VII. The Trinity and the relationship between creatures

February 27, 2020

238. The Father is the ultimate source of everything, the loving and self-communicating foundation of all that exists. The Son, his reflection, through whom all things were created, united himself to this earth when he was formed in the womb of Mary. The Spirit, infinite bond of love, is intimately present at the very heart of the universe, inspiring and bringing new pathways. The world was created by the three Persons acting as a single divine principle, but each one of them performed this common work in accordance with his own personal property. Consequently, “when we contemplate with wonder the universe in all its grandeur and beauty, we must praise the whole Trinity.” (John Paul II, Catechesis, 2 August 2000)

Source : Laudato Si'

Fr. Michael W. Davis

St. Gregory Church

We are now beginning our Lenten journey en route to the annual commemoration of the Paschal Mystery of our Lord. It is an intense season, requiring us to convert our hearts to a more profound relationship with the God of Heaven and earth. Conversion, of course, is not easy! It requires struggle. It requires sacrifice. It also requires intense prayer, which makes the ground of our lives fertile for the new life of grace that surely comes from such follow-through. Many times we are quite resistant to such a challenge. But get ready! During Lent we will hear blunt and piercingly challenging messages from Holy Scripture that exhort, if not demand, the personal alignment of our lives with the holy will of God. The Word of God never minces words. The Scriptures during Lent will call us on the carpet, challenging us to embrace more authenticity in our faith in Christ.

• Are we ready to reverently recall all that Jesus did for us?
• Are we disposed to live lives which show Him our loving gratitude?

What a shame it would be to NOT do what we can do, especially during this Lenten season, to ready our lives for a deepened appreciation for the Lord’s death and Resurrection. After all, it was for our sake that He came from Heaven to pave the way for us to find life, even eternal life. It is mind-boggling to think so transcendently! We are so often accustomed to thinking exclusively in terms of the here and now that we often live life ephemerally, i.e., at the skin level. Even the switch to Daylight Savings Time next weekend coincidentally reminds us, as we lose an hour of sleep, that change and loss is not necessarily an end, but the dawn of new light and length of days. The faithful focus of Jesus against His temptations in the desert also reminds us of the strength that came from sacrificial fasting, prayer, and the benefits of steadfast resoluteness in fulfilling His Heavenly Father’s will. Lent requires of us a similar time of intense spiritual testing and purification. By embracing this calling with integrity of heart, we ultimately will find the path to life.

If we are honest about it, we know that we each deal with temptations on a daily basis. Having a clear conscience, experiencing peace in our hearts, and seeing life in the light of eternity require of us a certain stalwart dedication to do what is right, to do things Jesus’ way; in short, to be the People of God we have been set aside through Baptism to be. Yet, as we can all attest, we human beings often resist change. We deny our need for conversion. We submarine our spiritual neediness, pretending that it is not there. As such, we refuse to make the interior journey toward conversion and newness of life, which we so very much need. We, therefore, miss so much of what God has in store for us!

Let us maximize, then, this Lenten season through increased prayer, sacrifices, and works of charity. Let us purify our lives from anything that hastens the darkness, so that we may enjoy the dawn of new light and the length of days.

In Jesus,
Fr. Michael W. Davis
Pastor