The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Reading 1 DT 4:32-34, 39-40
Responsorial Psalm PS 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22
Reading 2 ROM 8:14-17
Alleluia RV 1:8
Alleluia, alleluia.
- Gospel MT 28:16-20
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27/28 May 2018 Love in 3 persons
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Lectionary: 165When our kids were very young I had a bad habit of helping them too much and not letting them learn on their own. This probably came from my inexperience as a parent and lack of patience. After watching them struggle to tie their shoes or zip up their coat it just seemed easier to do it for them. The issue, of course is that they don’t learn how to do it for themselves. This became apparent when our oldest went off to preschool. The teacher sent a note home asking us to work with Kevin on zipping his coat up because he couldn’t do it by himself.
This was a wake-up call for us as young parents as we realized how important it was for kids to learn from their struggles. It’s a challenge for parents to watch their kids struggle...but if you keep them safe and provide consistent boundaries and unconditional love, I think it’s the best way for them to learn.
If we think about that same challenge in terms of our role as God’s children, our readings today for Holy Trinity Sunday take on more meaning. Can we imagine our Triune God providing us unconditional love as He helps us learn from our struggles here on earth?
The Holy Trinity describes God as 3 persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Many brilliant people have tried to understand and explain this mystery. The Nicene Creed that we will say together in a few minutes gives us a lot to think about if you listen to the words…but instead of thinking about it as a mystery to be solved, we may want to consider the concept of the Trinity as a beautiful way that God reveals Himself and His love for us. The Creed tells us:
(We) believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth…
Even though God the Father is all powerful and all knowing, our 2nd reading from Romans tells us we have been given a Spirit of adoption. Endowed with that Spirit, we have become adopted sons and daughters of God in Christ Jesus. This divine adoption means that as Christians we have the honor of addressing God as “Abba, Father!” We hear this term of endearment in the Gospels when Jesus prays to His Father. Our divine adoption allows us to think of God as our loving Father in heaven. He is always willing to talk to us in prayer and if we stray away from Him, He is always willing to welcome us back like the Prodigal Son.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father …
The words in the Nicene Creed describing Jesus are more complicated. It took several hundred years for the early Christians to agree on His divine and human nature and His role in our salvation. I like to think of Jesus as our divine older Brother who loved us so much that he gave His life to save ours. During His life on earth He set the perfect example for us to follow and He left us a beautiful gift of Himself in the Eucharist. Receiving Holy Communion in a state of grace allows us to receive His loving embrace.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified…
The Holy Spirit may be the most elusive person of the Trinity to understand but if we are open to the Holy Spirit in our lives, we will know He is real. God’s loving presence is always with us in the Holy Spirit and His fruits brings love, joy, peace, patience and self-control into our lives.
I couldn’t find the source but this is one of my favorite quotes:
The most important day in your spiritual life will come, not when you believe you love God, but when you realize that God loves you.
We have the chance to experience God’s love in so many different ways in our life: through parents, siblings, a spouse, children, grandchildren and friends we make along the way. Many people feel God’s love when they experience nature or spend time with animals. The stories of the Saints are more great examples of God showing His love through a person’s life or martyr’s death.
We may experience God’s love in our daily struggles. Like children, we learn from these struggles but as adults, the lessons we learn are more difficult than tying shoes and zipping coats.
The good news is that God has a plan for our lives and His Spirit strengthens us each day as we carry our crosses. As we deal with these daily struggles in our lives, may we always show the love of God to others and remember the Hebrew name for Jesus is Emmanuel which means “God is with us”.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.