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Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, Cycle C
Terranuova Hermitage
May 26, 2013
Created in God’s Image
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
In the Image of God
At
the very beginning of the Bible, the Book of Genesis says that God made us “in his image and likeness.”
Today,
we honor God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the Holy Trinity. This morning, I want to reflect with you on
the Trinity, but in a different way.
I
am not going to start with the Trinity as a doctrine of our faith and try to
explain it. Instead, I want to start
with us and our very own experience.
If
we are made in the image and likeness of God, then there must be signs or
traces of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit right within us or in our
experience of living.
I
promise this will become clearer as we go on. For the moment trust me that
because we are made in God’s image, there is evidence in our sensual experience
of that same God.
The Father
To begin, I’ve invite you to become aware of your
desire to give life.
For many that desire has been fulfilled in bringing
a child into this world. Or if not, as
in my own case, we have the desire to pass on life to others by teaching, by
spiritual guidance, or by emotional support of others.
Think of the pleasure we experience in bringing life
from the earth by growing tomato plants or by seeing the first crocus or
Narcissus of the season or the pleasure we get in feeding and tending our pet.
Get in touch with our satisfaction in successfully
repairing the clothes’ washer. Feel the
excitement as a nation the day we landed a man on the moon or the satisfaction
that comes from discovering new ways of healing through adult stem cells.
Any and all of these are all reflections of God, the
creator, God the Father, lovingly tending creation through our
participation.
The Son
Then, let us be aware of our thirst to
restore.
There is something within you that perhaps
wants to restore your marriage to the feeling of love it once had. Something within that wants to patch up a
friendship or some other relationship that has grown distant.
If we are really honest with ourselves, look
at our undeniable need to forgive and our restlessness when we do not or are
not able to do so. Or look at our lack
of peace when we have not asked for forgiveness, even though we know we ought
to do that.
Notice the pain and suffering we have had to
bear and the surprising, mysterious strength that seems to come from beyond us
to bear up. Notice our search for
meaning and purpose and the way to live our lives more fully.
Any one or all of these are reflections of
God, our Savior Jesus, God the Son, who restores creation to union with the
Father.
The Holy Spirit
Finally, let us be aware of our passion for
certain things.
Look at the passionate love for your spouse or
children or parents or close friends. Or
look at our passionate care for victims of violence and injustice and how we
rally around those who are most vulnerable.
Notice our ardent faith in God or our strong
commitment to the environment or to human life.
Or notice whatever it is that we will skip a meal for or even die for.
Think of our excitement at a new insight,
perhaps the simple insight that God is love and that God unconditionally loves
me. Or think of your growth over the
years in wisdom, understanding, and patience – or at least your desire for
that!
These are all reflections of God, the Spirit
within us, the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
Today we recall the
foundational teaching that we are made in the image and likeness of God and
with that, we believe that these human experiences reflect God as Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit.
They confirm or even
lead us to our belief in the Trinity.
Let us remember this
whenever we make the Sign of the Cross and now as we share the profession of
our faith in a triune God.
