Dear Friend,
“Are we going to Mass next Sunday?” our 8-year-old son asked after our 7th consecutive virtual Sunday Mass in as many weeks. Depending on how things go in our state of Virginia this week, it looks like our answer might just be “Yes!”
In a co-written column–“Rediscovering What Really Matters“–in this week’s Arlington Catholic Herald, we reflect on just what a sweeping journey—and opportunity, packed with challenges—these past 60 days have been. And it’s not over yet.
But in season and out of season, whether sheltering at home or inching back toward reopening, we all need to be growing as men and women created in the image of our triune God. As you know, in the second week of each month, we turn our focus to Level 2 of your Trinity House—Person & Relationships.
Nothing is more integral to Level 2 than understanding how the fact that we are made in the “imago Dei” is the “imago Trinitatis,” the image and likeness of the Trinity. Since we launched our Heaven In Your Home Workshop last October (our next one is May 20th), we’ve had the opportunity to personally share this insight with many participants. And a common thread is emerging: for most, this is the first time they’ve connected the Holy Trinity to their family, and the result is an aha moment, a breakthrough.
Not surprisingly, most families are unaware of their inner Trinitarian dynamic! Coming to understand that they are made in the image of a God who is at heart an interpersonal communion is a breakthrough that propels their thinking about their life and purpose. A family that lives out interpersonal communion not only enjoys the benefits of God’s own way of life, but that family becomes a convincing image of God in the world.
“The Heaven In Your Home Workshop,” as one participant and father shared with us, “is a tremendous testimony…to the relationship in the Trinity as an example of how to thrive together as families in faith.”
What exactly about the life of the Trinity should we be contemplating as food for building up our families? Here are three starter points for reflection:
1 | A Communion of Persons
First, God, the Holy Trinity, is a communion of persons—and so is a family! Families are already so close to the Lord because, as St. John Paul II cited (from Gaudium et Spes, 48), the family is an “intimate community of life and love.”
2 | Bonded as One Through Self-Giving
The persons of the Holy Trinity have a certain core way of being: to live in a posture of total, mutual self-giving. The way they give themselves and all they have—totally—to the other brings about the strongest of bonds. They are eternally one with one another.
3 | Bondedness Is Grounds for Creativity and Blessings
The perfect bond of love between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit, the creative power of God. In families, when persons give all they are and have to each other, that love also brings about creativity. Where unique gifts come together in mutual collaboration, a creative spirit arises and brings about new blessings within the family, for their own benefit but also for their neighbors and their community.
Does this sound like a good recipe for our own families? It definitely is. But alas, because of our fallen, selfish nature, being other-centered in a way that brings about bonding, creativity, and blessings doesn’t come easily! That’s why Our Lord is always inviting us to further unlock the inner dynamic of our family’s life by increasing our union with him—in prayer and sacrament—becoming one with his body and entering into the mystery of God’s life of giving for others.
Many families are hurting now. Wherever our own families are in this difficult season, let’s allow the Lord to truly take hold of us and bring about this bond—this living for others—that will result in a little taste of heaven on earth!
Don’t Miss…
Haven’t joined us yet? Consider signing up for our next LIVESTREAM opportunity to attend the Heaven In Your Home Workshop: How to Turn a Crisis into a Time of Grace for Your Family & the World:
- Wed., May 20th, 8-9:30 p.m. ET
Learn more and register here, and then spread the word by forwarding this email to your friends. A number of participants are hearing about the workshop through Facebook, so consider taking a moment to share the FB event page here.
Heaven In Your Home Toolkit
If you can carve out an hour or so for a deep and rewarding dive into the family as a communion of persons, check out professor and author Dr. Janet Smith’s essay, “The Family: A Communion of Persons.”
Considering joining Dr. John Cuddeback for a free webinar he’ll host this Thursday, May 14, “Rediscovering Fatherhood During COVID-19,” with the Institute for Family Studies.
Also at the Institute for Family Studies, check out this compilation of helpful articles on family life during COVID-19 here.
Picking up on our home altar theme from last week, gain more inspiration for your own in the National Catholic Register’s article, “The Domestic Church in Quarantine Makes Good Use of Home Altars.”
And looking back to our gardening theme from several weeks back, enjoy Nancy Emanuel’s inspiring piece, “How to Plant a ‘Mary Garden’ During May,” in this week’s Arlington Catholic Herald.
Testimonials
“Thank you for your gift of time and ministry. My husband and I watched Heaven in Your Home together, and it was so helpful to see where we’ve implemented some of your suggested practices, and where we can improve and continue to grow as a family with the Holy Trinity and Holy Family as our guide.” Melissa Hancock, Saint Johns, FL
Please Join Us In Prayer We invite you to keep the following needs in prayer:
- For wisdom for our leaders, as they make decisions about reopening our economy.
- For all senior citizens, doctors, nurses, and essential workers.
- For the unemployed, the underemployed, and all those facing difficult financial decisions in these days.
- For all participants of our upcoming and recent workshops, that their family life may be blessed and encouraged in this difficult time.
In Christ,
Soren & Ever Johnson
Co-Founders & Directors
Trinity House Community
Making Home a Little Taste of Heaven
