Based on the Gospel of John 16: 12-15
God’s love for us – totally awesome and unconditional! This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity – the central mystery of our faith and a beautiful mystery of love.
Our faith is based on the saving action of the Holy Trinity: God the Father created the whole world and as his children we call him “Father.” He sent his Son Jesus to rescue the human race from sin; God the Son, Jesus, became human like us, showed us how to live, died on the cross and rose from the dead so one day we can enjoy eternal happiness with him in heaven; God the Holy Spirit fills us with love, courage, and grace to live our faith and to share God’s love with others.
Three persons in one God – how can this be? The Holy Trinity is a mystery of our faith we cannot fully understand or explain. Even though we don’t understand, we believe because Jesus told us so and because the Holy Spirit helps us to believe it as part of our Catholic faith.
It is said when St. Patrick was preaching in Ireland, he was looking for a simple example of how to explain the Holy Trinity. One day as St. Patrick was walking out in a field, he picked up one of the green shamrocks that grow in Ireland. When he preached to the people, he showed that the shamrock has three leaves but one stem and explained the Holy Trinity was like the shamrock – three persons but one God.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus promises the help of the Holy Spirit as he prepares the apostles to carry on his ministry. God did not want to be an isolated or faraway God.
So, too, with us: At baptism, we begin our life of grace and relationship with the Triune God. Through the other sacraments we continue to receive God’s grace to live our faith by studying the Scriptures and church teaching, and by sharing God’s love with others as Jesus taught us.
It’s not as important to think about the Holy Trinity as a mystery as it is to remember God’s tremendous love for us. The Holy Trinity is not a puzzle to be solved but a truth to be believed.
Father (Creator), Son (Savior), and Holy Spirit (Heavenly Guide): three Persons in one God: triple givers of one gigantic Love!
