The Most Holy Trinity

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity – our belief that there are three Divine Persons in One God – the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As the fundamental mystery of our faith, the Most Holy Trinity permeates our identity and prayer. At the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on Sundays, we invoke the Trinity in several ways: from the initial Sign of the Cross at the beginning of Mass to the Gloria, to the Opening Prayer, which is addressed to the Father but offered through the Son, Jesus Christ, “in the unity of the Holy Spirit… one God, forever and ever.” In the Creed (Profession of Faith) we declare what we believe about the oneness of God, and yet a God of three Divine Persons. And, of course, in the central act of the Mass, we ask the Father to send the Spirit so that our offerings of bread and wine may become for us the Body and Blood of Christ, the Son. The Mass concludes with the Final Blessing and another Sign of the Cross. Our faith is truly Trinitarian and this is reflected in how we worship!

Here we have three Divine Persons who in the words of the Creed are consubstantial – eternal – each to be adored and glorified, and yet, one God. Within the Most Holy Trinity there is such a perfect relationship that they are fully united in every way – no boundaries or separation except that they are not the same Person. Everything that belongs to one belongs to the other, and yet each is not the same as the other. This relationship has been described as a “divine communion of love.”

By celebrating the Trinity, we recall God’s invitation to us to be in relationship with him. We are reminded that God loves each of us and wills only our good; that this love is so real that Christ was actually willing to die for us; and that the Spirit is the gift of the Father and the Son to us, to remain present among us. The Holy Spirit teaches and reminds us of that Trinitarian love, strengthening and consoling us in times of challenge and trial, and empowering us to be disciples in a troubled world. It also serves as a reminder of the unity that is called for in the Church. In his farewell discourse in the Gospel of John, Jesus prayed to the heavenly Father that “they” (his disciples, including us, today) may be one as he and the Father are one.