Liturgical Reflection for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
The solemnity of the Holy Trinity which we celebrate today is a mystery of love and the central mystery of our Christian faith. “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 (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 234)
The feast of the Trinity draws three preceding feasts together and makes manifest the authority and sovereignty of God, in Three persons, yet One God. The Resurrection focuses on the Father – as the life giving one, the Ascension, on Jesus as the vindicated and exalted One, the Pentecost, on the Holy Spirit as the empowering One.
At Baptism, God our Father brought us into His family, we must therefore come to know the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the members of that wonderful family to whom we belong.
One of the first things that we learnt when becoming Catholic was to sign ourselves, “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Later we learnt that this gesture was a prayer itself and not just a way to begin or end a prayer. This makes prayer a very public act showing others what we are doing as Catholics. As we celebrate this feast, we witness that all three Persons contribute to and share in the work of the redemption of humankind.
In the old Testament, God is revealed to Moses in Exodus 34:6 “The Lord, a God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love and fidelity.” In spite of the people’s infidelity, God continues to remain faithful. Like Moses we too will say , “Let my Lord come with us. As Father and Creator, God loves us as the apple of his eye. He wants to relate to us as our Abba, a “Daddy” who teaches and cares for us.
As we give our worship to our Triune God, we also become instruments and channels of God’s saving love to humanity.
Today, the faithful are encouraged to celebrate Trinity Sunday with great love just like the love that our Triune God has been giving us. We are invited to reflect not so much on what God has done but more on WHY He has done these things. This will help us to love Him more perfectly.
It was love that moved the Father to send his Son Jesus for our ransom, to save us so that we may be restored to life. Love is the reason why God is still present among us through His Spirit, the Advocate, the Helper.
The Holy Spirit is the person of God who is present in the here and now. At the end of Matthew’s Gospel Jesus says, “And remember I am with you always to the end of time”. (Matthew 28:20) The Eucharistic celebration is where we are able to meet the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is invoked on the gifts of bread and wine . It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to recognise Christ and through Him in return, are able to meet God our Father.
The Trinity is all about the importance of relationship as the three persons of God share a communion of love – Love is not a thing. Love is a relationship with the Holy Trinity who offers us life.
Gerard and Lawren