S1 Ep. 17: Faith, Hope, and the God Who is Love

Transcript

Carol Vassar:

From SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut, I'm Carol Vassar, and this is Living in Faith, Hope, and Love. Each week, our Pastor, Father Mark Suslenko, delves into Scripture, shares insights from the saints, prophets, and theologians, and discusses practical ways to cultivate faith, strengthen hope, and embody love in the world around us. Through his reflections and spiritual encouragement, this podcast aims to inspire you to live your Catholic faith with joy and purpose. Welcome. 

The Gospel for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - John 16, verses 12-15 - invites us into the mystery of the Holy Spirit: the Spirit of truth who comes to guide us into all truth. But what is that truth? And more to the point, who is God?

Father Mark helps us ponder this question not just with our minds, but with our hearts, and reminds us of a profoundly simple and powerful answer from Scripture: God is love. Three words that reveal the totality of God's presence, and open us to the mystery of the Trinity, not as a theological puzzle to be solved, but as love lived and experienced. 

“Faith, Hope, and the God Who is Love,” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut

Father Mark Suslenko:

When people begin to entertain the question of whether God exists, it's not enough to just tease that out with our minds. We want to know how to get to know this God, if in fact God does exist. So, then it becomes a search. A search, trying to find this God, and if I do find him, then develop a relationship with him. So, it really boils down to another question: who is God? Who is God? So, if God exists, then who is God?

I often take the opportunity of pointing out to folks that my most intriguing and favorite part of Scripture is found in three words. They're located in the first letter of St. John in the New Testament; three very simple words. God is love, period. God is love. And so there you have it. Who is God? God is love. You can't make it any simpler or boil it down anymore.

Now, what's fascinating about this is that God is the only being that I know of that can summarize the totality of his presence using one word. Ponder that for a moment. God is the only being that I can conceive of who can summarize the totality of his presence in one word. You cannot say, "John is blank. Mary is blank," and find one word that summarizes the totality of who you are. We need to use many words to describe ourselves. And then we can't even come close with that to really describing to someone else who we really are. Only God can do that. So packed into the power of one simple word, love, is the totality of God's presence, and the mystery of God is revealed and, in fact, solved. One word.

And then I point folks to my second favorite part of Scripture, and it's found in the First Letter of Corinthians, Chapter 13. We all know it because we've heard it at weddings and at other occasions, we find it on plaques in stores, and it's a very popular piece of scripture. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is not arrogant. It is not pompous. It does not put on airs, and it goes on to describe love in many other ways, and then concludes that love endures all things, hopes all things, and one thing never fails, and that's love.

Let's ponder this a bit more. If you listen carefully to that narrative on love, and then we begin to look at how we love, I think everyone in this room today, if we were vulnerable enough to share our love story, would have to easily admit that we probably have failed more at loving than have succeeded. I don't think any human being comes into this world knowing how to love perfectly, or to love unconditionally. We struggle with love. In fact, we struggle so much with love that our attempts at loving sometimes can really hurt one another because they're packed with our self-agendas. They're packed with our idiosyncrasies. Our attempts at loving are filled too much with ourselves. And so, we stumble, we make errors in loving. And so, is St. Paul talking about us when he is talking about how love is patient and love is kind, and it's not pompous and it's not arrogant? It doesn't brood over injuries, and it forgives all things. He's not talking about the way I love or about the way you love. He's talking about the way God loves. And if we have any chance of perfecting our loving, then that doesn't become a self-made project. That becomes a project we have to include the Divine Lover in, the one who knows how to love, has to help us love before we can even get off the ground.

And so, who is this God of love, and how does the Trinity factor into it? Well, if we take that simple phrase of God is love, and we take what we find in First Corinthians 13, and we take our experiences of love, and we put it all together, we can get a pretty good idea of how this Trinity operates and why it's necessary to unfolding the totality of God's presence.

You see, God can do whatever he wants. You know, God doesn't need to reveal himself to himself as the Trinity. God already knows who he is. These constructs are meant to help us understand the totality of God and how God works in the Divine Mystery. And so, in our attempts at loving, especially for parents, there's a part of our love that is powerful, that is creative, that's energizing, that requires us giving direction, guidelines, and a blueprint to those we love. Think about your children. That's a whole big part of parenting: giving guidance and direction, teaching about boundaries, teaching your children who they are, what it means to be a human being, what life is all about. Well, isn't that what God the Father primarily does? He taps into that aspect of love, of giving guidance, of direction, and, at times, chastising, because we're going off the path, just as our love is expressed in that fashion. Yet, that's not the totality of our love either. That's not limited to just that piece. Is not our love also about tenderness, embrace, compassion, forgiveness? How many times do your children come to you and say, "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry, Dad," seeking that gentle hand of forgiveness? How often are gentle hugs needed to affirm relationships? A compassionate ear? An understanding heart? How necessary it is for us to find people along the journey of life who know what it is to suffer, who knows what it is to feel pain and heartache, who can simply just be with us.

Well, isn't that God the Son? That aspect of God that goes beyond the creative and the directive and the chastising to the tender whisper of presence.

And then there's that part of our love that has to do with life-giving and sustaining and being ever present, even when those we love are no longer physically in our midst. You know, when your children leave home, you don't stop loving them. Your love still sustains them. It still guides them. It's still with them. That breath of life is ever present as life changes, as his life develops, so does your love. Well, isn't that God, the Holy Spirit, capturing that aspect of the Divine Love? The God who sustains the universe, changes times and seasons, brings life out of death, and continues to create and recreate.

We can certainly talk about theological definitions of the Holy Trinity, but that really boils down to a whole bunch of nothing unless we can truly experience the love that is God, and we can only do this with our souls. It is there in the innermost depths of our being that we can find that connection with the totality of God's presence, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is there in the stillness and silence of our souls that we can feel that powerful love.

Make no mistake about it. Silence is not nothingness. Silence is profound connection, and every single person, every single person here and every single person walking on the face of the Earth desires to not only know what love is, but to be connected with the source of that love eternally. Eternally.

And that, my friends, when it's discovered and embraced, is what happiness is really all about.

Carol Vassar:

Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. If you like what you've heard today, please subscribe to Living in Faith, Hope, and Love on your favorite podcast app, and take a moment to leave a review.

SS. Isidore and Maria is an active parish community, so whether you’re a long-time parishioner or are just getting to know us through this podcast, we welcome you to join us at Masses or any of our other community events and services. Visit our parish website - isidoreandmaria.org - for a full schedule of Masses, services and other happenings. That's isidoreandmaria.org. We're also active on Facebook and Instagram.

On behalf of Father Mark, I'm Carol Vassar, and we thank you for listening to this episode of Living in Faith, Hope, and Love.