The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the connection between the mystical love of Father, Son and Spirit and our activation of that Love on our journey.
The reading from the Book of Deuteronomy declares God’s Fidelity and Love.
Psalm 33 praises the Greatness and Goodness of God.
* [Psalm 33] A hymn in which the just are invited (Ps 33:1–3) to praise God, who by a mere word (Ps 33:4–5) created the three-tiered universe of the heavens, the cosmic waters, and the earth (Ps 33:6–9). Human words, in contrast, effect nothing (Ps 33:10–11). The greatness of human beings consists in God’s choosing them as a special people and their faithful response (Ps 33:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 33 | USCCB, n.d.)
The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans declares we are Children of God through Adoption.
* [8:14–17] Christians, by reason of the Spirit’s presence within them, enjoy not only new life but also a new relationship to God, that of adopted children and heirs through Christ, whose sufferings and glory they share.
* [8:15] Abba: see note on Mk 14:36. (Romans, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB, n.d.)
The end of the Gospel of Matthew includes the Commissioning of the Disciples.
* [28:19] Therefore: since universal power belongs to the risen Jesus (Mt 28:18), he gives the eleven a mission that is universal. They are to make disciples of all nations. While all nations is understood by some scholars as referring only to all Gentiles, it is probable that it included the Jews as well. Baptizing them: baptism is the means of entrance into the community of the risen one, the Church. In the name of the Father…holy Spirit: this is perhaps the clearest expression in the New Testament of trinitarian belief. It may have been the baptismal formula of Matthew’s church, but primarily it designates the effect of baptism, the union of the one baptized with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
* [28:20] All that I have commanded you: the moral teaching found in this gospel, preeminently that of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5–7). The commandments of Jesus are the standard of Christian conduct, not the Mosaic law as such, even though some of the Mosaic commandments have now been invested with the authority of Jesus. Behold, I am with you always: the promise of Jesus’ real though invisible presence echoes the name Emmanuel given to him in the infancy narrative; see note on Mt 1:23. End of the age: see notes on Mt 13:39 and Mt 24:3.(Matthew, CHAPTER 28 | USCCB, n.d.)
Mirielle Leonard shares a testimony on love that her parents recounted to her.
We believe in the fervor Christ has for our connection with him. This devotion and promise of being a joint heir in Christ should be motivation for us to live our Christian lives visibly, that we may possibly bring others to the same joy. (Leonard, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The pledge of the Holy Spirit,” by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.
"Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God's presence. Guard what you have received. God the Father has marked you with His sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed His pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts" (excerpt from De Mysteriis 7, 42). (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 comments that with the coming of Christ, we have an even greater understanding of who this one true God truly is. And at the heart of that understanding is the proclamation that our God is a Trinity of Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This is our God! But we live in a world that tempts us to make false gods of riches and self-indulgence and to be indifferent to the needs of the poor. These “gods” aren’t real; all they can promise are fleeting pleasures. By contrast, the one true God loves us unconditionally and wants to save us and care for us. So follow Moses’ advice and “fix in your heart” the truth that you belong to God—and he belongs to you (Deuteronomy 4:39)!
“Almighty God, Father, Son, and Spirit, may you be praised and worshipped for all eternity!” (Meditation on Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes the response of the Hebrews chosen nation is to keep the ordinances set out by God. Though Paul did not express a deep Trinitarian theology, the passage on our adoption as children of God refers to Father, Son, and Spirit. Friar Jude shares an image from the Eastern Church of the Trinity in a dance and our invitation to be involved and not be a wallflower.
Rev. Dr. James Hanvey SJ, lecturer in Systematic Theology at Heythrop College, University of London, considers how we might begin to think and speak about the loving relationship between Father, Son and Spirit into which we ourselves are welcomed.
Yet once we’re clear about what we don’t mean we can begin very tentatively to glimpse something profound: that ‘person’ in the Trinity points us to the eternal relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit and that these relationships both distinguish them from each other but simultaneously open up a union in which each dwells in the other. The Trinity is a sort of ‘communion’ (co-union).
This has two important consequences for us. First, if they ‘indwell’ in each other then they also reveal each other: to know one is to know all and to know each in their distinctness and in their communion. Second, we know that these relationships are relationships of love. The Trinity is the revelation that God is Love. Now we get Love wrong if we think of it as a ‘thing’ – something we can possess or control. It is a relationship and it is a verb – we can only ‘have’ love by loving, by participating in a relationship of love. So, the Trinity is Love Loving – dynamic, unfathomable, inexhaustible, eternally complete and creative. (Hanvey, 2010)
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, connects our ability to love others with our ability to receive God’s love.
Finally, of course, there’s a straight line between love and suffering. If we love anyone or anything deeply and greatly, it’s fairly certain we’ll soon suffer because we have offered control to another, and the cost of self-giving will soon show itself. Undoubtedly, this is why we are told to be faithful in our loves, because such long-term loyalty and truly conscious love will always lead us to the necessary pruning (John 15:2) of the narcissistic self.
Until we love and until we suffer, we all try to figure out life and death with our minds. Then a Larger Source opens up within us and we “think” and feel quite differently through “knowing the Love, which is beyond all knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19). Thus, Jesus would naturally say something like, “This is my commandment: you must love one another!” (John 13:34). Authentic love (which is always more than an emotion) initially opens the door of awareness and aliveness, and then suffering for that love keeps that door open for mind, body, and will to enter. I suspect for most of us that is the work of a lifetime. (Rohr, n.d.)
We are grateful for the love we experience in our relationships as we ponder the source of the dance of Love in the mystical communion of the Trinity.
References
Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/deuteronomy/4?32
Hanvey, J. (2010, May 28). The Trinity: On Loving Love Loving. Thinking Faith. Retrieved May 26, 2024, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100528_1.htm
Leonard, M. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University's Online Ministries. Retrieved May 26, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/052624.html
Matthew, CHAPTER 28 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/28?16
Meditation on Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 26, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/05/26/975942/
Psalms, PSALM 33 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/33?4
Rohr, R. (n.d.). One Source of Love. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved May 26, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/one-source-of-love/
Romans, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/8?14
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 26, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=may26
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