13 September, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations For Each Day

 Our Relationship with the Most Holy Trinity

1. The bonds of love between God and us, which had been broken by sin, were restored by the Redemption.

These bonds of love between our soul and the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity are described by St. Bonaventure in this manner. (1) The soul is the daughter of the Divine Father. (2) It is the spouse of Jesus Christ. (3) It is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
The concept of our divine sonship can be found even in the Old Testament. “As one whom the mother caresseth,” God promises, “so will I comfort you.” (Is. 66:13) But Jesus insisted in a special way on this concept of our divine sonship so that we might love our heavenly Father more. He told us to address God as Father in our prayers. He described Him as a loving Father, waiting with love and forgiveness for His prodigal sons. When leaving this earth He told us: “I go to my Father, and to your Father.”

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us,” writes St. John, “that we should be called children of God; and such as we are.” (1 John 3:1) “You have not received a spirit of bondage,” explains St. Paul, “so as to be again in fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons, by virtue of which we cry: ‘Abba! Father!’” (Rom. 8:15) This divine paternity is the result of the elevation of our souls to the supernatural order by means of grace, which flows into our souls and makes us partakers of the very life of God. It is necessary, therefore, to nourish this grace in ourselves by praying to our heavenly Father with humility and with perseverance. It is equally essential for us to keep this grace alive by being obedient always to the commandments of God and to His holy will.

Let us examine our behaviour and see if we can honestly claim that we are one with God in mind and in heart, in intention and action.

2. The soul should also be the spouse of Jesus Christ. The union between us and our Lord should be loving and intimate, like that of husband and wife. Jesus has been called our brother, “the firstborn among many brethren.” (Rom. 8:29) We are, in fact, the adopted sons of God, just as He is the natural Son. But Jesus was not satisfied merely to show us fraternal love by giving us His heavenly Father as our Father and His Mother Mary as our mother. He wanted to give us something even more intimate, so He communicated to us His very life. The soul of a Christian is the spouse of Jesus, not only because it is united closely with Him, but because through the channel of His grace He gives it His own divine life. Jesus has often spoken to His Saints as to a spouse. “Christ is our spouse and wishes to be loved by us,” writes St. Bernard. “He desires,” says St. Teresa, “to be loved by us and to love us with the love of a spouse. He demands all the affection of which our hearts are capable.” We should examine ourselves to see if we really return this intimate love of Jesus. Above all, we should ensure that all our actions are performed solely out of love for Him.

3. Finally, we are, or should be, the temples of the Holy Spirit. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19) writes St. Paul. “Man,” writes St. Cyril of Alexandria, “is composed of body and soul. The Christian is composed of body and soul and the Holy Spirit.” Before this can be said of us, however, it is necessary for divine grace to flourish and bear fruit within us. Then the soul will really have become God’s dwelling-place. It will be like a miniature Heaven in which the Lord gloriously reigns.

Let us study the Saints carefully. They live in this world but they are not immersed in it. Their souls are already in Heaven through grace, even as they will one day reside there in glory. Because of this, their personalities radiate peace and contentment.

Of them it can truly be said: “Our citizenship is in heaven.” (Phil. 3:20) We should never allow sin to deprive us of the Holy Spirit.

Let everything in us be clean and pure, as becomes saints of God.