Trinity Sunday (A)

(Edited) Sunday reflections: (From) years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)

June 15, 2014
Liturgical readings
Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9
Daniel 3
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
John 3:16-18

"God sent his Son that the world might be saved through him."

The truth about the Most Blessed Trinity is an important teaching of the Catholic faith. It is a truth emphasized by St. John Paul II when he dedicated the years 1997, 1998, and 1999, to each of the Persons of the Holy Trinity. This act of the Church before the turn of the millenium shows the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity to the lives of all Catholics and other Christian denominations who believe in the Trinity. For Catholics, the Trinity is an essential part of worship and liturgy. The name of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is always invoked at the beginning and conclusion of every prayer in the liturgy. It is also invoked in every prayer gathering of the family, and in personal prayers.

It is difficult to understand a mystery, but the Holy Trinity can be understood through hymns and poems, since these are expressions of love and devotion. As an example, a hymn by Felice de Giardini honors God as "the great One in Three". Singing the hymn, the "great One in Three", is easy to understand; the heart quickly "sees" what the head sometimes miss to see. Catholics know by heart what it means: to have faith in a Father who provides; to have faith in the Son who saves from sins; and to have faith in the Holy Spirit who breathes new Life. This is the faith and the truth all are called to live by. Each one is called to make his soul a dwelling place of the Most Holy Trinity: "If a man loves me," says the Lord, "he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him (Catechism #260).

To be a dwelling place of the Most Holy Trinity is a call to a way of praying and living. Much is required to purify in one's being: vices and sinful directions. There is one classic teacher who can instruct as in this: St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622 A.D.). He writes in his books and letters that: "from time to time, we are to examine the evil passions that dominate our hearts". Once discovered, the soul is called to strive to live in a manner opposed to these evil passions. As St. Francis de Sales counsels, (and so do the Church even in these modern times), it is necessary to bring one's soul to the Sacrament of Confession. With the Sacrament of Confession, the grace and the strength to resist these evil passions is easier. Only when purged from these evil passions, one step at a time, one day at a time, will the life of the Trinity indwell in the soul.

Scripture quotes for reflection:
"Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever." (Daniel 3)