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Posted on 06/14/2014 7:57:44 PM PDT by Salvation
Trinity Sunday
Reading I: Exodus 34:4-6,8-9 II: 2Cor 13:11-13
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
18 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.
God's love for the world is so great that he sent his son, Jesus, to save us. Whoever believes in Jesus will have the eternal life.
And wilt Thou pardon, Lord,
A sinner such as I,
Although Thy book his crimes record,
Of such a crimson dye?
So deep are they engraved,
So terrible their fear,
The righteous scarcely shall be saved,
And where shall I appear?
O Thou Physician blest,
Make clean my guilty soul
And me, by many a sin oppressed,
Restore and keep me whole.
I know not how to praise
Thy mercy and Thy love;
But deign my soul from earth to raise
And learn from Thee above.
-- Saint Joseph the Hymnographer
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Just A Minute (Listen) Some of EWTN's most popular hosts and guests in a collection of one minute inspirational messages. A different message each time you click. |
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The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. |
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.
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.)
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
[Ecumenical] Lent through Eastertide - Divine Mercy Diary Exerpts: The Holy Trinity
One God, Three Equal Persons: St. Gregory of Nazianzus {Ecumenical Thread}
Radio Replies Second Volume - The Holy Trinity
The Blessed Trinity {Ecumenical}
A Mystery for Eternity (Reflection on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity)
On the Trinity (Angelus Address from 5/30/2010)
Mystery of the Trinity
The Trinity: More Than Just Doctrine
Origen on the Trinity: A Man Ahead of His Time
Radio Replies First Volume - The Holy Trinity
‘We live to love and be loved,’ teaches Pope while reflecting on Trinity (absolutely beautiful!)
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
A Prayer for Fathers
Most gracious Heavenly Father,
We thank you for our earthly fathers, those to whom you have entrusted the responsibility to provide loving protection of their families and guidance of their children. We thank you, also, for our priests and bishops, whose spiritual fatherhood is so vital to the faith of your people.
May our earthly fathers imitate the manly courage of Abraham, Jesse and Joseph, and all the holy fathers of the past in providing wise counsel to the children you have given to their care. And may our spiritual fathers be guided by the examples of Saints Peter and Paul, all the Apostles and their saintly successors. Give them valiant faith in the face of confusion and conflict, hope in time of trouble and sorrow, and steadfast love for you, for their families, and for all your people throughout the world.
Assist all fathers of families, all spiritual fathers, and all Christian men, that through your Grace they may steadily grow in holiness and in knowledge and understanding of your Truth. May they generously impart this knowledge to those who rely on them.
As you, our Heavenly Father, so loved the world, sending your only Son to be our Savior and Redeemer, we ask you to help all men to imitate His fatherly gentleness and mercy toward those who are weak; His humility, perfect obedience to your Will, and fearless witness to your Truth. May their lives be examples to all of heroic faithfulness to you.
We ask your blessing on all those to whom you have entrusted fatherhood. May your Holy Spirit constantly inspire them with justice and mercy, wisdom and strength, fidelity and self-giving love. May they receive your Grace abundantly in this earthly life, and may they look forward to eternal joy in your presence in the life to come.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son and Our Lord, AMEN.
o o +++ o o
Prodigal Son - Pencil drawing by Helen Hull Hitchcock
A Prayer for Fathers
No Better Gift for Father’s Day
Gift of Fatherhood: Kneel before the Father from Whom Every Family in Heaven on Earth is named
Fathers are important
Fathers
Fatherhood and Religion
The New Catholic Manliness (about priests)
Dads: Men for All Seasons
The Father of Fathers
On The Demise of Fatherhood
Father’s Day 2009: “An End to Buffoonish Fathers”
Of Treacheries, Tykes, and the Trinity (Fatherhood, Family, Effects of Abortion)
Priests and the importance of fatherhood [Catholic Caucus]
[OPEN] The Government, Divorce, and the War on Fatherhood
Study Shows Christianity Makes Men Better Husbands and Fathers
Study Shows Christianity Makes Men Better Husbands and Fathers (Open)
Honoring Thy Fathers
Priests of the Domestic Church: A Father's Day Homily
The Blueprint for Heroic Family Life [Fathers' Day] [Ecumenical]
Honoring Thy Fathers
A Father's Tough Love
Children Who Have An Active Father Figure Have Fewer Psychological And Behavioral Problems
Where Have All the Christian Men Gone? My Conversation with John Eldredge
The Transforming Power of Prayer [Part 1] (Catholic Man)
The Transforming Power of Prayer, Part 2 (Catholic Man)
The 10 Paradoxes of Fatherhood, There is a certain immediacy about motherhood that cannot
The Story of Champions [Father's Day]
What Makes a Man a Hero? [Father's Day]
The New Catholic Manliness
Applying St. Benedict's Rule to Fatherhood and Family Life - Using 6th-Century Wisdom Today
Saint Germaine Cousin
June 15th
Patroness of Victims of Child Abuse and Shepherdesses
"Dear God, please don't let me be too hungry or too thirsty.
Help me to please my mother. And help me to please you."
-- Prayer of Saint Germaine
Born 1579, Died 1601. Beatified May 7, 1864 and Canonized June 29, 1867 by Pope Pius IXSaint Germaine Cousin (pronounced coo-zan) was the child of a poor farmer, born in 1579 at Pibrac, France, north of Toulouse. Her mother died when she was an infant. Her father remarried and her step family was very cruel to her. She had to sleep in a stable, was scalded with hot water, was beaten and was fed scraps of food. She was born with a deformed hand and had the disease of scrofula. Despite her misfortunes she shared her daily allowance of bread with the poor and practiced many austerities as reparation for the sacrileges perpetrated by heretics in the neighboring churches.
At age nine she became a shepherdess. She prayed the Rosary on "beads" she made of knotted string. Her piety increased on the approach of every feast of Our Lady. She gathered children of the village to teach them the cathechism (using the Rosary) and to instill in them the love of Jesus and Mary. Her devotion to the Angelus was so great that she would fall on her knees at the sound of the bells, even if she were crossing a stream. She attended daily Mass, leaving the sheep in the care of her guardian angel. The wolves never harmed the sheep while she was away. She always went to Mass, rain or snow. On occasions the swollen waters were seen to open so that she could cross to get to church with getting wet.
She died in 1601 at the age of 22.
(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition, )Saint Germaine Cousin - illustration by Helen Hull Hitchcock
Prayer to Saint Germaine
O Saint Germaine, look down from Heaven and intercede for the many abused children in our world. Help them to sanctify these sufferings. Strengthen children who suffer the effects of living in broken families. Protect those children who have been abandoned by their parents and live in the streets. Beg God's mercy on the parents who abuse their children. Intercede for handicapped children and their parents.
Saint Germaine, you who suffered neglect and abuse so patiently, pray for us. Amen +
St. Germaine of Pibrac
Feast Day: June 15
Born: 1579 :: Died: 1601
Pibrac is the little village in France where Germaine was born and where she spent her whole life. Her father Laurent Cousin was a farm worker and her mother Marie Laroche died when Germaine was just a baby.
She was always a sickly girl and not pretty. In fact, she suffered from scrofula and her right hand was deformed and helpless. Her father ignored her and her stepmother Hortense did not want Germaine around her own healthy children. Hortense and her children treated Germaine very badly. She was only given scraps of food, was forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs and had hot water thrown on her if she disobeyed.
So Germaine slept with the sheep in the barn, even in cold weather. She dressed in rags and was laughed at by other children. By the time she was nine she was put to work as a shepherdess and spent all day tending the sheep out in the fields. When she came home at night, her stepmother often screamed at her and beat her.
Yet this poor girl learned to talk with God and to remember that he was with her all the time. She spent much time praying and made herself a rosary with knotted string. She always managed to get to daily Mass leaving her sheep in care of her guardian angel. Not once did a sheep wander away from her shepherd's staff that she planted in the ground.
Germaine often gathered young children around her to teach them simple catechism. She wanted their hearts to be full of God's love. She tried her best to help the poor, too and shared with beggars the little bit of food she was given to eat.
One winter day, her stepmother accused her of stealing bread. Hortense chased her with a stick and Germaine immediately opened her apron to return the food. To everyone's surprise what fell from Germaine's apron was not bread but summer flowers.
Now people no longer made fun of Germaine but began to treat her as a holy person. In fact, they loved and admired her. Her parents asked her to return and live with them in the house, but she chose to continue sleeping in the barn.
Then, one morning in 1601, when she was twenty-two, she was found dead on her straw mattress. Her life of great suffering was over. God worked more than four hundred miracles in her name to show that she was a saint.
Reflection: In our sufferings, we can always turn to Jesus and ask him to remain in our heart especially when we receive him in Holy Communion.
"Dear God, please don't let me be too hungry or too thirsty. Help me to please my mother. And help me to please you." - prayer of Saint Germaine
| John | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| John 3 |
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| 16. | For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. | Sic enim Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret : ut omnis qui credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam æternam. | ουτως γαρ ηγαπησεν ο θεος τον κοσμον ωστε τον υιον αυτου τον μονογενη εδωκεν ινα πας ο πιστευων εις αυτον μη αποληται αλλ εχη ζωην αιωνιον |
| 17. | For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him. | Non enim misit Deus Filium suum in mundum, ut judicet mundum, sed ut salvetur mundus per ipsum. | ου γαρ απεστειλεν ο θεος τον υιον αυτου εις τον κοσμον ινα κρινη τον κοσμον αλλ ινα σωθη ο κοσμος δι αυτου |
| 18. | He that believeth in him is not judged. But he that doth not believe, is already judged: because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God. | Qui credit in eum, non judicatur ; qui autem non credit, jam judicatus est : quia non credit in nomine unigeniti Filii Dei. | ο πιστευων εις αυτον ου κρινεται ο δε μη πιστευων ηδη κεκριται οτι μη πεπιστευκεν εις το ονομα του μονογενους υιου του θεου |
Day 182 - May a husband and wife who are always fighting get a divorce?
May a husband and wife who are always fighting get a divorce?
The Church has great respect for the ability of a person to keep a promise and to bind himself in lifelong fidelity. She takes people at their word. Every marriage can be endangered by crises. Talking things over together, prayer (together), and often therapeutic counseling as well can open up ways
out of the crisis. Above all, remembering that in a sacramental marriage there is always a third party to the bond Christ can kindle hope again and again. Someone for whom marriage has become unbearable, however, or who may even be exposed to spiritual or physical violence, may divorce. This is called a "separation from bed and board", about which the Church must be notified. In these cases, even though the common life is broken off, the marriage remains valid. Indeed, there are also cases in which the crisis in a marriage ultimately goes back to the fact that one spouse or both was not eligible at the time of the wedding or did not fully consent to the marriage. Then the marriage is invalid in the canonical (legal) sense. In such cases an annulment procedure can be introduced at the diocesan tribunal. (YOUCAT question 269)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (1649) and other references here
Part 2: The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (1066 - 1690)
Section 2: The Seven Sacraments of the Church (1210 - 1690)
Chapter 3: The Sacraments at the Service of Communion (1533 - 1666)
Article 7: The Sacrament of Matrimony (1601 - 1666)
V. THE GOODS AND REQUIREMENTS OF CONJUGAL LOVE ⇡
The fidelity of conjugal love ⇡
Yet there are some situations in which living together becomes practically impossible for a variety of reasons. In such cases the Church permits the physical separation of the couple and their living apart. The spouses do not cease to be husband and wife before God and so are not free to contract a new union. In this difficult situation, the best solution would be, if possible, reconciliation. The Christian community is called to help these persons live out their situation in a Christian manner and in fidelity to their marriage bond which remains indissoluble.159
159.
Cf. FC 83; CIC, cann. 1151-1155.
Daily Readings for:June 15, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)
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.
RECIPES
ACTIVITIES
o Prayers to the Blessed Trinity
PRAYERS
o Prayer Cards for Easter Grace at Meals
o Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Easter (1st Plan)
o Te Deum
o Litany of the Most Holy Trinity
LIBRARY
o Catechesis on the Holy Trinity | Pope John Paul II
o Christ's Passion Reveals Glory of the Trinity | Pope John Paul II
o Glory of the Trinity in Christ's Ascension | Pope John Paul II
o Glory of the Trinity in the Heavenly Jerusalem | Pope John Paul II
o Glory of the Trinity Is Revealed in History | Pope John Paul II
o Holy Trinity Is Revealed at Jesus' Baptism | Pope John Paul II
o Incarnation Reveals Glory of the Trinity | Pope John Paul II
o Presence of the Trinity in Human Life | Pope John Paul II
o Saints Reflect Infinite Love of Trinity | Pope John Paul II
o The Divine Romance: The Blessed Trinity | Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
o The Name of the Holy Trinity Is Engraved In the Universe | Pope Benedict XVI
o The Trinity in the Life of the Church | Pope John Paul II
o The Trinity: Fountain of Love and Light | Pope John Paul II
o Trinity Is Mysteriously Present in Creation | Pope John Paul II
o Trinity Is Present in Christ's Resurrection | Pope John Paul II
· Ordinary Time: June 15th
· Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
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.
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:
The Most Holy Trinity
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship. (Exodus 34:6, 8)
The Holy Trinity. Three persons in one God. Really, it’s too much for our minds to handle. The greatest theologians and philosophers in history have had to acknowledge their inadequacy in the face of such an awesome mystery. And maybe that’s the point. God isn’t some thing to be dissected and understood; he is some One to be worshipped and adored.
Look at Moses in today’s first reading. God gave him a glimpse of his glory, and it moved Moses to bow to the ground and worship. God proclaimed his name and revealed his nature: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, rich in kindness and fidelity. It was just one little glimpse of divine mercy and kindness—Moses saw only God’s back—but it was enough to bring Moses to his knees in humble adoration (Exodus 33:22-23).
Today at Mass, all of God’s attributes will be on display—if we have the eyes to see. At the Penitential Rite, his mercy will flow freely. In the Liturgy of the Word, God will speak to us and reveal his love and faithfulness. In the Eucharist, his glory will shine as he comes to us in the form of bread and wine—and we are brought into that glory as we receive him.
Try to sense God’s presence in these ways. Contemplate his love, his mercy, and his glory. And as you’re contemplating them, look for the Spirit to give you more insight, deeper healing, and more love. Then, like Moses, bow down before him in worship. Thank him for his faithfulness; praise him for being slow to anger; honor him for his kindness. Truly, we serve an awesome, merciful God!
“Lord, you are so far beyond my understanding! Expand my capacity to know you as I worship you today. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I love you!”
(Psalm) Daniel 3:52-56; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; John 3:16-18
(Acts Exodus 34:4-6,8-9; (Psalm) Daniel 3:52-56; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; John 3:16-18)
1. In the first reading, God describes himself as “merciful and gracious,” and “slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.” We have been created in God’s image and likeness. If this is the way that God treats you, then out of gratitude to him, whom specifically do you think that God wants you to treat in a similar manner?
2. In the Responsorial Psalm from the book of Daniel, we hear words of blessing and praise to God from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego -- after they were thrown into the fiery furnace on orders from King Nebuchadnezzar. What are the things that God has done in your life that make him worthy of your blessing and praise?
3. Paul encourages us in the letter to the Corinthians to “encourage one another.” How would you rate yourself as an “encourager”? How can you better reach out to other others in your parish or in your fellowship groups in order to provide deeper support and friendship? What about you - what are some of the things that keep you from asking for help from a brother or sister in Christ?
4. Paul also tells us to “live in peace.” What are the stress areas in your life that cause you to lose your peace? How do you think God wants you to deal with these areas so that you would experience greater peace?
5. We are all familiar with John 3:16 from the Gospel reading. Jesus came not to condemn the world but to save it. He reached out in love to each one of us in order to reconcile us to his Father. St. Paul says it this way: “All this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18). Who are the people in your life with whom you must still be reconciled? If reconciliation requires you to forgive those who have hurt you or wronged you, are you willing to do this out of gratitude for the forgiveness and love you have received from God? Why or why not? What would be the next step for you in this reconciliation after forgiveness?
6. In the meditation, we hear these words: “God isn’t some thing to be dissected and understood; he is some One to be worshipped and adored.” What do these words mean to you? What part does worship and adoration of God play in your daily life? What about your own personal prayer time? What steps can you take make worship and adoration of God a greater part of it?
7. Take some time now to pray and ask for a deeper revelation and knowledge of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and a deeper experience of his great love for you – so you can love him more deeply in return. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as the starting point.
THE HOLY TRINITY: THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
(A biblical reflection on the Solemnity of THE MOST HOLY TRINITY- Sunday, 15 June 2014)
Gospel Reading: John 3:16-18
First Reading: Exodus 34:4b-6,8-9; Psalms: Daniel 3:52-56; Second Reading: 2Corinthians 13:11-13
The Scripture Text
For God so loved the world that He gave His only 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 does not believe is condemned already, because He has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:16-18 RSV)
Our faith teaches us that in God there are three persons. We call the first person “Father.” When we speak of Goad as “Father” we could just as easily say “Mother” or, better still, “Parent,” for in God there is no sex. Nonetheless, when you say the word “father,” you necessarily imply the existence of another person, the child. Fatherhood is a quality which is then added to his person. A father is a man, a person, long before he becomes a father.
God is a Father, and this name necessarily implies another person, the Son. But God did not become a Father. In fact, there was no time when He was not Father, for fatherhood is not a quality which is added to God. God the Father is fatherhood personified. Remember that being a father means giving life to another. From all eternity God the Father gives life to His Son, and the only thing that makes Him a distinct person is the fact that He gives life to His Son. God the Father does not have a relationship to His Son. He is the relationship itself.
God is also a Son, a Child. A child is one who receives life from another. We are children of our parents, but being a child does not exhaust our personhood. We are persons in our own right, which we can see from the fact that when our parents die we continue to exist. But the only thing that makes God the Son a person is the fact that He receives life from His Father. God the Son does not have a relationship to the Father. He is that relationship.
Between parents and their children, in a good home, there is a bond which we call “love.” Love is difficult to describe. It is a warmth, and affection, a feeling – and most important of all it is a bond which unites people. Love is many things, but the only thing that love is not, in our experience, is a person. In God love is a person. Between God the Father and God the Son there is a bond of union, uniting them in love. In God this bond is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not give a relationship of love to Father and Son. He is love personified.
The truth of the Trinity has an important bearing on how we should live. Some people wonder why in church, where we come to worship God, we hear so much about how we are to treat people. But think about if for a moment. We believe that we are made in the image and likeness of God. We are called to become like God Himself. The Trinity shows us three person, each of whom is entirely unselfish and each of whom is a real person only in relationship to another. The Father gives Himself completely to His Son. The Son in concerned only with looking to the first person as His Father. The Spirit exist only to unite Father and Son in an eternal embrace of love.
Our fulfilment as human beings comes about only in our relationships with God and other people, and not in being turned inward upon ourselves. Our greatest happiness comes from being generous and unselfish. Reflect on people who think only of themselves – people who are so wealthy; for example, that their whole lives are taken jup with pleasure and play. We may be tempted to envy such people until we hear that their marriage has ended in divorce, or that they have turned to drugs in an attempt to alleviate boredom, or worse still that in complete despair they have taken their own lives. On the other hand, the happiest and most fulfilled human beings are the saints, men like Saint Vincent de Paul [1581-1660] who devoted himself to the salvation of the destitute people of France, and women like Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta [1910-1997], who dedicated her life the poorest of the poor in India and many other places in the world.
After serious reflection we can see that our own greatest happiness has come when we have tried to get out of ourselves, when we have made the effort to be unselfish and generous toward someone else, whether a member of our family or otherwise. God’s revelation of Himself as three persons tells us that we find fulfilment not as rugged individuals but in relationships to other people, and that we come to happiness not in selfishness but in genuine concern and love for those around us. In being generous and loving we begin to match the image according to which we are made, a God in whom there are three persons whose whole being consists in unselfishness.
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. (A prayer of SaintFrancis of Assisi [1224] at the close of his Letter to a General Chapter).
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