The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Lectionary: 164
Reading 1
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
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
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
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
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
