One God in three persons -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Reflections on the readings for the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (June 12, 2022): PRV 8:22-31; PS 8:4-5,6-7,8-9; Rom 5:1-5; JN 16:12-15
MISSIO offers “Preaching Mission,” as a homily help, providing connections to mission from the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
The whole history of creation and of the Divine plan for salvation exists because God wants to communicate the wonder of His sacred life with His precious people.
The season of Lent and Easter has ended. The Church returns to Ordinary Time with a Solemnity that venerates the preeminent mystery of Christianity, that of the Most Holy Trinity. One God in three persons: this is the essence of our Catholic belief. On this day, we honor our God who is love itself and who is also three distinct persons with relationships that unite rather than divide them: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The whole history of creation and of the Divine plan for salvation exists because God wants to communicate the wonder of His sacred life with His precious people. He calls each of us to be a dwelling place for Himself. That God shares Himself so closely with us is key to the ongoing mission of the Church in the world today. The depth of our communion with God is indicated in the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Romans. “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. … Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:1,3-5). Body, mind, and spirit -- with our entire being -- we are meant to receive the Divine grace and cooperate with the Divine will. We are called to know God’s life and love in an intimate way that we humans could never even imagine on our own.
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, a Carmelite nun and mystic, had a profound devotion the Blessed Trinity. In fact, this prayer of hers, has the particular honor of being quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “O my God Trinity whom I adore, help me forget myself entirely so to establish myself in You, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. … Grant my soul peace. Make it Your heaven, Your beloved dwelling place and the place of Your rest. May I never abandon You there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative action.” Let us make a special resolution to meditate on the Blessed Trinity -- Father , Son, and Holy Spirit -- and also on ourselves as places where God is welcomed, where God is desired, where God is ours and we are His.
