Not Two, But One
Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
John 10:31-42- The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power.
He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” And many there began to believe in him.
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“…the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
Yesterday we touched briefly on the inner life of the Blessed Trinity. In today’s Gospel there is even more we can learn about the life of the Trinity. Jesus says, “the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” A great mystery concerning the Trinity is how Three Persons can be One God. Much light is shed on this by a theological phrase about the Blessed Trinity, that the Three Persons are “distinct, but not separate.” That means that God the Father is not God the Son, who is not God the Spirit. They are distinct. However, they are not separate; they are one.
How can distinct things not be separate? Jesus says “the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” God the Father pours His life and His love into God the Son. God the Son offers His whole life and being to God the Father. They make gifts of themselves to the other out of love. This is their bond. In his letters to his churches, St. John also writes another famous phrase, “God is love.” Well, here on earth, married couples especially are called to be an image of God, because they also are distinct persons who are not separate but who are united in love. In marriage, two distinct people, husband and wife, give themselves to the other out of love. About this union the Scriptures say, “they are no longer two, but one…” (Matthew 19:6). Let’s now pray for all marriages.
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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