25.05.2024 – St Patrick Catholic Church, Largo, FL

img_0553

The Holy Trinity as Model of Love, Unity and Community

Deut 4, 32-34.39-40, Psalm 32, Rom 8: 14-17, Matt 28:16-20

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Faith in the Holy Trinity is the core doctrine of the Christian Faith. We believe in the God who has manifested himself as the Father, the creator of all things, as the Son, the saviour of humanity and as the Holy spirit, the sanctifier. Everything the Church does, she does in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is a basic doctrine of Faith, understandable not with our heads but with our hearts. It teaches us that there are three distinct Persons in one God, sharing the same Divine Nature, co-equal and co-eternal. Our mind cannot grasp this doctrine which teaches that 1+1+1 = 1 and not 3. But we believe in this Mystery because Jesus, who is God, taught it clearly, the Evangelists recorded it, the Fathers of the Church tried to explain it, and the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople defined it as a dogma of Christian Faith.

All prayers in the Church begin in the Name of the Holy Trinity and end glorifying the Trinity. All Sacraments are administered (we are baptized, confirmed, anointed, our sins are forgiven, our marriages are blessed, and our Bishops, priests and deacons are ordained) in the name of the Holy Trinity. When Church bells ring thrice daily, they remind us to give glory to the Holy Trinity for the Incarnation of Jesus and His Redemption of all of us. We bless ourselves, and the priest blesses us, in the Name of the Holy Trinity.

Biblically we encounter the Trinity at the Annunciation, God the Father sent His angel to Mary, God the Holy Spirit came upon her, the Power of the Most High overshadowed her, and God the Son became Incarnate in her womb. At the baptism of Jesus, when the Son received the baptism of repentance from John the Baptist, the Father’s Voice was heard, and the Holy Spirit appeared as a Dove and descended upon Jesus. At the Ascension, Jesus commissioned his disciples to baptize those who believed, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In John’s Gospel, chapters 15–18, we have a detailed account of Jesus’ teaching of the role of each Person of the Holy Trinity: a) God the Father creates and provides for His creatures. b) God the Son redeems us and reconciles us with God. c) God the Holy Spirit sanctifies us, strengthens us, teaches us, and guides us to God.

Let us remember that each person is a temple of the Holy Spirit where all Three Persons of the Holy Trinity abide. Let us have the firm conviction that the Trinitarian God abides in us, that He is the Source of our hope, courage, and strength, and that He is our final destination. Let us practice the Trinitarian relationship of love and unity in the family relationships of father, mother, and children because by Baptism we become children of God and members of God’s Trinitarian family. Let us practice the I–God–my neighbor vertical and horizontal Trinitarian relationships in this life by loving God and our neighbors

God is love. The Holy Trinity represents the fullness of love, unity and community. The Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father. The Holy Spirit is their love for each other. We are made in the image of a triune God. God the Father, who created us, his Son who saved us, and the Holy Spirit who continues to guide us. Our lives should reflect the Trinity. We should be always creative like the Father, compassionate like his Son, and dispose our talents in the service of others like the Holy Spirit. Our lives should reflect the Holy Trinity in love, unity and community.