For a short time, six years or so, I ministered to refugees arriving at Southampton Docks.  There was a chapel at St Joseph's Refuge, and, one day, I noticed one of our guests, a Moslem, wandering round looking the statues. He looked at me, smiled in his usual friendly way, and said, "O my, Father Danny, you Catholics really love your religious toys!  For us there is only One God.  We don't need anything else".  

Now, Sr. Teresa had already told us in primary school that talking about God, as if we understood the word, was like trying to fill the sea with buckets of water.  And as for the Trinity well don't even try to understand that!  Just accept it as part of the gift that comes with your faith.  

My own journey into the Trinity comes, as yours does through my life and my work.    Ministering to prisoners, to refugees, to the hungry, to the homeless, to new lives being baptised, forgiven or married, guiding sisters and brothers towards the Sacred, and being present to the frail and the dying, has been guided by one unshakeable principle, and that is the Dignity of the Human Person.  

This Principle states that everyone, no matter their circumstances, has a right to our respect.  Human Dignity is never diminished by circumstance, and is consulted again and again so that we act with honour in what we say and do to others.  And this principle is based on the other truth we are growing into that we are made in the image of God.  And all Sr. Teresa had to say was that God is not alone!  And neither are we!  A beautiful Vision!  Now, our dignity may be even more than we imagined it to be!   Our Soul, which is accessed through our eyes, bears the imprint of the Sacred.  Have a look and see!

Put quite simply.  Human Dignity can never be mine, it can only be ours.  And when we relate like it is ours, God's Face becomes a little clearer.  I felt muddled and befuddled by Sr. Teresa. Yet, I feel excited by the possibilities that being created as Icons of the Trinity frees us from thinking we are ever alone.  In the Most Holy Trinity, three persons give themselves to each other so freely that it makes them One.  Since we are made like that ............

The  'Ruah Yahweh', the Spirit of God, is present in the Creation stories in Genesis.  Here She is a creative force of power, hovering over the chaos, transforming it, raising it from darkness and and bringing it to light and life.

After this, Her presence is constant, as her work continues to unfold.  She is known by many names.  When she touches the human heart, Her own creation, She is always bringing and offering gifts.  Joel the prophet, together with Isaiah and St Paul, cannot find enough words for these gifts.  She is so generous.  And in St. Johns Gospel, the Spirit, the Advocate, the Paraclete, is present in the breath of the Risen Lord as Forgiveness. Perhaps Her greatest Gift!

But earlier, Our Blessed Lord has something else to say about the Spirit.  In the Temple, He cries out, " If anyone is thirsty let them come to me and drink!"  And He teaches us that the drink we need has to come from the well within. Meister Eckhardt regretted that we all have a vintage cellar within which we seldom visit.  At first, this call to recognise that we are the dwelling place of the Spirit may sound wrong.  'Surely the transfiguration has to come from outside ourselves', we say. Yet, as everything Jesus teaches tumbles into our hearts, we come to trust that everything He tells us about ourselves is true!  Then, now united at the centre of our being to His Love, the Spirit flows, without ceasing, into our spirit and together we flow into the world that we and God love.

O Living Water, Refresh our Souls,
Spirit of Joy,
Lord of Creation.
Spirit of Hope, Spirit of Peace,
Come! Pray in us. 

Do you remember Zeffirelli's 'Jesus of Nazareth'?  In one scene, a high profile member of the Sanhedrin enters the tomb of Jesus and finds it empty.  The expression of dismay on his face is spectacular as he mutters to himself, "Now it begins".

The Gospels say, now it continues.  But how do we make sense of, or find words, for something that is completely new and outside of our experience.  Image and Symbol come in handy, but sometimes hide the truth that is revealing itself.  The language of heaven and kingly courts is extremely unhelpful, but we cling to them even if we couldn't really explain to anyone who asked what they mean!  Does the Ascension mean that Jesus goes up and if so to where? And how do we fold His promise, 'to be with us always', into our understanding of His apparent up ness and His departure?

The Resurrection stories make it clear that He is with us in a new way.  Magdalene cannot find his body, yet she hears Him call her by name.  The lads on their way to Emmaus don't recognise Him till he lights a fire in their hearts at the sequel to the Last Supper.  Even the Apostles, don't get Him till he drenches them with the Spirit.  

Far better to experience His Ascension by meeting Him where He is.  Here is a fine example of  feeling our way to this from the Poem, 'Know Yourself' by Paul Murray (The Absent Fountain, Dublin, 1991)

There is a world within you no one has ever seen,
A voice no one has heard, not even you.
As yet unknown, you are your own seer,
Your own interpreter.
And so, with eyes and ears grown sharp for voice or sign - Listen well -
Not to these words but to that inward voice,
That impulse beating in your heart like a far wave.
Turn to that source, and you will find
What no one has ever found,
A ground within you
No one has ever seen,
A world beyond the limits
Of your dream's horizon.

There is not one moment when we are not in the presence of God.  Yet we might not always be aware of this.  Jesus is the 'true' Vine because he does not forget.  He inhales time and eternity in the same breath.This Sunday's Gospel, (you are pruned already by means of the word I have spoken to you) invites us to take a fuller part, have a heightened sensitivity to and nurture our spiritual self. Our biological life, measured by time, has its own rhythm.  Our awareness of the Sacred can recede if we are not working at it.

The vine dresser knows this, and the pruning we experience is fired by Compassion for us.  He knows there are possibilities for richer and better fruit.

Disciples of Jesus are cleansed by the word He speaks to them.  In other words, he takes whatever is blocking the flow of Life between us and our Abba.  What is cut away frees us and makes us ready for the next step.  He always makes the first move.  Widening horizons.  Transforming everything we see.  But we have to allow this to happen.  To come home to Him as he comes home to us.  Our destiny depends on us taking Him seriously.  If this awareness and action are not present, we stumble through life with many competing agendas.  This is a hard truth.  The image of branches bearing much fruit or withered and burned branches sets out our options.

Native Americans have a great story which sees us like mice, our noses sniffing the earth, arranging and rearranging stuff on the ground.  Something happens which makes us look up and see more than we knew.  This bigger vision forces us to think again.

There is a subtle proverb which says, " Make all your cares into a single care and God will see to all your cares".  If we are abiding in the True Vine, we will be purified.  His Word will create in us a Single Wish. That wish will be to love our Abba and to mediate His Love to the world.  Since this desire is at one with our Abba, it will be achieved.  And we will bear fruit. We will be as we always have been.  Disciples in the making.  It is a never ending journey.