Today, Sunday, one week after Pentecost, the Catholic Church celebrates the ‘Solemnity of the Holy Trinity’, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons and one true God.
Facts to share divine life
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Sing today’s laud hymn: “The triune God, mystery of love, dwells in the heavens and in my heart,” reminding us that we are invited to take part in the intimate life of God, source of endless love.
By revealing his Trinitarian nature to us, God introduces us to the greatest mystery: being a perfect unity, he is also a community of Persons. And, although the divine immensity seems unfathomable to us, our hearts overflow with gratitude for the gift received, an infinite and immeasurable gift of Love!
Let us, therefore, humbly open our hearts to God, one and triune; May each Person of the Trinity occupy a place in our lives.
“Now we see in a mirror, in an enigma” (I Cor 13, 12)
A decade ago (2013), Pope Francis, addressing a group of children preparing for First Communion, rehearsed a simple but beautiful explanation of what the Holy Trinity is. The Pope said: “The Father creates the world, Jesus saves us, and what does the Holy Spirit do? He loves us, he gives us love.” With this brief formula, Francis shed light on the greatest mystery of our faith, not only for those children of that time, but for all the faithful.
Throughout history, knowledge of the Trinity has occupied saints, theologians and, of course, everyone who has lovingly wanted to know their faith better. Every human being, created in the image and likeness of God, longs for that knowledge from the deepest depths, many times, without having full awareness. And it could not be any other way, since God has created us to know him and love him, and to always be with him – in God is the fullness we seek.
That is why it is also necessary to recognize that we are creatures and, therefore, limited beings. In front of God, (that is, in the presence of the sacred), there will always be things that we cannot explain, things that we cannot understand, questions that will arise again and again without finding a definitive answer. It is natural that some confusion may arise, even an initial discouragement, but these will have to be overcome, to the greatest degree, by contemplating, in loving prayer, the mystery of the Trinity. Let us not forget that God is precisely that: a “mystery.” Saint Joan of Arc already warned: “God is so great that he surpasses our science.” And yet, out of love, it has been revealed.
Humility to contemplate the mystery
A story widely spread in the Middle Ages and that reaches us tells of Saint Augustine of Hippo, Bishop of Tagaste, walking near the seashore while meditating on the Trinity. Suddenly, he notices that a boy, bucket in hand, was trying to fill a hole he had made in the sand with sea water.
Agustín approaches and asks him why he is doing it, to which the little boy responds: “I want to empty all the sea water into the hole.” “That is impossible,” replied the saint. Immediately, the child looks at him and says: “If this is impossible, it is much more impossible to try to decipher the mystery of the Holy Trinity.”
What a lesson for the understanding that seeks to encompass everything!, as well as for the one who surrenders to the vast!
Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, when preaching on the mystery of the Trinity, used a three-pointed cloverleaf, making an analogy between these and the three divine persons – the points being distinct and distinct “compose” a single entity, as The Three Persons are one God.
In front of God, on your knees
As on so many occasions, we are presented with two extremes: trying to achieve everything; believe that we can’t achieve anything. Something like this happens when we stand in front of something – or someone – so big. Better not to despair; But don’t fall into overconfidence either. Let’s be sensible.
Let us not forget that responding to God’s love and knowing Him better is always a joint task between our nature in cooperation with Grace. Let us ask the Lord to help us love him more and more, and know him, to the extent possible.
Blessed be the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Three Persons and one true God!
Today’s Gospel (Mt 28, 16-20)
At that time, the eleven disciples went to Galilee and went up to the mountain where Jesus had summoned them. When they saw Jesus, they fell down, although some hesitated.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to do everything I have commanded you; and know that I will be with you always, to the end of the world.”
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If you want to delve deeper into the meaning of the mystery of the Trinity, we recommend reading this article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/Santmost_trinity.
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