There is no doubt that our common experience of these past few years has been a steep learning curve for all of us. We have experienced something that only hits the global community every so often. While the pandemic brought hardship, pain, bereavement, and grief, it also brought out the best of us. In his long journey through the wilderness and emptiness of the desert, Moses discovered a God who walked with his people. He saw a God who was deeply concerned about his people and their quest for true freedom. As our experience of Covid-19 taught us, we needed to be passionately aware of others in our communities. We had those selfish ones, our leaders included, who only wanted what was best for themselves: those that petulantly refused to wear face masks or observe social distancing. For these narcissistic souls, fuelled by what they read on Facebook or Twitter, it was their way or the highway! However, we soon came to realise that we needed to support and trust each other as best we could.

We have learnt that we must be aware of the common good and with my human rights comes my human RESPONSIBILITIES that can sometimes be forgotten in MY desire to live MY life in MY way. Pope Francis has offered us a useful perspective: do we want to act like Pontus Pilate and simply wash our hands of others, or are we called to be like the Good Samaritan and choose to be involved? The love of God is our guide, a love that is inclusive and open to all, even those who are our enemies or find difficult to love as you should:

The Christian response to the pandemic and to the consequent socio-economic crisis is based onlove, above all, love of God who always precedes us (cf. 1Jn4:19). He loves us first. He always precedes us in love and in solutions. He loves us unconditionally and when we welcome this divine love, then we can respond similarly. I love not only those who love me — my family, my friends, my group — but also those who do not love me, I also love those who do not know me, and I also love those who are strangers, and even those who make me suffer or whom I consider enemies (cf.Mt5:44). (General Audience 09/09/2020)

In these interesting days we celebrate the gift of the Trinity, the family that is God. We can go down the road of St Patrick and pick up the shamrock, as we try to explain the mystery of one God in three persons, but God can never be reduced to a mathematical formula or a crossword puzzle. Today is not the day to indulge in deep theological and philosophical reflection, rather just bask in the love of God. The Trinity is a family of love: Father, Son and Spirit bound by unconditional and lasting love. In the very first pages of the Bible, we read that humanity is made'in the image and likeness' of God. All that is honourable, noble, and true in human life, is a reflection of that good and true God. The danger is, of course, is that we can reduce God to our level: all that is petty and selfish can be blamed on God in our narcissistic efforts to make God in OUR image and likeness.

My uncle Pat would tell us great stories as we were growing up; he told this story which fits the day. A man and his daughter stopped at a well in a town square for a drink after a long hike in the hills together. After he drank, he continued gazing into the well as if he was looking down at someone at the bottom of the well. His daughter eyed him carefully and asked her dad, "Who lives down there?" The man answers her, "God lives down there. God does." The child says, "Can I see God, too?" "Of course, you can," as he gently picks her up in his arms and he leans her over the well. The child looks down deep into the well, but all she could see was her own pale reflection in the water below. Disappointed, she turned to her father and said, "But all I can see is me—all I can see is me." "Ah," said the man, looking into her eyes. "Now you know where God lives—God lives in you!"

Our feast today helps us to see where we can find God, even in a suffering and painful world. The human experience of God shows us that God did not shirk from rejection, hurtful words, anger, bitterness, and even death. We cannot limit God to our church buildings, as the pandemic experience taught us so well: God was very much with you in your kitchen, as you tried to balance working from home and home schooling with our need for worship. This God of love is very much part of our history: God has touched our world in the good and bad times. On Calvary's Hill the secret is out. If you look at the cross on Calvary and then you know the secret of why God bothers. God who dwells in inaccessible light wants to be, needs to be, yearns to be loved by each of us. It is God's 'vulnerability' that we cherish most of all. He opens the heavens and comes down. He comes to meet us on our own terms, revealing Himself to us first, that we may come to know Him later, and in the knowing of Him, learning to love Him, and in the loving of Him, learn to serve. It is knowing and the loving and the serving the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that we enter into the ebb and flow of the very life of God Himself. We do not need an explanation, for He is in our hearts from the moment we breathe and for all eternity. Enjoy this wonderful feast and live in the unconditional love of God, aware of your uniqueness. Be aware today, especially if you can experience a degree of silence, of a God who wants the very best for you. There is no need to do anything except praise God.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

(Thomas Ken)

Author: Fr Gerry O'Shaughnessy SDB

Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash