"You Cannot Bear It Now"

On Sunday, I went to 12:45 p.m. Mass at the Basilica of Old Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Nolita.

The liturgy for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity was celebrated by Fr. Jonathan Morris.

Two pieces of scripture stood out to me. The first was a verse from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans Chapter 5:

" ... affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint ... "

It's an inverse of Yoda's saying "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." (Nerd Alert!)

Some verbiage from the Gospel also registered. A quote from Jesus in John Chapter 16:

"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth."

"You cannot bear it now." In my opinion, that's Jesus recognizing our human nature. God knows there are times when we have trouble dealing with things. And, sometimes, perhaps God lets a period of time pass until we are able to accept, change and/or grow.

For more reflections on Sunday's solemnity, visit Deacon Greg, A Concord Pastor, Mike and Fran (here and here).

Flashbacks: Trinity Sundays 2009, 2008 and 2007.

The painting above, from here, is attributed to Emil Nolde.