Prv 8:22-31;
Psalm 8:4-9;
Rom 5:1-5;
John 16:12-15 Full Readings
One God: Three Persons
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity means three persons but in One God. This is the core of our Faith, without the Trinity, our faith is nothing. The Creed presents these three persons. It starts with "I believe in God the Father Almighty... And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord...I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord..." In this way it presents to us the essence of God, and a firm foundation for our faith.
The feast of the Holy Trinity is therefore to be understood and celebrated as a solemn expression of our faith in the triune life of the three Divine Persons in One God. This feast was introduced in the church in the 9th century and inserted in the General calendar of the church in the fourteenth century by Pope John XXII and constantly in whatever the church does, it is centred on the Holy Trinity.
What does the Holy Trinity mean? The three persons in the Most Holy Trinity are God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit yet there are no three Gods but one God, and with perfect Unity. The Father is the first person, Jesus is the second person who is the Son of the Father and the Holy Spirit the third, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. These are consubstantial (same substance) and they are one. Nobody is the superior of the other, all of them are equal and in a perfect relationship. Each one distinct from the other. Each Person has a perfect intellect and free will. Each one is capable of knowing and loving to a perfect degree.
But it is this “perfection” of their ability to know and love that makes them one. They each share in the one divine nature and, within that divine nature, are perfectly united. This means that each one knows and loves the other perfectly. And that knowledge (an act of their perfect intellect) and love (an act of their perfect will) brings about a unity so profound and deep that they live and act as one God.
To understand their unity and how the three are one God, we need to become God ourselves and therefore, no human can fully comprehend the mystery of the Holy Trinity. What we need is to have faith and to believe in this great mystery.
Why is the feast celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost? This feast is because all the three Divine Persons have contributed and shared in the work of our redemption and now it's worth to give them thanks by celebrating them. The Father created the world and humanity and humanity fell by sinning hence condemning themselves to death. As we see in the Gospel, he so loved the world that he sent His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3: 16). In this way, the Father called us to faith in Jesus.
Jesus was with God from the beginning (John 1:1) and as we see from the first reading. Wisdom was with God when God was creating the world and through this wisdom God created the world. Again at God's word, God created the everything (Psalm 33:6). In the New Testament, this wisdom and word of God is Jesus Christ, who became man and died for us to redeem us and made us Children of God. He proclaimed the Kingdom of God and did the will of the Father on earth. After His ascension, the mission of God had to continue, and He therefore and His Father sent us the Holy Spirit to continue His mission, to become our teacher, our leader, our guide and our consoler. As we see in today's Gospel, he is to lead us and teach us all the truth, and make us know even the things to come. He is the sign of God's and Jesus' presence in us. This same Holy Spirit was with God from the beginning (Gen 1:2). God from the beginning has been and will always be in three persons, each with distinct role but working in perfect unity to bring about our salvation. And this therefore shows that the three have participated in the work of our redemption and this Sunday is to give them thanks and praises for what they have done for us.
Trinity is depicted out very well in the Bible. All the thirteen letters of St Paul have the trinitarian greeting though they may be different wordings. This is to show that everything that consists Christianity is centred on the Holy Trinity but more so shows the origin of peace, grace, unity and mercy in our lives. Their source is nothing other than the Holy Trinity. To obtain these and more virtues we have to believe in the Trinity.
As Christians the Trinity is in everything we do: we enter into Christian life at baptism by the Trinitarian formula, all our worship starts and ends with the sign of the Cross which is in the name of the Trinity, it is also in the priest's blessing, in the doxology and others. We sing in Trinitarian formula, we talk in Trinitarian formula, we live all our life as Christians in the Trinitarian formula and when we die we are buried in Trinitarian formula. Even evangelicals also as they start; Father in the name of Jesus, Holy Ghost Fire.... Our invitation is to take such signs of the Trinity seriously and get the meaning from them not just doing them just for sake.
What does the Trinity teach us as Christians? The relationship and unity among the three Divine Persons is indeed a perfect model for all the Christian relationship and love. In our relationship especially in our families though each one has a role, nobody should be the superior of the other, we are all equal in front of God, no quarrels or harming each other. Their unity should inspire us to be united as Christians, as a family, as a society, as an institution and as the world. Their love for one another should inspire us more to grow deeply in our relationships and concern for one another. In short, the Triune God is the best model of our relationships.
Reflect today on your relationship with the Trinity, with the Father, with the Son and with the Holy Spirit. How has the Trinity inspired you to grow more in your relationships? At Baptism we become children of God, co-heirs with Jesus and temples of the Holy Spirit, how have you kept your baptismal promises; it's an invitation to renew them today and profess your faith.
Let us Pray
May glory be to the Father who loved me and created me in His image, glory be to the Son who delivered me from hell by his precious blood and opened the gates of heaven for me and glory be to the Spirit who has sanctified me and fills me with the divine graces daily. Amen.
Be Blessed.
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