The Blessed Trinity and the Family

(Trinity Sunday 2025 (C): This homily was given on June 15, 2025 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani.  Read Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15.)

 [For the audio version of this homily, click here: Trinity Sunday 2025]

Some people consider the Blessed Trinity to be a theological mystery which is far removed from their everyday experience.

But that’s not true!

Yes, the Trinity is a deep mystery of our Catholic faith.  As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “It is the mystery of God in himself.” (CCC 234) But the Catechism also tells us that “God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation.”  (CCC 237)  This means that the Trinity is not just an abstract dogma for theologians to speculate about.  Believe it or not, the inner life of the Trinity is actually reflected in our human experience.

Consider, for example, the family.  If we examine the Church’s teaching on the Trinity carefully, we see that it has much to teach us about family life here on earth.

First of all, the Trinity reminds us that the nuclear family is a necessary social and cultural phenomenon.  Let’s face it, the traditional family (i.e., mother, father, and children) has been under attack in our society for a number of decades now.  Many no longer consider it the norm.  As Christians, we must say, “Sorry, but it is the norm.  After all, our God is a ‘family’ of persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The inner life of God is a ‘family life,’ and the standard here on earth is the family as God designed it.”

The Trinity also reminds us that fathers are important!  That’s also a radical idea in this culture of ours which has been infected with certain radical feminist ideas.  The Catechism says that in the Blessed Trinity the Father is “the source and origin of the whole divinity.” (CCC 245)  Without the Father, you would not have the Son or the Holy Spirit.  The “family” of the Trinity needs the Father, and families on earth need a loving father (or at least a loving father figure).  That role is essential.  On that note, a happy Father’s Day to all the dads who are here with us this morning.

The dogma of the Trinity also reminds us that a bond of deep love should unite every family.  It is a perfect love which unites the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Our family relationships should reflect that divine, self-giving love. 

Do yours?

The Trinity also teaches us that the uniqueness of every family member must be recognized and treasured.  Some mistakenly think that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are just 3 different ways that we perceive the one true God.  But that’s not true!  The dogma of the Trinity teaches that there are three distinct persons in the one God.  The Father is not the Son; the Son is not the Spirit; and the Father is not the Spirit.

Sometimes in families younger children are pressured into being “just like” their older siblings.  I’ve seen that happen so many times!  And it’s almost always a big mistake; it very often leads to rebellion.  Every child is unique, and their unique gifts should be affirmed and nurtured by everyone else in the family.

The Trinity also reminds us that children can do great things if they receive their foundation in a loving family.  God the Son was eternally begotten by God the Father; then, in time, he took on flesh and saved the world!  Your children could never pull that one off, but they can do great things—and achieve great holiness—if given the proper guidance, encouragement, and example in the home.  Remember, some of the great saints of the Church were young people: Maria Goretti, Dominic Savio, and Aloysius Gonzaga—to name but a few.  And now we have Blessed Carlo Acutis who will probably be canonized a saint in the very near future.  His online research on miracles of the Eucharist has touched people all over the world.  Blessed Carlo was only 15 when he died of leukemia in 2006.

The Trinity also reminds children of the need to be responsible and accountable to their parents.  After the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity took on a human nature, he was always “accountable” to his heavenly Father.  The Scriptures make that fact crystal clear.  Listen to his words: “The Son cannot do anything by himself—he can do only what he sees the Father doing.  For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.” (John 5:19)

And again: “I have not spoken on my own; no, the Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to speak.”  (John 12:49)

The obedience of Jesus to his heavenly Father (and to his earthly parents!), is to be the model for every child who is still under his or her parents’ care.  Hear that, young people!

And finally, the Trinity reminds us that it’s important for parents to “let go” of their children at the proper time.  That’s a difficult one for many mothers and fathers.  The heavenly Father is to be your model here.  As St. Paul said, “When the designated time had come, God sent forth his Son . . . “ (Galatians 4:4)  The Father was sending his son into a situation that would ultimately result in his death, but he still sent him, because it was the right thing to do to save us.

And then, after the Ascension, the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world to be with us always.  That was yet another divine experience of “letting go.”

The Blessed Trinity is a mystery that we will never fully understand.  But what we do know about the Trinity can teach us much about the most practical and basic realities of life—like the family. 

May the Triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—bless all of our families this day, so that they will better reflect here on earth the love—the perfect love—that the 3 divine Persons have for one another in the Blessed Trinity in the kingdom of heaven.  Amen.

 

Stir the Gift into Flame!

(Pentecost 2025 (C): This homily was given on June 8, 2025 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani.  Read Acts 1:1-2:11.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Pentecost 2025]

 

“For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God bestowed when my hands were laid on you.”  (2 Timothy 1:6)

That, I would say, is one of the most important verses in the Bible—especially if you want to understand what’s going on (and what’s not going on) in the lives of young people in the Church today.

St. Paul wrote those words 2,000 years ago to a young priest named Timothy, reminding him that he needed to grow in the grace of his ordination.  It wasn’t enough that Paul had placed his hands on Timothy’s head and had ordained him a priest.  If Timothy was to be the faithful servant—the faithful disciple—that Jesus wanted him to be and needed him to be, then Timothy had to respond to the grace he had been given at his ordination by “stirring it into flame”—through prayer, and the Eucharist, and Scripture reading, and by taking advantage of the opportunities God was giving him in his life to grow in his relationship with Jesus Christ, his Lord and Savior.

As the old saying goes, “A fire not fed is very soon dead.”  (Actually that’s not an old saying; I made it up for this homily—but it’s true nonetheless!  And it summarizes Paul’s message to Timothy here.)

The reason I mention this today, on this feast of Pentecost, is because whenever I hear this particular verse of Scripture, I always think of its application to another sacrament: the sacrament of Confirmation.  When that sacrament is administered to people—as it was to our teenagers at the 5 o’clock Mass on May 31—hands are “laid upon them” (usually by the Bishop) and they receive another outpouring of the Holy Spirit (in addition to the one they received at baptism), so that they can be witnesses to Jesus Christ in the sometimes hostile environment of the world.

That’s the purpose of the sacrament: to empower us to be strong and committed disciples who want to win the world for Christ!  As Jesus said to his apostles before the first Pentecost, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  During this year’s Confirmation Mass our new bishop, Bruce Lewandowski, told the young people that through the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit God wants to do great things in them and with them and for them in their lives.

But that’s not what always happens, is it?  All too frequently young people (and not-so-young people) get confirmed, and then, instead of winning the world for Christ, they end up being won-over by the world!

Our retired bishop, Thomas Tobin, wrote about this several years ago in our diocesan newspaper.  Here’s some of what he said in that article:

There’s a cloud that hangs over Confirmation these days—an elephant in the room if you will, and that’s the reality that a majority of young people being confirmed will, sooner or later, stop practicing their faith—and these days it’s often sooner rather than later.

One national statistic indicates that 80% of young Catholics fall away from the Church within ten years of receiving the Sacrament. That’s an astonishing number! Some will return to the regular practice of their faith as adults, especially when they get married (if they’re married in the Church, that is!) and have children of their own. Some will join the ranks of cultural Catholics, maintaining a structural link to the Church but attending Mass only occasionally, on Christmas and Easter for example. And some will never return to the Church, having discarded their religious practice as an unwarranted intrusion in their life, foisted upon them as children by well-meaning parents.

In any event, it’s terribly discouraging to know that so many young people, having just publicly renewed their profession of faith and commitment to Christ and his Church, will abandon the practice of their faith, with some dropping out as soon as they can. For these, Confirmation is no more than a graduation ceremony, and having placated their parents and grandparents, they’re set free to fly their separate ways.

 

So what’s the problem, my brothers and sisters?  Why is this happening?  Is there something wrong on God’s end of things?  Is he withholding his Holy Spirit from these teenagers?  Is the sacrament they’re receiving invalid or defective in some way?

Well, of course not.  If it is administered with the proper matter and form by a competent minister, a sacrament (any sacrament) is valid—meaning that it gives the grace that it signifies.

So these adolescents have received the Holy Spirit.  When the bishop or priest traced a cross on their forehead during the Confirmation Liturgy and said, “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit” that’s precisely what happened.

So the problem’s not with God! 

The problem is that these young people are failing “to stir into flame the gift they received” when hands were laid on them and the Holy Spirit came to them in the sacrament. 

As far as I’m concerned, it’s that simple.

Now there can be many reasons for this failure: a bad example from their parents; poor religious instruction at their parish; a sin (or a number of sins) that they’re not willing to repent of in their lives; the lack of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; lies that they’ve been told in school about Christianity and the Church.

There are lots of possibilities.

One of the reasons why we have youth group at St. Pius every other Thursday night, one of the reasons we go to the Steubenville High school Youth Conference every summer (and other such events), is to give teenagers here—especially those who have already been confirmed—the opportunity to “stir into flame” the gift they received from God at their Confirmation ceremony.

Because doing that is essential.

So, young people, am I saying that all of you have got to come to youth group and these big retreats?

No—although I wish you would!  But I am saying that you need to be doing something in your life right now to stir your gift into flame—if you want to BE STRONG and if you want to REMAIN STRONG in your Catholic faith.

Remember, a fire not fed is very soon dead.

So here’s a little homework assignment.  Those of you who are parents of teens who have been confirmed: Sometime in the near future (perhaps on the way home from Mass today) sit down with your son or daughter and ask him or her that very important question:  What are you doing? What, exactly, are you doing at the present time to feed the fire of your Catholic faith?

If they say “Nothing,” then tell them that that situation needs to change, and that it needs to change VERY SOON!  For their own sake!  Do that, at least, if you value their Catholic faith.

And then, of course, share with your son or daughter what YOU are doing in your life at the present time to “stir into flame” the gift you received from the Lord at YOUR Confirmation—because what applies here to teenagers applies to the rest of us as well.

Am I Ready for Heaven?

(Seventh Sunday of Easter (C): This homily was given on June 1, 2025 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani.  Read Acts 7:54- 8:1.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Seventh Sunday of Easter 2025]

Am I ready for Heaven?

A rather important question, I would say, since we all hope to get there at some point in the future.  Am I ready for Heaven?—which is not the same as asking “Is Heaven ready for me?”—that’s another issue entirely.  Some, for example, might be of the opinion that Heaven will never be ready for someone like Fr. Ray.  That may be true, but that will not be the subject of this homily!  “Am I ready for Heaven” means: “If I died today, would I be ready to enter God’s eternal kingdom immediately—like St. Stephen was?” 

Today’s first reading from Acts 7 tells the famous story of Stephen’s martyrdom.  Stephen had just professed his faith in Jesus before the Jewish Sanhedrin, when he suddenly saw a vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father.  Not surprisingly, when Stephen told them what he was seeing, the Jewish authorities immediately “freaked out.”  To them, this was blasphemous talk; which is why they quickly dragged Stephen out of the city and began to stone him.

At that point in his telling of the story St. Luke mentions the fact that one of those who took part in the execution was a man named Saul of Tarsus—the future St. Paul.  He stood guard over the cloaks of the people who threw the rocks at Stephen.  That, of course, made Saul a willing accomplice to the murder of the Church’s first martyr.

But what I’d like to focus your attention on this morning is the amazing reaction of Stephen himself.  Here was a man who—from a purely human perspective—had every reason to be angry and bitter.  He was being executed, although he was completely innocent.  And yet, Scripture tells us that as he was dying, he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

That, my brothers and sisters, is why Stephen was ready to enter God’s kingdom immediately after death: not only was his soul free of mortal sin—HIS HEART WAS ALSO FREE OF EVERY SINFUL ATTITUDE!  You see, if he had died with even a little bit of anger within him, he would NOT have been ready for Heaven.  If he had died with even a little bit of resentment or bitterness or unforgiveness or lust or pride or selfishness within him, he would NOT have been ready for Heaven.  But, from all external indications, his heart was free of those (and all other) sinful attitudes, so there was no need for even a brief stopover in purgatory.

This reminds us of an important truth: to be ready for Heaven, it’s not enough to be in the state of grace!  It’s necessary, but it’s not sufficient!  To be in the state of grace (of course) means to be free of mortal sin.  And yes, that’s a definite prerequisite for entering God’s eternal kingdom.  But, even if we’re in the state of grace, we also need to be free of every sinful attitude—like Stephen was.  Because there’s no room in Heaven for ANYTHING evil!  As the Book of Revelation tells us, “Nothing profane shall enter [Heaven].”  (Rev. 21: 27)  This is something that some people apparently are not aware of.  For example, I remember reading a newspaper article once about a woman whose husband had been murdered several years earlier.  The man who committed the crime apparently had died recently, and this woman was telling the reporter about all the terrible things she hoped her husband would do to his murderer in the afterlife.  Now, I’m sure that this woman hoped that her husband was in Heaven—and yet she also seemed to believe that her husband still had anger and hate in his heart!    Well, let’s be clear about it—that’s not the way it is in Heaven!  That’s the way it is in hell, but not in God’s eternal kingdom.

In the Letter to the Hebrews it says, “Strive for that holiness, without which no one can see the Lord.”  To be ready for Heaven, we must be in the state of grace—and we must be purified of all venial sin and all attachment to sin.  Here we see one of the biggest reasons why we should go to Confession on a regular basis.  The Church teaches that the only time we must go to Confession is when we have mortal sin on our soul.  But, if we’re really serious about reaching the level of holiness we need to reach in order to enter Heaven immediately after death, then we will certainly want to go more frequently than once a year.  Some people wonder why the great saints went to Confession so often: it’s because they not only wanted to avoid hell—they also wanted to avoid purgatory if possible.  They loved God so much that they didn’t want to be delayed in seeing him face to face after death.

Let me close today by reading to you part of a meditation that was written many years ago by one of the canonized saints of the Church.  It gives us a little insight into the wonderful life we all hope to experience someday in Heaven, and it helps us to see why Stephen and Paul were both ready for Heaven when they left this life:

Now, at last, Paul rejoices with Stephen, with Stephen he delights in the glory of Christ, with Stephen he exults, with Stephen he reigns.  Stephen went first, slain by the stones thrown by Paul, but Paul followed after, helped by the prayer of Stephen.  This, surely, is the true life, my brothers [and sisters], a life in which Paul feels no shame because of Stephen’s death, and Stephen delights in Paul’s companionship, for love fills them both with joy.  It was Stephen’s love that prevailed over the cruelty of the mob, and it was Paul’s love that covered the multitude of his sins; it was love that won for both of them the kingdom of Heaven.  (St. Fulgentius of Ruspe, bishop)

Let’s pray today at this Mass that our love for Jesus Christ, expressed in a life of true holiness, will win the same prize for us.