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contemplation, divine Spirit, grace, Holy Trinity, mystery, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Trinity
For centuries, in countries all over the world, scholars and theologians have tried to explain the mystery at the heart of Christianity: the Trinity. We Christians have struggled to find a way to explain “three Persons in one God” well enough to satisfy. Images of three-leaf clovers, triangles and so many others have been part of our religious education. Recently many have been aided by the wildly popular book, The Shack but still the depth of our faith can only admit that “it’s a mystery.”
Letting go of intellect and accepting the fact that our God as Trinity means, as someone once said (very wisely, I think), “not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be lived.” Sometimes I need to just sit and marvel at the generosity of a Creator of such a glorious universe as ours and the benevolence of the love poured out to the finite creation that is humanity. At other moments my need is for a God who is like me, living as part of the great creation, understanding what it means to live a human life with all its joys and suffering. And the potential of deeper contemplation that touches into the life of the Spirit in each of us and all of us, allowing us to catch meaning in ways that bring us ever closer to the meaning of Love is thrilling. That “still, small voice” inside us that cannot be attributed to any power of our own but is clearly a gift of the Divine Spirit living in us defines the work of that “Third Person of the Blessed Trinity” like no other facet of our experience.
So today, on this feast of the Holy Trinity, I am happy to greet you in the familiar words of St. Paul: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”
Today Christians the world over celebrate an unlikely “celebrity” of the Church. For someone reading a sketch of her life for the first time – just the facts – St. Therese of Lisieux would appear to be no one special, although tragic maybe, because she only lived until the age of 24 years, having contracted tuberculosis at a young age. What one learns, however, in studying her own writings and the evidence in other sources, is that she is one of the most popular saints in the history of Christianity. How is this possible for someone who entered a cloistered Carmelite community at the age of 15 years and lived a daily routine of prayer and household tasks until her death nine years later?
St. Clare of Assisi, whom we celebrate today, was a great example of the adage “Behind every good man, there is a good woman.” While he did not see her often, St. Francis counted on her holiness and wisdom to shore up his determination in times of doubt and difficulty. Clare was a clear mirror of the presence of God for Francis and for those women who followed her to the convent of San Damiano, and he was the same for her. She was a woman of great strength and perseverance who believed that she was the one who knew best what should be written in a rule for women in a religious order. Although she easily accepted the rule that Francis has written in the early days, after the death of Francis she continued for 27 years to submit a revised rule to bishops and popes until she finally received and signed a constitutional document of her own two days before her death on August 11, 1253.
Although there are many people now in our country whose work lives do not fit the traditional Monday through Friday schedule, the majority still head to work this morning, hopefully somewhat refreshed from the weekend. The challenge for many is to bring a positive attitude into the workplace. It sometimes takes conscious effort to put one’s best foot forward, so to speak, depending on the work itself, our fitness for it and the companions we encounter there. It helps if we can take God along on the bus or the highway, especially on Mondays, with the understanding that our spiritual/inner life is not separate from the outer/busy life in the world.
Often these days I have conversations with others about the necessity of living in the present moment and doing our best to carve out some silence on a regular basis. This is not a new concept. I think of my first years in the convent when we spent the major part of every day in silence and wonder about how different life would be for me today if the Second Vatican Council had not achieved an aggiornamento (updating) that clarified the differences in monasticism and apostolic religious life. In addition to the understanding of the differences, however, there remains significant overlap in the various forms of such a call and the element of silence in each cannot be overstated.
It is sometimes counter-productive to read the news in the morning. I don’t often do so before taking up this writing task. I should always move toward what I know to be my priorities. After twenty minutes or so this morning of breaking my own rule and falling deeper into distress, I moved away from stories of corruption, violence and division in the world and turned to Thomas Merton for solace. Here is what he gave me as a motivational word for today:
It’s late afternoon here in the Northeast of the USA and I might normally skip the daily blog post on a day this far spent but today is the feast of St. Clare and I want to say a word (or more) about her.
