Listening to the heartbeat

A few days ago, I returned from a wonderful pilgrimage.   During this month, which the Church dedicates every year to our Mother, Mary, my companions and I traveled through Portugal, Spain, France and Italy, all the while listening for the heartbeat of our heavenly Mother and asking her to show us the way to the heart of her son Jesus.

In Portugal, we visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.  We celebrated Mass in that holy place and participated in the candle-light procession.  In Spain, we prayed at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar: the site of the very first Marian apparition that took place along the banks of the Ebro river.  In France, we visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes and in Rome, we celebrated Mass in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

Throughout these travels, I placed all of you at the feet of Our Lady and asked her to help all of us to come closer to her son Jesus.  Perhaps it is fitting that today, the Church is celebrating Trinity Sunday.  It was God our Father who created each one of us and who (still today) gives us everything we need to live.  The Book of Deuteronomy reminds us that Moses heard the voice of God speaking out of a fire (Deut 4:33) and that God made Himself known to us by showing us many signs and wonders (Deut 4:34).

Our God has always wanted to share a relationship of love and trust with us.  In the fullness of time, he made himself known to us in the person of Jesus, who we refer to as the second person of the Trinity.  After Jesus had returned to heaven, God sent us the third person of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit still lives among us, constantly urging and encouraging us to grow in our faith and to trust in the love that God has for each of us.

The gospel passage reminds us that the eleven disciples went to Galilee (Mt 28:16) after Jesus had risen from the dead, and when they saw him there, they worshipped him, but some of them still doubted (Mt 28:17).  If even the disciples still doubted, is it any wonder that we find it difficult at times to believe?  Yet, God is still at work among us.  The Holy Spirit constantly encourages our hearts and helps us to believe that we are not alone in this world; that our God is very close to us.

Saint Paul explained to the Christians in Rome that they were all children of God (Rom 8:16), and this is also true for us.  We are all God’s children.  He loves each one of us.  We have the great privilege of having known Him as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and we have a loving Mother: Mary, who is constantly at work, interceding for us and helping us to understand in the depths of our hearts that we are all heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17). 

It would be worth our while during the coming week to contemplate this truth.  Ask Mary to help all of us to discover the joy of this truth in our lives.