The Happy Priest on Trinity Sunday: Growing in Our Relationship with the Lord

Although we cannot even begin to fathom the mystery of God, we do know that he is always with us.  The gift of faith that we have received at our baptism helps us to live in his presence and know that he is always with us. 

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) - William Jennings Bryan once said, "I have observed the power of the watermelon seed. It has the power of drawing from the ground and through itself 200,000 times its weight. When you can tell me how it takes this material and out of it colors an outside surface beyond the imitation of art, and then forms inside of it a white rind and within that again a red heart, thickly inlaid with black seeds, each one of which in turn is capable of drawing through itself 200,000 times its weight--when you can explain to me the mystery of a watermelon, you can ask me to explain the mystery of God." 

God is mysterious.  We have to accept this fact.  We cannot think that we can completely understand God. 

Many years ago, an elderly Bishop visited a parish of his diocese for Confirmations.  Despite the fact that he was loosing his hearing, he still continued his custom of quizzing the children on their catechism before the Confirmations.

He asked a young girl to define the Blessed Trinity.  The girl was rather nervous and shy, and she softly said: "The Blessed Trinity is one God with three distinct persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit".  The Bishop could not hear her answer, so he said to the girl: "Speak up, I can't understand you".  The girl turned to the Bishop and said: "You can't understand, it is a mystery".

However, although we cannot even begin to fathom the mystery of God, we do know that he is always with us.  The gift of faith that we have received at our baptism helps us to live in his presence and know that he is always with us. 

St. Augustine was once confronted by a pagan leader who showed him his idol and said, "Here is my god; where is yours?" Augustine replied, "I cannot show you my God; not because there is no God to show but because you have no eyes to see him."

In the silence of our hearts, filled with faith, we experience the presence of God.  We contemplate him in the beauty of the sunrise, the power of the wind, the majesty of the ocean, the voice of the Scriptures, the presence of the Eucharist and each encounter with our neighbor. The same St. Augustine once said that God is closer to us than we are to ourselves.

One of the biggest challenges that modern man encounters is the inability to see and to listen to God.  There are so many things distracting us from really encountering God.  Excessive work, too many after school activities, even too many commitments in church activities are serious sources of keeping our focus away from a true relationship with God.  Excessive use of cell phones, television and computers keep many people from not only being with God, but it allows them to escape into a lonely interior and self-centered world.  Yes, it is true that we all live busy lives, but there has to be balance in our lives.  

Our busy lives need refreshing times of prayer throughout the day.  If we do not incorporate prayer time within our day, we will live our lives as if God does not even exist. 

What should be the prayer life of a serious Catholic? Throughout the many years of  my priesthood, I have spiritually directed many serious Catholics who have very beautiful and profound prayer lives, and who at the same time are very busy.  Morning Prayer, meditation, daily Mass, Evening Prayer, the Rosary, and Night Prayer are  the fundamental pillars of their mature spirituality. However, this kind of prayer life is only possible for them because they are very organized, disciplined and focused. 

My new book, Get Serious! A Survival Guide for Serious Catholics  will give you all of the practical details that you need in order to live a serious Catholic life.

Not long ago, a young mother of a growing home-schooling family spoke to me about the difficulties of developing a mature life of prayer.  She possesses a deep thirst for prayer, yet her many duties were keeping her from finding the necessary quiet time to pray. 

I spoke to her about establishing a schedule for the entire family.  I suggested a model schedule for her family which I based upon the schedule that I lived in the seminary.  Recently, she happily told me that the schedule is working and that the entire family was benefiting remarkably. 

Families can live this kind of prayer life together.  The home can be like a small monastery or a small seminary where order, peace, community, and prayer make up the substance of family life. 

It amazes me how many families today do not even eat dinner together on a regular basis!  Fr. Patrick Peyton, the famous rosary priest, was well known for his celebrated saying: "The family that prays together, stays together".  However,  how can a family prayer together if they do not eat together? 

A few years ago, during a home visit, my mother paused at the dinner table while we were all enjoying her wonderful cooking, and she just stared at the table.  She placed her hands lovingly on the dinning room table and began to rub the table.  "On this table", she said, "I have so many wonderful memories".  "Here my children colored in their first coloring books, attempted to write their first letters on pads of paper, and how many times I enjoyed the presence of my parents, grand-parents and in-laws at our family meals". 

My dear friends, the only way that we can develop a truly mature spiritual life, is to live organized and disciplined lives.  A realistic schedule of our daily activities and responsibilities is the first and most fundamental step in order to achieve this basic aspect of our spiritual lives: we need to pray in order to know, love, and serve God.   I wrote my new book in order to help you develop the kind of spiritual life that is necessary in order to live in this crazy world with joy and hope. 

This Sunday's feast day reminds us of our need for God.  We cannot live our lives as if he does not exist.  Let us remember today the consoling words of St. Theresa of Avila who wrote, "Let nothing trouble you.  Let nothing frighten you.  Everything passes.  God never changes.  Patience obtains all.  Whoever has God, wants for nothing.  God alone is enough."
________________
Acknowledgements:
Biography on Fr. Patrick Peyton - http://www.museumsofmayo.com/peyton1.htm
Homily illustrations - http://www.sermonillustrations.com/

Visit Father James Farfaglia, the Happy Priest, on the web at http://www.fatherjames.org and purchase his new book Get Serious! A Survival Guide for Serious Catholics and his first book, Man to Man: A Real Priest Speaks to Real Men about Marriage, Sexuality and Family Life.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online