Sunday, June 15, 2025

 

SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

(Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15)

The Holy Trinity is a mystery. It cannot be fully understood. Yet each year we make “a raid into the inarticulate” when we celebrate its feast on the Sunday after Pentecost. Whether a joy or a burden, it seems that only on this day do we reflect on how God can be both three and one.

Since ancient times, there have been two approaches to understanding the Trinity. One is called “economic” and the other “immanent.” To speak of “the economic Trinity” implies the study of God interacting with creation. Of course, God acts with creation every moment. If He did not, creation would cease to exist. However, the interactions traditionally considered of the “economic Trinity” are creation, redemption, and the history of salvation. We scrutinize the Bible to determine the role of the three persons of the Divine Trinity in these and other matters.

The “immanent Trinity” refers to the relationships among the three persons. The Bible does not help us much here. We must turn to philosophy for clues for our investigation. 1,700 years ago, the Church accepted the idea of ​​Saint Athanasius and other Church Fathers that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have the same divine nature. This nature, which each possesses in its fullness, makes possible the paradox that the three are the same in all respects except that they differ in their relationship with one another. Instead of following this philosophical line of investigation, we will focus on the economic approach since today's Mass readings indicate the roles of the one God in our salvation.

The first reading from the Book of Proverbs personifies wisdom as God's companion in creation. In fact, wisdom speaks as if she were a person, saying that she has existed "at the first " and has been God’s "craftsman." These qualifications make us think of the Son and also the Spirit. Saint Paul even writes that Jesus Christ is "the wisdom of God" (1 Cor 1:24). And we know that wisdom is the first gift of the Spirit mentioned in the Book of the prophet Isaiah (Is 11:2-3). We may conclude that absolute wisdom is an intellectual virtue possessed by God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The second reading also emphasizes the roles of the Son and the Holy Spirit. It recounts that Jesus Christ (the Son) reconciled us with the Father through his death on the cross. It also relates that the Holy Spirit has renewed us in love so that even the suffering caused by our sins may merit eternal life. We know that the Holy Spirit is associated with reconciliation, as indicated when the priest says in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, “(The Father) … sent the Holy Spirit for the remission of sins…” Likewise, the Son effects love in our hearts, as Paul further attests in this same Letter to the Romans: “…neither death nor life … nor any other creature will ever be able to separate us from the love of God, manifested in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The Gospel indicates how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit cooperate with each other. It shows that all three have the same knowledge by stating that the Spirit reveals the truth of the Son received from the Father.

In the end, it can be dizzying for many to reflect on the Holy Trinity. It is a mystery that admits no resolution because God is always beyond understanding. However, we can contemplate it, appreciate it, and give thanks for it.  Considering the Trinity increases our faith and nourishes our love.

Sunday, June 12, 2022

 SOLEMNITY OF THE HOLY TRINITY

(Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15)

We've traversed a lot of spiritual territory since March. We passed through our sins at the beginning of Lent. We found God's mercy at the end of the season. Then we experienced the hope of the Resurrection and the glory of the Ascension. Last Sunday we completed the renewal of our salvation with the coming of the Holy Spirit. Now, after more than a quarter of a year, it behooves us to reflect on the dynamism that has driven the process forward. That is, we want to examine: who is God?

We sometimes hear some talking about God in layman's terms, "God is the man upstairs," people say. This cannot be correct. God is neither a man nor above us in the sense that he lives in a place beyond the clouds. Nor is God "daddy" like preachers used to tell us. Language research has certified that “Abba”, the Aramaic word with which Jesus addresses God, does not connote familial affection. It means only "Father" with all the intimacy and respect that this word conveys.

One can truly say that God is a mystery, but what does this term mean? Mystery, in the religious sense, is not like a detective story that challenges us to solve. Nor is it a scientific enigma that we are likely to understand one day. God is a mystery because we don't have the ideas, let alone the words, to adequately describe him. It is a mystery like when they bring us our newborn.  He is all wonder and awe.

However, we don't have to be completely silent about God. The Scriptures give us a glimpse into the mystery. We can examine the readings we just heard to help us know something about God.

The first reading presents wisdom as the companion of God. From the beginning God has always had wisdom as both servant and friend. Wisdom is the personification of the ability to know the nature of things. It is very similar in the way that the Word in the Bible is the personification of the ability to create and name things. For this reason, wisdom is associated with the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. Wisdom also suggests the Holy Spirit. The prophet Isaiah names it as a gift of the Spirit.

In the second reading Saint Paul reminds us that we were sinners destined to perdition. Then - he says - God, in his love, sent Jesus Christ to redeem us from sin. He adds that God has shared this love with us by sending us the Holy Spirit.

In the gospel Jesus tells his disciples that the Holy Spirit will come with his departure. He assures them that he will teach them everything they cannot understand now (which is a lot because they have not yet experienced the crucifixion and resurrection.) Even more, Jesus promises that the Spirit will take what is his and declare it to them. With these ways communicated to us, his disciples -- including us -- can be holy like Jesus.

Now what can we conclude about God? In the first place, we can say that God has always existed as a trinity of persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three have the same divine nature and the same will. Second, we can affirm that God redeemed human beings out of the greatest possible love.  It was like a father who put his own son to the most challenging of tests like walking across Antarctica to the South Pole to save his neighbors from destruction. Finally, God is still with us enlightening the mind and strengthening the heart to imitate Jesus.

A prayer before lying down can help us consider all three persons daily. We want to give thanks to God the Father for some benefit we received during the day. We want to ask God the Son for forgiveness for a fault that we manifested. And to God the Holy Spirit we want to ask for help with a challenge that we will face tomorrow. In this way we wouldn't be solving the mystery of God. But we would be engaging the dynamism of our existence.