This is Part 1 of a fifteen-part series called “The Vision of an Ideal Parish” based on an article by Dr. Peter Williamson published in 2016. This series is intended to return us to our original Faith Forward Vision.
Every vehicle has a carburetor, a central piece of the engine. Every computer has a Central Processing Unit (CPU). Every arch has a central keystone. But what is the central mystery of our faith?
Is it the Eucharist? The Incarnation? The Resurrection? The Eucharist is our act of gratitude for all the good God has done through participation in the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. The Incarnation is the moment where God became man in Jesus Christ and united our humanity to his divinity. The Resurrection is God’s definitive response to evil, suffering and death: life cannot be destroyed!
Yet these are not the central mysteries of our faith. The Catechism states,
“The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them” (234).
The Trinity, therefore, is the most fundamental teaching upon which all other teachings are founded. The Church is fundamentally Trinitarian; meaning, the life of the Trinity is the wellspring of life from which the Church draws her life. The Church exists for the praise and glory of the Father, through our discipleship in Jesus Christ, empowered by the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For this reason, the vision of an ideal parish must be rooted in its Trinitarian identity. The first part of St. Francis’ vision statement (see Website) is focused on this Trinitarian identity: To nourish our love of God through Jesus Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
What does it mean for a parish to be ‘rooted in Trinitarian identity?’ It means that we earnestly strive to fulfill Jesus’ prayer, “May they be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us” (John 17:21). We must never undervalue this all-important fact: God is a Trinity of persons, three persons in one God. This means that the fundamental identity of God is a perfect relationship. We glorify God when we strive to perfect our relationships. This is why St. John says, “Whoever does not love a brother whom he can see cannot not love God whom he cannot see…whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21).
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, for our parish to be Trinitarian we must live in community and in communion with one another. This is why Sunday Mass is never an option. Some people ask, “Why can’t I praise God on my own?” The answer is Trinitarian: The God who himself is a community of persons desires to be worshipped in a community of persons—the parish.
The Trinity is the carburetor that fuels our community, the CPU that informs our life, the keystone that holds our parish together.
Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!
Father Jarrod Lies, Pastor