What’s the reason for each Person of the Trinity?
On the first Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate and honor God’s character as the Most Holy Trinity.
The first reading shows us the Father as he parented the baby nation of Israel. We see that he is “a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and faithfulness” — the Perfect Father.
If we have difficulty seeing him this way, it’s because we’ve never experienced a human father-figure who showed us what perfect fatherhood looks like. Our spirits need healing. We’ve been projecting human imperfections onto our image of God. Even the best parents and teachers fall short of the wonderfulness of God’s fatherhood. We need to consciously differentiate him from our human dads and other human authorities.
The second reading shows us the entire Trinity: the grace of Jesus, the love of the Father, and our friendly partnership with the Holy Spirit. In this and because of this, we are to rejoice, mend our ways, and live in peace with one another.
In other words, because Jesus bore our sins as he died on the cross and then conquered death, he provides us with grace so that we can resist sin, and he provides us with the Father’s love so that we can love one another no matter what, and he provides us with the Holy Spirit, who fellowships with us and empowers us so that we can continually live as holy Christians.
The Gospel reading shows us the depth of the Father’s love. He doesn’t condemn us for our sins; he gives us his Son to rescue us from the destructive results of our sins. Our sins condemn us and sentence us to eternal death, but Jesus saves us from this by taking us to eternal life — if we want him to!
Even those of us in advanced age remember the excitement and impatience. Four words – “Are we there yet” – captured our anticipation, excitement, and impatience.
Creating encounters in charity with others brings us closer to God.
When us older (and hopefully wiser) Vincentians look back on what this world has achieved in our lifetimes it is truly amazing.
The Missionary Encounter for the American Continent (EMLA), organized by the Vincentian Marian Youth (VMY), took place in Honduras from January 13 to 28, 2023.
Rereading Andre Dodin's biography of Saint Vincent de Paul recently, I was struck with the phrase he used to weave together the various threads of Vincent's life.
Feeding a fire! Who, me? Yes! … And me!
Famvin Resources
“Charity is like a flame which soars aloft. When present in a soul, charity raises it aloft to God and draws God to it in such a way that if you could see the beauty of it, you would fall in love with it and be transported with astonishment.” (CCD 10:452) – St. Vincent de
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
812 Duke Street
Greensboro, NC 27401
Hours
Monday through Friday
9:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Phone: 336-272-8650
Email: info@stmarysgreensboro.org