Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 06-06-04, Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 06-06-04 | New American Bible

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June 6, 2004
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Psalm: Sunday 26 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Reading II Gospel

Reading I
Prv 8:22-31

Thus says the wisdom of God:
"The LORD possessed me, the beginning of his ways,
the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago;
from of old I was poured forth,
at the first, before the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no fountains or springs of water;
before the mountains were settled into place,
before the hills, I was brought forth;
while as yet the earth and fields were not made,
nor the first clods of the world.

"When the Lord established the heavens I was there,
when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;
when he made firm the skies above,
when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth;
when he set for the sea its limit,
so that the waters should not transgress his command;
then was I beside him as his craftsman,
and I was his delight day by day,
playing before him all the while,
playing on the surface of his earth;
and I found delight in the human race."

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. (2a) O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place --
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet:
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

Reading II
Rom 5:1-5

Brothers and sisters:
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
to this grace in which we stand,
and we boast in hope of the glory of God.
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.

Gospel
Jn 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you."

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For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

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Trinitarian Mystery

MARY’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TRINITY

The Divine Trinity

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Sunday, June 6, 2004
The Most Holy Trinity (Solemnity)

First Reading: Psalm: Second Reading: Gospel:

Proverbs 8:22-31 Psalm 8:4-9 Romans 5:1-5 John 16:12-15 He who truly desires Love, seeks it truly. And he who truly seeks it, surely finds it. And he who finds it has found the Fountain of Life  -- St. Francis de Sales

[Salvation]

From: Romans 5:1-5


Reconciliation Through Christ's Sacrifice, the Basis of our Hope

---

[1] Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. [2] Through Him we have obtained access
to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing
the glory of God. [3] More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings,
knowing that suffering produces endurance, [4] and endurance produces
character, and character produces hope, [5] and hope does not
disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through
the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

---

Commentary:


1-5. In this very moving passage God helps us see "the divine
interlacing of the three theological virtues which form the backing
upon which the true life of every Christian man or woman has to be
woven" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 205). Faith, hope and
charity act in us in turn, causing us to grow in the life of grace.
Thus, faith leads us to know and be sure of things we hope for (cf.
Hebrews 11:1); hope ensures that we shall attain them, and enlivens our
love of God; charity, for its part, gives us energy to practise the
other two theological virtues. The definitive outcome of this growth
in love, faith and hope is the everlasting peace that is of the essence
of eternal life.


As long as we are in this present life we do have peace to some
degree--but with tribulation. Therefore, the peace attainable in this
life does not consist in the contentment of someone who wants to have
no problems, but rather in the resoluteness full of hope ("character")
of someone who manages to rise above suffering and stays faithful
through endurance. Suffering is necessary for us, because it is the
normal way to grow in virtue (cf. James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:5-7); that is
why it is providential (cf. Philippians 1:19; Colossians 1:24) and
leads to joy and happiness (1 Thessalonians 1:6).


"A person who hopes for something and strives eagerly to attain it is
ready to endure all kinds of difficulty and distress. Thus, for
example, a sick person if he is eager to be healthy, is happy to take
the bitter medicine which will cure him. Therefore, one sign of the
ardent hope that is ours thanks to Christ is that we glory not only in
the hope of future glory, but also in the afflictions which we suffer
in order to attain it" (St. Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on Romans, ad.
loc.").


A person who lives by faith, hope and charity realizes that suffering
is not something meaningless but rather is designed by God for our
perfecting. Perfection consists "in the bringing of our wills so
closely into conformity with the will of God that, as soon as we
realize He wills anything, we desire it ourselves with all our might,
and take the bitter with the sweet, knowing that to be His Majesty's
will [...]. If our love is perfect, it has this quality of leading us
to forget our own pleasure in order to please Him whom we love. And
that is indeed what happens" (St. Teresa of Avila, "Book of
Foundations", Chapter 5).


5. The love which St. Paul speaks of here is, at one and the same time,
God's love for us--manifested in His sending the Holy Spirit--and the
love which God places in our soul to enable us to love Him. The Second
Council of Orange, quoting St. Augustine, explains this as follows: "To
love God is entirely a gift of God. He, without being loved, loves us
and enabled us to love Him. We were loved when we were still
displeasing to Him, so that we might be given something whereby we
might please Him. So it is that the Spirit of the Father and the Son,
whom we love with the Father and the son, pours charity into our
hearts" (Second Council of Orange, "De Gratia", Canon 25; cf. St.
Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 102, 5).

---

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

[Salvation]

From: John 16:12-15


The Action of the Holy Spirit (Continuation)

---

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [12] "I have yet many things to say to
you, but you cannot bear them now. [13] When the Spirit of truth
comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak of
His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will
declare to you the things that are to come. [14] He will glorify Me,
for He will take what is mine and declare it to you. [15] All that the
Father has is Mine; therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and
declare it to you."

---

Commentary:


13. It is the Holy Spirit who makes fully understood the truth revealed
by Christ. As Vatican II teaches, our Lord "completed and perfected
Revelation and confirmed it...finally by sending the Spirit of truth"
(Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 4). Cf. note on John 14:25-26.


14-15. Jesus Christ here reveals some aspects of the mystery of the
Blessed Trinity. He teaches that the Three Divine Persons have the
same nature when He says that everything that the Father has belongs to
the Son, and everything the Son has belongs to the Father (cf. John
17:10) and that the Spirit also has what is common to the Father and
the Son, that is, the divine essence. The activity specific to the
Holy Spirit is that of glorifying Christ, reminding and clarifying for
the disciples everything the Master taught them (John 16:13). On being
inspired by the Holy Spirit to recognize the Father through the Son,
men render glory to Christ; and glorifying Christ is the same as giving
glory to God (cf. John 17:1, 3-5, 10).

---

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

[Salvation]

FEAST OF THE DAY

Trinity Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday following the feast of
Pentecost. This feast highlights the importance of the Trinity, i.e. the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in our lives and in the life of the Church.
Any attempt to explain the Trinity would fall short, so below are some
excerpts from the catechism on this subject.

The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity. -CCC 232

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'. 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'. - CCC 234

The Trinity is a mystery of faith in the strict sense, one of the
'mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless
they are revealed by God'. To be sure, God has left traces of his
Trinitarian being in his work of creation and in his Revelation
throughout the Old Testament. But his inmost Being as Holy Trinity is
a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel's faith
before the Incarnation of God's Son and the sending of the Holy
Spirit. -CCC 237

The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the
Christian faith and of Christian life. God alone can make it known to
us by revealing himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. -CCC 261


QUOTE OF THE DAY

God in his omnipotence could not give more, in His wisdom He knew
not how to give more, in His riches He had not more to give, than the
Eucharist. -St. Augustine


TODAY IN HISTORY

1134 Death of St. Norbert
1622 Gregory XV published the bull "Inscrutabili Divinae" which
reminded the Church of its mission to the newly discovered native
populations of the recently discovered Americas
1944 D-Day


TODAY'S TIDBIT

Usually, today marks the feast of St. Norbert, the founder of the
Order of the Canons Regular of Premontre, also called
Premonstratensians and Norbertines and abbreviated O. Praem,
were founded in 1120 and follow the Rule of St. Augustine. The
order is dedicated to educational and parish work and has more than
1300 members.


INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray, through the intercession of St. Norbert, that all people
may develop a greater devotion to the Eucharist.

[Desdemona]

This morning, our new pastor said Mass. I'm really liking him. He gives homilies that are really little bits of Catechism lectures. He talked about what Mass is - a prayer to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is not a priest praying to the people, but the congregation and the priest together lifting prayer to God.

I can't remember the whole thing, but that stuck with me. There was more to it, too. I wish he'd publish his homilies.

[Salvation]

The daily readings are from the USCCB.org website.

Here's today's link--

http://www.usccb.org/nab/060604.htm

[Salvation]

**He gives homilies that are really little bits of Catechism lectures.**

Our priest shared with me that he judged that his most important ministry to all of us was his weekly homily. He sometimes spends over five hours on two type-written pages.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Sunday, June 06, 2004

Meditation
John 16:12-15



The Holy Trinity

The Trinity is a complex mystery. Who among us will ever be able to unravel the intricacies of a God who is both One and yet three divine Persons? And yet the Trinity is the central tenet of our faith. Our very existence is bound up with this mysterious, triune God. So here’s the greatest of all mysteries relating to the Trinity: How can anyone really experience a loving relationship with someone they can barely fathom?

It appears that even after living with Jesus for three whole years, the apostles weren’t in any better position than we are. At the Last Supper, after Jesus had told them that he was the way to the Father, Thomas said: “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5). Then Philip chimed in: “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us” (14:8).

No matter how much they loved Jesus, the apostles ended up admitting: “We don’t understand what he is saying” (16:18). And isn’t that very encouraging? Like the apostles, we may know precious little about God and his nature and his ways, but our lack of understanding doesn’t have to keep us from experiencing his love, grace, and power in our lives.

This is the very reason why Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit: so that he could bring us into the heart of the triune God (John 16:15). It’s the Holy Spirit’s deepest desire to flood our hearts with the Father’s love and with the mercy and power of his risen Son. As we become caught up in this love, we can’t help but begin to understand God a little bit more. And that little bit of understanding moves us to want to become more like him. May we never underestimate what God can do for those who love him and seek him!

“Father, surprise us with a new appreciation of the Trinity. Jesus, show us the presence of the Trinity. Holy Spirit, teach us how to glorify our Father and our Savior.”

[drstevej]

***He sometimes spends over five hours on two type-written pages.***


I spend about 20 hours on a forty minute sermon. Come to our church and you'll get more than in a month of homilies in just one visit. :-)

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

All Issues > Volume 20, Number 4

<< Sunday, June 6, 2004 >>

Trinity Sunday

Proverbs 8:22-31
Romans 5:1-5

Psalm 8
John 16:12-15

View Readings

THE CHRISTIAN’S PASSION FOR THE TRINITY

“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. When He comes, however, being the Spirit of truth He will guide you to all truth.” —John 16:12-13

If no one had ever taught you to pray “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” would you pray in this way because of your personal experience of the three Persons of the Trinity? Is the Trinity only a doctrine about something or a revelation about Someone? Is your attitude toward the Trinity merely cerebral, or are you passionate about the Trinity, Who is Love? St. Gregory of Nazianzus, called “The Theologian,” taught: “Above all guard for me this great deposit of faith for which I live and fight, which I want to take with me as a companion, and which makes me bear all evils and despise all pleasures: I mean the profession of faith in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Catechism, 256). Is your life in the Trinity so personal and practical that it makes you “bear all evils and despise all pleasures”?

The Lord has prepared us for this Trinity Sunday by giving us a new Pentecost, following the forty days of Lenten penance and the fifty days of Easter celebration, concluding with the Pentecost novena. What better day than today, this Trinity Sunday, for the Spirit of truth to guide us to all truth (Jn 16:13), even the depths of the Triune God? (1 Cor 2:10) What better day for the Holy Spirit to pour out into our hearts the love of the Trinity? (Rm 5:5) Come, Holy Spirit! Lead us today much deeper into the heart of Trinitarian life and love!

Prayer: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, renew my baptism into You. May I be preoccupied with Your love.

Promise: “I was His delight day by day, playing before Him all the while, playing on the surface of His earth; and I found delight in the sons of men.” —Prv 8:30-31

Praise: “Praise the Holy Trinity, undivided Unity, holy God, mighty God, God immortal, be adored!”

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	He's Nearer Than You Think
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Sunday, June 6, 2004

Jn 16:12-15

The greatest library in the ancient world was in Alexandria, Egypt, and in the year 391 AD it burned to the ground. Tradition says that only one book survived. It was a very ordinary book, dull and uninteresting, so it was sold for a few pennies to a poor man who barely knew how to read. Now that book, dull and uninteresting as it seemed, was probably the most valuable book in the world, for inside the back cover were scrawled a few sentences that contained the Secret of the Touchstone — a tiny pebble that could turn anything it touched to pure gold. The inscription declared that this precious pebble was lying somewhere on the shore of the Black Sea, among millions of other pebbles that were exactly like it except in one particular: Whereas all the other pebbles were cold to the touch, this one was warm — as if it were alive.

When the poor man who bought the book read the inscription, he rejoiced at his good luck. He sold everything he had, borrowed what he could, and set out for the Black Sea, where he pitched his tent and began his search for the Touchstone that would make him rich. This is how he went about his quest. He'd pick up a pebble, and feel it. If it was cold, he wouldn't drop it back on the beach, lest he risk picking up the same stone dozens of times again. Instead, after he felt the stone to be cold, he'd throw it into the sea.

Hour after hour, day after day, he continued his orderly routine: Lift a pebble, feel it to be cold, throw it into the sea; then lift the next pebble, and so on... endlessly. The days grew into months and then into a year, two years, three years. Still he persisted. Still no Touchstone. Then one evening, he picked up a pebble and it was warm to the touch! But through sheer force of habit, he raised it above his head, and threw it into the sea, where it was lost forever!

+ + +

Imagine how he must have felt when he "woke up"! To have had the Touchstone in his hand, and then to have tossed it away without thinking! Mindless! Foolish! Yes! And maybe some of us are doing the same thing.

There is in each of us a deep and hungry longing for the One who alone can fill our inner emptiness. Restlessly, day after day, we continue our search for that one we call God, who alone can fill us full. Where is He to be found? Like the Touchstone, in the ordinary places of our lives. And how are we to recognize Him? Like the Touchstone — He is warm to the touch, and has the power to transform whatever He touches into pure gold.

It should be easy, but because our search continues day after day, and because the One who alone can fill our hearts is disguised in the ordinary things, we often come face to face with Him and do not see Him, often touch His warmth but are not warmed by it. Not because we don't wish to see and be touched, but because — in our weariness and distraction — we aren't paying attention to the ordinary things, and don't recognize Him, and simply go wandering on down the beach.

That's why we need to celebrate this feast of the Holy Trinity: Because there's something important we need to remember:

• that God is a lot bigger than we usually let Him be in our imaginations,

• that He is, in fact, so big that He isn't interested in punishing, but only in giving life,

and, best of all,

• that He is near — always near — available to the touch, hidden just under the surface of ordinary things.

So the "bottom line" on this Trinity Sunday is quite simple: Look for Him, and you'll find Him — not out there, but inside. Listen for Him, and you'll hear Him speaking ever so quietly. Open your inner gates, and you'll be filled full by Him, and warmed by Him, and transformed by Him into purest gold.

 

 

[annalex]

Jn 16:12-15
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
12	I have yet many things to say to you: but you cannot bear them now.	adhuc multa habeo vobis dicere sed non potestis portare modo
13	But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth. For he shall not speak of himself: but what things soever he shall hear, he shall speak. And the things that are to come, he shall shew you.	cum autem venerit ille Spiritus veritatis docebit vos in omnem veritatem non enim loquetur a semet ipso sed quaecumque audiet loquetur et quae ventura sunt adnuntiabit vobis
14	He shall glorify me: because he shall receive of mine and shall shew it to you.	ille me clarificabit quia de meo accipiet et adnuntiabit vobis
15	All things whatsoever the Father hath are mine. Therefore I said that he shall receive of me and shew it to you.	omnia quaecumque habet Pater mea sunt propterea dixi quia de meo accipit et adnuntiabit vobis