June 3, 2012 – The Solemnity of the Holy Trinity
Dt 4:32-34, 39-40; Ps 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22; Rom 8:14-17; Mt 28:16-20
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity — one of the central mysteries of our faith. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — three persons in one God. It is a hard reality for our human minds to grasp and yet we know, in faith that it is true, because Jesus Christ revealed it to us.
In each of the readings for today, we get a glimpse of that revelation. In the first reading, we hear Moses assure the Israelites that there is but One God.
“This is why you must now know that the Lord is God, in the heavens above and on the earth below, and that there is no other,” he tells them.
Then, in Paul’s letter to the Romans, we hear it proclaimed that it is the Spirit who allows us to call God “Abba, Father,” and that as children of God we are “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”
Here we see Father, Son, and Spirit, but we know that He is one God.
In the Gospel, Jesus confirms this for us.
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” — three persons in one God.
In His very nature, then, God is a family of persons, united in love. He is a family of persons, in fact, whose life IS love. And though it is a hard reality for us to truly understand (hence it’s nature as a mystery of the faith), in revealing the reality to us, Christ not only shows us who God is, He also shows us who we are called to be.
“Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…” we are called to live as a family of persons, to bring others into Communion with God and His Church, and to do so in a loving manner. Our lives should mirror the life of the Trinity insofar as we live in love with others. We live out of love for others.
As disciples of Christ, we go out into the world and “make disciples.” we call others to Christ. We invite others into a life of sacramental graces, a life through which they can be more fully united to God here and now. And we recognize that, as we carry out this mission, the Lord remains with us — Father, Son, and Spirit.
So today, as we reflect on the life and the mystery of the Holy Trinity, let us take time to reflect on how we are carrying out our mission as Christian disciples. Are we using our God-given time, talents, and treasure to make disciples and build the Church, and in so doing giving glory to the One God?
