HOMILY REFLECTION ON THE SOLEMNITY OF
THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit!
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OUTLINE
- Jesus Christ reveals what reason cannot attain: the mystery of the Triune God which is the starting point of all revealed truth, the fountain from which proceeds supernatural life, and the goal whither we are headed.
- The Most Holy Trinity dwells in our soul in grace and this should fill us an immense joy!
- His indwelling in our soul in grace should spur us to deal frequently with the Three Persons, one by one and correspond to God’s love with love, glorifying Him with our life.
Having completed the commemoration of the mysteries of salvation, from Christ’s birth in Bethlehem to the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the liturgy now invites us to contemplate the central mystery of our faith: the Most Holy Trinity, the ineffable mystery of God’s own inner life and the fountain of all gifts and graces. The liturgy of the Mass invites us to loving union with each of the Three Divine Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
This feast was established for the Latin Church by Pope John XXII, to be celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost, which is the last of the mysteries of our salvation. Today we can say many times, savouring it, the prayer: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
1. Jesus Christ reveals what reason cannot attain: the mystery of the Triune God which is the starting point of all revealed truth, the fountain from which proceeds supernatural life, and the goal whither we are headed.
Our Lord Jesus Christ revealed to us in all its fullness the mystery of the Triune God (Three Persons in One God) and the inner workings of the Trinitarian mystery, and calls us to participate in it. No one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him (Matt 11:27). It is he who speaks to us of the co-existence of the Holy Spirit with the Father, and who sends him to the Church to sanctify it until the end of time; and he it is who reveals to us the perfect oneness of life of the Three Divine Persons and he who believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life (Gospel Year A).
- The mystery of the Trinity is the starting point of all revealed truth, the fountain from which proceeds supernatural life, and the goal whither we are headed: we are children of the Father, brothers and co-heirs with the Son, and continually sanctified by the Holy Spirit to make us ever more and more resemble Christ; accordingly, we deepen in the understanding of our divine filiation and become living temples of the Blessed Trinity.
- Since it is the central mystery of the Church’s faith, the Blessed Trinity is continually invoked in the liturgy.
- We were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; and in their name also are our sins forgiven.
- We begin and end many prayers by invoking the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
- Often during the day we say the prayer: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
2. The Most Holy Trinity dwells in our soul in grace and this should fill us an immense joy and thanksgiving!
God – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – dwells in our soul in grace in a special way through sanctifying grace (cf St Thomas, Summa Theologiae, 1 ,q 43, a 3).
- Saint Teresa tells us that as she considered the presence of the Three Divine Persons in her soul she was amazed at seeing so much majesty in a thing as lowly as my soul; then Our Lord said to her: It is not lowly, my daughter, because it is made in my own image (St Teresa, Maters of Conscience, 41).
- And the saint was filled with consolation. It can do us a great deal of good to consider these words as being spoken to us, and they will encourage us to continue along this path that ends in God. We must treat every person we come across each day as the possessor of an immortal soul, the image of God, which is or can become the temple of God.
3. His indwelling in our soul in grace should spur us to deal frequently with the Three Persons, one by one and correspond to God’s love with love, glorifying Him with our life.
The fact that God – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – dwells in our soul in grace, must spur us to be thankful, and to deal with Them more frequently, corresponding to the great Love the Triune God has for us with love adoring God and glorifying Him in our thoughts, words, feelings, desires, and deeds: with and throughout life.
God our Father, who by sending into the world the Word of truth and the Spirit of sanctification made known to the human race your wondrous mystery; grant us, we pray, that in professing the true faith, we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory, and adore your Unity, powerful in majesty.
Opening prayer of the Mass of the Solemnity
To You be praise, to You be glory, to You be thanksgiving world without end, 0 Blessed Trinity! (Trisagium Angelicum).
AUDIO CREDIT AND SOURCE: Palestrina – Sanctus / Osanna I / Benedictus / Osanna II – Missa Sicut lilium inter spinas by The Tudor Consort is licensed under a Attribution 3.0 International License.
TEXT: Some ideas are adapted and taken from F. Fernandez-Carvajal, ICWG vol. 6, n. 39 & 40.
VIDEO COMMENTARY
TOPIC: CAN YOU EVER REALLY UNDERSTAND THE HOLY TRINITY?
Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. It is not as well-known as Christmas, Easter, even the Pentecost. Perhaps, because there is so much mystery surrounding the Trinity.
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