Solemnity

Jan 10 2025

The Trinity—A Divine Dance

We know so little of God. When it comes to describing the Trinity, we can feel that we know even less. The Mystery of Mysteries, the God-Who-Is—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is not just a philosophical doctrine to be illustrated with clovers and candles. The Trinity is a Someone, Someone who is deeply involved in our lives.

Saints Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus (known as the Cappadocian Fathers) saw the interrelationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as a dance. They described a divine give-and-take, a perichoresis (dancing together), a mystical solidarity of interdependence, a never-ending “I am here for you” and “I am constant in my care for you” within the oneness of God. That mutual love overflows to us.

In the scriptures, we see that God continually communicates as the Father who never stops seeking out wayward Israel, the Son who becomes flesh and gives up his life for us, and the Holy Spirit who is with us always.

Our Triune God so loves the world that those divine “hands” invite us: Come, join in the dance! What does that look like? Think of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers—they whirl and flow across a stage together with just a nudge or a touch. Folk dancers have a similar perpetual motion of bowing and twirling and jumping. With practiced responsiveness, they move as one.

Can we join in the dance? We might choose to live as plodders who stumble through life. Or we could discover holy agility. The Holy Spirit leans toward us, gently touching and nudging us in everyday life, whispering, “Be attentive. Follow my lead!” To move within the life of the Trinity is exciting, exhilarating. God’s tender “Take my hand. I am here for you” is offered to us at all times.

Consider/Discuss

We are not God and God is not us. How does that distinction set us free to be dancing partners with the Triune God? In the Gospel (John 3:1–5), how did Jesus offer his hand to Nicodemus to join in the dance?
Sometimes we do plod. We may not sense the movement of the Spirit. Sometimes we don’t “get” the Trinity. We may wonder, how can anybody get so excited about Trinity? Think of the little nudges that you have felt. How can we trust that God is constantly at work in our lives and learn to be even more attentive and responsive?

Living and Praying with the Word

God of Trinity, you are so beautiful, so beautiful in motion! All that we see in the created world leads us to you. Holy Spirit, surround us, enthuse us, and sustain us. You are deeply within us, and yet sometimes, we are not deeply within you. We beg for your grace to grow more agile. And when you do give us those tastes of abundant life in the divine dance that surrounds us, how can we keep from singing . . . and dancing!

Jan 10 2025

Scripture Study for

Much of the book of Exodus is concerned with answering the question “Who is the Lord?” In the deliverance from Egypt, provision in the wilderness, and establishment of the covenant, God is shown to be faithful, powerful, and wise. The present scene takes place shortly after the affair of the golden calf, which nearly ends the covenant relationship. Thanks to Moses, who reminds the Lord of his fidelity, the covenant has been renewed. It is against this background that the famous phrase must be understood: The God of Israel can be angered by human infidelity, but God’s mercy, grace, kindness, and fidelity far outshine that anger. This is who the Lord is.

Throughout his second letter to them, Paul has been admonishing the Corinthians to forsake the division and lack of fidelity to the gospel way of life that he has seen among them. He warns them to examine themselves to see if they are living in faith: “Test yourselves” (13:5). Despite the severe tone, he ends by exhorting them to rejoice—they have been saved by Christ. In that joy they should recognize their fellowship and act accordingly, with mutual encouragement, agreement, and peace. Then their community will be a sign of God’s love and peace. The letter ends with an invocation of Christ, God (the Father), and the Holy Spirit, one of the clearest “trinitarian” expressions in the New Testament.

In his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus has told him that “no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (3:5). That is, one must be (re)born from above. This is a gift from God that can only be accepted by believing that Jesus is God’s Son, given by God—both in the sense of the incarnation of the Word and in his death on the cross—so that those who do believe might have eternal life. In John, “eternal life” refers to a “abundant life” (10:10), a quality of life that can be lived on earth and after bodily death, rather than simply a “duration” of life after death.

Jan 08 2025

Scripture Study for

A major theme in Malachi is God’s apparent inattention to injustice. Immediately before the reading, God notes that the people have demanded, “Where is the just God?” (2:17). God responds that soon the messenger of the covenant will appear in advance of the one whom they seek. It is not clear from the biblical text who this messenger is or how the messenger relates to God. Understood eschatologically, it refers to the figure who will come to be known as the Messiah. In any case, the advent of this figure will bring about the justice the people seek, beginning with cleaning up corrupt priests (Levites) and their worship.

The focus of the reading from Hebrews is on the fact that Jesus shared our human nature (flesh and blood) precisely so he could deliver us from the fear of death. It is this fear, and not death itself, that holds us in bondage to the devil. In a time of persecution, it is fear of suffering and death that the author sees as potentially leading his audience into infidelity (3:1—4:14). Thus, the message: they have nothing to fear from death, because Jesus has endured it and come out the other side. Because he acts now as high priest, merciful and faithful, those who die have nothing to fear.

The Torah prescribes that a newborn son be circumcised, marking his acceptance into the covenant community, and that the mother should be ritually purified (Leviticus 12:1–5). This gesture of obeying the Torah indicates the larger Gospel theme that Jesus himself will perfectly fulfill the Law. More than that, with Jesus’ advent God is fulfilling covenant promises to Israel, and ultimately to all nations. Thus, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Simeon announces that in Jesus God has brought consolation and salvation—a gift that some will oppose (“contradict”). The widow Anna also recognizes Jesus, and likewise announces the good news of the redemption of God’s people.

Jan 08 2025

Faith—Assurance That God Is at Work

Have you ever met someone who is really old and really wise? I have met several such men and women, mostly at daily Mass. Their eyes are gentle. Smile lines are etched into the wrinkles of their faces. In some, a lifetime of generosity is written into their bodies, as though their hands reach out to hug you, even when they have not moved. Others are quieter, but their faces radiate peace. Kindness and holiness have become a way of life for them.

Simeon and Anna are the first-century equivalent of those saints whom you and I have met. These two pray. They pray a lot. Simeon is described as “upright and devout.” When he sees the child, he believes. He believes! An eight-day-old baby is being presented to the Lord. And Simeon sees in that child the Savior of the world. How does that work? Something must have moved within him.

Faith is an inner assurance that rises within us to convince us that God is at work. That belief, at that moment, is a gift. Anna has prayed night and day in the temple for years and years and years. Many of us have tasted the seasoning of the Spirit. But there are saints who have tasted of the pure Spirit, as though it were something they drank straight. Anna seems to be one of those people, those who live on the borderline between God and the world.

You might just be one of those people. If you are, thank you for your life of holiness. If you are not, then like me, let’s keep working to drink deeply of God’s Spirit, day after day. God is real, at work at all times. Faith is a gift, an inner assurance that this is so.

Consider/Discuss

Think about those moments when you have been gifted with an inner certainty about God’s movement or action in your life. It could be a delicate touch or an overwhelming conversion experience. Share that story with someone this week.
Sometimes we start to think and act as though the living God were just an idea. If God is real, at work at all times, what does that mean for how we listen, how we are attentive? What does that divine presence mean for how we live our lives day after day?

Living and Praying with the Word

On this day of presentation, God of glory, we present ourselves to you. Purify us to become more holy. We see in others what beauty a lifetime of grace can create. We want to be like that. Lead us in your everlasting way.

Jan 08 2025

Hearing the Story Again—for the First Time

One thing that I love about working with the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is how new the Gospel is for those who have never heard it before. A few years ago on Palm Sunday, we headed downstairs from the sanctuary to break open the Word. We were not even to the basement door, when Roy, a man in his fifties, touched my arm and said, with tears in his eyes, “I never heard that story before!” The day before I wrote this, because it was a snow day from RCIA, one of our catechumens and her eleven-year-old son read Luke’s account of the death and resurrection by candlelight at home for their homework. The mom texted me afterward. “What an amazing story!” she said.

For a heart of innocence, what could be so breathtaking about the death of Jesus? When I read it afresh, what flabbergasts me is what also impressed St. Paul—the degree of self-emptying, self-giving, self-sacrifice that Jesus was willing to undergo in obedience and for our sakes. Where did he get the strength to do that? “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard.” Isaiah says, “The Lord God is my help . . . He who declares my innocence is near.” Our God is Deliverer. God lifts us up. God is faithful. God is for us.

For someone who has never heard this story, to have the Lord of the universe care, to take our side, to be willing to die to lift us up from the muck of life—that is not something to be taken lightly. For those who are used to feeling adrift and alone, this is fresh and life-giving! After being baptized at the Easter Vigil, Roy broke into a smile and his whole body radiated happiness. New life! Not just a theological idea, but a gift from the One who cares.

Consider/Discuss

How often might we listen to scriptures and think, “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that time and time again”? How could we get back to a heart of innocence about the story of Jesus? In this time before Easter, read through one whole Gospel narrative about the Passion and Resurrection. Try to read it as though you had never heard it before. What resonates within you?
Many of us already live self-sacrificing and self-emptying lives, and those around us are grateful. Where do we get the strength to see each day through? When we are weary, even beaten, Who and what sustains us? If you know someone who lives a self-sacrificing and self-emptying life, thank him/her this week.

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord, as we enter into this most sacred of weeks, give us new eyes to see the beauty of what you have done for us. Bless those who minister—the preachers and lectors, the musicians and artists, and all who serve liturgically. Help us to create liturgies that move and inspire our people and show forth your presence. Please bring back those who are far from faith and enlighten those who do not yet know you. Thank you, most of all, for giving yourself to us so completely.