In the Catholic faith, a prayer or any religious activity always begins “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”; this explains that we believe in a Trinitarian God, that is to say One single GOD but in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This notion of the Trinity is a fundamental Dogma in the Roman Catholic Church. The question that may arise is whether a parallel can be drawn with the notion of the Christian family, which in principle has three entities. Let us clarify, however, that the Holy Trinity and the notion of the Christian family (a father, a mother and children) cannot be placed on the same level.
The general notion of the Trinity
According to “Catholicism for Dummies”, when speaking about the Trinity, there are “The usual representations of God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in sacred art:
In the Bible, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, is a Trinitarian God: a God Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Gn 1:1ff; Jn 1:1-5). We also read in 2 Cor 13:13: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” The communion, if not the fusion, of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is real. The Son does the will of the Father with the power of the Holy Spirit. This is our Faith and this is what we profess at our Baptism and at every Sunday celebration: “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit …”
The notion of the Christian family
In general, a family is made up of three entities: the father, the mother and the children. In a broader sense, in Africa, the family is considered on two levels: the nuclear family composed of the father, the mother and the children, and the extended family also composed of grandparents, uncles and cousins… but let us remain with nuclear families without dispersing ourselves too much. During catechesis in preparation for the celebration of the sacrament of marriage, emphasis is placed on communion, the closeness of the couple and the education of the children. Thus, parents are called to be ONE: “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Gn 2:24). Thus the couple lives in such a way that there is neither suspicion nor any kind of doubt. When a child is born into the couple, the couple must educate him or her according to Gospel values. The child must grow in the fear of God and honor his or her parents.
This is what a Christian family looks like. A place where it is good to live, a place where God is at the center because, in the image of the Trinity, the Christian family is called to live in communion and above all to ask for the grace to achieve this.
However, as we often like to say in our environment, human work is never perfect. Sadly, we encounter parents who give the best of themselves for the education of their children, but the latter display strange behaviors, as if they came from another family. These children even challenge the education in values that their parents transmitted to them; other children allow themselves to be influenced by the education of the street; nevertheless, when seeing them live, one feels like saying that they are not from their biological family.
The reasons for these deviant behaviors may be numerous to the point that it is no longer only the children who have issues with the education received, but rather a conflict between the parents who can no longer live together. Complicity, trust and communication break down even though the bond should not be broken: “What God has united, let no one separate”…
Continuing our reflection, the Trinity certainly refers us to a fundamental element of our profession of Faith; we believe in one God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). This Faith in God (Trinitarian) must be for us a source of inspiration in our human Christian families (with many limits) but called to Holiness, just like our Christian communities and our congregations. It is by being every day Witnesses of the Gospel that we can welcome the Grace of God in our midst.
It is for this reason that we would not want to lose sight of the fact that Trinitarian communion has always inspired men and women of faith from creation until today. Referring to the Assumption Community (Religious Sisters and Lay people), the Spirituality is such that the will to put many hands together for a common work merges together. Being together (Assumption-Together) and uniting our strengths to contribute to the work of God through Transformative Education. It is no longer only about the Religious Sisters, but together with the Lay people in order to form, not people full of knowledge, but people with an open mind in respect of religious and human Values. To form people with full minds but above all people who keep their heads on their shoulders.
This unity (Religious Sisters-Lay people) is seen and verified when Religious Sisters and Lay people interact not only in the profession but also in Faith and in the integration of Religious Sisters into our Families and the presence of Lay people in the daily life of the Religious of the Assumption.
We simply conclude by paraphrasing Jesus: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of time” (Mt 28:19-20). Thus, Religious Sisters and Lay people, we are sent to be witnesses of the Trinity and to ensure that the Kingdom of God continues to be established among His people…
DANNANOU BENJAMIN
Province of Rwanda - Tchad