The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
The word "Trinity" is not found in the Bible. However, there is enough data in the New Testament that gives us reason to believe that God is a Trinity of persons. For example, in today’s gospel John says, “God so loved the world that he sent his only Son….” (Jn 3:16). Jesus himself makes several pronouncements that suggests that God is more than one person. For example, in John 10:30, he says, “The Father and I are one.” Similarly, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit saying, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always” (Jn 14:16). And then again, in today’s second reading there a more definite indication of the Trinity. Paul ends his letter to the Corinthians with the trinitarian greeting, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Cor 13:13).
In three points, I would like to reflect on the Trinity and its implications.
Trinity – Critical to Christian Faith
There are realities about the Trinity that are integral to our faith. First, the concept of Trinity helps to maintain Biblical monotheism while also acknowledging the New Testament revelation of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Second, it helps us to know that the Father, Son and the Spirit exists from eternity. We don’t believe in a primordial divine being who created or gave birth to the second and third persons of the Trinity. The Father, Son, and Spirit exist from eternity. Third, it tells us that the Trinity exist in perfect equality, unity, and diversity. Diversity here means that each person has their individual role and the role is played without compromising the others’ identity. There are no egoistic movements, power struggles, or selfish motives between them. They work in equality, unity, peace, and harmony. Fourth, all creation, including human life, directly flows from the life of the Trinity. Fifth, that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work unitedly, single-mindedly, and unceasingly toward one goal – salvation of the world and human redemption.
Like Trinity, Like Humanity
To reflect on the relationship between the Trinity and the human person, I am going to rely on Pope Leo XIV’s very first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas.” It is a masterpiece theological teaching on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence. In the encyclical, the Pope talks about the human person in light of the Trinity.
He says, “The Church’s Social Doctrine brings us to the very heart of our faith: the mystery of the living God, revealed in Jesus Christ, who, as a communion of Persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — is love itself in relationship, expressed in the mutual gift of self and in sharing with the world” (MH, 48). From this Trinitarian Communion of Persons flows the Christian understanding of the human person. The Pope continues, “At the heart of the Christian understanding of the human person lies the great biblical affirmation that men and women are created in the image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26-27) of the Triune God. Created for relationship, every human person is planned and willed by God to enter into communion with him, with others and with creation” (MH, 50).
But then, Jesus plays a critical role to link the Trinity and us. The Pope says, “Jesus, the Son of God, enters our history and takes on human flesh, bringing with him the love that unites him to the Father and the Holy Spirit. In him, the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear.”
Three Practical Implications
First, we must understand the meaning and the depth of the reality that every human person is the fruit of the love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But equally important is the reality that human beings are invited into communion with the Triune God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who exist from eternity invite created, finite, and mortal human persons into their union of love. That human beings are invited into the very union of love of the Trinity reveals how much God loves humanity. As today’s gospel says, “God so loved the world….” The first implication, then, of today’s feast is that we must love God with the same love that that God loves us.
Second, the Trinity reveals to us what it means to be truly human. What does it mean to be human? Ironically, it is Jesus, the Son of God who models humanity for us. Just as Jesus is the perfect divine image, he is also the perfect image of the human person. If we are to understand what it means to be human, all we have to do is to look at Jesus. In the humanity of Jesus, we find the true dignity of the human person. The second implication, then, is this – that to discover our humanity we do not look at ourselves, but that we look at Jesus.
Third, the union of love between the three persons of the Trinity has implications for our relationship as human persons and the dignity we assign to every human person. Pope Leo says, “Understanding human dignity does not depend on a person’s abilities, wealth or position in life, nor on the right or wrong choices made; instead, it is a gift that precedes and transcends each person, endowed by God as an expression of his unfailing love” (MH, 49). He continues: “The value of persons, however, does not depend on what they achieve or produce. There are rights that apply to everyone simply by virtue of being human, and no human power can legitimately deny or arbitrarily limit them."
The implication is simple. If we believe in the Trinity, it has to impact our relationship with each other. If we love the Trinity, it means we treat other human persons with love and dignity. To live in union with the Trinity is to live in union also with other human person and seek the common good. This is what Paul is saying in today’s 2nd letter of Paul to the Corinthians when he says, “Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Cor 13:11).
The feast of the Trinity is not one where we merely stand in awe of the mystery that God is. It is a feast where we also stand in awe of creation and every human person. It is the Eucharist that best captures this dual mystery. The Father sends the Holy Spirit and the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. Through the Body and Blood of Christ, we enter into communion with the Trinity and with each other. This is the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph