Building a Community of Love

Craig Fernandes, a former seminarian at St. Augustine’s Seminary, is now an engineering Master’s student at the University of Toronto.

This Sunday we celebrate the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, which is the “central mystery of Christian faith and life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 234). While our minds will never fully grasp the Trinity, we can still glean much spiritual fruit through prayerfully reflecting on this mystery. 

Firstly, we must remember that God is Love (1 John 4:16). In order for God to be Love itself, it stands to reason that He is “one but not solitary” (CCC 254). This is because love requires a lover and a beloved. It is within the Trinity that an eternal exchange of Love exists. 

St. Augustine describes in his treaty, “On the Trinity,” that the Father and the Son eternally look at each other with pure Love, and this unadulterated Love is the Holy Spirit, who exists for all ages. By reflecting on this central mystery, we come to understand the importance of community and sharing love. As members of the Church, we are called to imitate this divine life of the Trinity.

As our quarantine continues, the limits of our patience and charity will be tested. This is a perfect opportunity to respond in love to those around us, putting their needs before our own. When it seems difficult to act selflessly, let us use the Trinity as our model of perfect love and let our prayer be that we may grow in our ability to do the same.

If we are able to foster this community of love, we can be consoled in knowing that we are abiding in the Trinity, for as St. John says, “whoever abides in love, abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16).

Summary

St. Augustine describes in his treaty, “On the Trinity,” that the Father and the Son eternally look at each other with pure Love, and this unadulterated Love is the Holy Spirit who existing for all ages. By reflecting on this mystery, we come to understand the importance of community and sharing love. As our quarantine continues, the limits of our patience and charity will be tested. When it seems difficult to act selflessly, let us use the Trinity as our model of perfect love and let our prayer be that we may grow in our ability to do the same.

Readings

• First Reading: Exodus 34.4b-6, 8-9
• Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 13.11-13
• Gospel: John 3.16-18 – For God so Loved the World