The Family, Reminder of the Trinity

The celebration of Christmas reminds us of God’s infinite love for the human race and of His tenacious fidelity to His promise of mercy. Once you remove the Angels, shepherds, star and magi, you are left with the three principal characters of the story: Jesus, Mary and Joseph – the Holy Family. The Only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father not only came into the world to show us how to live as Children of God, but also how to live as members of a human family, united in a bond of love. One lesson we learn throughout the Christmas days: family life is a work in progress that unfolds one day at a time.

The life of the infant is entrusted to the authority and care of His parents. The child is to be the joy and delight of His parents. The spouses are to be the companions and support of each other. Within the circle of the family, no one is to face the challenges of life alone. The family is intended to be the training ground where we learn to love and support one another. God is Love and it is in Him that we live and move and have our being.

The author of Genesis wrote: “God created man in His own image. In His own image God created him” (Gen. 1:27). By extension, you might say, “a community of love He made them.” The family serves as a sacrament of this fact: the Father as the giver and sustainer of life, the Mother as the nurturer of life and the Child as the product and reflection of their love. Through the family, God manifests Himself as Love and loving. In the embrace of the family, mankind encounters God. Out of His powerful goodness, God brought forth the world, out of the goodness that dwells in our hearts, we can work to establish a society that is just and humane.

Jesus is the power of God, stripped of all glory and entrusted to the care of Mary and Joseph. In the context of the family, we experience the dynamic love of the Trinity. Each person of the community of the Trinity serving and being served by the others. It is within this atmosphere of loving care that each member of the family lives and thrives. Matthew tells us that Mary and Joseph worked together to protect their child from the threats of Herod. In the face of a culture of death, they did all they could to save the life of their child. The bond of love is the seedbed of life for all the members of the family.

The family was created in the image and likeness of Trinity. The Word, the Only-begotten Son proceeds from the heart of the Father and manifests the Love of the Spirit that binds the Godhead together in one. The Son is not diminished by doing the will of the Father but rather brings about the transformation of all who have been created in His image and likeness. The Son of God became the Son of Mary to show us the Father’s love. It is not flesh and blood that leads us to the truth. It is God With Us who moves us to share His secret thoughts. Through the intercession of the Holy Family, may we draw near to the Eternal Three-In-One. Following the example of the Holy Family, may we be instruments of peace and conduits of mercy so that all people may come to newness of life in Christ.

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

I Will Place My Law within Them

“I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer. 31:33). So the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah.

God is speaking to His people, assuring them that He Himself is their teacher. All of us who are taught by God are taught to love one another by the mere fact that God is writing His Word upon our hearts. By means of this implanted Word, we discover the path to newness of life.

As God promised to His Chosen People, He now speaks intimately to each of us, calling us by name; not just any name, but a name known only between us as intimate friends.

The life of faith is not a recital of rules and regulations. The life of faith is entering into an embrace of love that brings us into communion with the Persons of the Trinity. In that embrace, we come to know that we are loved and forgiven.

In this knowledge, we will become Ambassadors of healing and reconciliation for a world scarred with violence and sin. This pardoning mercy flows from the pierced heart of Christ and is freely given to us to be shared with all who are in need of forgiveness.

Having been conformed to Christ in baptism, it is not out job to condemn sinners but to call them back to fullness of life and grace.

The mystery of grace is not that we seek to know God, but rather that we come to realize that we are known by Him.

Acknowledging this love, we can love others with the same all-consuming love. In a world that continues to seek retribution and to fan the flames of hatred, such love is absolutely revolutionary.

The message will not be written on banners or placards, but shall be etched upon the tablets of our hearts. When God pours forth His Spirit upon us, we will not burn the cities of man, but will be consumed by the fire of divine love.

I will close with a few words of Pope Francis, spoken at the prayer vigil in Krakow: “This is no time for denouncing anyone or fighting. We do not want to tear down, we do not want to give insult. We have no desire to conquer hatred with more hatred, violence with more violence, terror with more terror. We are here today because the Lord has called us together. Our response to a world at war has a name: its name is fraternity, its name is brotherhood, its name is communion, and its name is family... Let our best word, our best argument, be our unity in prayer.”

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

The Intimate Indwelling of the Trinity – Perichoresis

As we continue our journey towards the feast of Pentecost, the Church reminds us of the reason for our joy: God, Who is rich in mercy has brought us, one and all, to newness of life in Christ. By means of the Paschal Mystery, we have been united to Christ and have become sons and daughters in the Son. Jesus’ comment is quite remarkable. “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.” The relationship between the Father and the Son is not static but it is dynamic and life-giving. Living in a world that is consumed with greed and self-centeredness, it is hard to imagine what it means to be loved in a living and life-giving way. If we are honest, this is actually the deepest longing of our heart, to be loved into life. Perhaps St. Augustine had it right. We were made to make our home in that love and our hearts are restless until they rest in him.

The love that Christ offers us sets us free to be the individuals we were meant to be. Life is not a thing we possess; rather, it is a relationship we live. It means clinging to the One who has called me by name since before time began. Jesus says, "I love you with an everlasting love," and each one of us is facing the opportunity to welcome it and to make our home in it. When I'm at home in, when I remain in his love, I'm in a peace that I know and can feel. It feels centered. I can feel what being loved allows me to do. I'm no longer afraid. I have courage. And my heart is again capable of compassion and mercy. The love of God has made us human again. God dwelling within us allows us to relate in love with one another.

The early Church had a word for the intimate indwelling of the Trinity – perichoresis. This word was used to provide a dynamic, rather than static, description of the inter-penetrating, indwelling relationship of the Father, Son and Spirit in both a deeply personal and spiritual way. It is a movement of love that has broken forth into our existence in Jesus Christ and has drawn all creation into this glorious yet mysterious Divine life. Having been drawn into the bond of love by baptism we are able to embrace in love and harmony all that God loves. This communion removes fear and hiding and creates freedom to know and be known. In this freedom arises a fellowship and sharing so honest and open and real that persons involved dwell in one another. There is union without loss of individual identity. The love with which we have been loved allows us to love one another and to journey along the road that leads to our heavenly homeland.

“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself. It is not far. It is within reach. Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know.”
(Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass)

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCP