Chiara Lubich: the Trinity within us

If we put the words of the Gospel and Jesus’ commandments into practice, especially his commandment of mutual love, the Trinity will come to dwell in us.

How can God dwell within Christians? What is the way to enter this deep union with God? The answer is to love Jesus, with a love that is not merely feelings but that translates into concrete action in daily life, and in particular by keeping his Word. When Christians love in this way, which is seen in what they do, God responds with his love and the Trinity comes and dwells within them. …

Which words are Christians called to keep? In John’s Gospel, “my words” and “my commandments” are often synonymous. So, Christians are called to keep Jesus’ commandments. However, we shouldn’t think of them as a list of regulations. Actually, all of them are summed up in the command that Jesus demonstrated when he washed the disciples’ feet – the commandment of mutual love. God asks Christians to love one another to the point of giving themselves completely, as Jesus taught and did. ….

How can we reach the point when the Father himself will love us and the Trinity come to dwell in us? By loving one another with all our hearts, radically and with perseverance.

This love helps us find the way to live the deep Christian asceticism to which the crucified Christ has called us. In fact, living out mutual love causes various virtues to grow in our hearts, and this love is also the surest gauge of our personal holiness. Lastly, it is through mutual love that Jesus, the Risen Lord, is present in the hearts of individual Christians and in their midst.

Chiara Lubich

(Chiara Lubich, in Parole di Vita, [Words of Life] Città Nuova, 2017, pp. 262/3)