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June 4, 2023The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity occurs on the second Sunday after Pentecost. The feast day celebrates the central mystery of our faith, the three persons in one God - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
According to Fr. Greg Friedman, OFM, of Franciscan Media, “It begins with a doctrine, but ends with intimacy.” Fr. Friedman notes that:
“Most Catholics can recite the doctrine of the Trinity: three distinct and equal divine persons, yet one God. That statement hints at the mystery contained in the truth. Trying to explain or even understand it fully is impossible. However, today’s Scriptures place us squarely in the midst of the mystery. If we listen with our hearts, we end up with a very personal portrait of God.
In our first reading, from the experience of the Exodus, we hear Moses recalling—with a note of pride—some of the great things God did for the people. Proudly Moses asks: Did anything like this happen before? Has any other nation had such an experience of divine power? A personal God, who intervenes on behalf of the people with deeds of power: That relationship becomes intimate as St. Paul tells us in the second reading: We’ve been “adopted” by God, through the power of the Holy Spirit. We share the suffering and the glory of Jesus Christ. The Good News of today’s Gospel, is that Jesus is Emmanuel, “God with us”—and that intimacy continues ‘until the end of the ages.’
Invited into the intimacy hidden in the mystery of the Trinity, we can only respond with a heartfelt “Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” (Source: Franciscan Media; Faith and Family, 2023)
As we dive deeper into the readings today, and sticking with the theme of intimacy, we, as Roman Catholics need to understand the Holy Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—as LOVE, a Divine, intimate love. Our faith indeed teaches us in the Creed, which we proclaim each Sunday after the prayers of the faithful, that: “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, who has spoken through the prophets.”
So what does that mean? Well, God the Father and God the Son have such pure and noble love for one another that that Love becomes the Holy Spirit. In addition, the Holy Spirit or Love was then sent into the World to heal, to forgive, to reveal God’s Wisdom and to fill us with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit so as to produce the fruits of the Spirit’s Love through an active, Christian discipleship.
In the midst of all the craziness of our world—that is created by humans—we must recall that our God is a God who created us out of Love—He did not need us but rather desired us. He then redeemed us out of love by sending His Son to suffer, die and rise again for our Eternal Life. Then He sent the Holy Spirit for guidance in Wisdom and courage to endure the trials and tribulations of the world, to ensure our eternal destiny. Moreover, to all this Love, He gave us the “icing on the cake,” if you will, by giving us the gift of Free Will. Not to be automatons, but rather to freely choose Him, the God of Love, to be our source, summit and font of eternal joy.
This is why the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: (234) "The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the 'hierarchy of the truths of faith'. [GCD 43.] The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men 'and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin'. [GCD 47.]"
We are called out of Love to be united with Christ. The God who created all things—humanity, the earth and all her beauty, the cosmos and beyond—God who desires to be united with you so that you may share in Him for all eternity. Love…proceeding from the Father and the Son!
