|
When one experiences an intimate encounter with the love of God in their lives, it is a moment that is both special and unique and one that stirs much emotion and warmth within the heart. This recognition of the presence of God’s love may be found with the first embrace of a mother and her new born baby. This example of the presence of God’s love within one’s life is very vivid for me every time I witness the loving embracement between my sister Regina and her beautiful daughter Millie. This moment highlights within itself the gift of giving – not of material things but more importantly the giving of oneself totally to the other. This generous expression bestowed on another, in whatever capacity that may involve, is a moment in time when the love of God permeates through the lover and the beloved.
The greatest example that bears witness to this can be seen within the relationship of the Holy Trinity – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. While studying Theology in St. Patrick’s College Maynooth, I distinctively remember one of my first lectures in Systematic Theology centering on the mystery of the Trinity and focusing on St. Augustine’ De Trinitate in which he describes the Father as the lover; the Son as the beloved and the Holy Spirit as the bond of love between the Father and the Son. C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity highlights that this union is a ‘…live concrete thing’ thus indicating that this bond is dynamic and real, not static and motionless.
The Church celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity on Sunday May 30th. In his pre- Angelus address to the thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s square, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI spoke of how Trinity Sunday summarizes the revelation of God within the Paschal mystery. In this one encounters the death and resurrection of Christ; his Ascension to the right hand of the Father and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. From his humble birth and upbringing, to the fulfillment of his ministry on the cross, Jesus offers himself to us as a true model of self – giving. This is clearly seen in so many ways, the greatest been the gift of himself at the Last Supper in which he instituted the Eucharist, This is my body…this is my blood (Matt.26.26).
The month of June invites all the faithful to a deeper devotion towards the Sacred Heart of our Saviour Jesus Christ. The great second century apologist St. Justin Martyr, whose feast day falls on the 1st of June, shows the intimate relationship that we the faith filled people have with the heart of Jesus. We the Christians are the true Israel which springs from Christ, for we are carved out of His heart as from a rock." (d.165). With this understanding of our existence originating in the very heart of Jesus, we the members of his body must strive for our own holiness of heart - ‘Unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of God’ (Mt.5, 20). Our Holy Founder St. Vincent Pallotti speaks about this journey towards interior holiness when he speaks in the Month of May for the Faithful (Mese di Maggio per Fedeli). Within this he outlines that if one is to surpass the justice of the Pharisees one should strive for an interior holiness, that been the holiness of the heart. This implies that all ‘our words and actions are performed for the edification of our neighbor, for the glory of God and not for self- glory’ (M.F.S. 18). St. Vincent calls us not to focus our spiritual journey only as an exterior holiness; rather he impels us to strive internally for holiness of the heart, as when one strives for this interior conversion towards holiness it will most definitely contain a radiating effect just as the result of the sacraments which contain an outward sign of an inward grace.
Let me pose a question, how can one bring about this holiness of heart? Many people would offer suggestions such as the following - to create a strong relationship with the Lord; a deeper sense of prayer; participation within the sacraments or to lead a good moral life. These examples would of course be true, but the Gospel of Matthew offers to us the simplest way of attaining this holiness of heart, Amen I say to you unless you turn again and become like little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of Heaven. (Mt. 18, 3) When Jesus asks us to become like little children he asks that we take on the purity of heart that a child holds and cherishes. To become childlike is to acquire a sense of innocence of mind, body and spirit and more importantly innocence of the heart. With this childlike outlook only then can one grow in holiness and eventually gain admittance into the kingdom of Heaven. On the 16th May I was privileged to be present at the celebration of First Holy Communion in our parish in Shankill. It was a very special moment for me as this celebration was the first one I attended since my own special day when I received my First Holy Communion. It was at this celebration that I witnessed the many boys and girls receiving the Lord for the first time with such a purity and innocence of heart which led me to really understand and believe that every time we receive the Lord it should be like the moment when we received Him at our own First Holy Communion when we had within us this great sense of purity, transparency and simplicity.
St. Vincent takes this up when he talks about the spirit of spiritual Childhood. Here he shows the relationship between Jesus entering into the world as a child and our call to become ‘childlike’. Within this he highlights that ‘Our Lord Jesus Christ entered the world as a little Child. For love of Him we must form in ourselves the spirit of spiritual childhood, living like little children…we must practice all virtues of spiritual childhood, namely truthfulness, purity, kindness and the simplicity of the dove.’ (Racc. II, 546)
To all Our Priests:
Within this month, we will see the conclusion of the Year of the Priest. For the last 12 months we the people of God have responded to our Holy Father’s wishes to devote a year in which we dedicate all our prayers for our Priests that they will always remain faithful to their sacred calling. The passage from St. Peter sets out the role the Priest should have as someone who is in ‘persona Christi’, that been the other Christ. Here Jesus is offered to you as a role model, ‘…set yourselves close to him’ and that by having come to the living stone who is Jesus Christ, you in turn will become this living stone making a spiritual house.
Let us Pray
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of you, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, your tender Mother and ours.
Amen
In this month of June, let us submerse ourselves within the depths of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and through this, may the words of the Prophet Isaiah be fulfilled –
‘You shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour’ fountain’ (Is. 12, 3)
|
