Irish Apostolate Notes: Who is God? The nature of our Lord

Yesterday was the "Solemnity of The Most Blessed Trinity" or "Trinity Sunday," as we know it. I find it very difficult to preach on the nature of God. You know every serious heresy in the Church from the very beginning is based on misinterpretations about the nature of God. We were told in yesterday's Gospel that Jesus instructed his disciples to "Go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit , teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, And, behold I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

In order to become a Christian you have to be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So we have one God yet we have three persons in the one God, equally distinct and equal in all things. One eminent theologian of my acquaintance has come up with the following attempt of a reasonable explanation:

In God you have three persons with an undivided unity: Father (1 person), Son (1 person), Holy Spirit (1 person),

(1 person) X (1 person) X (1 person) = (1 person).

(1 Person) divided by (1 person) divided by (1person) = (1 person).

You can see the logic of the argument, but it still does not explain a great mystery. The Father expresses his love for us in the Son (the word of God), while the Holy Spirit is the product of the love of the Father and the Son. You can see the problem of Jesus Christ, who is fully human and fully divine. Many people never accepted that Jesus is fully human, so he could not commit sin, yet sin is part of the human condition. Those people, who are called Gnostics, believe that Jesus is God and not fully human, he was really God masquerading as human, according to them. Even today many regard Jesus as truly God and downgrade his humanity.

This is a very difficult issue in the Church of today. I must say I find it a comfort that the "Human Jesus" was one like each of us weak human beings. To put too much emphasis on the Divinity of Jesus can be a discouragement to the struggling Christian. I like to think of Jesus as one like us, fully human and weak, yet he is truly God. Perhaps you and I should pray for guidance and just put our faith in a good god who loves us. The Father sent the son to guide us and the Spirit who now inspires us is the product of the love of the Father for the Son. We will leave it at that.

A wonderful evening enjoyed by over 400 people was emceed by Anne-Marie Moloney and Garrett Doyle in Most Precious Blood Auditorium in Astoria, Queens with The New York Showband. The beauty pageant was the highlight of the evening. The judges had a difficult task in selecting a winner to go forward to represent New York at the ‘Mary from Dungloe' International Festival in the town of Dungloe this coming July. Alice Ann Robinson was crowned the 2012 New York Mary by our 2011 New York Mary Stephanie Burke from Woodside, New York.

Alice Ann hails from Delaware, Pennsylvania. Alice moved to New York to pursue a degree in fine Arts from the New School University. Her love for dance and performance lead her to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in new York, where she earned a certificate in performance. Alice Ann is a noted dancer up to world level and also teaches Irish Dance at the Deirdre O'Mara School. Her grandparents on both sides hail from Donegal and Mayo. The first runner up was Fiona Molloy and the second runner up was Deidre Rapple. Special congratulations to Anne Marie McCullagh and her hardworking committee who organized the event.

The Annual JC Fogarty's Golf Tournament in aid of the Holy Ghost Fathers' Mission to Darfur, Southern Sudan, Africa will be held on Monday June 18th at the Sprain Brook Golf Course near Yonkers, NY. The cost per golfer is $150 or $600 per foursome. To sponsor a hole costs $150. We hope to have a big number of our friends and their associates take part in this great event. For more information, please contact 914 337 1122 or JC Fogarty's at 60 Kraft Avenue, Bronxville, NY 10708. We look forward to seeing you all on June 18.

The International Eucharistic Congress is on in Dublin, Ireland from June 10 to June 18. Next week I will tell you more about it. On Friday June 15th we will have a special Mass at 7.30 pm, celebrated by the Bishop of Brooklyn assisted by other priests to commemorate the Eucharistic Congress. Please come if you wish to attend as we hope to have a full church.

On June 1st I was honored to take part in a special golf tournament at Garrison Golf Club, near the Hudson River, NY in aid of a great organization called Haven. This organization is dedicated to raising funds for the rebuilding of houses and schools in Haiti which last year were devastated by a horrific earthquake. Haven is an Irish non-governmental, non-political and non-religious organization working to build sustainable communities through the provision of housing, emergency relief and implementing community development programs in Haiti. Haven was founded in 2008 by Leslie Buckley and his wife Carmel, who came to do business in Haiti in 2004 and saw how poverty stricken the country was.

By training and employing local Haitian people throughout the year, Haven is creating jobs and encouraging local trade and industry schools. Playgrounds and community buildings are key elements of Haven's community building projects.

Mr. Denis O'Brien, the telecommunications mogul from Ireland, is also involved in Haven here in the USA. The local organizer in NYC is a very capable young lady called Ms. Sarah Fitzpatrick from Dublin. I also have a keen interest in Haiti as It was one of our first Holy Ghost Mission Areas. St. Marcial's College (founded in 1856) was the leading High School in Haiti, with about 2000 children being educated there before the big earthquake. Now our Spirited priests and teachers care for 1200 children in what are appalling conditions. We are trying to rebuild this school in Central Port-au-Prince which used to be the number one school in Haiti. I will keep you informed about Haiti and the efforts being made to help this poor country.

God bless,

Fr. Brendan