This Sunday is an occasion that we usually approach with a sense of puzzlement and confusion.  It is Trinity Sunday and that word raises questions in our minds to which there seems to be no answers.  Theologians have never been able to explain it in a way that we fully understand.  The Trinity is not a problem nor a riddle to be explained.  It is life to be lived within reach of all of us.

We can start with the love of the Father.  That is a good place to begin, because it is the control theme of our Christian faith.  It is the reason that Jesus was born, as St John says, “God loved the world that he gave his only Son”.  This is the truth that Jesus both taught and lived.  He taught his disciples that the Father also loved them.  Then he commissioned those disciples to go and tell all the people on earth that the Father also loves them. His entire life was anchored in the firm conviction that the Father in heaven loved him and us. The next thing we can do is to share in the suffering of his Son.  St Paul reminds us that “we are children of God and asks us to suffer with him so as to be glorified with him”. The crucifixion of Jesus is a fact of history.  He was not responsible for the hatred and the cruelty that corrupted the people and the institutions of that day.  He voluntarily took that burden upon himself and carried it to Calvary.  His disciples began to see, that part of that collective guilt belonged to them and they could not escape the conclusion that Jesus had died for their sins. Once that truth had been faced, they could not escape a sense of an unpayable gratitude and gratitude began to find expression in the way that they lived.  On this Trinity Sunday, let us remind ourselves that we can share in the suffering of the Son. Our final thought is this.  We can know the living presence of the Holy Spirit.  If we think of God only as the Father in heaven, then he can seem a long way off. If we think of him only as he was revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, then he can be seen a long way back.  But if we also think of him as the Holy Spirit who lives within us then God becomes the faithful friend who is always there. 

We may never be able to understand or explain the Trinity but that limitation need not deprive us of its truth. We can do something better than explain it, we can live it. We can rely on the unfailing love of the Father, we can share in the suffering of the Son and we can know the living presence of the Holy Spirit.                Fr John

As with all vine growers, Jesus tells us in the gospel that God cares for his vines, nurturing them, pruning them where necessary, giving them all they need so that they can grow stronger and reach their full potential. We are no doubt the branches. What does it mean to be a branch? Branches must remain connected to the vine or they bear no fruit. Even those branches that do bear fruit need pruning so that they can grow and bear even more fruit. We live in a world where productivity is seen as the measure of success:  we are measured by what we produce. Is Jesus really adding to the pressure by telling us that he wants to see results or else!?

But the parable is more about connectivity than productivity. We don’t measure friendship or relationship in terms of productivity but in terms of connection. We want to remain close to, to be connected to the people we care most about. It is this closeness, this intimacy that Jesus calls us to. Are we connected or disconnected to God? If the connection is strong, then fruit-bearing comes naturally and people will see the gospel in our lives and in the way we respond to the world.

© Jane Mellett, Intercom Magazine, Veritas, Dublin

Over the next three Monday nights, 14th May, 21st May and 28th May 2018, Anne Francis will lead those involved in any ministry in our communities in exploring the meaning and significance of faith and community and service in our lives.  These sessions will take place from 8.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. each night in St Mary’s Church in Passage West with a cuppa afterwards in St Elizabeth’s Meeting Room.  All those already involved in any type of ministry in our parish or those who would like to become more involved are welcome to join us for these evenings. We hope that the nights will also afford people a chance to meet those involved in ministry in other centres in our parish and strengthen the bonds between our different communities.  For each night’s reflection Anne will focus on a quote from the readings of the previous Sunday.

We look forward to gathering with you and hopefully learning from Anne and from one another. All are welcome.                         Fr John, Fr Con and Fr Seán

This weekend’s Gospel reading focuses on the relationship between the Good Shepherd and flock but so much of what it says can be applied to our own life also.  Our relationship with those ‘in charge’ of us changes dramatically when we sense that not only are they in charge, but they truly care about us and are committed to our wellbeing. Rather than resisting their guidance we learn to appreciate that all they do is aimed at our good.   The Good Shepherd ‘lays down his life for his sheep’. Similarly we are blessed with people in our lives who have often laid down their lives for us by putting our needs before their own, by sacrificing themselves so that we might have greater opportunities in life, by setting aside their own interests to care for us and support us through difficult and vulnerable moments in life. The gospel is an invitation to remember in gratitude all those who have ‘shepherded’ us and continue to do so today.  It may be a parent, a spouse or partner, a son or daughter, a friend or neighbour, a carer or home-help– extraordinary people who go out of their way to care for us and look after us when we need it most.

Jesus also speaks of the freedom of the Good Shepherd in laying down his life. Faced with the needs of others, we can at times feel trapped into looking after them: caught by duty, obligation, or guilt. We can become like the hired hands doing a job without truly caring for the person. Perhaps we have experienced both attitudes, caring for others under duress and caring for others by your free choice. The attitude and heart we bring to caring for others makes all the difference, even in circumstances where we feel little option.  Caring for others is not always easy and is not always appreciated, but if we can learn to see it as an opportunity rather than a burden or obligation, it can become for both the carer and the cared an incredibly fulfilling and rewarding experience.  May God grant us the heart of the Good Shepherd in our shepherding and caring of each other.                          Fr Seán

No human relationship is all that it ought to be until it has been elevated to the level of friendship. You and I may be neighbours in the sense that we live in close proximity but that can be problematic unless we are also friends.  Perhaps the nearest and dearest of all human relationships is the bond between parents and their children.  That natural relationship will fall short of fulfilment unless they learn to see each other also as friends. No human relationship is all that it ought to be without this blend of respect, affection and trust that ties people together in friendship.

This Sunday’s Gospel tells of the time Jesus called the disciples ‘friends.’ With the cross only hours away, he said: ‘There is no greater love than this – to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ Then he spoke even more personally and said: “You are my friends.” In the life of Jesus friendship played a positive role and was part of the strength that enabled him to face the cross with unfailing courage. 

In a world that is becoming ever more impersonal, when even in big cities the great enemy is loneliness, we all need friends more than we realise. Friendship is one of the few places left in the world where we can really relax, let it all hang out and be ourselves for a change. People nowadays complain about a lack of identity.  Perhaps what they are really suffering from is loss of friends. A friend loves us even when we do not deserve it.  A friend forgives us when we cannot demand it. A friend believes in us even when we do not believe in ourselves.  That is friendship at it best and it is the only power in earth that can truly conquer the human heart.   Fr John

I never cease to be fascinated by St John’s account of the resurrection of our Lord. There is no attempt at proof, just one man’s version of what had happened.  The details are so graphic that it can only be told by someone who was there.

First, John remembers that Mary Magdalene came to him and Peter early on Sunday morning, just before dawn.  She had been to the tomb.  Obviously she could not sleep. Sorrow can induce one of the worst forms of insomnia.  Not that it would do any good but that is where she wanted to be. On arrival, at the tomb she made what must have been a terrifying discovery, the tomb was open and the body was gone. Her immediate thought was that the body was stolen. At this point she hurried back to tell the sad news to Peter and John.

Next John remembers how he and Peter ran to the tomb, with John getting there first and he stood there looking into the tomb trying to figure out what had happened. Then Peter arrived and typical of him, he went straight into the tomb and John followed him. Mary was right, the tomb was empty and there was nothing there except the cloths that were around the body of Jesus. The robbery theory somehow did not hold water.

At this point, John, speaking of himself says “He saw and believed.” This would seem to suggest that he was the first to have faith in the resurrection. Standing there in that empty tomb he arrived at the conclusion that Jesus had risen from the dead. His faith was again confirmed and restored. That is what you and I need this Easter Sunday morning, not simply to believe in the resurrection but to have our faith in Jesus and the things in which he stands for renewed. This world has a way playing havoc with the principles in which we try to believe. It is difficult to have faith in Christ in the kind of rat race that modern life represents. Everything that he stands for gets shoved aside, trampled on, crucified almost every day that we live. Let’s face it – most of the time we are afraid to really trust him in case we make a fool of ourselves in the process. He talked about loving our enemies, turning the other cheek, going the extra mile. Where is the place for that kind of thing in this kind of world? The only thing that applies here is the law of the jungle, the survival of the fittest. This is a dog eat dog kind of world and those who do not face that fact either get run over or left behind.

Let’s be honest, isn’t that how we really think most of time. This world did to Jesus the very worst it could do. It rejected his truth and nailed him to a cross but on the third day he overcame it all, even death. John saw and believed. That is what you and I need this Easter Sunday – a renewal of our faith.     Fr John