength.

A few months ago I was invited to a local hospital for an ethics discussion.  They wanted me to share with the Catholic stance on the end of life issues in regards to hydration and nutrition.  I informed them that the Church teaches that nutrition and hydration are considered "ordinary means" unless it cause more harm than good.  I also informed them that extending ones life is always a good. 

One of the doctors informed me that he disagreed.  His sole mission was to eliminate suffering. 

I laughed.  I responded that one may alleviate pain but one will never eliminate suffering.  In order to eliminate suffering one must eliminate life.  

The problem is we equate physical pain with suffering.  We reduce suffering to pain.  Suffering is so much more.  

We suffer the alarm clock in the morning to get up.  We suffer love when we have  children who don't listen and we watch them make mistakes.  We suffer the imperfections of our friends, spouses, and parents.  We suffer our muscles to bend the knee to worship.  Suffering is part of life.  We cannot live otherwise. 

  

St. Paul invites us to suffer with Jesus. He invites us to embrace it, find life in it and be glorified by it. 

 

Scripture points out in the letter of Hebrews that Jesus endured the cross for the sake of the glory to come and again he learned obedience by what he suffered.  St. Peter tells us that "Christ suffered for you and left you an example to have you follow in his footsteps...when he was made to suffer he did not counter with threats but instead he delivered himself up to the One who judges justly...In his own body he brought your sins to the cross so that all of us could live in accord with God's will."

What did Jesus suffer?

Jesus suffered many things:

He suffered the sins of another: Jesus was brought to the cross not by his sins for he was sinless but by the sins of humanity.  Thus he suffered the sins of another.  In suffering he did not seek vengeance but justice; the difference between vengeance and justice is justice seeks to save and vengeance seeks to destroy.  The cross is justice for it brings salvation. 

He suffered obedience: The agony of the garden remains the central mystery of the Christian.  We are all gardeners.  Jesus in the garden prays "Lord, take this come from me but let it be your will not mine." He surrenders to the Will of God and he teaches to pray this way in the "Our Father," "thy will be done."  Only when we live in God's will do we truly experience peace in all circumstances even in crucifixion.

He suffered his sonship: While on the cross Jesus seeks his Father, "Father, into your hands I commend my sprit", he suffered trust, loyalty and honor as a son.  We too must suffer sinship, invoke the Father's aid and trust his guiding hand.

He suffered love to the end: Jesus reminds us that "no greater love than to lay down one's life for his friends", and "I no longer call you servants but friends", and again "as I loved you you must love one another"; Jesus loves to the end and reveals a love stronger than death.  How often we give up on love to soon.  We must let our love be shaped by the vows we make and fidelity to God.

He suffered life to the full: he was like us in every way, tempted but never sinned, thus he had the fullness of life; sin interferes with life; it keeps us from the life God desires for us.  Jesus refused to settle for less and chose to be more.  How often we settle.   How often we choose sin rather than suffer righteousness, suffer to be more.

He suffered true joy: Jesus proclaims,"I have come so my joy might be in you and your may be full"; Jesus shows us what true joy is.  Joy is about fidelity not about feelings.  Jesus had joy in standing upright before God.  It is in standing faithful before God do we truly experience joy.

He suffered the reputation of his Father who is merciful and forgiving: At the Cross Jesus faced those who crucified him and prayed, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."  How often in scripture Jesus repeats the phrase, "neither do I condemn you."  Jesus suffers the reputation of his Father who is merciful and just and forgiving.  How God wants us to do the same with one another and with ourselves.  We suffer the reputation of our Father every time we celebrate the confession of sins and the priest says "I absolve you of your sins, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."  The Father's reputation of mercy precedes him.

He suffered heaven coming to earth as we say in the creed: he came down from heaven and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  The incarnation is Jesus suffering heaven coming to earth.   This is the power of Faith in the believer, heaven comes to earth through us.  As a believer we become a gateway by which we suffer heaven coming to earth.

These are the things we are invited to enter into so that the Blessed Trinity can truly dwell with in us and we can become that creative and energizing force in time.

Every time we make the sign of Cross we invoke reality itself and we invite God in totality to empower us on our journey, to strengthen our drooping hands and weak knees, so that we might walk to the rhythm of eternity learn to suffer with Christ bearing heavenward.

"Eye has not seen, ear ha snot heard nor has it dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love him.  Yet God has revealed this wisdom to us through the spirit."

We are no longer in the dark.  The secret is out.  In the Most Holy Trinity we truly discover life that is worth living.