June 19th, 2011: Trinity Sunday Gospel Reflection

   

The Holy Trinity

This Sunday is another big day (feast day) for the Catholic Church throughout the world. Today we celebrate The Most Holy Trinity, God who has revealed Himself as Father, Son and Spirit!

We believe that the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life (CCC 234); this is the most core belief for Christians. For thousands of years Christians have struggled to understand how we can only believe in one God if we talk about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There is no easy or complete answer to this question but here are a few quick thoughts to better understand the Trinity:

1. God is transcendent. He is infinite and He created us. He is a mystery that we can always dive deeper into, a person we can always learn more about. It is impossible to try to fully ‘make sense’ of or ‘get’ God (this is a problem that science cannot explain…knowing God requires faith and trust). “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)

2. We can only know God through His effects, the ways that He has revealed Himself to us. From the Traditions in the Old Testament, New Testament, and continued through our Church today God has chosen to reveal Himself to us as a Father, as Jesus the Son, and as the Spirit.

3. God is active and dynamic love (self-gift). St. Augustine, writing in the 5^th century, said helping to explain the Trinity that “wherever there is love, there is trinity: a lover, a beloved, and a fountain of love”. Love is not a static process but is constantly active and at work. Love also is procreative, it can’t help but be shared and overflow. The love of the Father for the Son is manifest as the Spirit. The inner dynamic relationship of the three persons of the Trinity is so active and powerful that it overflows into the world—this is the act of creation. God’s love continues to be poured forth. Our mission as Christians is to be open to allow God’s life overflowing, to allow His Love to fill us, and to share that cup with those around us. When we do this we enter into the same dynamic rhythm, movement or dance that is God’s life.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion 

-How open am I to allow God’s presence to fill me?

-What do I need to get rid of in my heart to allow more space for God?

This Week

- Make the Sign of the Cross the next time you pray! Every time we mark ourselves with the ‘sign of the cross’ we are saying a prayer and making a commitment to faith. When we sign ourselves in the name of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit we affirm our belief in the Trinity and that the Divine Life of God dwells within us!