Year C- The Most Holy Trinity
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will teach you all truth. John 16:12-15 12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary |
Posted on 05/25/2013 9:48:57 PM PDT by Salvation
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.
Year C- The Most Holy Trinity
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will teach you all truth. John 16:12-15 12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary |
There is an old Spiritual that says, My God is so high, you can’t over him, he’s so low, you can’t under him, he’s so wide you can’t round him, you must come in, by and through the Lamb.
Not a bad way of saying that God is other, He is beyond what human words can tell or describe, He is beyond what human thoughts can conjure. And on the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity we do well to remember that we are pondering a mystery that cannot fit in our minds.
A mystery though, is not something wholly unknown. In the Christian tradition the word “mystery,” among other things, refers to something partially revealed, much more of which lies hid. Thus, as we ponder the teaching on the Trinity, there are some things we can know by revelation, but much more is beyond our reach or understanding.
Lets ponder the Trinity by exploring it, seeing how it is exhibited in Scripture, and how we, who are made in God’s image experience it.
I. The Teaching on the Trinity Explored – Perhaps we do best to begin by quoting the Catechism which says, The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons: [Father, Son and Holy Spirit]…The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire. (Catechism, 253).
So there is one God, and the three persons of the Trinity each possess the one Divine nature fully. The Father IS God, He is not 1/3 of God. Likewise the Son, Jesus, IS God. He is not 1/3 of God. And so too, the Holy Spirit IS God, not a mere third of God. So each of the three persons possesses the one Divine nature fully.
It is our experience that if there is only one of something, and I possess that something fully, there is nothing left for you. Yet, mysteriously each of the Three Persons fully possess the one and only Divine Nature fully, while remaining distinct persons.
One of the great masterpieces of the Latin Liturgy is the preface for Trinity Sunday. The Preface, compactly, yet clearly sets for the Christian teaching on the Trinity. The following translation of the Latin is my own:
It is truly fitting and just, right and helpful unto salvation that we should always and everywhere give thanks to you O Holy Lord, Father almighty and eternal God: who, with your only begotten Son and the Holy Spirit are one God, one Lord: not in the oneness of a single person, but in a Trinity of one substance. For that which we believe from your revelation concerning your glory, we acknowledge of your Son and the Holy Spirit without difference or distinction. Thus, in the confession of the true and eternal Godhead there is adored a distinctness of persons, a oneness in essence, and an equality in majesty, whom the angels and archangels, the Cherubim also and the Seraphim, do not cease to daily cry out with one voice saying: Holy Holy, Holy….
Wowza! A careful and clear masterpiece, but one which baffles the mind as its words and phrases come forth. So deep is this mystery that we had to “invent” a paradoxical word to summarize it: Triune (or Trinity). “Triune” literally means, “Three-one” (tri+unus) and “Trinity is a conflation of “Tri-unity” meaning the “three-oneness” of God.
If all this baffles you, good! If you were to say, you fully understood all this, I would have to call you a likely heretic. For the teaching on the Trinity, while not contrary to reason per se, does transcend it and surely it transcends human understanding.
A final picture or image, before we leave our exploration stage. The picture at the upper right is an experiment I remember doing back in High School. We took three projectors, each of which projected a circle: One was red, another green, another blue (the three primary colors). As we made the three circles intersect, at that intersection, was the color white (see above). Mysteriously, in the color white (or clear) three primary colors are present but only one (white or clear) shows forth. The analogy is not perfect (no analogy is, it wouldn’t be an analogy) for Father, Son and Spirit do not “blend” to make God. But the analogy does manifest a mysterious three-oneness of the color white. Somehow in the one, three are present. (By the way, this experiment only works with light, don’t try it with paint!)
II. The Teaching on the Trinity Exhibited : Scripture too, presents images and pictures of the Trinity. Interestingly enough most of the pictures I want to present are from the Old Testament.
Now I want to say, as a disclaimer, that Scripture Scholars debate the meaning of the texts I am about to present, that’s what they get paid the big bucks to do. Let me be clear to say that I am reading these texts as a New Testament Christian and seeing in them a Doctrine that later became clear. I am not getting in a time machine and trying to understand them as a Jew from the 8th Century BC might have understood them. Why should I? That’s not what I am. I am reading these texts as a Christian in the light of the New Testament, as I have a perfect right to do. You of course, the reader are free to decide if these texts really ARE images or hints of the Trinity from your perspective. Take them or leave them. Here they are:
1. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… (Gen 1:26) So God speaks to himself in the plural: “let us….our.” Some claim this is just an instance of the “Royal We” being used. Perhaps but I see an image of the Trinity. There is one (“God said”) but there is also a plural (us, our). Right at the very beginning in Genesis there is already a hint that God is not all by himself, but is in a communion of love.
2. Elohim?? In the quote above, the word used for God is אֱלֹהִ֔ים (Elohim). Now it is interesting that this word is in a plural form. From the view point of pure grammatical form Elohim means “Gods.” However, the Jewish people understood the sense of the word to be singular. Now this is a much debated point and you can read something more of it from a Jewish perspective here: Elohim as Plural yet Singular. (We have certain words like this in English, plural in form but singular in meaning: news, mathematics, acoustics, etc.). My point here is not to try and understand it as a Jew from the 8th Century BC or a Jew today might understand it. Rather, what I observing is that it is interesting that one of the main words for God in the Old Testament is plural, yet singular, singular yet plural. It is one, it is also plural. God is one, yet he is three. I say this as a Christian observing this about one of the main titles of God. I see an image of the Trinity.
3. And the LORD appeared to [Abram] by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, and said, “My Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I fetch a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on — since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” (Gen 18:1-5). Now this passage from a purely grammatical point of view is very difficult since we switch back and forth from singular references to plural. Note first that the Lord (singular) appeared to Abram. (In this case יְהוָ֔ה Yahweh (YHWH) is the name used for God). And yet what Abram sees is three men. Some have wanted to say, this is just God and two angels. But I see the Trinity being imaged or alluded to here. And yet when Abram address “them” he says, “My Lord” (singular). The “tortured” grammar continues as Abram asks that water be fetched so that he can “wash your feet” (singular) and that the “LORD” (singular) can rest yourselves (plural). The same thing happens in the next sentence where Abram wants to fetch bread that you (singular) may refresh yourselves (plural) In the end the LORD (singular) gives answer but it is rendered: “So they said” Plural, singular….. what is it? Both. God is one, God is three. For me, as a Christian, this is a picture of the Trinity. Since the reality of God cannot be reduced to words we have here a grammatically difficult passage. But I “see” what is going on. God is one and God is three, he is singular and yet is plural.
4. Having come down in a cloud, the Lord stood with Moses there and proclaimed his Name, “Lord.” Thus the Lord passed before him and cried out, “The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity” (Exodus 34:5). Here we see that when God announces his name He does so in a threefold way: Lord!…The Lord, the Lord. There is implicit a threefold introduction or announcement of God. Coincidence or of significance? You decide.
5. In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the Seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. (Is 6:1-3) God is Holy, Holy, and yet again, Holy. Some say this is just a Jewish way of saying “very Holy” but as Christian I see more. I see a reference to each of the Three Persons. Perfect praise here requires three “holys”, why? Omni Trinum Perfectum (all things are perfect in threes), but why? So, as a Christian I see the angels not just using the superlative but also praising each of the Three persons. God is three (Holy, Holy, Holy) and God is one, and so the text says, Holy ”IS the Lord.” Three declarations “Holy”: Coincidence or of significance? You decide.
6. In the New Testament there are obviously many references but let me just refer to three quickly. Jesus says, The Father and I are one (Jn 10:30). He says again, To have seen me is to have seen the Father (Jn. 14:9). And, have you ever noticed that in the baptismal formula Jesus uses is “bad” grammar? He says, Baptize them in the Name (not names as it grammatically “should” be) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19). God is One (name) and God is three (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
Thus Scripture exhibits the teaching of the Trinity, going back even to the beginning
III. The Teaching of the Trinity Experienced – We who are made in the image and likeness of God ought to experience something of the mystery of the Trinity within us. And sure enough we do.
For, it is clear that we are all distinct individuals. I am not you, you are not me. Yet it is also true that we are made for communion. Humanly we cannot exist apart from one another. Obviously we depend on our parents through whom God made us. But even beyond physical descent, we need one another for completion.
Despite what old songs say, no man is a rock or an island. There is no self-made man. Even the private business owner needs customers, suppliers and shippers, and other middle men. He uses roads he did not build, has electricity supplied to him over lines he did not string, and speaks a language to his customers and others he did not create. Further, whatever the product he makes, he is likely the heir of technologies and processes he did not invent, others before him did. And the list could go on.
We are individual, but we are social. We are one, but linked to many. Clearly we do not possess the kind of unity God does, but the three oneness of God echoes in us. We are one, yet we are many.
We have entered into perilous times where our interdependence and communal influence are under-appreciated. That attitude that prevails today is a rather extreme individualism wherein “I can do as I please.” There is a reduced sense at how our individual choices affect the whole of the community, Church or nation. That I am an individual is true, but it is also true that I live in communion with others and must respect that dimension of who I am. I exist not only for me, but for others. And what I do affects others, for good or ill.
The “It’s none of my business, what others do” attitude also needs some attention. Privacy and discretion have important places in our life, but so does having concern for what others do and think, the choices they are making and the effects that such things have on others. A common moral and religious vision is an important thing to cultivate. It is ultimately important what others think and do, and we should care about fundamental things like respect for life, love, care for the poor, education, marriage and family. Indeed, marriage an family are fundamental to community, nation and the Church. I am one, but I am also in communion with others and they with me.
Finally there is a rather remarkable conclusion that some have drawn, that the best image of God in us is not a man alone, or a woman alone, but, rather, a man and a woman together in lasting a fruitful relationship we call marriage. For, when God said, “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26) the text goes on to say, “Male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). And God says to them, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28). So the image of God (as God sets it forth most perfectly) is the married and fruitful couple.
Here of course we must be careful to understand that what we manifest sexually, God manifests spiritually. For God is not male or female in His essence. Thus, we may say, The First Person loves the Second Person, and the Second Person loves the First Person. And so real is that love that it bears fruit in the Third Person. In this way the married couple images God, for the husband loves his wife and the wife loves her husband, and their love bears fruit in their children. [1]
So, today as we extol the great mystery of the Trinity, we look not merely outward and upward to understand but also inward to discover that mystery at work in us who are made in the image and likeness of God.
Gospel
Interesting Details
One Main Point
The Holy Spirit comes from both the Father and the Son. He helps us, here and now, understand and live the truth of the Father that is revealed to us in the Son. Reflections
Trinity Sunday
The Sunday after Pentecost
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The Holy Trinity (detail) from Disputa dei Sacramento - The Triumph of the Christian Faith Raphael (ca 1508) Stanza della Segnatura, Apostolic Palace, Vatican
The Trinity is the mystery of one God in three Persons:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The revealed truth of the Holy Trinity is at the very root of the Church's living faith as expressed in the Creed.The mystery of the Trinity in itself is inaccessible to the human mind, and is the object of faith only because it was revealed by Jesus Christ, the Divine Son of the Eternal Father. - Catechism of the Catholic Church
Prayer & Readings - Creeds - Litany - Family Activities - Hymns to the Trinity
The Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity "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.
"The Incarnation of God's Son reveals that God is the eternal Father and that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, which means that, in the Father and with the Father, the Son is one and the same God.
"The mission of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father in the name of the Son (John 14:26) and by the Son: from the Father (John 15:26), reveals that, with them, the Spirit is one and the same God. "With the Father and the Son He is worshipped and glorified" (Nicene Creed).
"Inseparable in what they are, the Divine Persons are also inseparable in what they do. But within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to Him in the Trinity, especially in the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit."
-- Catechism of the Catholic Church §§ 261, 262, 263, 267
Antiphon
Benedictus sit Deus Pater, unigenitusque Dei Filius,
Sanctus quoque Spiritus, quia fecit nobiscum misericordiam suam.Blessed be God the Father and His only begotten Son
and the Holy Spirit, who has shown us His merciful love.Collect
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 faith,
we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory
and adore your Unity, powerful in majesty.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.Year A
First Reading: Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9
With the two tablets of stone in his hands, Moses went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone. And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness". And Moses made haste to bow his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, "If now I have found favor in Thy sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us, although it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thy inheritance."
Second Reading: II Corinthians 13:11-13
Finally, brethen, farewell. Mend your ways, heed my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Gospel Reading: John 3:16-18
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Year B
First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:32-34,39-40
Second Reading: Romans 8:14-17
Gospel Reading: Matthew 28:16-20
Year C
First Reading: Proverbs 8:22-31
The Lord created me at the beginning of His work, the first of His acts of old.
Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.
Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth; before He had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world.When He established the heavens, I was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep, when He made firm the skies above, when He established the fountains of the deep, when He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him, like a master workman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing before Him always, rejoicing in His inhabited world and delighting in the sons of men.
Second Reading: Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 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. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.
Gospel Reading: John 16:12-15
"I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that He will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Creeds The word Creed comes from the Latin word Credo -- I believe -- and the Creeds are summaries of the Christian faith. There are three Creeds, or professions of faith, that are symbols of the faith, affirming the essential Trinitarian dogma: the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, also called the Quicumque, an important Trinitarian formula dating from the 4th Century, intended to address the Arian heresy which denied the two natures of Christ. The Creeds are called "symbols of faith", from the Greek word symbolon, meaning identifiers or summaries.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds thus:
"The Apostles Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles' faith. It is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome. Its great authority arises from this fact: It is 'the Creed of the Roman Church, the See of Peter, the first of the apostles, to which he brought the common faith.'"
"The Niceno-Constantinopolitan or Nicene Creed draws its great authority from the fact that it stems from the first two ecumenical Councils (in 35 and 381). It remains common to all the great Churches of both East and West to this day."
[CCC §§194, 195].
The plan of presentation of Catholic doctrine and dogmas in the Catechism of the Catholic Church follows the Apostles Creed, "the oldest Roman catechism".
(For more on the Creeds, see the Catechism §§184-197. Note: The entire Catechism is availale online from the Holy See. See Links page for web access.)
Litany to the Holy Trinity V. Blessed be the holy Trinity and undivided Unity;
R. We will give glory to Him, because He hath shown His mercy to us.V. O Lord our Lord, how wonderful is Thy Name in all the earth!
R. O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God!Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy
Blessed Trinity, hear us.
Adorable Unity, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, Response: have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God the Holy Ghost,
Holy Trinity, One God,
Father from Whom are all things,
Son through Whom are all things,
Holy Ghost in Whom are all things,
Holy and undivided Trinity,
Father everlasting,
Only-begotten Son of the Father,
Spirit Who preceedeth from the Father and the Son,
Co-eternal Majesty of Three Divine Persons,
Father, the Creator,
Son, the Redeemer,
Holy Ghost, the Comforter,
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts,
Who art, Who wast, and Who art to come,
God Most High, Who inhabitest eternity,
To Whom alone are due all honor and glory,
Who alone doest great wonders,
Power infinite,
Wisdom, incomprehensible,
Love unspeakable,Be merciful,
Spare us, O Holy Trinity.
Be merciful,
Graciously hear us, O Holy Trinity.
From all evil, Response: Deliver us, O Holy Trinity.
From all sin,
From all pride,
From all love of riches,
From all uncleanness,
From all sloth,
From all inordinate affection,
From all envy and malice,
From all anger and impatience,
From every thought, word, and deed contrary to Thy holy law,
From Thine everlasting malediciton,
Through Thy plenteous loving kindness,
Through the exceeding treasure of Thy goodness and love,
Through the depths of Thy wisdom and knowledge,
Through all Thy unspeakable perfections,We sinners,
Beseech Thee to hear us.That we may ever serve Thee alone, Response: We beseech Thee to hear us.
That we may worship Thee in spirit and in truth,
That we may love Thee with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength,
That, for Thy sake, we may love our neighbor as ourselves,
That we may faithfully keep Thy holy commandments,
That we may never defile our bodies and souls with sin,
That we may go from grace to grace, and from virtue to virtue,
That we may finally enjoy the sight of Thee in glory,
That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to hear us,O Blessed Trinity,
We beseech Thee, deliver us.
O Blessed Trinity,
We beseech Thee, save us.
O Blessed Trinity,
Have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy.Our Father (silently). Hail Mary (silently).
V. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, in the firmament of Heaven,
R. And worthy to be praised, and glorious, and highly exalted forever.Let Us Pray:
Almighty and everlasting God, Who hast granted Thy servants in the confession of the True Faith, to acknowledge the glory of an Eternal Trinity, and in the power of Thy majesty to adore Thy Unity: we beseech Thee that by the strength of this faith we may be defended from all adversity. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.+
Family Activities to honor the Holy Trinity Doxology and Sign of the Cross: The most fundamental -- and simplest -- affirmation of the Holy Trinity is the invocation known as the doxology, a prayer of praise: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, accompanied by the sign of the cross. Even very small children can learn to make the sign of the cross. (See Sign of the Cross page.) The Trinity is always invoked at baptism: "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
Teaching stories
The truth of the Trinity should be taught to children, even if no one can penetrate this mystery given to us by the Lord. Two saints of the distant past left accounts.
Saint Augustine recounted that when he was walking on the beach one day, trying to understand the Trinity, he saw a little boy digging a hole in the sand near the water. Augustine noticed that the hole was filled with water, and asked the child how deep the hole was. The boy replied that its depth is fathomless, immeasurable -- like the mystery of the Trinity Augustine vainly sought to comprehend.Saint Patrick attempted to illustrate the "Three-in-One and One-in-Three" by using a three-leaf shamrock. At this time of year, many people have a stand of new green clover in their lawns. You might illustrate the Saint Patrick story by taking children outside to find clover so that they can see that the structure of the one leaf consists of three parts. One part cannot be removed without destroying the wholeness of the leaf.
On a walk around the neighborhood -- or even around the house, look for any objects that could symbolize the concept of the Trinity. (Hint: find triangles!)
Family Dinner suggestions: Cloverleaf rolls: Have the children help make these rolls, by placing three walnut-sized balls of dough in each cup of a muffin pan. If you haven't time or inclination to make real cloverleaf rolls, a simple way is to make the dough from baking mix or -- even easier -- to from tubes of canned biscuit dough. Use this dough to make the balls. Folllow the baking directions on the box or tube. Brush the cloverleaf rolls with milk just before baking.
Three-in-one salad: Use three fruits in a fruit salad (e.g. apples, bananas, and grapes/pineapple, oranges, bananas); or add three different kinds of fruit to jello.
"Trinity" candle: An effective table decoration is a pillar candle with three wicks. You can usually find these in candle shops.
You could make a somewhat less clearly symbolic but still-pretty substitute by binding three candles together with narrow ribbon, and affixing them to a small plate with florist's wax. (Be sure to tie the ribbon low enough that it will not be ignited!)
Centerpiece of flowers could appropriately combine clover, or oxalis (which also has tripartite leaves) with iris, which has three upright petals (standards) supported by three "falls". (The wild flower, trillium, also has three triangular petals, but although it usually blooms at this time of year, it is hard to find.)
Doxology: Say the doxology in praise of the Holy Trinity before Grace, either in English or in Latin.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto,
Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper in secula seculorum. Amen.
Links on the Vatican Website:
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, POPE BENEDICT XVI, ANGELUS, Sunday, 30 May 2010
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, POPE BENEDICT XVI, ANGELUS, Sunday, 7 June 2009
Deathbed Request: 'Tell me About the Trinity’
Catholic Doctrine on the Holy Trinity
The Most Holy Trinity
What You [Catholics] Need to Know: Trinity [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
The Holy Trinity (excerpt from the Light of Faith by St. Thomas Aquinas)
The Concept of the Most Holy Trinity - The Relationship between the Three Persons in One God
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 3: God and the Holy Trinity
Sheed on the Trinity (Catholic Caucus)
The Father as the Source of the Whole Trinity - Greek and Latin Traditions About the Filioque
Trinity Facts
The Real Trinity
We believe in one only God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Brief Reflections on the Trinity, the Canon of Scripture,...
Why Do We Believe in the Trinity?
The Holy Trinity
Trinity Sunday (and the Trinity season)
Trinitarian Mystery
HaSheeloosh HaKadosh: The Holy Trinity
MARY’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TRINITY
The Divine Trinity
Saint Philip Neri, Priest
Memorial
May 26th
The Virgin Appearing to Saint Philip Neri
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
1740
Oil on canvas, 360 x 182 cm
Museo Diocesano, Camerino
History:
Born at Florence, Italy, July 22, 1515; died May 27, 1595. Philip's family originally came from Castelfranco but had lived for many generations in Florence, where not a few of its members had practiced the learned professions, and therefore took rank with the Tuscan nobility. Among these was Philip's own father, Francesco Neri, who eked out an insufficient private fortune with what he earned as a notary. A circumstance which had no small influence on the life of the saint was Francesco's friendship with the Dominicans; for it was from the friars, that Philip received many of his early religious impressions. Besides a younger brother, who died in early childhood, Philip had two younger sisters, Caterina and Elisabetta. It was with them that "the good Pippo", as he soon began to be called, committed his only known fault. He gave a slight push to Caterina, because she kept interrupting him and Elisabetta, while they were reciting psalms together. One incident of his childhood is dear to his early biographers as the first visible intervention of Providence on his behalf, and perhaps dearer still to his modern disciples, because it reveals the human characteristics of a boy amid the supernatural graces of a saint. When about eight years old he was left alone in a courtyard to amuse himself; seeing a donkey laden with fruit, he jumped on its back; the beast bolted, and both tumbled into a deep cellar. His parents hastened to the spot and extricated the child, not dead, as they feared, but entirely uninjured.
Having studied the humanities under the best scholars of a scholarly generation, at the age of sixteen he was sent to help his father's cousin in business. He applied himself with diligence, and his kinsman soon determined to make him his heir. But he would often withdraw for prayer to a little mountain chapel belonging to the Benedictines of Monte Cassino, built above the harbor of Gaeta in a cleft of rock which tradition says was among those rent at the hour of Our Lord's death. It was here that his vocation became definite: he was called to be the Apostle of Rome. In 1533 he arrived in Rome without any money. He had not informed his father of the step he was taking, and he had deliberately cut himself off from his kinsman's patronage. He was, however, at once befriended by Galeotto Caccia, a Florentine resident, who gave him a room in his house and an allowance of flour, in return for which he undertook the education of his two sons. For seventeen years Philip lived as a layman in Rome, probably without thinking of becoming a priest. It was perhaps while tutor to the boys, that he wrote most of the poetry which he composed both in Latin and in Italian. Before his death he burned all his writings, and only a few of his sonnets have come down to us. He spent some three years, beginning about 1535, in the study of philosophy at the Sapienza, and of theology in the school of the Augustinians. When he considered that he had learnt enough, he sold his books, and gave the price to the poor. Though he never again made study his regular occupation, whenever he was called upon to cast aside his habitual reticence, he would surprise the most learned with the depth and clearness of his theological knowledge.
He now devoted himself entirely to the sanctification of his own soul and the good of his neighbor. His active apostolate began with solitary and unobtrusive visits to the hospitals. Next he induced others to accompany him. Then he began to frequent the shops, warehouses, banks, and public places of Rome, melting the hearts of those whom he chanced to meet, and exhorting them to serve God. In 1544, or later, he became the friend of St. Ignatius. Many of his disciples tried and found their vocations in the infant Society of Jesus; but the majority remained in the world, and formed the nucleus of what afterwards became the Brotherhood of the Little Oratory.
During his last years as a layman, Philip's apostolate spread rapidly. In 1548, together with his confessor, Persiano Rosa, he founded the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity for looking after pilgrims and convalescents. Its members met for Communion, prayer, and other spiritual exercises in the church of S. Salvatore, and the saint himself introduced exposition of the Blessed Sacrament once a month. At these devotions Philip preached, though still a layman, and we learn that on one occasion alone he converted no less than thirty dissolute youths. In 1550 a doubt occurred to him as to whether he should not discontinue his active work and retire into absolute solitude. His perplexity was set at rest by a vision of St. John the Baptist, and by another vision of two souls in glory, one of whom was eating a roll of bread, signifying God's will that he should live in Rome for the good of souls as though he were in a desert, abstaining as far as possible from the use of meat.
In 1551, however, he received a true vocation from God. At the bidding of his confessor -- nothing short of this would overcome his humility -- he entered the priesthood. He stayed in church, hearing confessions or ready to hear them, from daybreak till nearly midday, and not content with this, he usually confessed some forty persons in his room before dawn. Thus he labored untiringly throughout his long priesthood.
(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition)
Collect:
O God, who never cease to bestow the glory of holiness
on the faithful servants you raise up for yourself,
graciously grant
that the Holy Spirit may kindle in us that fire
with which he wonderfully filled
the heart of Saint Philip Neri.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.First Reading: Philippians 4:4-9
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.
Gospel Reading: John 17:20-26
"I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in thee, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent Me. The glory which thou hast given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent Me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given Me, may be with Me where I am, to behold my glory which Thou hast given Me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world has not known Thee, but I have known Thee; and these know that Thou hast sent Me. I made known to them Thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II ON THE OCCASION OF THE IV CENTENARY OF THE DEATH OF ST PHILIP NERI
Reverend Father,
On the occasion of the fourth centenary of the dies natalis of St Philip Neri, Florentine by birth and Roman by adoption, I am pleased to address you and all the members of the Confederation of the Oratory, to recall its founder's example of holiness and to strengthen in each one the commitment of faith, active charity and enduring in hope (cf. 1 Thes 1:3).
1. The loving figure of the "saint of joy" even today still maintains intact that irresistible charm that he exercised on all those who drew near him to learn to know and experience the authentic sources of Christian joy.
Leafing through the biography of St Philip, in fact, one is surprised and fascinated by the cheerful and relaxed method he used to educate, supporting each person with fraternal generosity and patience. As is well known, the saint used to put his teaching into short and wise maxims: "Be good, if you can"; "Scruples and melancholy, stay away from my house"; "Be simple and humble"; "He who does not pray is a speechless animal"; and, bringing his hand to his forehead, "Holiness is three fingers deep". Behind the cleverness of these and many other "sayings", we are aware of the acute and realistic knowledge he had acquired of human nature and the dynamics of grace. He translated the experience of his long life and the wisdom of a heart inhabited by the Holy Spirit into these immediate, terse teachings. These aphorisms have now become a patrimony of wisdom as it were for Christian spirituality.
2. St Philip appears against the background of the Roman Renaissance as the "prophet of joy", who had decided to follow Jesus, even while being actively involved in the culture of his time, which in many respects is particularly close to that of today.
Humanism, which was completely focused on man and his remarkable intellectual and practical abilities, offered the rediscovery of a joyous naturalistic freshness, without obstacles or inhibitions, as a reaction to a certain ill-conceived medieval dourness. Man, considered almost as a pagan god, thus became the absolute protagonist. Furthermore, a sort of revision of the moral law was worked out with the objective of finding and guaranteeing happiness.
St Philip, who was conscious of the aspirations of the society of his time, did not deny this yearning for joy but undertook to propose its true source, which he had discovered in the Gospel message. It is the word of Christ that traces the true image of man, revealing those features that make him a beloved child of the Father, accepted as a brother by the Incarnate Word and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. It is the laws of the Gospel and the commandments of Christ that lead to joy and happiness: this is the truth proclaimed by St Philip Neri to the young people he met in his daily apostolate. His was a message dictated by the intimate experience he had of God especially in prayer. His nightly prayer in the Catacombs of St Sebastian, where he often withdrew, was not just a search for solitude, but rather a desire to spend time conversing with the witnesses of the faith, to question them - just as the Renaissance scholars used to weave conversations with the Classics of antiquity: and from knowledge came imitation and then emulation.
In St Philip, to whom the Spirit gave a "heart of fire" as he kept vigil on the eve of Pentecost in 1544, it is possible to glimpse the allegory of the great and divine transformations brought about through prayer. A productive and sure programme of formation for joy - our saint teaches - is nourished and rests on a harmonious constellation of choices: assiduous prayer, frequent Communion, rediscovery and use of the sacrament of Reconciliation, daily and familiar contact with the word of God, the fruitful exercise of fraternal charity and service; and then devotion to Our Lady, the model and true cause of our joy. In this regard, how can we forget his wise and efficacious warning: "My children, be devoted to Mary: I know what I am saying! Be devoted to Mary!".
3. Called by antonomasia the "saint of joy", St Philip must also be recognized as the "Apostle of Rome", indeed as the "reformer of the Eternal City". This he became almost by a natural evolution and development of the choices made under the guidance of grace. He truly was the light and salt of Rome, in the words of the Gospel (cf. Mt 5:13:16). He knew how to be "light" in that culture which was certainly splendid, but often only because of the indirect, glancing rays of paganism. In this social context, Philip was deferential to authority, very devoted to the deposit of truth, intrepid in announcing the Christian message. Thus he was a source of light for everyone.
He did not choose the life of solitude; but, in exercising his ministry among the common people, he also wished to be "salt" for all those who met him. Like Jesus, he was equally able to enter into the human misery present in the noble palaces and in the alleys of Renaissance Rome. He was, at the same time, a Cyrenean and a critical conscience, an enlightened adviser and a smiling teacher.
For this reason, he did not adopt Rome so much as Rome adopted him! He lived for 60 years in this city, which meanwhile was becoming populated with saints. Even if in the streets he met suffering humanity, and comforted and sustained it with the charity of a wise and very human word, he preferred to gather young people in the Oratory, his true invention! He made it a place of joyful meeting, a training ground for formation, a centre of artistic enlightenment.
It was in the Oratory that St Philip, together with cultivating piety in its traditional and new expressions, undertook to reform and elevate art, restoring it to the service of God and the Church. Convinced as he was that beauty leads to goodness, he brought all that had an artistic stamp within the realm of his educational project. And he himself became a patron of various artistic forms, promoting sound initiatives that led to truth and goodness.
The contribution made by St Philip to sacred music was incisive and exemplary; he urged it to be elevated from a source of foolish amusement to being a re-creation for the spirit. It was due to his initiative that musicians and composers began a reform that was to reach its highest peak in Pierluigi da Palestrina.
4. May St Philip, loving and generous man, chaste and humble saint, active and contemplative apostle, remain the constant model of the members of the Congregation of the Oratory! He offers all the Oratorians a plan and style of life that even today have a particular timeliness. May his so-called "quadrilateral" - humility, charity, prayer and joy - continue to be a most sound basis on which to build the interior edifice of one's spiritual life.
If they can follow their founder's example, the Oratorians will continue to carry out a significant role in Church affairs. I therefore exhort all the sons and daughters of St Philip Neri always to be faithful to the Oratorian vocation, by seeking Christ, following him with perseverance and becoming generous sowers of joy among young people, who are so often tempted to discouragement and lack of confidence.
With these wishes I wish to invoke the heavenly protection of St Philip Neri on the whole Oratorian Community, while expressing my cordial wish that the jubilee celebrations will become an occasion for a stimulating rediscovery of the figure and work of this special witness to Christ, who can still teach so much, at the close of this century, to all Christians involved in the new evangelization.
I accompany these wishes with a special Apostolic Blessing, which I sincerely impart to you, to the members of the Confederation of the Oratory and to all those who draw from the spirituality of the "saint of joy".
[CATHOLIC CAUCUS] Impossible to Man's Powers, But Not To God's
Impossible to Man's Powers, But Not To God's, All Priest [St. Philip Neri]
St. Philip Neri on Sanctification
St.Philip Neri at the High Altar
| Feast Day: | May 26 |
| Born: | 22 July 1515 at Florence, Italy |
| Died: | 27 May 1595 |
| Canonized: | 12 March 1622 by Pope Gregory XV |
As a child, Philip was affectionately called "Good little Phil." He was always so jolly and friendly that everyone he met loved him. Philip went to Rome as a teenager. He studied theology and philosophy for three years under Dominican priests and was a good student.
Above all, Philip was a very active Christian. He lived simply and worked hard. But he also did much good for the people around him. He helped poor children and spent time with the sick. He was a friend to people who were troubled and lonely. In fact, he reached out to everybody he could for the love of Jesus.
Philip with the help of a few people started an organization to take care of poor pilgrims. That ministry gradually continued as a famous Roman hospital. The priest who guided him realized that Philip was doing so much to help the Christians of Rome come close to God again.
But when Philip was thirty-six he felt a strong calling to be a priest. It was then that he began his most wonderful ministry for others. He was available for the sacrament of Reconciliation for several hours every day. The lines of people who came to him grew longer. But Father Philip was never in a hurry. He never ran out of patience and gentleness.
People began to notice that he could often read their minds. He could sometimes tell the future and the Lord even worked miracles through him. But all Philip wanted to do was bring Jesus to the people. To avoid their admiration, he acted silly once in a while. He wanted people to laugh and forget that they thought he was holy.
St. Philip was making a difference, though. Because of him, the whole city of Rome was becoming better. Once he started to think about being a missionary to far-off lands. He was very impressed by the life of St. Francis Xavier, who had died in 1552 at the gate of China.
Philip had been a priest for just one year at the time of St. Xavier's death. Should he leave Rome and volunteer for the missions? A holy Cistercian monk told him "Rome is to be your mission land." After that, Father Philip was at peace.
St. Philip spent the last five years of his life offering the sacrament of Reconciliation to the people. He began working with youth, finding safe places for them to play, becoming involved in their lives. He died at the age of eighty in 1595.
Reflection: "A servant of God must always be happy." How can I become more cheerful and generous? I can pray for these gifts.
| John | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| John 16 |
|||
| 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. | ετι πολλα εχω λεγειν υμιν αλλ ου δυνασθε βασταζειν αρτι |
| 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 omnem veritatem : non enim loquetur a semetipso, sed quæcumque audiet loquetur, et quæ ventura sunt annuntiabit vobis. | οταν δε ελθη εκεινος το πνευμα της αληθειας οδηγησει υμας εις πασαν την αληθειαν ου γαρ λαλησει αφ εαυτου αλλ οσα αν ακουση λαλησει και τα ερχομενα αναγγελει υμιν |
| 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 annuntiabit vobis. | εκεινος εμε δοξασει οτι εκ του εμου ληψεται και αναγγελει υμιν |
| 15. | All things whatsoever the Father hath, are mine. Therefore I said, that he shall receive of mine, and shew it to you. | Omnia quæcumque habet Pater, mea sunt. Propterea dixi : quia de meo accipiet, et annuntiabit vobis. | παντα οσα εχει ο πατηρ εμα εστιν δια τουτο ειπον οτι εκ του εμου λαμβανει και αναγγελει υμιν |
| Sunday, May 26 | |
| Liturgical Color: White | |
|
Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. We believe in only 1 God with 3 distinct persons. “Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to God who is, who was, and who is to come.” (Revelation 1:8) |
Collect: 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 profession the true faith, we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory and adore your Unity, powerful in majesty. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Ordinary Time: May 26th
Old Calendar: Trinity Sunday
The fundamental dogma, on which everything in Christianity is based, is that of the Blessed Trinity in whose name all Christians are baptized. The feast of the Blessed Trinity needs to be understood and celebrated as a prolongation of the mysteries of Christ and as the solemn expression of our faith in this triune life of the Divine Persons, to which we have been given access by Baptism and by the Redemption won for us by Christ. Only in heaven shall we properly understand what it means, in union with Christ, to share as sons in the very life of God.
The feast of the Blessed Trinity was introduced in the ninth century and was only inserted in the general calendar of the Church in the fourteenth century by Pope John XXII. But the cultus of the Trinity is, of course, to be found throughout the liturgy. Constantly the Church causes us to praise and adore the thrice-holy God who has so shown His mercy towards us and has given us to share in His life.
Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
Trinity Sunday
The dogma of faith which forms the object of the feast is this: There is one God and in this one God there are three Divine Persons; the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Yet there are not three Gods, but one, eternal, incomprehensible God! The Father is not more God than the Son, neither is the Son more God than the Holy Spirit. The Father is the first Divine Person; the Son is the second Divine Person, begotten from the nature of the Father from eternity; the Holy Spirit is the third Divine Person, proceeding from the Father and the Son. No mortal can fully fathom this sublime truth. But I submit humbly and say: Lord, I believe, help my weak faith.
Why is this feast celebrated at this particular time? It may be interpreted as a finale to all the preceding feasts. All three Persons contributed to and shared in the work of redemption. The Father sent His Son to earth, for "God so loved the world as to give His only-begotten Son." The Father called us to the faith. The Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, became man and died for us. He redeemed us and made us children of God. He ever remains the liturgist par excellence to whom we are united in all sacred functions. After Christ's ascension the Holy Spirit, however, became our Teacher, our Leader, our Guide, our Consoler. On solemn occasions a thanksgiving Te Deum rises spontaneously from Christian hearts.
The feast of the Most Holy Trinity may well be regarded as the Church's Te Deum of gratitude over all the blessings of the Christmas and Easter seasons; for this mystery is a synthesis of Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost. This feast, which falls on the first Sunday after Pentecost, should make us mindful that actually every Sunday is devoted to the honor of the Most Holy Trinity, that every Sunday is sanctified and consecrated to the triune God. Sunday after Sunday we should recall in a spirit of gratitude the gifts which the Blessed Trinity is bestowing upon us. The Father created and predestined us; on the first day of the week He began the work of creation. The Son redeemed us; Sunday is the "Day of the Lord," the day of His resurrection. The Holy Spirit sanctified us, made us His temple; on Sunday the Holy Spirit descended upon the infant Church. Sunday, therefore, is the day of the Most Holy Trinity.
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Symbols of the Trinity: Equilateral Triange; Circle of Eternity; Three interwoven Circles; Triangle in Circle; Circle within Triangle; Interwoven Circle and Triangle; Two Triangles interwoven in shape of Star of David; Two Triangles in shape of Star of David interwoven with Circle; Trefoil; Trefoil and Triangle; Trefoil with points; Triquetra; Triquetra and circle; Shield of the Holy Trinity; Three Fishes linked together in shape of a triangle; Cross and Triangle overlapping; Fleur de Lys; St. Patrick's Shamrock.
Things to Do:
A COMPLEX MYSTERY
(A biblical refection on THE HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY, 26th of May 2013)
Gospel Reading: John 16:12-15
First Reading: Prov 8:22-31; Psalms: Ps 8:4-9; Second Reading: Rom 5:1-5
The Scripture Text
“I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that He will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (Jn 16:12-15 RSV)
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 do not know where You are going; how can we know the way?” (Jn 14:5). Then Philip chimed in: “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied” (Jn 14:8).
No matter how much they loved Jesus, the apostles ended up admitting: “We do not know what He means” (Jn 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 does not have to keep us from experiencing His love, grace, and power to 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 (Jn 16:15). It is 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 cannot 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!
Prayer: Almighty, eternal, just and merciful God, grant us in our misery that we may do for Your sake alone what we know you want us to do, and always want what pleases You; so that, cleansed and enlightened interiorly and fired with the ardour of the Holy Spirit, we may be able to follow in the footsteps of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and so make our way to You, Most High, by Your grace alone, You who live and reign in perfect Trinity and simple Unity, and are glorified, God all-powerful, for ever and ever. Amen. [St. Francis of Assisi]
CHRISTIAN PRAYER
(A biblical refection on THE HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY, 26th of May 2013)
First Reading: Prov 8:22-31; Psalms: Ps 8:4-9; Second Reading: Rom 5:1-5; Gospel Reading: John 16:12-15
Today’s Gospel is taken from the last supper discourse when Jesus spoke of His impending return to the Father. His physical departure would not leave the disciples orphaned or bereft of His presence; rather, it would open up a new mode of divine presence. The Holy Spirit would come into the minds and hearts of the disciples in what can best be called a new creation.
Trinity Sunday is an opportunity to consider the vital movement of all Christian prayer and of the liturgy in particular. We cannot appreciate what liturgy is about without some understanding of the inner movements of divine life. Jesus described His mission as a journey down into our world and then back up in a return to the Father. “I came from the Father and have come into the world and now I leave the world to go to the Father.” (John 16:28). There is no other way to the Father but through the Son’s return. We are privileged to share in that return by the power of the Holy Spirit given to us. “When the Spirit of truth comes He will lead you to the complete truth” (John 16:13). The essence of Christian prayer is our sharing in the return of glory to the Father, through the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In particular, the Eucharistic liturgy is the living remembrance of Jesus Christ, who was the Word of God touching the lowest areas of human life, even death in disgrace, out of which He rose and returned to the Father. At Mass, the mind listens to the word of God in the readings. In the light of the word, the needs of the community are gathered together in the petitions of the faithful. Bread and wine are prepared as gifts to symbolise the return of our lives and of all creation to the Father. Then in the solemn words and actions of the Eucharistic prayer the journey of the Word down into our world and back to the Father is remembered. And in the biblical sense, to remember God’s actions is to make them present again. The ceremony reaches a climax of intimacy in holy communion.
Our arms would never be long enough to stretch across the infinite space to heaven. Nor would we ever be worthy to show our faces before the all holy face of God. But the Son has reached down in mercy to us: and the Spirit of uniting love has raised us up. And so, in the light of the Son’s teaching and in the power of the Spirit we have the courage to utter the essential word of Christian prayer; “Father.” “The Spirit Himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God …… ant it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Romans 8:15).
Christian prayer is unto the glory of the Father: it is a movement undertaken in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son: and it is only through the power of the Spirit that is given to us that we are raised up in mind and heart to share in this movement. This movement of prayer is seen in its purity in the liturgical remembrance of Jesus Christ. Glory be to the Father, through the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Note: Taken from Fr. Silvester O’Flynn OFMCap., THE GOOD NEWS OF LUKE’S YEAR, Dublin, Ireland: Cathedral Books/The Columbia Press, Revised Edition, 1991 (1994 reprinting), pages 107-108.
Scr
ipture StudyThe Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity– Cycle C
Proverbs 8:22-31 (Psalm 8:4-9) Romans 5:1-5 John 16:12-15Overview of the Gospel:
•
As in recent Gospel readings, the setting for this Sunday’s Gospel is the Last Supper in the upper room in Jerusalem. It is part of Jesus final discourse which spans chapters 14 through 17 of John’s Gospel.•
Jesus has just confirmed to his disciples that he is going away to a place to which they cannot follow (John 13:33; 14:1-3). He tells them, however, that it is to their advantage that he go away (verse 16:7) as he will then send them the Holy Spirit (verses 14:25-26), who will accomplish many tasks (verses 8-11).•
The main task of the Holy Spirit will be to take what is Jesus’ (that is, the things he wants to teach us), and declare it to his Church (verse 14), in effect, picking up where Jesus left off after his ascension into heaven. He can do this because the Spirit, like the Father and the Son, is God—the third Person of the Holy Trinity.Questions:
•
What will the Holy Spirit do when Jesus sends him (John 16:8-15; CCC 729)?•
How do we know that the Holy Spirit is not just an “impersonal force,” as some groups teach, but a Person—God, the third Person of the Holy Trinity (see the First Reading; the GospelReading, verses 13-14; CCC 243, 252-255, 258-59)? Can you lie to an impersonal force (Acts 5:3-4)? Does an impersonal force speak and hear (Acts 13:2-4, 21:10-11) or be grieved by our actions (Ephesians 4:30)?
•
How does the Second Reading show how all three Persons of the Trinity are active in our sanctification and our salvation?•
The Trinity is often referred to as a mystery. What is the difference between when we speak of a spiritual mystery such as the Trinity, and when we speak of, for example, a “mystery novel”?•
How does the “Spirit of Truth” differ from the other spirit who attempts to influence and indwell mankind (John 8:44, 13:26-27; CCC 392, 2482)?•
Where do we hear the voice of the Spirit of Truth today? Does it make sense that the Spirit would speak definitively through the Church and the successors of the apostles rather than to individuals to interpret on their own? Why or why not?Catechism of the Catholic Church: §§ 202, 689-90, 813, 731-32
Closing Prayer
Our Lord does not come down from Heaven every day to lie in a golden ciborium. He comes to find another heaven which is infinitely dearer to Him - the heaven of our souls, created in His Image, the living temples of the Adorable Trinity.
-St. Therese of LisieuxDaily Marriage Tip for May 26, 2013:
“Everything that the Father has is mine.” (John 16:15) The same can be said for spouses. This sounds nice and fair until you talk specifics, like my paycheck, my time, my toothbrush… Is there anything you don’t want to share?
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