I have heard it said, and I believe that it is true, that loneliness is one of the greatest challenges of our time. I am sure that, like everything else, the reasons for this epidemic are complex. But I would suggest that one of the major contributors to the problem is the rampant individualism which is embedding itself in our hearts and in our communities. I think that personal freedom is a wonderful thing but only if it is celebrated as an equal partner with the responsibility we have for each other.
It is astonishing to know that God is not alone – or lonely. In today’s Gospel Reading, all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity intertwine in this section of the last will and testament of Jesus. The Father is the transcending source of Love; the Beloved Son is the historical embodiment of that Love; the Spirit is the journeying presence of that Love who will guide humanity towards the truth. As He speaks, the Beloved Son judges that the fullness of this truth can only be revealed over time. Meanwhile, the Persons of the Blessed Trinity are completely intimate with each other. No-one speaks on their own but only what they hear from each other. Father, Son and Spirit are a comm-unity and this community ensures the continuity between what has been revealed and what will be revealed.
I find it helpful to consider my many beliefs as a work in progress. This does not mean that they might turn out to be false but that greater truths will be revealed and include the beliefs I hold now. These future beliefs are, of course, hidden within the text of the Gospels. As things stand, we may not have the capacity to discern them yet. Perhaps this is why Jesus tells His disciples that He has many more things to tell them but He is holding back because they are not ready for them. Perhaps it is only when we have integrated a lesser truth that a greater truth becomes available to us. The Spirit comes to make this spiritual development possible.
One of the guiding principles of Catholic Teaching in matters of relationships and morals is the Dignity of the human person. This principle states that every person is treated with dignity no matter what their physical, social or moral condition might be. Human Dignity and the Dignity of all creation is inherent. It does not come and go with circumstance and it cannot be ignored by any authority. On the ground, this means that the principle of the Dignity of the Person is used as a reference point, and is consulted again and again as we try to decide what kind of behaviour and words uphold this principle. In short, what has to be done so that the Dignity of the Person and of Creation is honoured in action?
From where does this principle get its power? It arises from the faith conviction that all of Creation is God’s work (see the first reading for today’s liturgy) and that we are made in the image and likeness of God. If we are made in the image of the Trinity then our personhood and our dignity has to be much, much more than we imagine it to be. It means that we are essentially plural. It is in our capacity for relationship and the interpersonal flow of love that we find our real self. The more we ponder this vision of the person, the more beautiful it becomes!
Which brings me back to the opening sentence in this reflection. This is not how we are used to identifying ourselves. We are under huge pressure to think of ourselves as self-enclosed beings who have individual disasters and destinies. In this worldview we are encouraged to compete and to step on other people’s heads to climb higher up the ladder of personal fulfilment. Our dignity is under threat from every turn. The negativity of the other competitors and our endless capacity to compare ourselves with those who seem to have what we do not, only seems to reinforce our sense of isolation.
But what if our dignity, flowing from the sacred heart of the Blessed Trinity, can only be accessed in relationship? What if human dignity can only be seen as ‘ours’ and not ‘mine’ or as something which we find in solitude? What if loving activity is what really defines and expresses our lives as persons? When we begin to think of ourselves in this way, the Spirit draws us into an excitement we must pursue. There is a profound and life changing truth in the teaching of Jesus, and it is simply this: we must escape from the prison of individualism with all the loneliness and heartache it brings, if we are to be filled with the exhilaration and adventure of being made in the image and likeness of God.
