"If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him,"¹ Jesus replied at the Last Supper to one of his disciples who had asked Him why He would manifest Himself to them and not to the world, as the Jews of that time expected regarding the appearance of the Messiah. The Lord reveals that not only He, but the Most Holy Trinity Itself, would be present in the souls of those who love Him, as if in a temple.² This revelation constitutes "the substance of the New Testament,"³ the essence of His teachings.
God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—dwells in our soul in a state of grace, not only through His presence of immensity, as He is found in all creation, but in a special way through sanctifying grace.⁴ This new presence fills the soul that walks the paths of holiness with love and ineffable joy. And it is there, in the center of the soul, where we must accustom ourselves to seek God in the most diverse situations of life: on the street, at work, during sports, while we rest...
"Oh, then, most beautiful soul," exclaimed Saint John of the Cross, "who so greatly desires to know the place where your Beloved is, to seek Him and be united with Him, you are now told that you yourself are the chamber where He dwells and the place and hiding spot where He is concealed; which is a matter of great contentment and joy for you, to see that all your good and hope is so close to you that He is within you, or rather, you cannot be without Him. 'Behold,' says the Bridegroom, 'the kingdom of God is within you' (Lk 17:21); and His servant the Apostle Saint Paul says: 'You are temples of God' (2 Cor 6:16)."⁵
A Call for Ordinary Christians
This joy of the presence of the Most Holy Trinity in the soul is not meant only for extraordinary people with exceptional charisms or qualities, but also for the ordinary Christian, who is called to holiness in the midst of their professional duties and who desires to love God with their whole being. Even so, as Saint Teresa of Jesus points out, "there are many souls who remain in the outer courtyard of the castle (of the soul), which is where those who guard it are, and they do not care to enter within, nor do they know what is in that most precious place, nor who dwells inside..."⁶ In that "precious place," in the soul that shines with grace, God is with us: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
This presence, which theologians call indwelling, differs from the state of bliss of those who already enjoy eternal happiness in Heaven only by its condition.⁷ And although it belongs to all Three Divine Persons, it is attributed to the Holy Spirit, since the work of sanctification is proper to Divine Love.
This revelation that God made to humanity, like a loving confidence, amazed Christians from the very beginning and filled their hearts with peace and supernatural joy. When we are firmly anchored in this supernatural reality—God, Triune and One, dwells in me—we transform our life, with its setbacks and even through them, into a foretaste of Heaven: it is like entering into the intimacy of God, and knowing and loving the divine life in which we are made sharers.
HCD