Cycle B - Year II:  

27 May 2018: Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity  

(Liturgical Color: White)

Readings:

First Reading:        Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40

Second Reading:   Romans 8:14-17

Gospel:Please Read  Matthew 28:16-20

The Trinity: an affirmation of God's intimate communion with us!

How often do we make the sign of the cross? Do we cross ourselves as we wake up in the morning, and at night time before we sleep?  The sign of the cross is the "trademark" of every Christian.

Every time we make the sign of the cross, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" we actually profess and proclaim the most important truth in our Catholic faith: one God, one Lord, yet three divine Persons equal in majesty! This Sunday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

What do we understand about the Holy Trinity?

The Holy Trinity is admittedly the most difficult to comprehend and even more difficult to fully communicate with human words. We end up acknowledging that the Trinitarian character of God will always be, in reality, a great mystery. In fact, this would be easily the shortest Gospel commentary: the Trinity is a mystery, and that is the end of the story.

But the Church did not invent the teaching on the Trinity. Jesus Himself revealed this mystery of the Trinity to us through the first disciples. Thus, the doctrine of the Trinity developed first out of the Scriptures and the communal prayer of the early church. The doctrine was officially formulated at the Councils of Nicea (325) and Constantinople (381).

Today's Gospel is from St. Matthew. Jesus commands the Apostles to go out to all nations and teach as well as baptize "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Here, we have God revealing Himself to us as a communion of three divine Persons. God Himself shares with us the truth about Himself, by revealing to us His real identity.

Does the Church's teaching on the Trinity make sense at all to us today? Yes it does greatly, to help us grow in faith and strengthen us in practical ways in our Christian living. Let us see how.

First, God allows us to know Him more intimately as He truly is. For we cannot love Him unless we know Him: one God in three divine Persons. Thus, He reveals Himself to us as a divine family. And we are all invited to be part of that family.

In the words of St. John Paul II:  "God in His deepest mystery is not a solitude, but a family, since He has in Himself fatherhood, sonship, and love, which is the essence of the family.

Second, because we know that God is a communion of Persons, we who are made in His image and likeness are likewise made to be in relationship with God and with each other. We are made to be communal beings, meant to live for others. This is the nature of love and the nature of God who formed us in His image.

And finally, through the Holy Trinity God reveals Himself to us as a family, a loving communion of Persons. So, therefore, our family should be a communion of life and love modeled after the Trinity. It is in the family that we first learn some important lessons about Christian living, like sharing, about being patient and forgiving. It is in the family that we also learn how to practice a selfless, sacrificial love that is an image of the selfless love of the Trinity.

In summary, the Trinity is the affirmation of God's intimate communion with us through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. Christians believe that God intervenes in our lives and is involved in human history.

And in the fullness of time, God became one with humanity in Jesus Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit God continues to be altogether present to us, seeking everlasting communion with all creatures.

In Holy Mass, let us give glory to God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- one God, three Persons-- from whom everything in the world and in history comes, and to whom everything returns, in time.

A blessed Holy Trinity Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!