Shrine Of The Holy Trinity

The Blessed Mother is truly my favorite! I could meditate on her character, her virtuous life, her obedience to God, her love for her Son, her union with the Holy Spirit every day and still never get bored. There is a depth and richness in Mary that always leads us to a deeper and more personal relationship with the Holy Trinity. This is because Mary was in perfect relationship with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit her spouse. As human beings we were made for relationship; both relationship with one another as the Body of Christ, but also relationship with God in all three persons of his divine nature; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our personal relationship with the Holy Trinity can be found in and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Mary’s Immaculate Heart is not simply about her sentiments of love for her Son, nor is it merely her love for God, but it is so much more. Mary, who was saved from original sin and who remained free from particular sin, was able to be in perfect union with the Holy Trinity. There were no blocks to her receiving God’s love and mercy. She was a perfect vessel of Divine Grace. Thus Mary received everything from God with reverence; both the good and the bad. This was because she deemed herself worthy of her sufferings and unworthy of the fruits that she received after her suffering.

“Our principle desire should be to slay our own will, so that it may not seek or wish anything else than to follow [God’s] sweet truth, Christ crucified, seeking the honor and glory of [God’s] name and the salvation of souls.”

St Catherine of Siena

To speak of Mary’s Immaculate Heart is to speak of her will, which was dead through her surrendering of it to the Will of God. Mary desired only that which God desired, and this is because her heart was totally free from sin. She accepted that whatever happened in her life was the Will of God, it was under the plan of Divine Providence and she trusted in that. No matter what the suffering, Mary was able to long for God’s glory more than her own ease of life. The triumph over sin and death in her life was revealed through her steadfast faithfulness to her Son during His passion, death and resurrection. Mary trusted in the power of God’s redeeming Grace. 

In order to see how Mary was able to be in union with the Will of God we must look at her relationship to the Holy Trinity. First, she was a beloved daughter of God the Father. Mary rested in the security of God as her good and perfect Father. So when the Angel Gabriel came to announce the Good News of the Messiah, Mary’s response was total submission. It was the response of a beloved daughter to her good Father. Mary had no doubt that God’s Will would reign supreme in her life. So she submitted to it in all things.

Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Luke 1:38

We are all beloved sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. God desires this very personal relationship with us. He wants nothing more than for us to trust in Him, to obey his commands and to live in the security of his love and mercy. It is often hard for us to understand what a good father is and does because of our wounded relationships with our own fathers. But the redeeming power of God wants to heal us from this wound. God desires for us to allow Him access to our hearts, so that He can teach us exactly what a good father is, and so that we will learn how to be beloved sons and daughters.

Mary’s relationship with the Son begins in this very moment of her submission to being the Mother of God. Mary’s fiat is not one of fear and trembling, but one of love. Likewise, God’s gift of Jesus to her is the greatest gift of love ever known. Mary receives the gift of Jesus in humility. The favor of the Lord that was upon her was never used in pride or vanity by Mary because she was completely pure of heart. In their life together as mother and Son, Mary knew well the voice of Jesus. Mary knew her Good Shepherd and He knew her. Their relationship was so intimate, so close, so familiar. Mary and Jesus shared everything with one another, all of life’s joys and sorrows.  

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

John 2:1-5

Jesus, the second person of the Holy Trinity, came down from Heaven, to be with humanity in the most intimate way possible. In Jesus’ taking on of our nature, He makes it possible for us to be intimately joined to God. Jesus desires that each of us have this very intimate, personal relationship with Him. He desires that we bring our whole selves to Him. Jesus wants to disciple each and every one of us personally and this can only happen if we are talking to Him, holding nothing back, and communing with Him daily. This takes time and effort, but to do so will bring light to every aspect of our lives.

To speak of Mary’s relationship with the Holy Spirit as an afterthought would be to miss so much. Mary not only was fully united to the Will of God and bore the Messiah in her womb, but she was from the moment of her conception, free from sin and full of the Spirit. Mary’s life is a mirroring of the Holy Spirit personified. Mary’s relationship to the Holy Spirit is what prompts her to ponder things in her heart and to be steadfast in faith as she stood at the foot of the Cross. Everything in Mary’s life was seen through the lens of the Holy Spirit who lived and moved and flowed so effortlessly through her. Like her very breath, Mary received Grace, deposited Grace into her being, then gave Grace away. Hers was a perpetual action of receiving and giving away of God’s love.

But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:19

His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

Luke 2:51

Just like Mary, we are called to receive the Holy Spirit. To ponder and treasure the Gift of the Spirit, which is freely given to us. The Spirit is at work in all things of our lives. We can go through life and look at our circumstances through a critical eye of judgement, or we can go through life and see the Divine Life of God moving and living amongst the messiness of all of our encounters. God is truly working in all things. Do we have eyes like Mary to see?

Mary’s heart is a true treasure, full of Wisdom and Hope. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is where the Shrine of the Holy Trinity lives. Much like Mary’s heart, in our own hearts, we can prepare a place for the Holy Trinity to dwell. This requires us to do the work of purifying our hearts, of changing our sinful behaviors, and of becoming meek and humble of heart. It requires us to live differently. Mary and Jesus lived differently from the world. This is our call too.