The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Lectionary: 165

 

Reading I

Dt 4:32-34, 39-40

Moses said to the people:

"Ask now of the days of old, before your time,

ever since God created man upon the earth;

ask from one end of the sky to the other:

Did anything so great ever happen before?

Was it ever heard of?

Did a people ever hear the voice of God

speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?

Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself

from the midst of another nation,

by testings, by signs and wonders, by war,

with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors,

all of which the LORD, your God,

did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

This is why you must now know,

and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God

in the heavens above and on earth below,

and that there is no other.

You must keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today,

that you and your children after you may prosper,

and that you may have long life on the land

which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever."

 

 

Responsorial Psalm

 

33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22

R. (12b)  Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Upright is the word of the LORD,

    and all his works are trustworthy.

He loves justice and right;

    of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full.

R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made;

    by the breath of his mouth all their host.

For he spoke, and it was made;

    he commanded, and it stood forth.

R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,

    upon those who hope for his kindness,

To deliver them from death

    and preserve them in spite of famine.

R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Our soul waits for the LORD,

    who is our help and our shield.

May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us

    who have put our hope in you.

R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

 

Reading II

Rom 8:14-17

Brothers and sisters:

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,

but you received a Spirit of adoption,

through whom we cry, “Abba, Father!”

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit

that we are children of God,

and if children, then heirs,

heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,

if only we suffer with him

so that we may also be glorified with him.

 

Alleluia

Rv 1:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;

to God who is, who was, and who is to come.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

 

 

Gospel

 

Mt 28:16-20

 

The eleven disciples went to Galilee,

to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.

When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.

Then Jesus approached and said to them,

"All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father,

and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

During the next few weeks the Scripture Readings will be focused on different dogmas of our faith. The first of these is today, Trinity Sunday, where The Holy Trinity is examined. As was revealed in the Gospels the Trinity consists of Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit: three distinct persons but of one substance. In other words all exist together as one but are separate in regards to personality and function. At first that may sound difficult to comprehend and not very easy to accept but there are various ways to approach this subject which can then offer some clarity. The way I like to explain it is by using myself as an example:

 

I am a husband, a father, and an ordained deacon. To my wife I am a husband. She doesn’t see me as her father and only rarely sees me as a deacon. My children see me as their father while not seeing me as their husband nor as a deacon. Meanwhile those who encounter me in my ministry see me as a deacon; not as their husband or father. Even though different people perceive me in different ways I am all three of these things at different times. It is all about the relationship with the individuals involved and how they interact with me. 

 

God created us in His image. The relationships we have with one another are a reflection of how we should interact with Him. Sometimes we will feel His presence through The Holy Spirit. At other times we will feel a close relationship with Jesus that will lead to guidance, good counsel, good conversation, and a shoulder to lean on. There will also be occasions to encounter The Father. Each part of The Trinity has it separate function and characteristics and it is through their interaction and our interaction that God is defined.

 

 

 

 

 

The opportunities that God offers us to experience Him and to develop a relationship with Him are unique. As Moses proclaimed:

 

“Did anything so great ever happen before?

Was it ever heard of?

Did a people ever hear the voice of God

speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?

Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself

from the midst of another nation,”

 

The revelation of God to the Jewish people and to the world was something that never happened before. The reality of God as dictated in Sacred Scriptures was something unexpected. The false gods worshipped then and now were and have been ones who demand human sacrifice, and are in a position of distance. Those who chose and continue to choose these false gods are ones that cannot even fathom a true relationship like the one God offers to us where we are the benefactors of everything Moses reminds us this in The Scripture Reading today. Keeping a right relationship with God will insure a joyful life with Him and enable us to experience life the way God intended us to do. We will also be under His protection and His guidance. Contemplate that for a moment: living our life with our God walking directly beside us and dwelling within us. We can actually enter into relationship with the Trinity and enjoy the full Trinitarian Experience. This is something that God offers to us because of His love for us. We are continuously offered an opportunity to experience God and to be lifted up to His level.

 

Jesus made a promise to His disciples when they doubted. He told them that He would be with them always until the end of the age. In other words He would be with them and with us throughout all of time until the End of Days. This statement, along with Him telling us that He would remain in us as long as we remain in Him, offers a clear vision of what a life with Him is supposed to be like: we cannot be separated from Him unless we are the ones who do the separating. We are inexplicitly a part of The Holy Trinity because Jesus is a part of us. Jesus is revealed through us and we are revealed through Him. When we recognize this any fears, anxieties, and resentments will fall away and a new awareness of His creation will be realized. Every day can be a new revelation filled with wonder and love.

 

Our faith can be both complex and very simple at the same time. Jesus wants it that way. It is simple in the knowledge that He loves us and wants us to love Him. The complexity enters the picture in the way we explore that relationship. The wonderment and new discoveries never end. We can never fully know everything about God. Whatever energies we dedicate to the process will yield an abundance of fruit. It is there for the taking. The more time we give then the more we will receive. There is an inexhaustive supply of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding poured forth through The Holy Spirit and we are the benefactors.

 

Small adjustments and small changes can lead to great results. A new way to appreciate our faith and get to know God more is to change our routine just a little bit. As we enter Ordinary Time again and are introduced to these different aspects of our faith we can appreciate more what is being offered us by committing ourselves to learning just a little bit more of what is being taught. We can read a little more, pray a little more, and spend a little more time focused on God. That little bit more will make a great difference. This can start today and, just like our relationship with God, the process will never end.

 

Deacon Tom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pentecost Sunday

Mass during the Day

Lectionary: 63

 

Reading I

Acts 2:1-11

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,

they were all in one place together.

And suddenly there came from the sky

a noise like a strong driving wind,

and it filled the entire house in which they were.

Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,

which parted and came to rest on each one of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak in different tongues,

as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

 

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.

At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,

but they were confused

because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,

“Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?

Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?

We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,

inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,

Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,

Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,

as well as travelers from Rome,

both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,

yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues

of the mighty acts of God.”

 

Responsorial Psalm

104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34

R. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

    O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!

How manifold are your works, O LORD!

    the earth is full of your creatures.

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

or:

R. Alleluia.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;

    may the LORD be glad in his works!

Pleasing to him be my theme;

    I will be glad in the LORD.

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

or:

R. Alleluia.

If you take away their breath, they perish

    and return to their dust.

When you send forth your spirit, they are created,

    and you renew the face of the earth.

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

or:

R. Alleluia.

 

 

 

 

Reading II

1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13

Brothers and sisters:

No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

 

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;

there are different forms of service but the same Lord;

there are different workings but the same God

who produces all of them in everyone.

To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit

is given for some benefit.

 

As a body is one though it has many parts,

and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,

so also Christ.

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,

whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,

and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

 

OR:

 

Gal 5:16-25

 

Brothers and sisters, live by the Spirit

and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.

For the flesh has desires against the Spirit,

and the Spirit against the flesh;

these are opposed to each other,

so that you may not do what you want.

But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are obvious:

immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry,

sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,

outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,

dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,

drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.

I warn you, as I warned you before,

that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, generosity,

faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Against such there is no law.

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh

with its passions and desires.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.

 

Sequence

Veni, Sancte Spiritus

Come, Holy Spirit, come!

And from your celestial home

    Shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Father of the poor!

Come, source of all our store!

    Come, within our bosoms shine.

You, of comforters the best;

You, the soul’s most welcome guest;

    Sweet refreshment here below;

In our labor, rest most sweet;

Grateful coolness in the heat;

    Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed Light divine,

Shine within these hearts of yours,

    And our inmost being fill!

Where you are not, we have naught,

Nothing good in deed or thought,

    Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;

On our dryness pour your dew;

    Wash the stains of guilt away:

Bend the stubborn heart and will;

Melt the frozen, warm the chill;

    Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore

And confess you, evermore

    In your sevenfold gift descend;

Give them virtue’s sure reward;

Give them your salvation, Lord;

    Give them joys that never end. Amen.

    Alleluia.

 

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful

and kindle in them the fire of your love.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel

Jn 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week,

when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,

for fear of the Jews,

Jesus came and stood in their midst

and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.

As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,

“Receive the Holy Spirit.

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,

and whose sins you retain are retained.”

 

OR:

 

 

 

 

Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15

 

Jesus said to his disciples:

“When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,

the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father,

he will testify to me.

And you also testify,

because you have been with me from the beginning.

 

“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.

But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,

he will guide you to all truth.

He will not speak on his own,

but he will speak what he hears,

and will declare to you the things that are coming.

He will glorify me,

because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.

Everything that the Father has is mine;

for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine

and declare it to you.”

 

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

Today we celebrate The Solemnity of Pentecost which marks The Birthday of The Church. It is the day when Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit down upon His apostles and disciples in the form of fiery tongues. They then began to prophecy and proclaim The Word of God in many different languages. It was here that The Apostolic Age began and where The Christian Faith took the world by storm. It is also a time that we all can look back upon and use it at a tool in our own spiritual life and development. All of us are receivers of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit by definition is God’s Love in action. Without it nothing can be done. There is no life, no love, and no future. We read about the Holy Spirit in Genesis, present at the beginning of creation, described as a mighty wind blowing across a lifeless universe. Through the presence of God’s Love everything came into being. We would not be here today if God did not love us. It is through love that everything exists. The Descent of The Holy Spirit serves as a reminder that without God’s Love nothing can ever be done and nothing that we do can bear any fruit.

 

For the past several weeks The Gospel Reading have been taken from The Last Supper Discourses as professed by The Apostle John. The Gospel of John has for its central theme the Love of God and The Love of Jesus. Without love there is nothing. That is one of the main points that John is making. God loves us, Jesus loves us, and we must return that love while loving one another if we are to experience our lives the way we were intended to live it. The Apostle Paul phrases it so eloquently in his Letter to the Corinthians:

 

 

“If I speak in human and angelic tongues^* but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.^a And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.^b If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. ^cLove is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated,^d it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,^e it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.^f  Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.^g So faith, hope, love remain, these three;^h but the greatest of these is love.”

These words are very important. They remind us of what the foundation of our relationship with God should be upon. Nothing else really matters except the Love of God and the love that we all should be expressing for each other. If anything is done without love then it is bound for destruction. Love must always be first and foremost regarding anything that we do.

In this world there is disunity, conflict, and a lot of pain. The solution to this is all the same: The Love of God. The Apostle Paul reminds us in his letter today that there is only one spirit:

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;

there are different forms of service but the same Lord;

there are different workings but the same God

who produces all of them in everyone.”

 

Never did he mention division and conflict within The Christian Community as a positive thing.. Love does not divide. The Holy Spirit does not divide. Jesus Christ is a unifying force and anything that opposes unity is not sharers of The Holy Spirit or the vision of Jesus Christ. Love unites. Satan divides.

 

Pentecost brings about a collective purpose and unification within The Church. The Apostles and disciples were commissioned to go forth and spread the message of salvation and love through Jesus Christ. It is also a commissioning of us to do the very same thing. One of The Sacraments of Initiation within The Catholic Church is The Sacrament of Confirmation. Through this Sacrament we receive The Gift of the Holy Spirit and become Soldiers of Christ. We are then recognized as full members of The Holy Mother Church and part of The Church Militant. We are part of God’s Army. Different from the armies that we find prevalent throughout society, The Church Militant is an army founded on God’s Love. It is through His love that God will be victorious and we are saved. As with everything else, God perfects everything through His love including the definition of what an army is used for. God does want to destroy. He always wants to build up. Within this membership we are asked to do the same.

 

When we are open to The Love of God, the Holy Spirit, then our lives and the lives of everyone we come in contact with will be fundamentally changed. This is a promise made to us by Jesus Christ. It is a guarantee that cannot be disputed. The Holy Spirit draws us closer to a perfected state. Our lives then take on a different meaning with love at its core. This goes against everything that society stands for and promulgates. This is where the description of a Christian comes from:

 

“And yet there is something extraordinary about their lives. They live in their own countries as though they were only passing through. They play their full role as citizens, but labor under all the disabilities of aliens. Any country can be their homeland, but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country. Like others, they marry and have children, but they do not expose them. They share their meals, but not their wives.  

They live in the flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh. They pass their days upon earth, but they are citizens of heaven. Obedient to the laws, they yet live on a level that transcends the law. Christians love all men, but all men persecute them. Condemned because they are not understood, they are put to death, but raised to life again. They live in poverty, but enrich many; they are totally destitute, but possess an abundance of everything. They suffer dishonor, but that is their glory. They are defamed, but vindicated. A blessing is their answer to abuse, deference their response to insult. For the good they do they receive the punishment of malefactors, but even then they, rejoice, as though receiving the gift of life. They are attacked by the Jews as aliens, they are persecuted by the Greeks, yet no one can explain the reason for this hatred.”

- From a letter to Diognetus

What is being described here is a description of us or what we should be striving for. Society and good standing within is not our main focus. Materialism and consumerism is not our main goal. Our focus should be The Love of God and entering into relationship with Him. Through this relationship love is realized and an existence the way that God intended it. From there everything else will fall into place.

Today is our day. Today is a celebration that we are receivers of God’s Love and it is through us that God’s Divine Plan will be realized. When we recognize what has been given to us we can then become partakers in The Glory of God and the love that He has for us. It is then that The Fruits of The Holy Spirit will be given to us along with all of the spiritual gifts that arise from them. We can be fully transformed by the presence of The Holy Spirit and from there nothing can stand in our way.

 

Deacon Tom