One of the ways we can enter the mystery of the Holy Trinity is to contemplate the nature and dynamic of love. All the readings for today mention God and love: "'The Lord, the Lord a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Ex 34: 8), "... and the God of love and peace will be with you" (2 Cor 13: 11) and "God so loved the world...". (Jn 3: 16) This is not surprising since the Johannine letters identify God as being, in fact, love: "God is love. and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them." (1 Jn 4: 16) In the Middle Ages the School of St Victor took up this idea so that we can understand that the Father loves the Image, who is the Son, and the Son loves the Father, perfectly in return. The bond of love between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, it is through the Holy Spirit, who conforms us to the Son, that we are brought to the Father and thus participate in the divine life which is characterized by love. The uncreated, eternal, dynamic, perfect synthesis of love, that overflowed itself to bring about Creation, becomes a personal gift to us in the Holy Spirit. It is the love that we refer to when beginning the liturgy of the Mass: "In the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit." Our presence at Mass is a response to that love which was manifested to us most perfectly in the Passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ: "But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." (Rm 5: 8) Let us rejoice in that love and be willing to share the Good News that God loves us to those whom we meet in our daily lives.
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