6/12/2022

Trinity Sunday presents the opportunity to reflect upon the Blessed Trinity, which is at the heart of our belief and of all reality. This feast differs from others in that it centers on WHO our God IS, not WHAT our God HAS DONE (risen from the dead, given us the Eucharist, become man, etc.). It would be a big mistake to try to explain it – as if we humans could comprehend our God and how THREE PERSONS are ONE GOD. This is an impossible task which I will not attempt – who knows and understands God, even after God revealed that “He” was triune! That God is Three Persons in One God we know from the gospels, especially that of John, from their roles played in the plan of salvation: the Father can be considered the creator of the universe, the Son the incarnate Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit who animates and sanctifies the Church (especially the sacraments, though not only that) by serving as the soul of the Church.
What I would like to do instead is accept the mystery of the Trinity and look at how it helps us understand our lives. First of all, the Second Person of the Trinity became human. In his life He showed us what greatness humans can rise to, what agape (selfsacrificial) love looks like in our fallen world. The Holy Spirit showed us how to overcome differences and achieve unity, for example in overcoming the language barriers at Pentecost that had afflicted humanity since the Tower of Babel, as well as how ordinary things like bread, wine, and oil can become vehicles to transmit the love of God (grace). Both show us how important it is to seek to be healed or to heal others, whether “miraculous” or scientifically. The Trinity also shapes our liturgy, beginning the Mass (or any prayer) with the sign of the cross and ending it with a blessing in the name of the persons of the Trinity. Within the Mass, at the end of the great Eucharistic prayer to the Father from the Son, we say or sing: “Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever.” Our greatest prayer, the Eucharist, is made possible in and through and with the Trinity.
In another way, Marriage reflects the life of the Trinity. How? Well, humans (male and female) are created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:27). Being made in the image and likeness of God means that humans not only have an intellect and free will, but also are meant to live in a communion of love. While that can be a parish community, or a religious community like my monastery, in marriage it is particularly rooted in and blessed by the Trinity. It is a free, total, permanent, fruitful (procreative), and faithful bond of love between co-equal persons. To achieve that exalted reality, though, we need the help of the Trinity – which is precisely why Marriage is a sacrament. It gives married couples that help. That is one reason why couples should want to be married in the Catholic Church – the vision of marriage, even if not practiced by all, is stunningly beautiful.
Let us continue to be thankful to our God who created us, redeemed us by inviting us into the community formed by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A blessed feast to all of you!

Father Albert, O.S.B.