Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Solemnities are special feasts set aside by the Church to focus on the most important mysteries of our faith. On this solemnity, we are invited through the readings and psalm to reflect on the mystery of the Trinity – one God in three persons: the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit – and what it means in our lives.

 

The Trinity features prominently in our lives as Catholics – we are baptized, forgiven for our sins and anointed in the name of the Trinity. We profess our faith in the Trinity when we recite the creed and when we mark ourselves with the Sign of the Cross. When we next make the sign of the cross, let us do it prayerfully, with reverence and understanding, remembering how we are loved and must love in turn. The doctrine is part of the very earliest teaching of the Church and occupies a central place in the life of the Church, underlying all major feasts such as Christmas, the Epiphany, Good Friday, Easter, the Ascension and Pentecost!

 

What do we really understand about the Trinity, what does it tell us about the God we believe in and what does this belief mean for us as we go about our daily lives?

 

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), we are told that “There is one God, who has three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each Person is God, yet there is still only one God” (CCC, 253-256). The Catechism of the Catholic Church also teaches that “by sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange” (CCC, 221). The Father is the Creator, the Son is the Redeemer and the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier and the Counsellor. The mystery of the Trinity thus centres on the nature of God. In other words, it teaches us who God really is. All three persons in the Trinity are in such a perfect relationship in a unity of love that God is truly ONE.

 

As Catholic Christians, we are called to live the Holy Trinity each day. In the same way that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one in love, we, who are created in the image and likeness of God, are called by our Father to live in a relationship of love with God and with his people. Living the Holy Trinity in our lives therefore means that we must strive to be loving and compassionate, as God our Father is, peacemakers, healers, protectors of the weak and powerless like Jesus the Son, teachers and seekers of truth like the Holy Spirit.

 

Our mission as Christians is thus to share the divine presence and love with everyone we encounter, so that they too can experience the presence and love of God. In the words of Pope Francis, “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity tells us that we do not have a solitary God up there in heaven, far away. No, He is the Father who gave his Son, who became man like us, and who sends his own Spirit to be even closer to us.”

 

Written by: Lectors Ministry (Evelyn Ng)