Marianne Cope listened only to God, accepting and caring for people others feared or found distasteful and putting her own health at risk. Hansen’s disease, in those days called leprosy, struck fear in the hearts of most people. It was believed—later disproved—that the infection that strikes the skin, nervous system, and more was highly contagious. As a result, in Hawaii and elsewhere, those suffering from Hansen’s disease and sometimes their family members were cast out from society.

Although the hidden life of God remains a mystery inaccessible by reason alone, professing God as Trinity is not meant to distance us from him. Through the Son’s incarnation and the sending of the Holy Spirit, not only are we capable of understanding the eternal relationship of intimate loving communion that is the Holy Trinity, we are able to share in it. This is why we were created, why every human heart cries out to be loved.

Jesus does not wish his heart to be a mystery to us. Rather his heart is an open door; he wears it on his sleeve for us, so to speak. Jesus makes his heart completely available to us. He is meek, he is humble, and he makes himself vulnerable, as he is consumed by love for us and concern for our eternal destiny.