And then there were Three in One

"Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies." -Aristotle 

When I think of the essence of friendship in depth, the divine mystery of the Blessed Trinity is what comes to mind. And I am convinced that friendships go beyond simply mirroring the image of the Holy Trinity: The relationships we build make visible the invisible reality of the Three Persons: The total giving of love, the humble and total receptivity of that love, and the openness of that love to life. 

Sadly, that isn't always the case. Throughout our lives, we will experience broken friendships. There will be times when we will make mistakes and realize that we aren't always the perfect friends either. We will hurt and get hurt by others. Though every friendship is unique because every individual is his or her own person, the essence and the heart of every relationship remains the same. The essence of friendship is timeless and unchanging: Fifty million years from now, it will still be the selfless exchange and humble receptivity of love between persons that makes friends real friends. We must protect that from ever being reduced to anything less. We lose a lot when we fail to see the purpose that friendships serve. Friendships affect so much more than the individuals in the relationship, and the fruits of it or the damage can manifest themselves in the generations to come. If you will let me be cliché, true friendships change lives and will help bring this world to seeing and understanding God's original plan for man.  

I believe that it is friendship that plays a key role in building the most important foundation in society -- the family. A 'father and mother’ begin as two individuals, man and woman, who come together in a permanently exclusive friendship in the sacrament of marriage thus making the family not only a possibility, but a reality. God made man, but not without a helper. God brought life to his creation but commanded two friends (Adam and Eve) to care for his beloved. When they disobeyed and fell, God's redemption is made possible by yet another pair of kindred souls: Mary and Joseph. Their virtuous and authentic friendship allowed for charity to wed the two to provide for our Lord here on earth. Your friendships and mine, like theirs, are instrumental to fulfilling God's divine will. It seems that the union of persons bound by the love of God can bring about salvation and Heaven on earth. Love your friends... and in your love for them, you will find yourself falling even deeper into the divine life of God -- in Love. 

I could go on and on... but bottomline, my heart is overwhelmed by the depth of God’s plan. I cannot help but smile at the fact that the intimacy, the secret joys, the sacrifice, the unique personalities, and the overall adventure that come in a friendship are all key to opening up our hearts to the totality of God’s creation. I cannot help but feel that through my own friendships, I have been given a glimpse of the exchange of supreme love of the Three Persons, of Heaven, and of my destiny for being perpetually in love. 

+JMJ+