I remember what I first thought when I heard the term “social distancing” at the beginning of the COVID-19 quarantine. Clearly, an oxymoron. Something unnatural. How can you be both social and distant from one another?

Social distancing has meant we have not been able to gather for Mass; celebrate first Communions, confirmations, weddings, and funerals, or be present at the bedside of an ill or dying loved one. While recognizing the need to contain the virus, for many, the physical separation has become almost unbearable.

What does this longing to be with another person or persons say about how we are created? As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, I invite you to consider the nature of God as the foundation.

During this feast, the Church proclaims and celebrates that our God is not a solitary being, but a communion of three Persons. From the very beginning of time, everything God does is in communion. Creation emerges out of nothing, by the Father as Creator, through the Son as the Word spoken, and in the Spirit who breathes life outward and inward.

In the second reading of the Sunday liturgy, we see the threefold mention of the divine Persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — a communion with a distinction of roles. The grace of Jesus, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:13).

In this verse, the original Greek word for “fellowship” or “communion” is koinonia. It can also be translated as belonging, participation, partnership, or “sharing in.” So, one of the roles of the Holy Spirit is explicitly to foster these behaviors. St. Augustine, in his work De Trinitate (On the Trinity), expands upon this idea, describing the Holy Spirit as the bond of love between the Father and the Son.

Created in the Image of the Trinity

Because we are created in the image of God as the Holy Trinity, we, too, are called to be in fellowship and communion. Our very nature, both body and spirit, reveals something about how we do this.

As physical beings, we desire to have physical communion with one another. The marital act is obviously a concrete and intimate way in which spouses share a physical oneness. But this desire extends to our instinctive yearning to be with one another in a way that cannot be done via a Zoom meeting. It’s also why we long for the physical presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

As spiritual beings, we hunger to be in spiritual communion with God. As St. Augustine says, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.” At our baptism, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as a kind of initial down payment of this spiritual communion. The Spirit binds us to the Holy Trinity and similarly unites us with all the members of the Church as the Body of Christ. In a way, it is a partial realization of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, “…that they may all be one, as you and I [the Father] are one.” (John 17:21)

Yet our ultimate unity and communion, both physical and spiritual, with the Trinity and all members of the Body of Christ will find their fulfillment in heaven. In some ways, the longing to be physically with each other after this quarantine can be likened to the longing that our spirits have for that perfect communion with the Trinity.

As our parishes begin to re-open, I encourage you to reflect upon the utter joy to be physically present and connected to each other again, even while wearing a mask and separated six feet. Ponder, too, the long-awaited delight to receive again the Eucharistic presence of our Lord. It is a bit of Trinitarian life. We are not called to be isolated or socially distant but in relationship, like the Holy Trinity.