Today we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Trinity. There is a book by lay Catholic theologian, Frank Sheed, called Theology and Sanity. Early in the book, Sheed gives a very thorough explanation of the doctrine of the Trinity, which has been touted as one of the best explanations available. If you have a mind for philosophy or want to dive deeper into the doctrine, it is well worth the read, but I will summarize his essential points.

Today we celebrate the birthday of the Church on the feast of Pentecost. After Jesus’ ascension, the apostles, along with Mary and a few others, went to the upper room to pray and wait for the spirit that Jesus had promised to send. After the ninth day, the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles, enabling them to speak different languages and evangelize so they could accomplish the mission of making disciples of all people, as Jesus had commanded them. The body of Christ on earth was born and, ever since, has been animated by the Holy Spirit. Today, each of us is also a member of the body of Christ and we continue to be animated by that same Holy Spirit.

Your title here...

This week we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus into heaven. All three of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) describe this event in essentially the same way. In this moment, there are two things that occur: Jesus gives instructions and Jesus takes His place. These two things have practical implications for us today, which we will examine here.

“But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He shall be called a Nazorean.’” (Matthew 2:22-23)

We do not know how long the Holy Family was in Egypt waiting for further instructions from God. It could have been a year, but it could have just as easily been 10 years of not knowing how or when their circumstances might change. Regardless of the length of time, trusting in God’s will, they waited patiently and peacefully. Because Egypt was unfamiliar territory to them, their time spent there could be considered a time of tribulation for the family. They would have had to find a home, learn how to communicate, and figure out how to fit into the new culture. They would have had to miss their family and friends back home and find new people with whom to connect. Joseph would have had to find work in order to provide for the basic needs of his family. Working through these different problems would have brought challenges, but the Holy Family persevered with the faith that God would provide for their every need and reveal solutions as problems arose. Most certainly, the majority of us have had to endure various tribulations of our own without knowing how long each would last. However, reflecting on those times, can you see how God provided you with everything you needed at the time to endure each of them?