St James Catholic Church

It was great to see so many of our parishioners gathering together on Pentecost Sunday after nine or ten weeks of not being able to celebrate public Masses.  But to be honest, I was a little disappointed that we didn’t have more people in attendance.  Only about a third of what we could have anticipated were present.  I understand the worry and concern that motivated so many not to be present.  But I assure you that all the precautions were taken to prevent any possible spread of the virus.  Perhaps we over-sold the warnings about the dangers of COVID-19 to ourselves and others.  If you are still worried about this, feel free to continue watching and praying at Mass on TV or the internet at home.  At the same time, we look forward to seeing you in person in the weeks ahead.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the most Holy Trinity; one God, three persons.  Most Sundays we recall some event in our Lord’s life.  Today we recall a doctrine of our faith.  We believe our God is a triune of persons, one God, three persons.  God is love and in the trinity,  we have an ideal example of a relationship of pure and infinite love.  Every time we make the sign of the cross may we be reminded of the love that bonds the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  May the love of the Holy Trinity be a model for us in our relationship with God and each other.

God reveals to Moses not only the divine name, but the divine essence.  God is merciful.  God is gracious.  God is patient, kind, and faithful.  Every one of these characteristics has meaning only in relationship with someone else.  Each one of these needs to be directed outward.  Mercy, generosity, faithfulness, and so on make all-knowing, or infinite, all of which God could be, and is without the presence of anyone else.  But when God revealed the divine identity to Moses, the words the Lord used were all relational.  That’s why it is so hard to feel close to God unless we gather and experience his presence in word and sacrament.  It’s hard to be intimate when we are distant.  We long to be present to God and one another.

Love, Peace, Joy

Fr. Bob