Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity,

DOCTRINE AND FAITH (Deut, 4,32-34.39-40; Rom, 8,14-17; Matthew 28,16-20; Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Year B )

    The solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity which we celebrate today gives us the opportunity to reflect on the profundity of the central tenet of our Christian faith: One God, Three Persons.  It is a mystery that defies human comprehension; a truism that belongs to that realm of faith where reason becomes grossly deficient to lead the way. 
    The words of Christ in today’s gospel reading bring out, in a very simple manner, the reality of our belief in the Trinity.  He commanded his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This underlines the equality of the three persons.  The Godhead is one and indivisible, yet the three persons are distinct and not confused.  It is a perfect love that binds the three persons together in an inseparable unity.  It is from the abundant overflow of this same love that each of the Persons of the Trinity performs his distinct function in the economy of salvation: creation is a function of the love of God the Father; out of inestimable love, God the Son laid down his life for man; the Holy Spirit brings to perfection the salvific work of Christ by pouring into our hearts his many gifts and fire of love that enable us as sons and daughters of God to cry out, ‘Abba, Father’ as St. Paul tells us in the second reading today.
    In the alternative Collect for today’s liturgy, the church prays thus: “Father all-powerful, Christ Lord and Saviour, Spirit of Love, you reveal yourself in the depths of our being, drawing us to share in your life and your love”.  The Trinitarian bond of love is such that though the three Persons are distinct, they are not divided.  God the Father, in revealing himself to us, through the salvific mission of the Son and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, intends to draw us into the same kind of union of love, which binds the Godhead together.
    What we celebrate today, therefore, is the mystery of love.  The Trinitarian love challenges us, in the midst of our differences and diversities, to cherish and strive towards a loving unity.  We are called to share in the Trinitarian love not in abstract but rather in practical loving attitude and cordial relationship with the other, in spite of his or her race, religious affiliation, gender or other individual differences.  Therefore, the confession of our belief in the Trinity will become more meaningful when we are able to emulate and live out the Trinitarian unity of love in our relationship with our fellow human being. 
 Happy Celebration of the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity!  
+John I. Okoye