WE REJOICE IN THE HOLY TRINITY

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Brethren of Naggulu Parish,

We are still following our Sunday Liturgy on Radios, Televisions, or Livestreaming. The powers that be continue to ignore the fact that in markets, car parks, taxi stages, on roads, in offices and other places of public gathering, people are not observing social distancing and a few other measures put forward to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus; they let them go on with their normal activities; but for places of worship, we are told that we must hold on because we are going to endanger others! Is Covid-19 selective? Does it bring out its teeth to bite, only in places of worship? Well, last Sunday I said, I would not waste my time arguing about opening or not opening our places of worship; let those two questions suffice. Time will tell, but no one can prevent me from meditating on the mysteries of my Salvation; there I am not locked down.

Today we are celebrating one of those great mysteries: The Most Holy Trinity [The Father, Son and Holy Spirit]. We are celebrating a basic doctrine of Faith in Christianity, understandable not with our heads but with our hearts: three distinct Persons in one God, sharing the same Divine Nature, co-equal and co-eternal. We celebrate: ‘one plus one plus one equals one’. To our minds this is “foolishness” but as believers, it is but Wisdom. It is a Mystery! A Mystery which Jesus clearly taught, the Evangelists recorded and the Church defined as a dogma of Christian faith at the Councils of Nicaea (325 A.D.) and Constantinople (381 A.D.).

It is a Mystery which we live in our daily lives as Catholics. Whenever we begin our prayers, we do so in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and end glorifying the Trinity. When it comes to the Sacraments all of them are administered in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit! Blessings are given in the Name of the Holy Trinity.

It is a Mystery we see in the New Testament:

First at the Annunciation, God the Father sends His angel to Mary, God the Holy Spirit comes upon her, the Power of the Most High overshadows her, and God the Son becomes incarnate in her womb  -  [The Trinity].

Then at the baptism of Jesus, when the Son receives baptism from John the Baptist, the Father’s Voice is heard, and the Holy Spirit appears as a Dove. [The Trinity]

Furthermore in John’s Gospel, chapters 15–18, Jesus teaches us the role of each Person of the Holy Trinity: the Father creates and provides for His creatures; God the Son redeems us and reconciles us with God. While God the Holy Spirit sanctifies us, strengthens us, teaches us, counsels us.

The great 20th-century Catholic theologian Father Karl Rahner, SJ [Born: March 5, 1904, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany and died March 30, 1984, Innsbruck, Austria], was once asked by a priest friend how he should explain the Holy Trinity when preaching. Father Rahner’s reply was simple: “Don’t!” The mystery we celebrate in today’s feast defies not only explanation but also comprehension

What matters for a believer is what the Holy Trinity does in one’s everyday life. He abides in us, is the Source of our hope, courage and strength, is our final destination.

So as we celebrate this great Solemnity, let us live it instead of “thinking” it. No amount of examples and theories will make us understand the Mystery. But we will have a lot to gain if we call upon the Father our creator and provider, and follow Jesus our redeemer and reconciler as we open ourselves to be filled by the Holy Spirit who will  sanctify, strengthen and counsel us. This has happened to many, many of our fore fathers and mothers in the faith!

May God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, be with you and take you through the hard times we are experiencing.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sat 06, Jun 2020 22:06 pm