Trinity Sunday - May 27, 2018

Homily for Trinity Sunday

May 27, 2018

With Us on the Journey

            Back in 2012, I had the incredible privilege of hiking El Camino. The Camino is an ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, a town in northern Spain which holds the bones of St. James. This pilgrim path is ancient – it was first marked out in the 800s – and still wildly popular. Last year, over 300,000 people walked it.

            But it is a long journey! 498 miles, all on foot, through deserts and mountains and cities and forests. We started in southern France in the heart of the Pyrenees mountains, and thirty-three days later stumbled, exhausted, into Santiago de Compostela on the other side of Spain. Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience…because I’m not sure I’d want to walk quite that far ever again!

            It’s interesting how many stories, movies, and novels are all about journeys. I think of things like Lord of the Rings, or Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. We love a good journey story, in part because life is like a journey – we’re not quite home yet, but still on the road.

            Journeys – whether it’s a 500-mile hike or a quick jaunt to the beach – all have several things in common. There is a starting point, a destination, and a route. We need a mode of transportation, whether on foot, or by car, or by airplane. We need a map, and we need traveling companions.

            So let’s apply all this to the journey called life. Where is our destination? Heaven: eternity with God. That’s where we will finally be at home. What’s our starting point? This earth – a place of great beauty and joy, but also a place of great suffering and pain. So how do we get from point A to point B? Our route is given to us by Jesus Christ – living a holy life in imitation of Him.

            But holding a map in your hand is not the same as taking the first step. And the mode of transportation that brings us from earth to Heaven is His grace.

            Grace is God’s divine life – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – living in us. The very same Trinity that exists above and beyond creation has chosen to dwell within your soul. Grace is like the gasoline that powers our car; like the food we eat that allows us to have the energy to walk. Grace – being connected to Him – is what causes us to grow in holiness and approach the destination of Heaven.

            But how do we receive grace? Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel. The Sacraments, prayer, and the teaching of the Church. Think of how the Sacraments envelop you in the life of the Trinity – in baptism, we become sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father; in the Eucharist we receive the Flesh and Blood of the Son; in Confirmation, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. These powerhouses of grace are what Jesus means when He says “I am with you always” – look no further than the Eucharist if you want to see where Jesus is today!

            With all of this grace, there should be no problem growing in holiness and approaching our destination of Heaven! But why do we look around and not see more saints? Why do we look in the mirror and not see more saints?

            First, for some people, the destination is wrong. I have to apologize, but one of my least favorite movies is “Polar Express”, which I know is a Christmas classic for many of us here. But the reason why I dislike this movie is because of one single line that is so absurd that I just couldn’t appreciate the rest of the movie. The little boy who discovers this gigantic train that just pulled up on his street approaches curiously and asks where the train is going. The conductor responds, “It doesn’t matter where the train is going, all that matters is that you hop on!”

            Wait a second! Doesn’t matter where you’re going? What if you want to go to Albuquerque but you end up in Ottawa instead? That’s a pretty big difference! You may say that’s just a movie but that’s how many people live their life – “Oh, I don’t know where I’m going, I’m just along for the ride!” My friend, we need to know where we are going – to Heaven? Or to Hell? There are only two options on this train line! Which direction do you want to pursue?

            The other reason why we are not yet saints is because we don’t believe we need His grace to get there. One of the very common things I hear from parents at Trinity is, “Oh, I send my kid there so he can get good morals.” Well, good morals is fine, being a decent person is great, but our Catholic faith is about so much more than that! It’s not just about being decent, it’s about being holy…through a living and enduring friendship with the Trinity. If we try to be good without grace, then we are not yet disciples! A disciple of Jesus is one who lives in an intimate relationship with Him. We should desire Him – and our “good morals” will be a response to His unconditional love. Jesus doesn’t say “get to Heaven by being a basically good person” – He says “make disciples of all nations” – disciples who love Him and live for Him!

            My friends, the Feast of the Holy Trinity is an invitation to consider grace – that divine life of the Blessed Trinity that wants to dwell within us to make us holy. We are offered that grace every time we receive the Sacraments, and when we engage the Lord in prayer or reading His Word. We all receive enough grace to become saints – if we ask Him to make us holy, His grace will do it!