Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Readings of the Day 

There are all kinds of musings when trying to describe the Holy Trinity. I literally laughed out loud when I received the invitation to compose a reflection for this feast day from our colleagues at CCUSA. “Well, there’s a theological softball,” I thought.

I confess that I spent more than a few minutes staring at a triangle, hoping to find some inspiration. Nothing earthshattering came of it, but the obvious took on a bit more meaning. It’s a triangle. There are three flat sides. No matter which way you turn it, one side is always at the base, and the other two sides are joined at the top. Depending on your point of view (or frame of mind at the moment), the two top sides seem to lean into each other – an embrace, a celebratory hug, a happy ‘joining hands’ moment. At next glance, they might appear to lean on each other: neither is standing upright by itself and requires the support of the other to keep from falling down.  Also, without being joined with the base and anchored  together by those points of intersection,  both would certainly be on the floor. There would no longer a shape at all, but just three single lines.

With all the distress that surrounds us, we might be tempted to think that is exactly where we are right now: lying on the floor, scattered, lacking shape and form. Across the nation, streets are filled with righteous cries, protesting the senseless and tragic death of George Floyd and the 8 minutes where his pleas for breath were ignored. The corona virus is still stealing the breath of its victims, and we are still uncertain as to exactly the right actions to protect ourselves. There seems to be no stable foundation to keep us safe and healthy. We don’t know what or who to trust. Rather than leaning into each other like the uprights of the triangle, we’ve pulled apart and feel scattered.  

Moses might have felt something similar when he climbed to Mt. Sinai, leaving a frustrated and tired band of Israelites in the valley below. Would they be “a people” as promised? Or would they continue to be divided by the challenges of the desert and the emotional toll of wandering for so long, their foundation shifting underfoot like the desert sands?

At the top of the mountain, when he glimpses the presence of God, Moses’ cry is especially poignant: “O Lord, do come along in our company……. receive us as your own."

Perhaps in his cry, I can find the insight I was seeking when staring at a triangle. Alone, we remain scattered. With the Lord in our company, we become community. The connection between the three sides is gives the shape its essence. The community that exists between me, those I love, and those I may meet only in passing or never meet at all flows from the spark of the Divine that has been with us from before our first breath. Our linkage to each other as the Family of God gives us a firm foundation amidst the tumult and confusion. The recognition of each other as brother and sister allows us to lean into each other, and lean on each other, and have the confidence that, bound together by our God whose love is not buffeted by the winds or diminished by time, we will come through this season of uncertainty.  

Now and always, O Lord, do come along in our company.

Susan Walker is the Executive Director of Outreach and Engagement for Catholic Charities of Kansas City St. Joseph. After 15 years as a pastoral associate at large suburban parish, she served on the leadership teams of two universities and a corporate foundation. Joining the Catholic Charities staff four years ago “felt like coming home.”

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