Last week was a long one. Perhaps like you, we stayed up too late watching election returns several nights in a row. We missed several family prayer times, and we all started to fray at the edges.

Then came Sunday.

It was as if the Lord had prepared an oasis for us in the desert, a banquet from beginning to end. Beautiful weather. Mass. The Eucharist. And a birthday lunch for one of our children, together, cautiously, with a few beloved family and friends. Such a balm!

After a day spent celebrating, encouraging one another, sharing memories and laughter and good food, we felt much more ourselves. It was a reminder that, whereas we seek unity every day with our immediate family (the heart of Level 2 of our Trinity House: Person & Relationships), sometimes heaven in our home needs to be renewed by the special communion of friendship. 

Our priest had reminded us that day that Eucharist means “thanksgiving,” a state of gratitude provoked by God offering himself to save us. In a parallel way, a friend can offer himself or herself to nourish us with interpersonal communion, saving us from our own egos. Friends save us from being alone, from missing the opportunity to grow beyond ourselves and into the rich, deep communion we were made for in the image of the Holy Trinity.

Just think of how often our contemporary culture leads us away from being saved by God and encouraged by others! Little by little, we can be led into our own version of hell, trapped alone without understanding, love, or any way to get beyond the dissatisfaction brought on by too much self-focus. Here are three of today’s common lines of thinking about friendship:

• Relating well with others is too difficult. I’m self-reliant. I don’t really need friends. (Statistically, Americans have fewer close friends now than ever before, and according to one study, 1 in 5 millennials are lonely and have “no friends.”)
• I don’t have time to invest in friendship—I’m too busy. (This is true with adults, and now, even teens. “In the late 1970s,” one study reports, “52 percent of 12th-graders got together with their friends almost every day. By 2017, only 28 percent did.”)  
• I’m very connected with my online community. (Study after study has shown a direct correlation: the more time we spend online, the lonelier we feel.)

Sound familiar? If so, let’s pause to reflect more deeply in this month of giving thanks. Christian friendship, rooted in the Eucharist and inner life of the Trinity itself, is designed to renew the living heart of your Trinity House, your domestic church. In little yet beautiful ways, our friendships call us to become ourselves—in union with our friends and God.

No matter where we find ourselves this November, in a year marked by so much loss, uncertainty, and upheaval, let’s turn to our friendships for a sense of gratitude and renewal. Not only will we be miraculously uplifted, but our children will also learn how to find true treasure—by opening our hearts to God and others!

Heaven in Your Home Toolkit

To catch up with all the Level 2—Person & Relationships—posts so far, check out this resource page at our site.  

In his article on Catholic Stand entitled “An Ignatian Style Examination of Conscience,” Paul Kniaz walks readers through a nightly examen which includes, as St. Ignatius writes, this step: “after you have recollected yourself, you will thank God for the graces he has bestowed on you during the day.” This “act of gratitude” can and should be for something specific.   

In “Friendship After the Election” at the blog for the Institute for Family Studies, Dr. John Cuddeback has some timely words, including the exhortation to act “with greater courage and integrity in always putting the true common good first in my life, and in working to move others to do so, too.”

“You Must Rethink Your Spiritual Life,” Bishop Barron’s sermon (video) last Sunday, is worth the investment of 15 minutes. “Be grateful,” he says. “Gratitude for gifts given, rather than a frenzied quest to be perfect: that’s a saner spiritual attitude.” Amen.  

“Subsidiarity” was mentioned from our pulpit more than once in the past few months—and it’s often a difficult concept to grasp and apply. “Family is Key to a Deep Spirituality of Subsidiarity,” by Fr. Jeffrey Kirby at Crux, gives a very accessible introduction to this powerful principle. 

Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Fr. Roger Landry, Dr. Stacy Trasancos, Chris Stefanick, and a friend of Soren’s, John Knutsen, are collaborating on an upcoming virtual conference entitled Questioning Faith? Questioning Church?. In his contribution, John will share his powerful conversion story and address other important topics such as relativism. The conference will offer over 30 presentations in two tracks, one for seekers and the other for their companions, and go live on November 20. The videos will be available to participants until January 31, 2021. Early-Bird admission is $39.99 until November 13, when the cost bumps up to $49.99.  

We were saddened to learn that Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks died last Saturday from cancer. Rabbi Sacks often addressed the topics of marriage and family, such as this talk at a Vatican conference. In this video on faith during this time of COVID-19, he says (minute 27:15), “Acts of loving-kindness (chessed) all define our relationship with God. And as the Book of Ruth shows, they should be what define our relationship with one another. Coming back to where we are in the Coronavirus crisis, the short answer is that just as in the Book of Ruth, tragedy and loneliness and isolation are healed by acts of loving kindness, so have the isolation of so many of us been healed by acts of loving-kindness, acts of neighbourliness, people being in touch, helping us, getting things for us, phoning us up, connecting us by Zoom, showing that they care about us.” Amen. 

Around the Corner… 

Christ the King Sunday, or the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, is coming up soon on Nov. 22nd. Instead of letting it slip by, why not prepare for it in a special way as a family? Whether it’s just learning more about it, praying a novena in the lead-up to it (beginning this Saturday, Nov. 14), a trip to a nearby shrine, or even family consecration,  this can be a powerful time for you and your family.   

Now Hiring…

Trinity House Community is seeking a 10-20 hr/week Ministry Coordinator. Learn more about this exciting new position here.  

Testimonial

“The Heaven in Your Home Workshop is a tremendous testimony to the incredible love and mercy our God has for us, and the importance of looking to the relationship in the Trinity as an example of how to thrive together as families in Faith.”  – Stewart and Donna Carroll, Leesburg, VA

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