June 4, 2023

June 14, 2023

In my experience, one of the peculiarities of being a man is the somewhat unlikely ability to look into the mirror, no matter how out of shape he may be, and declare with full confidence: “Looking good, buddy!” Ask a man. He’ll probably confirm it.
Therein lies a mystery. You might think I refer to man’s ability to deceive himself or his propensity toward vainglory. But in this case, I refer to the mystery of a healthy and proper sense of self-love. We human beings (both men and women) have the utterly weird ability to look at ourselves as if we were another. Then we tend to love this “other.” Then, somehow, that love becomes a bond between the two. We are three and yet one.
This Sunday is Trinity Sunday. We ponder anew that God in His unity is a play of multiplicity: Lover, Beloved, and shared Love. Or, as we also proclaim, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If we allow it, this mystery heals our temptation toward self-hatred and destruction. We all know how awful it is to look into the mirror and not know the person we see, or, equally bad, to know and hate who we see. Jesus, the Son of God, draws us into the dynamics of authentic self-knowledge and self-love. Perhaps we could ask the Holy Trinity this Sunday to teach us to truly look at ourselves and to properly love who we see looking back. — Father John Muir ©LPi