“WHEN GOD LAUGHS AT THE SOUL AND THE SOUL LAUGHS BACK AT GOD, THE PERSONS OF THE TRINITY ARE BEGOTTEN. WHEN THE FATHER LAUGHS AT THE SON AND THE SON LAUGHS BACK AT THE FATHER, THAT LAUGHTER GIVES PLEASURE, THAT PLEASURE GIVES JOY, THAT JOY GIVES LOVE, AND THAT LOVE IS THE HOLY SPIRIT.”

– MEISTER ECKHART

There is a well-known story about St Augustine as he pondered the mystery of that confusing theological truth, the Trinity. While he was caught in the frustration of writer’s block, he took a break by walking along the coastline on a warm, sunny day. As the foamy waves moved in their rhythmic patterns, the activities of a young boy caught his attention. The boy was running back-and-forth, between the sea and a tiny hole in the ground. He was clearly up to something.

“What are you doing there?” Augustine called over the crashing waves. The boy lifted the large and colourful shell he was using to contain the water he was collecting. “I’m trying to fit that great big ocean into this tiny hole,” he yelled, pointing assertively at his handiwork in the sand. Augustine smiled, charmed by the child’s innocence. He then knelt beside the tiny hole, watching him spill out of his shell a few paltry drops.

The Bishop of Hippo broke the news gently, turning the boy’s shoulders to face the sea. He then spread his arms wide, “You could never fit this great, magnificent ocean into that tiny hole!” The child didn’t flinch but responded quickly: “Neither will you be able to fit the Trinity into your mind.” Then in an instant, the boy disappeared.

There is both beauty and frustration in this story. If one of the great saints of the Church cannot get his head around the Trinity, what hope do we have? At the same time, there is an inexhaustive beauty in the idea that this relationship within the Three-But-One God is ever-moving and constantly renewing. The Trinity is the deep revelation that God’s very being is loving and shared. St John of the Cross, one of the great mystics of Christianity, writes poetically of the mysterious and meaningful relationship between the Lover and the Beloved as another expression of the Trinity. This movement is both graceful and grace filled. It is a dynamic dance.

The concept of Twinning goes to the heart of the Vincentian commitment to the preferential option for the poor. The spirit of generosity that permeates this aspect of the Society is a practical commitment to this ideal. The sharing of financial resources is only one way of this profound and unique relationship.

These relationships are fostered and deepened through genuine friendship and a spirit of shared prayer. Like the Trinity, a commitment to the practice of twinning can also be a place of deep disclosure of the divine nature of community.

The revelatory truth of the Trinity is that God does not desire to be alone or separated from others. Love cannot exist in isolation. In the same way, as we are made in the image and likeness of God, our deepest impulses draw us into community and relationships with other people.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

• How does the mystery of the Trinity resonant with you?
• Where are your relationships leading you to a deeper relationship with God?

From: Firewood for the soul, vol. 2, A Reflexion Book for the Whole Vincentian Family
St. Vincent de Paul Society, Queensland, Australia.
Text by: Samantha Hill and James Hodge.