The Most Holy Trinity

Gospel Reflection

John 3:16-18

St. Paul ends his letter to the Christians at Corinth praying that “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” This way of invoking God’s blessing is entirely Christian. The Jews were privileged to have been guided by prophets, priests and even kings in their understanding of God as being one and unique. They held this   belief mainly thanks to divine revelation. Yet even in the Greco-Roman world there were great minds who, on the basis of arguments of reason, taught that there could be only one God, one Being who was truly supreme. We as Christians hold to the same truth. However, God’s revelation has opened up for us a whole new vision of Himself—namely, his inner life. No philosopher could have made his way into God’s intimate life and being. He Himself has opened the door so that we might peer in and come to know Him on this personal level.

What we have come to know are the three divine Persons in the one God—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Our Catholic Christian faith firmly holds to belief in the total unity and uniqueness of God’s being, while professing distinct Persons in God who are equal and co-eternal. The Being of each is the same Divinity, the same God, Creator of all things. We acknowledge this truth as the greatest and most fundamental mystery revealed to us by God.

The very fact that the Trinity has manifested Itself through Jesus’ life and teaching shows just how much God loves us and looks to our being lifted up to a share in His own life and holiness. It is usually only good friends who are invited to get to know each other’s families, and the familiar names by which people are called in their own homes. In relation to God Himself, the privilege of knowing Him so much more personally than could a wise philosopher, or even a devout man or woman of the Old Testament, should inspire a holy ambition to live in God’s presence. The typical obstacles to achieving this are usually ignorance of the Catholic Christian faith, weakness of belief, self-preoccupation, over-

activism and lack of reflection due to laziness of mind. For many people these days the main problem seems to be absorption of the senses and restless curiosity often spurred on by media overload. Discovering God is an interplay between His grace and our going out in search of Him. We can find many helps to our deepening in friendship with God and growing in the sense of His presence among the customs, devotions and prayers of the Church and Catholic tradition. The Mass is our most special encounter with the Trinity. We approach God the Father, through the example and mediation of the Son, who is the Way. We are prompted in our prayer and adoration by the Holy Spirit. Simple prayers like the “Glory Be” or the signing of the Cross upon our selves act as reminders of God’s Majesty and of our privileged relationship to Him as His sons and daughters in Christ.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us: 237. The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the “hierarchy of the truths of faith”. The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men “and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin”.