Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (B)

(Edited) Reflections (from) Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Sunday (B), June 3, 2012

Liturgical readings

Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40
Psalm 33
Romans 8:14-17
Matthew 28:16-20

"In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

The last passage of Matthew's gospel, Mt 28:16-20 is one of the most studied passages in the gospels. The reason? It is a key passage that contains many key themes. And one important theme of this last passage of Matthew is Christ's authority to commission His followers for a universal mission: to bring into one fold all the children of God "in the name of the Holy Trinity". Although the term "Trinity" is not found in the gospel of Matthew, and not found in the other three gospels as well, mention of the three Divine Persons is found in some gospel passages. One instance of the mention of the three Divine Persons is in the story of Christ's baptism in Mt 3:13-17. The "Trinity" is a dogma in the Catholic Church. It is a truth based on Scripture. Even if that truth of the Trinity is not explicitly and literally spelled out in the Bible as the word Trinity, it is still the truth. Other Christian denominations may not agree with this, but we are called to respect their theology as well.

The dogma on the Holy Trinity is proclaimed to assert the truth that the "Holy Trinity" is an important article of faith in the Catholic Church. The presence of the three Divine Persons of God is found in the New Testament. Modern theologians of the Catholic Church, especially those who have spearheaded Vatican II theology, would refer to this as "second reflection". That is how their specialized studies point to the truth of the Trinity. For the universal faithful, simply assenting to the truth presented by the Church is an act of faith taken as one's personal belief and in community. This is true especially in the celebration of the Mass, the other sacraments, and in paraliturgical services. All prayer in the Church begins with an invocation to the Trinity. The Eucharist opens the sign of the Cross, and ends with the sign of the Cross after the blessing of the priest-presider or bishop. Many great teachers of the faith, like the doctors of the Church, encourage all to honor the Trinity and to make a simple act of faith in prayer: acknowledging that there is "one God in three divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit" who guides and provides for all.

This dogma on the Holy Trinity is not only basic to the Catholic faith but essential to the history of the world's salvation. This was made clear to all in the universal Church when Blessed John Paul II ushered in the new millenium in honor of the Trinity. He dedicated the three years before the beginning of the new millenium to the three Divine Persons: 1997 to Jesus, 1998 to the Holy Spirit, and 1999 to the Father. It has been a great privilege for many of us to see and celebrate this event in the turn of the millenium. Not all have been privileged to be alive when the Holy Father opened the millenium in honor of the Holy Trinity. We are fortunate and blessed indeed. And it is our religious duty to thank God in the Eucharist always for revealing Himself as a community of Persons, and how in His Divine Mercy, He continues to be with us "always, until the end of the world."