The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Lectionary: 164

Reading 1

Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9

Early in the morning Moses went up Mount Sinai
as the LORD had commanded him,
taking along the two stone tablets.

Having come down in a cloud, the LORD stood with Moses there
and proclaimed his name, "LORD."
Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
"The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity."
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.
Then he said, "If I find favor with you, O Lord,
do come along in our company.
This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins,
and receive us as your own."
 

Responsorial Psalm

Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56

R. (52b) Glory and praise for ever!
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
 

 

 

Reading 2

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Brothers and sisters, rejoice. 
Mend your ways, encourage one another,
agree with one another, live in peace,
and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the holy ones greet you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
 

Alleluia

Cf. Revelation 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

John 3:16-18

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

The Easter Season ended last Sunday with the celebration of Pentecost. This marks when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, in the form of fiery tongues upon His Apostles and disciples. With that, their hearts, minds, and souls were open to God a deep understanding amongst them was formulated. They received the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, knowledge, understanding, piety, good counsel, fortitude, and fear of God. All their past experiences with Jesus and everything He said to them were finally understood. They were swept up in the passion of the Spirit and began to evangelize the faith, cure the sick, cast out demons, and forgive sins in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit and He fulfilled that promise.

 

 Entering back into Ordinary Time, we are encouraged for the next few weeks to meditate upon certain dogmas of our faith, the first being the Holy Trinity. The Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian Faith and Christian Life. To be a Christian, one must believe in the Trinity. To believe in the Trinity, we must understand the Trinity. When we understand it, then we can properly enter into a relationship with God. God is one. He is the one, “infinitely good and infinitely powerful creator” When we encounter God, we have the capability of encountering Him through the persons that make up the one essence of the Trinity. Each part has a particular persona that makes up the whole, each a part yet separate in their personhood. The three together make up the Godhead. In the Trinity, we encounter God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Their relationship between each other is unique, while our relationship with the Trinity is also unique. Each person’s experience with and within the Trinity will be different. Just like all other relationships, the same holds for God: no two relationships are the same, each is uniquely different.

 

When we approach the Father, it is only through Jesus Christ with the presence of the Holy Spirit (the love of God) guiding us. The reason why This is how Jesus describes our relationship with Him and how we enter into relationship with the Trinity:

 

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth* and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

This statement from the Last Supper discourses emphasizes how we enter into a relationship with God and enter into the Trinitarian Relationship itself. It is also a good starting point to understand the Trinity, each with a particular function and role. In much the same way we may may have different roles in our lives (father, son, brother, to name a few) we are the same person. When in these roles and interacting with people within these roles, we are looked at differently and with a particular notion of who we are based on the particular actions and interactions we have when taking on a role. As times, there will be a necessity to approach the Son, while other times the Father will be interacted with. The Holy Spirit, the love of God, is always with us, received as a gift from Jesus Christ and used as a constant, influential presence to us in our lives.

 

There is always a temptation to dismiss “going deep” about the Trinity and instead just refer to God as God. Doing this, not only limits our relationship with Him, but also prevents us from getting to know who this God is. I found that it is better to know than to not know, especially when the Trinity is central to the Christian Faith. If we do not know the Trinity, then we know nothing regarding our faith, since this is who we are worshipping . If we don’t know what we worship, then why are we doing it?

 

Praying to God can bring about revelation. Knowing who we are talking to helps us to go deeper and invest completely in the relationship. It is hard to know God if we cannot even define who He is or express enough interest to get to know Him.

 

In the Gospel Reading today, Jesus tells us that God loves us so much that,

 

“ God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him might not perish

but might have eternal life.”

 

 

This can serve as the beginning of our relationship with God. Notice that there was the presence of love that led to the sacrifice of the Son by the Father. It is through that sacrifice that we achieve eternal life. God the Father sends God the Son, with the event being set into motion by the love they both have for us, which is expressed through God the Holy Spirit. So much can be discussed regarding the Trinity. The resources for such  discussions are broad and very deep, yet it comes down to one thing: Love. 

 

Why were we created?: Out of love to love and be loved.

 

Why is there suffering in the world?: “Because of our fallen nature and initial turning away from God; wanting to be God ourselves.” This indicates a lack of love.

 

Why did Jesus Christ come into this world?: To suffer, die, and be resurrected. This was because of the presence of God’s love for us. Through Him we initiate a deep, personal relationship based out of love.

 

Why do we suffer?: Because of original sin and the corruption that we welcomed into God’s creation. Through suffering we experience Jesus’ Divine Mercy and the love of God. There is suffering, but it will eventually end through Jesus Christ, bringing into existence a new Heaven and a new Earth.

 

God calls to us, we respond, and we love.

 

Sometimes it is hard to recognize love and for us to understand that we deserve to be loved. This puts up barriers between us and God. Through prayer and understanding these barriers can be torn down. This can be achieved with familiarity, which can only be received through prayer. The deeper the prayer, the deeper the relationship. The deeper the relationship, the deeper the prayer. All this leads back to an understanding of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit can move us to pray, Jesus joins us in that prayer, and the Father receives, all the while responding through the Holy Spirit. This is where we can find ourselves right in the middle of the Trinitarian Relationship.

 

Right in the middle is where we should be.

 

Deacon Tom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pentecost Sunday - Mass during the Day   

Lectionary: 63

Reading 1

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

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 2

1 Corinthians 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.

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

John 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."

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

Today we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Church. We read from the Gospel, how Jesus breathed on His Apostles and disciples in an intimate way, giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit. From here, their hearts were set on fire, their faith carrying them onward and outward to spread the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. Interestingly enough, the First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles gives a louder and almost apocalyptic version of the event, including strong winds and tongues of fire descending on them. Each narration  emphasizes different aspects of the Holy Spirit and our relationship with God. Jesus breathing on His disciples displays an intimate, personal side that we too can have with Him. The Gift of the Spirit displays a tenderness and softness, reflective of God’s love for all of us. The strength of God is manifest in the smaller things and the way His great power can be displayed by it being understated. The Apostles and disciples were given the power to forgive sins, speak in tongues, and do wonderous deeds in the name of Jesus Christ, but their personhood still remained, grounded in humility and an understanding that they were all mere slaves going about the work of the master, God. In the Acts of the Apostles, the overwhelming power and presence of the Holy Spirit was witnessed, where the fire of the Holy Spirit rested on them and they being to speak in tongues, spreading out through Jerusalem to preach the Good News. This serves as a reminder that the Apostles and disciples, were commissioned by Jesus Christ and driven into action by the presence of the Holy Spirit in their hearts and as a reaction to the presence of God.

 

Our relationship with God is also defined by the duplicitous nature of the descriptions. No two relationships and experiences of God will be the same. The other day, I was a retreat at a monastery and came upon a particular painting that depicted a scene from one Jesus’s parables: The Lost Son. The imagery was familiar: The father is embracing the younger son who has just returned broken and destitute, having spent all of his demanded inheritance. Off to the side, there was the elder son, looking at the exchange with what can be described as jealousy and hurt. The elder son was intentionally made larger than the other two, possibly so as to draw attention to him. His eyes were proportionally too large, so that the viewer might be drawn to them to feel the kaleidoscope of emotions swimming through them. I found myself drawn to the painting, particularly to the image of the older son, who I felt empathy for. I could feel his hurt, his pain, his longing for love. When I spoke about the painting with my friend, he admitted that he too was drawn to it, but had another point of view pertaining to where his eyes wandered and how his spirit reacted. One painting, two points of view. One Spirit, many gifts.

 

As many as there are people on this earth, is how many different ways the Holy Spirit will interact with people. It is all about our openness and our relationship with God. How we act will determine how and when the Spirit will react. The things that remain constant are the Spirit dwelling within us and us being affected by the relationship that we have with it. Recognizing the Spirit and reacting to it brings us into a closer relationship with God. There is nothing negative about that. The Apostles and disciples displayed awesome power and did great deeds. Many of us just might have the potential to do the same, but whatever happens as a result should not be expected or demanded. The Spirit does indeed dwell within us, but our awareness and understanding of it does not. To achieve these things demands prayer and familiarity. The more familiar we become with the Spirit, the more we will feel God’s presence, and we can then begin to try and understanding what He wants for us and instead of focusing on what we want. As long as we put God first, only good things will result.

 

 It is through this celebration that we are reminded that the Holy Spirit dwells within all of us and that God wants to have the opportunity to shape and mold our lives, becoming instruments of His peace. This, as described by the Early Church, enables us to become “Soldiers of Christ” with our own commissioning and sending forth. In the Roman Catholic Church, this takes place at our Confirmation, where we officially receive the Gift of the Spirit and are sealed with it through Sacred Chrism. We are alive to serve. It is through serving that we are served, being shaped into something greater and more beautiful than ever before. Each day we can become new creations through Jesus Christ, just as long as we are continuing to do His will. The best way to do this is through the constant act of surrending to Him. The words, “Thy will be done,” are ones that should be uttered and thought of throughout the day. This is what a soldier does as he receives his orders and goes off to battle. To remain in a constant state of readiness to serve will strengthen us physically, mentally, and spiritually. It will also prepare us to listen to what God wants us to do. Hearing, understanding, and actually doing are what comes next. Through this process we will become better people and better Christians. This will then lead us to a better life.

 

Deacon Tom