Community Word: The perfect love of the Holy Trinity calls us to live in solidarity in our desire to be holy.
Order: “Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Cor 13:11)
Reflection:
God is a ‘family’ of three Persons who love each other so perfectly to be as one. We see our connectedness and need for each other in the Trinity. We live and have our being in God. And we draw lessons from the undivided unity and immeasurable love of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Our Community Word for June declares: The perfect love of the Holy Trinity calls us to live in solidarity in our desire to be holy. According to Pope Benedict XVI, solidarity is part of our call to holiness: “love of neighbor is a path that leads to the encounter with God, and that closing our eyes to our neighbor also blinds us to God.”
In our present experience, the corona virus pandemic challenges us to extend our help to the most vulnerable in our society more than ever. Reuters describes the following situation in the poorest of the poor in Manila.
One by one, Michelle Asinto’s six children take the plate of rice doused in soy sauce and eat their share before passing it on. This is what a meal can look like in the slums around the Philippine capital of Manila. Under lockdown since March 16, many families have lost regular incomes and are forced to survive on government aid that can be sporadic and often not enough. “Every day we just wait for our ration but it only comes once or twice a week,” said Asinto, 42. “We may be saved from the virus but it doesn’t matter if we’re going to die of hunger anyway.”
Because his family lives illegally along the trash-filled estuary, Estero de Magdalena, he did not qualify for two cash payments of 5,000 – 8,000 pesos ($100 – $160) in government aid, handed out in April and May. As a way of helping the poor, a young couple community member regularly cooks porridge and distributes them in a bowl together with a pack of bread with the tag ‘Jesus loves you,’ in the neighboring informal settlers.
From 2 Corinthians 13:11, we are told: “Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.” The Most Holy Trinity is the perfect example of unity in diversity. We most resemble the Triune God when we live in loving harmony with one another, especially in helping those who are marginalized.
On the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, our theme is, “We live in solidarity in our desire to be holy when we believe in the fellowship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” The Lord compares Christian unity and fellowship to the ultimate unity and fellowship in the Trinity. It has always existed between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; three Persons, yet, one God. There is nothing more profound and exact definition of the essence of our spiritual communion than that which Jesus proclaimed in prayer, “That they all may be one; as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us,” (Jn 17:21). In John 3:16b, the promise gives us the glorious hope of eternal life in heaven through the love of God and death of Jesus Christ, “…everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”
On the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the theme tells us, “We live in solidarity in our desire to be holy when we partake in the Holy Eucharist with a pure heart.” Holy Communion is a powerful experience that spiritually unifies us with God. But let us be sure to first examine the state of our relationship with God and other believers before taking Communion. If we need to confess our sin or ask for or extend forgiveness, let us do so first, and then we can participate in Communion with a clear conscience and in right standing with God. In the Eucharist we receive into ourselves, into our bodies and souls, the life-giving power of God as promised in John 6:56, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”
The theme on the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time reads, “We live in solidarity in our desire to be holy when we have the courage to testify to others what Jesus has done in our life.” The story of how God stepped in and changed us through His Son is a direct reflection of the undisputable, life-changing power of the Gospel. It’s one of the most effective tools in our work of evangelism. Before we got saved, there was an “old you” who was caught up in sin and didn’t know or have a relationship with the Lord. But now we have been transformed by the goodness and mercy of the Lord. We can glorify God and magnify His message by telling others about how He changed us. And for doing so, Christ’s promise is very heartwarming: “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father,” (Mt 10:32).
On the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, our theme is, “We live in solidarity in our desire to be holy when we make Christ the center in all our relationships.” Love comes from God because God is love. Love is a gift from God. In 1 John 4:7 it says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” Christ calls us to have a relationship with Him and to revolve our relationship with others on His love. This is not easy and involves dying to oneself, but in return Christ promises that ultimately we will live with Him in the utmost happiness, to all eternity. “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it,” (Mt 10: 39).
Prayer:
Oh Blessed and Holy Trinity, be near me in the temple of my soul. Draw me to share in Your life and love. In Your kindness, grant me and my family the riches of Your mercy, and a share in Your blessing, that we may come to the glory of Your Kingdom and rejoice in loving You for all eternity. Amen.
