The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Today we celebrate that great Christian mystery that God is one, but He is also Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the first reading from the Book of Proverbs we find wisdom personified. It is easy to see how the early Church fathers saw this holy wisdom present at creation as a reference to Jesus, and some authors saw this wisdom as a veiled reference to the Holy Spirit.
In the second reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, we find a Trinitarian pattern, where St. Paul refers to God the Father as simply God, he emphasizes that the justification from God is through Jesus Christ, and finally, he emphasizes as well “the love of God [which] has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (5:5). It is Jesus who reveals the Triune God to humanity, and it is the Holy Spirit Who helps make the Triune God present in our lives, through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling in our souls. The Holy Spirit is that great gift that God the Father has given to us through the Son.
Again, we find this Trinitarian context in today’s Gospel reading from the Gospel of St. John, where Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, speaks of the Father and the Spirit. We see that one of the purposes of the gift of the Holy Spirit is to lead into truth.
The mystery of the Trinity which we celebrate today, is the mystery of unity and relationship. The three are united in all things, differing only in their relationship with one another. There is only one God, but God is present as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the one Triune God is active in our lives. When we are baptized, when we receive Holy Eucharist, we participate in the very divine life of the Triune God. That’s a sacred mystery we celebrate at every Mass, but especially today.
The roots of understanding this mystery are found in Scripture, but it took a number of centuries for the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, to come to the understanding we have today. Perhaps we can spend some time in thought about the role the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each play in our own lives, and give thanks to God for His loving assistance. It would be good for us to pray to each Person of the Trinity, as we do at Mass, in our daily lives. The Holy Spirit is often the most neglected in the prayer life of Christians. During this ninth week of Ordinary time, let us increase our devotion to and reliance upon the Holy Spirit Who leads us into truth, convicts us of sin, and reveals to us the mystery of the Trinity.
- Jeff Morrow