Devotion
A Community of Love
Frances Taylor
Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity. This is one of the great mysteries of Christianity and one that is a stumbling block to many. How can we even try to understand its meaning? Maybe it's not important to try and understand, but to reflect on its importance in our lives. God is Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a community of love. When I was young, I was taught that the work of the Father was creation, the Son, salvation and the Holy Spirit, sanctification. So, within the Trinity there are distinctions and yet unity. We are called by our baptism to be a community of love. There are distinct roles that each of us plays and yet we are called to be one in love for all. We are one family, all children of the one God, saved by the actions of the Son who became one of us so that we could be "joint heirs with Christ" and filled with the Holy Spirit so that we may go forth and tell others of this great mystery. The early Christians were well known for the love that they showed one another. I wonder what the non-Christian world sees when it looks upon us today. Do they see a community of love or do they see discord and conflict? While it's true that we can't change the past, we can work to change the present. If every Christian family became a witness of God's love, what would happen in our neighborhood, our city, or our world? We have a choice. We can say that one family more or less can't make a difference or we can decide to become an example of the great Community of Love that is the Trinity.
Prayer
O most Holy Trinity, help your people today become a symbol to the world of a community of love. Amen.
Devotion
Culpability
Frances Taylor
This is an interesting passage because, among other things, it talks about sin and who is considered guilty of sin. Paul is talking about how he has been forgiven, how God has been merciful to him because his actions were committed in unbelief. In order for sin to be committed, one needs to know he is committing it. No one can commit sin in retrospect. Sin is always a deliberate act. This can be hard for some to understand. Actions can be considered sinful, even though the person committing them may not be culpable. For example, lying is a sin. However, is the two year old hiding behind the curtains sinning when he or she claims not to have broken the vase? No, because the child has no understanding of the difference between truth and lie. Those who do not have a relationship with God, who do not know the commandments, who have never heard of Jesus, may commit sinful actions, but are not guilty of sin. This is what Paul claims is his situation. Paul ...
Morning Prayer
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ) full of grace and truth.
Inspiration
When the Lord sent his only Son, he sent also his word. For his body was this very word made flesh. Importantly this was not simply a manifestation of God's word, but also rather an 'animation' of it (meant here in the original Latin as 'animare' –'to instill with life or spirit'), an instance of God's love and divine grace in action, among us.
Prayer
Lord, I am grateful for your mercy in showing us your word made flesh so that we may be redeemed. Further, I am grateful to you for showing us your love and grace through your only begotten son. Let his body not have been torn and broken for no avail, but feed us now in the Eucharist. Let not his blood have...
