Holy TrinitySunday:

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Exodus 34,4-6.8-9;  2 Cor 13,11-13; John 3,16-18: Holy TrinitySunday: Year A)

            Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity which, is the origin and the destination of every liturgical celebration. During this time, Advent and Christmas the Church meditated on the merciful love of God who sent his Son into the world. During Lent and Easter periods we contemplated the infinite goodness of the Son of God who gave his life for us and rose on the third day. At the feast of Pentecost the Church celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit that was sent by the Father and the Son to bring to completion the work of salvation. After these memorable celebrations of the history of salvation, the church deems it necessary and opportune to unite in a single celebration the three divine persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. From Jesus’ teachings we can affirm that the Blessed Trinity, that is the existence of only one God in three equal and distinct Persons,  is a reality and not a figment of the mind. There are several gospel passages, especially in John’s gospel that refer to this mystery.
We have for example: I came from the Father into this world; now I am leaving the world and returning to my Father(John 16,18); Believe me, I am in the Father and the Father is in me (John 14,11); the Advocate, the Holy Spirit which the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things (John 14, 26). We have the same attestation in the mandate of Jesus to his Apostles: Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt 28,19). The existence of the Blessed Trinity is not in doubt as we can see from the revelation made by Jesus himself. However, it is not possible for us, as long as we are in this world, to comprehend with our finite minds the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, the mystery of God. The reasonable approach in contemplating this mystery is to make effort to know and appreciate how God manifests Himself, and what the signs of his presence and his actions are today’s three readings will aid us in this regard. 

            The first reading from the Book of Exodus follows the apostasy of the people in worshipping the golden calf. Moses again ascends the mountain to intercede, offering his own life for the people. This evokes yet another revelation of God as a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, truly a God who knows the suffering and weakness of humanity and who is constantly summoning them back to his love and mercy. The gospel reading from John contains one of the most-quoted New Testament text: God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. In this passage, Jesus reveals the face or nature of God not in his essence as God but in what He did and does to the people’s advantage. The God who heard the cries of his people in Egypt, witnessed their affliction, and came down to save them (Exod 3,7-10) now sends his Son, the Word-made-flesh (John 1,14) so that the world, that is, everyone who believes in him, may be saved.  God the Father loved the world and sent his Son, the Son in his personal commitment accepted to be made man and sacrificed his own life for the salvation of man. In the short passage from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians, Saint Paul offers us not only an explicit affirmation of the existence of the Blessed Trinity but also the fact that the Blessed Trinity is present and works in us, if we do not break our relationship with the three Divine Persons through sin. That is why St. Paul had to wish us and the Corinthians: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Jesus had indeed clearly affirmed: If anyone loves me...even my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home in him (John 14,23). St. Paul adds an important fact, which is, that God of love and peace shall be with us if we strive for perfection, if we seek to support and help one another and if we live in harmony and peace. May we pray on this day of the Blessed Trinity to preserve the life of the Blessed Trinity that was poured into our soul as sanctifying grace at our baptism. May we also strive and long for the time when the relationship of love between each one of us and the Blessed Trinity began at Baptism, will mature into complete and inseparable union in the kingdom of heaven. 

 +John I. Okoye