St. Patrick's Analogies:
Links to earlier posts:http://www.tkayala.com/2012/05/trinity-sunday-homily.html
http://www.tkayala.com/2012/06/trinity-prayers.html
http://www.tkayala.com/2013/05/holy-trinity-2013-homilies-and-stories.html
The story is told of a priest sitting in an airport waiting for his flight. A fellow killing time struck up a conversation. Said he, "Father, I believe only what I can understand. So, I can't buy your Trinity. Perhaps you can explain it to me." The priest reluctantly put down The New York Times. "Do you see the sun out there?" "Yup." "OK, it's 80 million miles away from us right now. The rays coming through the window," said the priest, "are coming from the sun. The delightful heat we are enjoying on our bodies right now come from a combination of the sun and its rays. Do you understand that?" The fellow answered, "Sure, padre." "The Trinity," the priest went on, "is like that. God the Father is that blazing sun. The Son is the rays He sends down to us. Then both combine to send us the Holy Spirit who is the heat. If you understand the workings of the sun, its rays, and heat, why do you have difficulty believing the Trinity?" The man said something about catching a flight and was off.
He recalled the husband, who said when he became a father, he better understood the Trinity. When he and his wife had their son, they had evidence of their love for each other. There was the lover, the beloved, and the love, each distinct and yet one.
I enjoy the playful description of Daniel Durken of the Trinity. The Father played creator and was overjoyed that the world turned out so attractively. The Son played redeemer and put everything right again in the wounded world by stretching out His arms on a cross. The Spirit played sanctifier. He made room in the heart of each of us for the Trinity. "Today," says Durken, "the Trinity invites us to keep playing with them this delightful game of life and love." And why not? We have nothing to lose but our chains.
Fr. Tony Kadavil:
Importance in Christian life: 1) All prayers in the Church begin in the Name of the Holy Trinity and end glorifying the Trinity. 2) All Sacraments are administered (we are baptized, confirmed, anointed, our sins are forgiven, our marriage blessed, and our Bishops, priests and deacons ordained) in the name of the Holy Trinity.3) Church bells ring thrice daily, reminding us to give glory to the Holy Trinity for the Incarnation of Jesus and His Redemption of all of us.4) We bless ourselves, and the priest blesses us, in the Name of the Holy Trinity.
Biblical evidences:There are only vague and hidden references to the Trinity in the Old Testament. But the New Testament gives clear teachings on the Holy Trinity.
Gospel text : John 3:16-18
Michel de Verteuil
General comments
The feast of the Trinity is classed in the Church’s calendar as a “solemnity”. I have sometimes heard it called “the climax of the liturgical year”. This is an unfortunate expression which betrays a misunderstanding of liturgy – and of our relationship with Jesus.
As I pointed out last week the focus of the Church’s liturgy (and of our lives as Christians) is always Jesus, not primarily as a teacher but as a person who like us lived in particular historical circumstances and responded to particular challenges as he met them.
This is why the Church’s main liturgical feasts are also the main events of Jesus’ life:
– his birth and childhood at Advent and Christmas;
– his preaching in Lent;
– his passion and death at the Sacred Triduum;
– his resurrection culminating in the ascension and the sending of the Spirit, at Easter.
These events, as I also showed last week, are not particular to Jesus; they are “mysteries” – like the mysteries of the Rosary. This means that he now lives them in his followers and in the church, so that we do not merely look at or admire them, but “celebrate” them as stories of Jesus, recognising them from our own experience (or the experience of others) and letting them lead us to become ever more like him. We apply to liturgical feasts the words of the popular prayer at the end of the Rosary; “we imitate what they contain and hope to obtain what they promise”.
In the liturgy then, “doctrinal feasts” like the Trinity are always subordinate to “events-feasts” like Christmas, the Sacred Triduum and Easter. The Vatican II Decree on the Liturgy made this clear: “The minds of the faithful should be directed primarily to the feasts of the Lord, whereby the mysteries of salvation are celebrated throughout the year” (No 108).
The doctrine of the Trinity emerged in the Church very gradually after several centuries of meditation on the life of Jesus. We do not need to make that journey again – the Trinity is now a doctrine of our faith. It remains true however that the best way to approach the Trinity is by meditating on Jesus, how he faced life and related with people.
This is how we approach today’s feast, and the gospel reading. We meditate on Jesus responding to a concrete situation – he converses with Nicodemus who has come to him “by night” because he is afraid of the Jews. Our meditation reveals him as a totally free person, his freedom rooted in his relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the fact that he was a “Trinitarian person” – as we too are called to be.
The reading comprises several “themes” which are intertwined and run through the entire passage. We can identify three such “themes”.
– Jesus sees his mission as bringing “eternal life” and “salvation” to those who are “lost”. These are traditional expressions, almost clichés. We must make a real effort to let them come alive through meditation.
“Eternal life” is in contrast with “temporary life”. It means a life that can survive every form of death, failure in relationships or the work place, defeat and humiliation, the loss of a loved one. We remember people (ourselves included) being “lost” – insecure, adrift, without guidance – and then moving to being “saved” (safe) – the feeling of security, the tremendous relief of finding one’s way after having drifted for a long time.
– The next two themes answer the question, how did Jesus keep his mission truly “life-giving” and “saving”? The first answer is that he was conscious of his mission not originating in himself – he was the “ son” who had been “given to the world” by the “Father”, a loving gift, as precious as an only child to its parents. Our meditation must make the expression “only son” come alive. It means “very dear son”, conjuring up memories of only children, of how their parents dote on them, and how they grieve over them when they die prematurely.
Jesus’ sense of himself as “beloved son” (a “sent person” as in many other gospel passages), keeps him focussed on his mission. It removes any possessiveness; he loves selflessly.
– Then there is the theme of “condemning”. It is not an expression we like; for us it connotes self-righteousness and writing off people. On the other hand it is a theme (like God’s anger) that is central to the bible. If we ignore it (throwing out the baby with the bath water) the message of Jesus loses its “muscle”, becomes an innocuous, take-it-or-leave-it affair. We must keep the theme of “condemning” therefore, just making sure that we purify it of wrong interpretations. The following are some conclusions.
a) Jesus (like his followers to the extent that they are true to him) is conscious that he poses a challenge to the world, one that requires a response. Those who refuse to accept him (to “believe in the name of God’s only son”) must also accept the consequences – “condemnation”.
b) We human beings are not responsible for “condemning”. When we take on that responsibility, we inevitably find ourselves condemning, not in the name of God but of our prejudices and narrow-mindedness. It is highly significant then that Jesus says he was sent “not to condemn”.
c) Because God has created us free we ourselves are the only ones who have the right to condemn. It is the consequence of God’s breathing his Spirit on us. A practical example – if Nicodemus is afraid to come in the daylight, as far as Jesus is concerned he is free to come at night. Note that this freedom has another side – we are not in bondage to the judgment of others. Cf St Paul 1 Cor 4, 3: “Not that it makes the slightest difference to me whether you or indeed any human tribunal find me worthy or not”.
The feast is the occasion for us to pray for the grace (for the Church and for us as individuals) of a “Trinitarian spirituality”.
– Awareness of God as Father so that we stand in his presence with awe and never think we can possess or control him.
– Consciousness that in Jesus we are sons and daughters of God, sharing in his divinity, so secure in ourselves that others feel “safe” in our presence.
– Awareness of the Spirit at work in others so that we will respect the freedom of each person especially those who disagree with or are different from us.
Truly we need to “celebrate” the Trinity.
Prayer Reflection
“God is gracious and and so graciously does he seize our hearts in order to draw them
on, that he in no wise impairs the liberty of our will. “ ….St Francis of Sales
Lord, we thank you that you have sent us into the world as parents, teachers,
managers, community leaders, ministers in the Church community.
We thank you for the times when we feel secure in your love,
as secure as an only child is secure in the love of its parents,
so that we feel no desire to condemn,
are only concerned that those whose lives we touch do not feel lost,
on the contrary feel safe and can live their lives to the full.
that we are quick to condemn those who are different from us
– in race or ethnicity
– in mores
– in faith or religion.
Remind us that like Jesus you want us to be a saving presence
in your world that you love so much,
not condemning but at the same time challenging our contemporaries
to make the choice for life rather than condemnation.
Lord many people in our world are lost, feel they are going nowhere,
that life is not worth living:
– drug addicts wandering aimlessly through the streets;
– once successful businessmen who have lost their jobs and sit at home doing nothing;
– families suddenly orphaned;
– a community floundering under corrupt leadership.
Forgive us that as Jesus’ followers we leave them in their lostness
and at times add to their lostness by condemning them.
Remind us that you gave us to them as your gift,
given out of your great love for them,
and your will is that we should so befriend them
so that they can begin to feel safe again and to live to the full.
“No one possesses the truth, we all seek it”. …Bishop Pierre Claverie. Dominican Bishop murdered in Algeria.
Lord, help your Church to recognise truth as your beloved possession, your only child,
which you have entrusted to the world
so that we may not be lost but may have eternal life.
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Thomas O’Loughlin
Introduction to the Celebration
We have just blessed ourselves and declared that we are gathering in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I have just wished you welcome by wishing you ‘the grace of Jesus Christ’; then wishing you ‘the love of God’ the Father; and then wishing you ‘the fellowship of the Holy Spirit’. Whenever we gather or pray we are talking about the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. It is this mystery that God is Father, Son, and Spirit that we are called on to reflect on today. As we move through today’s celebration, listen out for just how often we will call on ‘Father,’‘Son,’ and ‘Spirit.’
Homily notes
1. Go back through the second reading and note how Paul’s relationship with Jesus – Jesus is Lord – leads him to adopt a way of speaking of God as Father which Jesus had taught his followers. Moreover, Jesus had spoken of sending the Spirit and so the Spirit too is spoken of as ‘Lord’.
2. Paul is adopting a formula already in use within the churches, it is a formula that speaks of the relationship we Christians have with God: we live and move and have our being in God the Father, God the Son our Lord Jesus Christ, and God the Spirit.
3. We do not accept ‘the trinity’ within our minds in the way we accept other religious notions such as ‘God loves us.’ The mystery of the Father, Son and Spirit is the mystery of God and as such cannot be comprehended by a created mind. Rather, we accept this as part of the gracious revelation of God and respond in the way of Jesus: him we address as Lord; with him we call on the Father; from him we accept the Spirit.
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John Litteton
Gospel Reflection
Talking about God is invariably difficult because we need to use finite language and concepts to describe that which is infinite. When describing God, we are essentially describing the indescribable.
The most serious problem frustrating our reflection and discussion is the problem of religious language. Because human language is unable to express the totality of the mystery of God, we frequently resort to using images, metaphors and analogies when speaking about God. Human words are always necessarily limited.
Christian faith believes that there is one God, accepting that God is unique and indivisible. Accordingly, God is Supreme Being who is beyond description and on which all else depends. God is unchanging, all-powerful and all-knowing. God is often described rather impersonally as the Unmoved Mover and the Ground of Being. Saint Anselm (1033-11O9AD) argued that God is ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’. Thus God is beyond, separate and remote from nature, history and humanity. God transcends human and earthly reality.
Yet, God is also referred to in a very personal way as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (see Gen 32:9), who is unconditionally loving and merciful. God even reveals a personal name, YHWH, to Moses (see Exod 3) and has an affinity with his people. God is so close to creation and his people that his abiding presence is with them. The principal manifestation of God’s intimacy is the partnership relationship that he has with his people, whereby he is their God and they are his people.
The simultaneous remoteness and familiarity of God provide Christians with a real dilemma because the terms are mutually exclusive in human reasoning. God’s unity and uniqueness are stressed throughout the Old Testament. However, the fuller selfrevelation of God’s nature is not revealed until the New Testament account of the Incarnation.
Unlike Judaism and Islam, which also claim to believe in one God, revelation teaches Christians that, at the Incarnation, God became human, adopting our human nature, in the person of Jesus Christ. John’s Gospel records that ‘the Word was made flesh, he lived among us’ (Jn 1:14) and that God established the closest possible relationship with humankind in Christ who is both divine and human. Consequently, Christians cannot speak about God without also referring to Christ. This is the uniqueness of the Christian perspective on revelation.
The Holy Spirit enables us to be in communion with Christ, yet the Holy Spirit has been active from the beginning of creation. The Holy Spirit mediates revelation, enkindles faith and nourishes the life of grace. Jesus revealed the Holy Spirit and promised to send it to his followers. This promise was fulfilled on Pentecost and the Holy Spirit still remains with the Church, keeping it holy and faithful to God’s revelation.
For Christians, God is loving and merciful and has been revealed as Three-Persons-in-One: Father and Son and Holy Spirit. On Trinity Sunday, we recognise the most fundamental mystery of Christianity and we worship God who is Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.
Fr Donal Neary, S.J
In the name
They looked down from heaven – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – with love for their people. They could see men and women of all races, colours, ages, faiths, holiness and sin. They knew help was needed for the human race and waited a long time before the time was right.
The word of God, son of God, born before all ages, became one of us. We know the rest of the story. One of the persons of the Trinity became one of us, so that we could become like them. Jesus, Son of the eternal Father, was bom, lived and died like us. In death, cruelly murdered and then laid in the tomb, the Spirit became alive in him, and now the Spirit of Jesus and the Father is alive in each of us since baptism.
The life of the Trinity becomes very ordinary in the love, care and forgiveness we offer to each other. It7s also there in the ways in which we try to better the lives of the poor, the depressed and the anxious. It’s in how we try to teach a younger generation the best lessons of humanity and faith, and introduce them to this mystery of God. We are active partners in the work of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the world today.
THE WORD:
As Ordinary Time resumes, two “solemnities of the Lord” are celebrated on the next two Sundays. Today’s celebration of the Trinity originated in France in the eighth century and was adopted by the universal Church in 1334. The solemnity focuses on the essence of our faith: the revelation of God as Creator, God’s re-creation of humankind in Jesus the Redeemer, the fullness of the love of God poured out on us in the Sustainer Spirit.
Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, comes under the cover of darkness to meet the remarkable rabbi he has heard so much about. In their exchange in today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the need to be reborn “from above” and of the great love of God who gives the world his own Son, not to condemn humankind but to save it.
HOMILY POINTS:
Today we celebrate the essence of our faith manifested in our lives: the loving providence of the Creator who continually invites us back to him; the selfless servanthood of the Redeemer who “emptied” himself to become like us in order that we might become like him; the joyful love of the Spirit that is the unique unity of the Father and Son.
As revealed to us by Jesus, our God is a God not of endings but beginnings; a God who does not demand the payment of debts but who constantly offers unconditional and unlimited chances to begin again; a God who does not take satisfaction in our failures but rejoices in lifting us up from our brokenness, despair and estrangement from him and from one another.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges Nicodemus to move beyond old, incomplete and “childlike” images of God in order to grow toward a more complete, “adult” faith that recognizes the God who works and moves from his Spirit of unfathomable love; the God who constantly takes the initiative to be reconciled with us, despite our failings; the God who is not removed from his creation but constantly present in every act of love and compassion and forgiveness.
Root, branch and fruit
A seed is a miraculous thing — so small you can barely see it, and yet containing within it the power to become the mightiest oak.
As a new planting season begins in most parts of the country, farmers and gardeners carefully place seeds in the rich spring spoil. The nutrients of the soil, water and (pungent) fertilizer release the life within the seed. Roots are established; soon the first stalks and stems break through the ground and into the open air; vines and branches begin to sprout; and, after much careful tilling and pruning, the first fruits and flowers appear.
Part of the miracle is that the fruit of that tiny seed both contains life and sustains life: the harvested crops will provide sustenance to you and me and the rest of creation. And within those fruits are the new seeds that will continue the cycle of life in the next planting season.
Many metaphors have been employed to depict and explain the Trinity. St. John of Damascus, a great Eastern theologian of the eighth century, said we should think “of the Father as a root, the Son as a branch, and of the Spirit as a fruit, for the sustenance of these three is one.” Today we celebrate this central understanding of our faith — our belief in the God who has revealed himself as Father, the root that sustains life; Son, the Word of God who grafts us as “branches” to that life; and Spirit, the harvest of God’s love in all, binding all, and given to all.
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ILLUSTRATIONS:
Fr. Jude Botelho:
Three … yet one
Trying to understand the Trinity
Hyde Park in London is a favourite place for soapbox orators. Anyone can go there on a Sunday afternoon and talk on any subject under the sun, ranging from Politics to religion. The famous English catholic layman, Frank Sheed, went there often to talk about religion. When he was once preaching there on Holy Trinity, it began to rain. He used the rain to explain the unity in diversity of the Trinity. He said something like this: “The water that is falling is water, but it can exist in three different forms: gas, solid-and liquid – that is, in steam, in ice, and in falling rain.” Of course, an analogy like this falls short of the reality. But it offers an insight into the Trinity. As there are not three different kinds of water but only water in three different forms, so there is only one God in three different persons. St Ignatius of Loyola, once in prayer, perceived the Trinity in the form of three musical notes which made up a single chord.
Film: ‘Les Miserables’ -The face of GodThe setting is France at the beginning of the nineteenth century. After Jean Valjean has served a sentence of almost twenty years of hard labour for stealing a loaf of bread, he is released on the condition that he report regularly to the police. On his journey he is given hospitality by a bishop, but then steals candlesticks and silverware from his house. When the bishop tells the police that the items were his gift to Valjean, Valjean decides to devote his life to helping the needy. He does not disclose his past and is so successful in developing a new town factory that, in his new found respectability, he is elected mayor. However, his nemesis, the unrelenting Inspector Javert who wants to arrest Valjean, is assigned to the town as Prefect achieved. When he assists an ailing factory worker named Fantine, he promises to care for Cosette, her young daughter. Fantine dies, and Valjean eludes Javert and takes refuge in Paris with Cosette. They live quietly in a convent for many years where Valjean is the caretaker. There are political uprisings in Paris and young republican enthusiasts join the fight against the royal forces at the barricades. Cosette falls in love with Marius, one of the republicans. Javert arrives in Paris where he ultimately comes face to face with Valjean. Javert is captured by Marius and his companions and placed in Valjean’s custody. Valjean refuses to take revenge on Javert and frees him. Marius is then captured by the royalists and Javert captures Valjean as Valjean rescues Marius. Javert cannot live with Valjean’s mercy; he frees Valjean and then kills himself. Finally, Valjean walks along the river, a free man.
From the Collection of Fr. Tony Kadavil
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From Sermons.com
Epiphany
Lent
Holy Week
Easter
Pentecost
Kingdomtide (unique to Wesleyans and Presbyterians)
Understanding the Trinity
The Image of the Father
"I looked at this person and I said, 'I don't believe I have ever seen you.'
"He said, 'Oh, no, you have never met me at all, but a long time ago I worked with your father. I was a close colleague of his and when I saw you across the aisle of the store, I said to myself, `I'd know that face anywhere.' You are the very image of your father.'
"For several weeks after that, I would sometimes be going down the street, and maybe come around a corner, and catch my reflection in a store window. I started to see myself with the eyes of someone else. It is not like looking into the mirror in the morning. I would come around the corner, catch that reflection and I would think, 'That's Henry Troeger.' All of a sudden I would be seeing how I bore the image of my father."
And so it is with us.
Each one of us is created with the image of God indelibly imprinted on our souls, so that, in some miraculous and inexplicable way, the diverse expressions of God that are you and you and you and me all come together to illustrate the mystery, to live together in community as we do our best to display for the world all the possibilities that the divine imprint on all of us could mean.
Amy Butler, A Curious Community
Who
Safely through the Storm
Milt was deliberate and decisive. He told the men exactly where to sit and gave them specific instructions. Last he said, "just hang on." They did what he said. Why? Because Milt was the only skilled sailor on board and knew exactly what to do in a storm. Until then Max could have boasted about his merit badge in sailing that he had received in the boy scouts. But, that was no comparison to a real storm on the high seas. He had no choice but to trust in Milt's directions...
Links to earlier posts:http://www.tkayala.com/2012/05/trinity-sunday-homily.html
http://www.tkayala.com/2012/06/trinity-prayers.html
http://www.tkayala.com/2013/05/holy-trinity-2013-homilies-and-stories.html
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Some Stories: (More Stories at the bottom or at: http://www.homilystories.in/2014/06/holy-trinity.html)The story is told of a priest sitting in an airport waiting for his flight. A fellow killing time struck up a conversation. Said he, "Father, I believe only what I can understand. So, I can't buy your Trinity. Perhaps you can explain it to me." The priest reluctantly put down The New York Times. "Do you see the sun out there?" "Yup." "OK, it's 80 million miles away from us right now. The rays coming through the window," said the priest, "are coming from the sun. The delightful heat we are enjoying on our bodies right now come from a combination of the sun and its rays. Do you understand that?" The fellow answered, "Sure, padre." "The Trinity," the priest went on, "is like that. God the Father is that blazing sun. The Son is the rays He sends down to us. Then both combine to send us the Holy Spirit who is the heat. If you understand the workings of the sun, its rays, and heat, why do you have difficulty believing the Trinity?" The man said something about catching a flight and was off.
He recalled the husband, who said when he became a father, he better understood the Trinity. When he and his wife had their son, they had evidence of their love for each other. There was the lover, the beloved, and the love, each distinct and yet one.
I enjoy the playful description of Daniel Durken of the Trinity. The Father played creator and was overjoyed that the world turned out so attractively. The Son played redeemer and put everything right again in the wounded world by stretching out His arms on a cross. The Spirit played sanctifier. He made room in the heart of each of us for the Trinity. "Today," says Durken, "the Trinity invites us to keep playing with them this delightful game of life and love." And why not? We have nothing to lose but our chains.
Father James Gilhooley
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Some Quotes: **********
"To try to deny the Trinity endangers your salvation, to try to comprehend the Trinity endangers your sanity." Martin Luther
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Tertullian on the Trinity
Tertullian, one of the theologians of the early church, explained the Trinity in a metaphor. God the Father he described as "a deep root, the Son as the shoot that breaks forth into the world, and the Spirit as that which spreads beauty and fragrance." Brett Blair,
Faith and Knowledge
Faith and knowledge are two different things. Faith makes us into obedient servants, but knowledge only makes us trivia experts. It's as if Jesus is saying, "Hold your questions to the end. Right now your primary task is loyalty and obedience." Kenneth W. Collins, The Great Commission
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Our faith: It is a relationship of Trust and commitment.
“Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.” (Augustine.)
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Our experience of God leads us to an understanding of God. Theology seeks to understand the truth God has revealed to and through the experience of his people. Definition of Theology: Faith seeking understanding.
l Experience is how we ENCOUNTER God
l Theology is what we KNOW of God
l Spirituality is how we LOVE
*****Fr. Tony Kadavil:
Importance in Christian life: 1) All prayers in the Church begin in the Name of the Holy Trinity and end glorifying the Trinity. 2) All Sacraments are administered (we are baptized, confirmed, anointed, our sins are forgiven, our marriage blessed, and our Bishops, priests and deacons ordained) in the name of the Holy Trinity.3) Church bells ring thrice daily, reminding us to give glory to the Holy Trinity for the Incarnation of Jesus and His Redemption of all of us.4) We bless ourselves, and the priest blesses us, in the Name of the Holy Trinity.
Biblical evidences:There are only vague and hidden references to the Trinity in the Old Testament. But the New Testament gives clear teachings on the Holy Trinity.
1) At the Annunciation, God the Father sends His angel to Mary, God the Holy Spirit comes upon her, the Power of the Most High overshadows her and God the Son becomes incarnate in her womb.
2) At the baptism of Jesus, when the Son receives baptism from John the Baptist, the Father’s Voice is heard and the Holy Spirit appears as a Dove.
3) At the Ascension, Jesus gives the missionary command to his disciples to baptize those who believe, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
4) In John, chapters 15--18, we have a detailed account of Jesus’ teaching of the role of each Person of the Holy Trinity: a) God the Father creates and provides for His creatures. b) God the Son redeems us and reconciles us with God. c) God the Holy Spirit sanctifies us, strengthens us, teaches us and guides us to God.Gospel text : John 3:16-18
Michel de Verteuil
General comments
The feast of the Trinity is classed in the Church’s calendar as a “solemnity”. I have sometimes heard it called “the climax of the liturgical year”. This is an unfortunate expression which betrays a misunderstanding of liturgy – and of our relationship with Jesus.
As I pointed out last week the focus of the Church’s liturgy (and of our lives as Christians) is always Jesus, not primarily as a teacher but as a person who like us lived in particular historical circumstances and responded to particular challenges as he met them.
This is why the Church’s main liturgical feasts are also the main events of Jesus’ life:
– his birth and childhood at Advent and Christmas;
– his preaching in Lent;
– his passion and death at the Sacred Triduum;
– his resurrection culminating in the ascension and the sending of the Spirit, at Easter.
These events, as I also showed last week, are not particular to Jesus; they are “mysteries” – like the mysteries of the Rosary. This means that he now lives them in his followers and in the church, so that we do not merely look at or admire them, but “celebrate” them as stories of Jesus, recognising them from our own experience (or the experience of others) and letting them lead us to become ever more like him. We apply to liturgical feasts the words of the popular prayer at the end of the Rosary; “we imitate what they contain and hope to obtain what they promise”.In the liturgy then, “doctrinal feasts” like the Trinity are always subordinate to “events-feasts” like Christmas, the Sacred Triduum and Easter. The Vatican II Decree on the Liturgy made this clear: “The minds of the faithful should be directed primarily to the feasts of the Lord, whereby the mysteries of salvation are celebrated throughout the year” (No 108).
The doctrine of the Trinity emerged in the Church very gradually after several centuries of meditation on the life of Jesus. We do not need to make that journey again – the Trinity is now a doctrine of our faith. It remains true however that the best way to approach the Trinity is by meditating on Jesus, how he faced life and related with people.
This is how we approach today’s feast, and the gospel reading. We meditate on Jesus responding to a concrete situation – he converses with Nicodemus who has come to him “by night” because he is afraid of the Jews. Our meditation reveals him as a totally free person, his freedom rooted in his relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the fact that he was a “Trinitarian person” – as we too are called to be.
The reading comprises several “themes” which are intertwined and run through the entire passage. We can identify three such “themes”.
– Jesus sees his mission as bringing “eternal life” and “salvation” to those who are “lost”. These are traditional expressions, almost clichés. We must make a real effort to let them come alive through meditation.
“Eternal life” is in contrast with “temporary life”. It means a life that can survive every form of death, failure in relationships or the work place, defeat and humiliation, the loss of a loved one. We remember people (ourselves included) being “lost” – insecure, adrift, without guidance – and then moving to being “saved” (safe) – the feeling of security, the tremendous relief of finding one’s way after having drifted for a long time.
– The next two themes answer the question, how did Jesus keep his mission truly “life-giving” and “saving”? The first answer is that he was conscious of his mission not originating in himself – he was the “ son” who had been “given to the world” by the “Father”, a loving gift, as precious as an only child to its parents. Our meditation must make the expression “only son” come alive. It means “very dear son”, conjuring up memories of only children, of how their parents dote on them, and how they grieve over them when they die prematurely.
Jesus’ sense of himself as “beloved son” (a “sent person” as in many other gospel passages), keeps him focussed on his mission. It removes any possessiveness; he loves selflessly.
– Then there is the theme of “condemning”. It is not an expression we like; for us it connotes self-righteousness and writing off people. On the other hand it is a theme (like God’s anger) that is central to the bible. If we ignore it (throwing out the baby with the bath water) the message of Jesus loses its “muscle”, becomes an innocuous, take-it-or-leave-it affair. We must keep the theme of “condemning” therefore, just making sure that we purify it of wrong interpretations. The following are some conclusions.
a) Jesus (like his followers to the extent that they are true to him) is conscious that he poses a challenge to the world, one that requires a response. Those who refuse to accept him (to “believe in the name of God’s only son”) must also accept the consequences – “condemnation”.
b) We human beings are not responsible for “condemning”. When we take on that responsibility, we inevitably find ourselves condemning, not in the name of God but of our prejudices and narrow-mindedness. It is highly significant then that Jesus says he was sent “not to condemn”.
c) Because God has created us free we ourselves are the only ones who have the right to condemn. It is the consequence of God’s breathing his Spirit on us. A practical example – if Nicodemus is afraid to come in the daylight, as far as Jesus is concerned he is free to come at night. Note that this freedom has another side – we are not in bondage to the judgment of others. Cf St Paul 1 Cor 4, 3: “Not that it makes the slightest difference to me whether you or indeed any human tribunal find me worthy or not”.
The feast is the occasion for us to pray for the grace (for the Church and for us as individuals) of a “Trinitarian spirituality”.
– Awareness of God as Father so that we stand in his presence with awe and never think we can possess or control him.
– Consciousness that in Jesus we are sons and daughters of God, sharing in his divinity, so secure in ourselves that others feel “safe” in our presence.
– Awareness of the Spirit at work in others so that we will respect the freedom of each person especially those who disagree with or are different from us.
Truly we need to “celebrate” the Trinity.
Prayer Reflection
“God is gracious and and so graciously does he seize our hearts in order to draw them
on, that he in no wise impairs the liberty of our will. “ ….St Francis of Sales
Lord, we thank you that you have sent us into the world as parents, teachers,managers, community leaders, ministers in the Church community.
We thank you for the times when we feel secure in your love,
as secure as an only child is secure in the love of its parents,
so that we feel no desire to condemn,
are only concerned that those whose lives we touch do not feel lost,
on the contrary feel safe and can live their lives to the full.
“I am disarmed of the will to overcome, to justify myself at the expense of others,
I am no longer on the alert jealously guarding my riches.” …Patriarch Athenagoras
Lord, forgive us as members of your Church,I am no longer on the alert jealously guarding my riches.” …Patriarch Athenagoras
that we are quick to condemn those who are different from us
– in race or ethnicity
– in mores
– in faith or religion.
Remind us that like Jesus you want us to be a saving presence
in your world that you love so much,
not condemning but at the same time challenging our contemporaries
to make the choice for life rather than condemnation.
“You know when you have met a saint; instead of feeling inferior you feel enormously affirmed.”
…Margaret Hebblethwaite, meeting Cardinal Arns
Lord, we thank you for the great people you have sent into our lives,
who touched us so deeply that we felt that you had given us a precious gift.
We sometimes refuse to accept the values they teach us, but they leave us free.
“It is not for me to win you round, I have only to say no to you.” …Jean Anouilh…Margaret Hebblethwaite, meeting Cardinal Arns
Lord, we thank you for the great people you have sent into our lives,
who touched us so deeply that we felt that you had given us a precious gift.
We sometimes refuse to accept the values they teach us, but they leave us free.
Lord many people in our world are lost, feel they are going nowhere,
that life is not worth living:
– drug addicts wandering aimlessly through the streets;
– once successful businessmen who have lost their jobs and sit at home doing nothing;
– families suddenly orphaned;
– a community floundering under corrupt leadership.
Forgive us that as Jesus’ followers we leave them in their lostness
and at times add to their lostness by condemning them.
Remind us that you gave us to them as your gift,
given out of your great love for them,
and your will is that we should so befriend them
so that they can begin to feel safe again and to live to the full.
“No one possesses the truth, we all seek it”. …Bishop Pierre Claverie. Dominican Bishop murdered in Algeria.
Lord, help your Church to recognise truth as your beloved possession, your only child,
which you have entrusted to the world
so that we may not be lost but may have eternal life.
**************************************************
Thomas O’Loughlin
Introduction to the Celebration
We have just blessed ourselves and declared that we are gathering in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I have just wished you welcome by wishing you ‘the grace of Jesus Christ’; then wishing you ‘the love of God’ the Father; and then wishing you ‘the fellowship of the Holy Spirit’. Whenever we gather or pray we are talking about the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. It is this mystery that God is Father, Son, and Spirit that we are called on to reflect on today. As we move through today’s celebration, listen out for just how often we will call on ‘Father,’‘Son,’ and ‘Spirit.’Homily notes
1. Go back through the second reading and note how Paul’s relationship with Jesus – Jesus is Lord – leads him to adopt a way of speaking of God as Father which Jesus had taught his followers. Moreover, Jesus had spoken of sending the Spirit and so the Spirit too is spoken of as ‘Lord’.
2. Paul is adopting a formula already in use within the churches, it is a formula that speaks of the relationship we Christians have with God: we live and move and have our being in God the Father, God the Son our Lord Jesus Christ, and God the Spirit.
3. We do not accept ‘the trinity’ within our minds in the way we accept other religious notions such as ‘God loves us.’ The mystery of the Father, Son and Spirit is the mystery of God and as such cannot be comprehended by a created mind. Rather, we accept this as part of the gracious revelation of God and respond in the way of Jesus: him we address as Lord; with him we call on the Father; from him we accept the Spirit.
*******************************************
John Litteton
Gospel Reflection
Talking about God is invariably difficult because we need to use finite language and concepts to describe that which is infinite. When describing God, we are essentially describing the indescribable.
The most serious problem frustrating our reflection and discussion is the problem of religious language. Because human language is unable to express the totality of the mystery of God, we frequently resort to using images, metaphors and analogies when speaking about God. Human words are always necessarily limited.Christian faith believes that there is one God, accepting that God is unique and indivisible. Accordingly, God is Supreme Being who is beyond description and on which all else depends. God is unchanging, all-powerful and all-knowing. God is often described rather impersonally as the Unmoved Mover and the Ground of Being. Saint Anselm (1033-11O9AD) argued that God is ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’. Thus God is beyond, separate and remote from nature, history and humanity. God transcends human and earthly reality.
Yet, God is also referred to in a very personal way as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (see Gen 32:9), who is unconditionally loving and merciful. God even reveals a personal name, YHWH, to Moses (see Exod 3) and has an affinity with his people. God is so close to creation and his people that his abiding presence is with them. The principal manifestation of God’s intimacy is the partnership relationship that he has with his people, whereby he is their God and they are his people.
The simultaneous remoteness and familiarity of God provide Christians with a real dilemma because the terms are mutually exclusive in human reasoning. God’s unity and uniqueness are stressed throughout the Old Testament. However, the fuller selfrevelation of God’s nature is not revealed until the New Testament account of the Incarnation.
Unlike Judaism and Islam, which also claim to believe in one God, revelation teaches Christians that, at the Incarnation, God became human, adopting our human nature, in the person of Jesus Christ. John’s Gospel records that ‘the Word was made flesh, he lived among us’ (Jn 1:14) and that God established the closest possible relationship with humankind in Christ who is both divine and human. Consequently, Christians cannot speak about God without also referring to Christ. This is the uniqueness of the Christian perspective on revelation.
The Holy Spirit enables us to be in communion with Christ, yet the Holy Spirit has been active from the beginning of creation. The Holy Spirit mediates revelation, enkindles faith and nourishes the life of grace. Jesus revealed the Holy Spirit and promised to send it to his followers. This promise was fulfilled on Pentecost and the Holy Spirit still remains with the Church, keeping it holy and faithful to God’s revelation.
For Christians, God is loving and merciful and has been revealed as Three-Persons-in-One: Father and Son and Holy Spirit. On Trinity Sunday, we recognise the most fundamental mystery of Christianity and we worship God who is Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.
For meditation
God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world,
but so that through him the world might be saved. (Jn 3:17)
*********************************************God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world,
but so that through him the world might be saved. (Jn 3:17)
Fr Donal Neary, S.J
In the name
They looked down from heaven – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – with love for their people. They could see men and women of all races, colours, ages, faiths, holiness and sin. They knew help was needed for the human race and waited a long time before the time was right.The word of God, son of God, born before all ages, became one of us. We know the rest of the story. One of the persons of the Trinity became one of us, so that we could become like them. Jesus, Son of the eternal Father, was bom, lived and died like us. In death, cruelly murdered and then laid in the tomb, the Spirit became alive in him, and now the Spirit of Jesus and the Father is alive in each of us since baptism.
The life of the Trinity becomes very ordinary in the love, care and forgiveness we offer to each other. It7s also there in the ways in which we try to better the lives of the poor, the depressed and the anxious. It’s in how we try to teach a younger generation the best lessons of humanity and faith, and introduce them to this mystery of God. We are active partners in the work of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the world today.
Slowly make the sign of the cross a few times today, asking to believe in the mystery of God’s love within God and for us.By the mystery of water and wine in the Mass, help us, Lord,
to share in the divinity of Christ,
who humbled himself to share in our humanity.
to share in the divinity of Christ,
who humbled himself to share in our humanity.
****************************************
From The Connections:
As Ordinary Time resumes, two “solemnities of the Lord” are celebrated on the next two Sundays. Today’s celebration of the Trinity originated in France in the eighth century and was adopted by the universal Church in 1334. The solemnity focuses on the essence of our faith: the revelation of God as Creator, God’s re-creation of humankind in Jesus the Redeemer, the fullness of the love of God poured out on us in the Sustainer Spirit.
Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, comes under the cover of darkness to meet the remarkable rabbi he has heard so much about. In their exchange in today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the need to be reborn “from above” and of the great love of God who gives the world his own Son, not to condemn humankind but to save it.
HOMILY POINTS:
Today we celebrate the essence of our faith manifested in our lives: the loving providence of the Creator who continually invites us back to him; the selfless servanthood of the Redeemer who “emptied” himself to become like us in order that we might become like him; the joyful love of the Spirit that is the unique unity of the Father and Son.
As revealed to us by Jesus, our God is a God not of endings but beginnings; a God who does not demand the payment of debts but who constantly offers unconditional and unlimited chances to begin again; a God who does not take satisfaction in our failures but rejoices in lifting us up from our brokenness, despair and estrangement from him and from one another.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges Nicodemus to move beyond old, incomplete and “childlike” images of God in order to grow toward a more complete, “adult” faith that recognizes the God who works and moves from his Spirit of unfathomable love; the God who constantly takes the initiative to be reconciled with us, despite our failings; the God who is not removed from his creation but constantly present in every act of love and compassion and forgiveness.
A seed is a miraculous thing — so small you can barely see it, and yet containing within it the power to become the mightiest oak.
As a new planting season begins in most parts of the country, farmers and gardeners carefully place seeds in the rich spring spoil. The nutrients of the soil, water and (pungent) fertilizer release the life within the seed. Roots are established; soon the first stalks and stems break through the ground and into the open air; vines and branches begin to sprout; and, after much careful tilling and pruning, the first fruits and flowers appear.
Part of the miracle is that the fruit of that tiny seed both contains life and sustains life: the harvested crops will provide sustenance to you and me and the rest of creation. And within those fruits are the new seeds that will continue the cycle of life in the next planting season.
Many metaphors have been employed to depict and explain the Trinity. St. John of Damascus, a great Eastern theologian of the eighth century, said we should think “of the Father as a root, the Son as a branch, and of the Spirit as a fruit, for the sustenance of these three is one.” Today we celebrate this central understanding of our faith — our belief in the God who has revealed himself as Father, the root that sustains life; Son, the Word of God who grafts us as “branches” to that life; and Spirit, the harvest of God’s love in all, binding all, and given to all.
***
ILLUSTRATIONS:
Fr. Jude Botelho:
In the first reading, God reveals that his name is Yahweh, which means ‘I am who I am’. The God of Sinai is not just the fearsome God. When Israel had sinned and broken the covenant, he shows himself as one who loves and forgives. He is forever the God of Israel and has bound his destiny to them. Moses his faithful servant pleads on behalf of the people: “Lord if we have found favour come with us! True, we are a headstrong people but forgive us our faults and our sins and adopt us as your heritage.” God has made us forever his people, members of his household. He reveals himself as the Father-God, our Abba forever.
Invited to His tableThere is a beautiful Russian icon of the Blessed Trinity painted by a monk by the name of Rublev. It depicts the three Divine Persons sitting at a table. A dish of food lies on the table. But the thing that immediately strikes you is the fact that at the front of the table there is a vacant place. The vacant place is meant to convey openness, hospitality, and welcome towards the stranger and outsider. That vacant place is meant for each of us, and for all the human family. It signifies God’s invitation to us to share in the life of the Trinity. God doesn’t exclude us. He doesn’t talk to us at the doorstep. He invites us to come in and sit at his table. He wants to share his life with us.-Many are intimidated by the great mystery of the Blessed Trinity. This is a pity. We should see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as friends to whom we can relate, and to whom we can talk in prayer. We are God’s children. We are part of the family.
Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’
The short reading of today’s gospel speaks of God’s plan of salvation. The Father loves the world because of His Son, whom he sends into the world to reveal himself and his goodness to all humankind. He sends His Son not to condemn but to save the world. The one condition that must be fulfilled to be saved is to believe in Jesus Christ. We must believe totally in Jesus, failing which we stand condemned. Thus, in this passage from John we see the Father initiates the plan of salvation out of his love. Because of his great love he sends his Son Jesus Christ who carries out the Father’s will, becoming the instrument of our salvation. Later on in the Gospel John speaks of the Spirit as the Advocate that will remain in man and guarantee God’s presence and power for salvation. Today’s passage shows how God lives as a community united and abiding in love. Out of love the Father creates and shares his love with humankind; this love is concretized and made real, incarnate in His Son Jesus Christ and the mutual love of the Father and the Son, the bond between them is the Holy Spirit, which is given to us. We live the life of God, the Trinitarian life, when we live in love. We can live with others only if we live for others. If we live for others we constantly desire to be united in communion and share our gifts, our love with others.
Relating to God
The four-year-old took me aback when she told me that even though her mother was very good, she often made mistake. For whatever reason, the sophisticated youngster’s implicit trust in a caring parent is already tottering. The loss is great. Humanly, we are made for trusting relationships. In the adult world, every time trust is undermined, we are all diminished. Trust can be misplaced and even well-placed trust can be undermined. Coping with such betrayal stretches maturity and love. Some cope by not risking trust again with anybody and so retreat into an impoverished self-centred lifestyle. Others are secure enough within themselves to absorb the pain and reach out again in trusting friendship, believing that we are called to a greatness beyond our limited human vision.-Such people have glimpsed into the heart of God. What makes God; God is that he remains always faithful to us. No matter what our betrayal, he continues to trust us again and again and to call us forward to the greatness he has destined for us. This greatness is to share the inner love life of God, where Father, Son and spirit live in an eternal bond that we call the Blessed Trinity.
The four-year-old took me aback when she told me that even though her mother was very good, she often made mistake. For whatever reason, the sophisticated youngster’s implicit trust in a caring parent is already tottering. The loss is great. Humanly, we are made for trusting relationships. In the adult world, every time trust is undermined, we are all diminished. Trust can be misplaced and even well-placed trust can be undermined. Coping with such betrayal stretches maturity and love. Some cope by not risking trust again with anybody and so retreat into an impoverished self-centred lifestyle. Others are secure enough within themselves to absorb the pain and reach out again in trusting friendship, believing that we are called to a greatness beyond our limited human vision.-Such people have glimpsed into the heart of God. What makes God; God is that he remains always faithful to us. No matter what our betrayal, he continues to trust us again and again and to call us forward to the greatness he has destined for us. This greatness is to share the inner love life of God, where Father, Son and spirit live in an eternal bond that we call the Blessed Trinity.
Tom Clancy in ‘Living The Word’
Three … yet one
In his brilliant series The Ascent of Man, author Jacob Bronowski devotes an episode to mathematics under the title “The Music of the Spheres.” He shows historically how man’s ascent in civilization was marked by an increasing understanding of mathematical patterns which he saw reflected in the harmonies of music, for example, or in the motion of the spheres around the sun. One of the most fascinating geometric discoveries by the early Greeks was the fact that three fixed points, not all on the same line, determine uniquely one and only one triangle, one and only plane, and one and only one circle. Why this should be, we don’t know. All we can do is observe it as a fact and apply it to the real world in art, architecture, engineering and science. Even more mysterious is our belief that there are Three Persons, yet one and only one God. Why this should be, we don’t know. All we can do is accept it as a revealed fact and apply it to our Christian life.
Albert Cylwicki in ‘His Word Resounds’
Tuned to God
One day a farmer went into the city. As he was walking down a busy street he suddenly stopped and said to a friend who was with him, I can hear a cricket’. His friend was amazed and asked, ‘How can you hear a cricket in the midst of all this noise?’ ‘Because my ears are attuned to his sound,’ the farmer replied. Then he listened even more intently, and following the sound, found the cricket perched on a window ledge. His friend couldn’t get over this. But the farmer showed no surprise. Instead he took a few coins out of his pocket and threw them on the pavement. On hearing the jingle of coins, the passers by stopped in their tracks. “You see what I mean,’ said the farmer. ‘None of those people could hear the sound of the cricket, but all of them could hear the sound of the money. People hear what their ears are attuned to hear, and are deaf to all the rest.’ We could be tuned into God if we took a little trouble. Voltaire said: It is natural to admit the existence of God as soon as one opens one’s eyes.’ And Abraham Lincoln said, ‘I can see how it might be possible for the man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.’
One day a farmer went into the city. As he was walking down a busy street he suddenly stopped and said to a friend who was with him, I can hear a cricket’. His friend was amazed and asked, ‘How can you hear a cricket in the midst of all this noise?’ ‘Because my ears are attuned to his sound,’ the farmer replied. Then he listened even more intently, and following the sound, found the cricket perched on a window ledge. His friend couldn’t get over this. But the farmer showed no surprise. Instead he took a few coins out of his pocket and threw them on the pavement. On hearing the jingle of coins, the passers by stopped in their tracks. “You see what I mean,’ said the farmer. ‘None of those people could hear the sound of the cricket, but all of them could hear the sound of the money. People hear what their ears are attuned to hear, and are deaf to all the rest.’ We could be tuned into God if we took a little trouble. Voltaire said: It is natural to admit the existence of God as soon as one opens one’s eyes.’ And Abraham Lincoln said, ‘I can see how it might be possible for the man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.’
Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’
Trying to understand the Trinity
Hyde Park in London is a favourite place for soapbox orators. Anyone can go there on a Sunday afternoon and talk on any subject under the sun, ranging from Politics to religion. The famous English catholic layman, Frank Sheed, went there often to talk about religion. When he was once preaching there on Holy Trinity, it began to rain. He used the rain to explain the unity in diversity of the Trinity. He said something like this: “The water that is falling is water, but it can exist in three different forms: gas, solid-and liquid – that is, in steam, in ice, and in falling rain.” Of course, an analogy like this falls short of the reality. But it offers an insight into the Trinity. As there are not three different kinds of water but only water in three different forms, so there is only one God in three different persons. St Ignatius of Loyola, once in prayer, perceived the Trinity in the form of three musical notes which made up a single chord.
Vima Dasan in ‘His Word Lives’
Film: ‘Les Miserables’ -The face of GodThe setting is France at the beginning of the nineteenth century. After Jean Valjean has served a sentence of almost twenty years of hard labour for stealing a loaf of bread, he is released on the condition that he report regularly to the police. On his journey he is given hospitality by a bishop, but then steals candlesticks and silverware from his house. When the bishop tells the police that the items were his gift to Valjean, Valjean decides to devote his life to helping the needy. He does not disclose his past and is so successful in developing a new town factory that, in his new found respectability, he is elected mayor. However, his nemesis, the unrelenting Inspector Javert who wants to arrest Valjean, is assigned to the town as Prefect achieved. When he assists an ailing factory worker named Fantine, he promises to care for Cosette, her young daughter. Fantine dies, and Valjean eludes Javert and takes refuge in Paris with Cosette. They live quietly in a convent for many years where Valjean is the caretaker. There are political uprisings in Paris and young republican enthusiasts join the fight against the royal forces at the barricades. Cosette falls in love with Marius, one of the republicans. Javert arrives in Paris where he ultimately comes face to face with Valjean. Javert is captured by Marius and his companions and placed in Valjean’s custody. Valjean refuses to take revenge on Javert and frees him. Marius is then captured by the royalists and Javert captures Valjean as Valjean rescues Marius. Javert cannot live with Valjean’s mercy; he frees Valjean and then kills himself. Finally, Valjean walks along the river, a free man.
Peter Malone in ‘Lights, Camera….Faith!’
The Power and life of God in US
A father was driving his little son in a car. Suddenly, the son turned towards his father and asked him, “Dad! Is God – one or many?” The father replied, “One, my son.” Is the Father – God?” His father replied, “Yes.” “Is Jesus – God?” “Yes,” “Is the Holy Spirit – God?” “Yes.” “Then how can Jesus be His Own Father?” asked the son. The father thought quickly. He drove the car to the side of the road and stopped it. He turned towards his son and said, “You see the bonnet in the front. Inside the bonnet there is the battery. There is only one battery. Yet I can start the car with it, turn on the lights and also blow the horn. How this happens, I don’t know. It is a mystery to me. Likewise, God is one, but Three Persons – the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a mystery, and we cannot understand it completely.”
A father was driving his little son in a car. Suddenly, the son turned towards his father and asked him, “Dad! Is God – one or many?” The father replied, “One, my son.” Is the Father – God?” His father replied, “Yes.” “Is Jesus – God?” “Yes,” “Is the Holy Spirit – God?” “Yes.” “Then how can Jesus be His Own Father?” asked the son. The father thought quickly. He drove the car to the side of the road and stopped it. He turned towards his son and said, “You see the bonnet in the front. Inside the bonnet there is the battery. There is only one battery. Yet I can start the car with it, turn on the lights and also blow the horn. How this happens, I don’t know. It is a mystery to me. Likewise, God is one, but Three Persons – the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a mystery, and we cannot understand it completely.”
John Rose in ‘John’s Sunday Homilies’
*****From the Collection of Fr. Tony Kadavil
1: Simplified
explanations by Ss. Patrick, Cyril and John Maria Vianney: Since
the Holy Trinity is a mystery, all these examples are only the shadows of the
shadows of the Truth. The shamrock, a kind of clover, is a leguminous
herb that grows in marshy places. St. Patrick, the missionary patron
saint of Ireland, used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. The
story goes that one day his friends asked Patrick to explain the Mystery of the
Trinity. He looked at the ground and saw shamrocks growing amid the grass
at his feet. He picked one up one of its trifoliate leaves and asked if
it were one leaf or three. Patrick’s friends couldn’t answer – the
shamrock leaf looked like one, but it clearly had three parts. Patrick
explained to them: “The mystery of the Holy Trinity – one God in Three Persons:
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – is like this, but more complex and
unintelligible.” St. Cyril, the teacher of the Slavs, tried
to explain the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity using sun as an example.
He said, “God the Father is that blazing sun. God the Son is its light
and God the Holy Spirit is its heat — but there is only one sun. So, there are
three Persons in the Holy Trinity, but God is One and indivisible.” St.
John Maria Vianney used to explain Holy Trinity using lighted candles and roses
on the altar and water in the cruets. “The flame has color, warmth and shape.
But these are expressions of one flame. Similarly, the rose has color,
fragrance and shape. But these are expressions of one reality, namely, rose. Water,
steam and ice are three distinct expressions of one reality. In the same way
one God revealed Himself to us as Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLfgaUoQCw&feature=player_detailpage (Fr. Tony
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
2: The Mystery of man
created by a mysterious Triune God: How complex and mind-boggling is our
physical construction! Chemically, the body is unequalled for complexity. Each
one of its 30 trillion cells is a mini chemical factory that performs about
10,000 chemical functions. With its 206 bones, 639 muscles, 4 million pain
sensors in the skin, 750 million air sacs in the lungs, 16 million nerve cells
and 30 trillion cells in total, the human body is remarkably designed for life.
And the brain! The human brain and nervous system is the most complex
arrangement of matter anywhere in the universe. One scientist estimated that
our brain, on the average, processes over 10,000 thoughts and concepts each
day. Three billion DNA pairs in a fertilized egg control all human activities,
30, 000 genes making 90, 000 proteins in the body. Bill Bryson in his
book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, says it is a
miracle that we even exist. Trillions of atoms come together for approximately
650,000 hours (74 years calculated as the average span of human life), and then
begin to silently disassemble and go off to other things. There never was
something like us before and there never will be something like us again. But
for 650,000 hours the miracle or mystery that is uniquely us, exists. One could
spend years just dealing with the marvelous intricacies and majesty of God’s creation.
We are, as the Psalmist states “fearfully and wonderfully made.” No
wonder we cannot understand the mystery of a Triune God! (Fr. Tony
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
3: Trinity prayer of
Tolstoy’s monks: Three Russian monks lived in a faraway Island. Nobody
ever went there. However, one day their bishop decided to make a pastoral visit
to learn more about their religious life. But when he arrived, he discovered
that they did not know even the Lord’s Prayer. So, he spent all his time and
energy teaching them the Our Father and then left them, satisfied with his
pastoral visit. But when his small ship had left the island and was back in the
open sea, he suddenly noticed the three hermits walking on the water – in fact
they were running after the ship. When they approached it, they cried out,
“Dear bishop we have forgotten the Lord’s Prayer you taught us. The bishop,
overwhelmed by what he was seeing and hearing asked them, “But dear brothers,
how then do you pray?” They answered, “We just say, there are three of us
and there are three of you, have mercy on us.” The bishop, awestruck by their
sanctity and simplicity said, “Go back to your island and be at peace.”
[Adapted from Leo Tolstoy- The
Three Hermits“ (Russian: Три Старца), a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy (Lev
Nikolayevich Tolstoy), was written in 1885 and first published in 1886 in the
weekly periodical Niva (нива).]
(Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
4: “But that is
impossible, my dear child:” There is a very old and much-repeated
story about St. Augustine, one of the intellectual giants of the Church.
He was walking by the seashore one day, attempting to conceive of an
intelligible explanation for the mystery of the Trinity. As he walked
along, he saw a small boy on the beach, pouring seawater from a shell into a
small hole in the sand. “What are you doing, my child?” asked
Augustine. “I am emptying the sea into this hole,” the boy answered with
an innocent smile. “But that is impossible, my dear child,” said
Augustine. The boy stood up, looked straight into the eyes of Augustine
and replied, “What you are trying to do – comprehend the immensity of God with
your small head – is even more impossible.” Then he vanished. The
child was an angel sent by God to teach Augustine a lesson. Later,
Augustine wrote: “You see the Trinity, if you see love.” According to
him, the Father is the lover, the Son is the loved one and the Holy Spirit is
the personification of the very act of loving. This means that we can
understand something of the Mystery of the Holy Trinity more readily with the
heart than with our feeble mind. Evagrius of Pontus, a Greek monk of the 4th
century who came from what is now Turkey in Asia and later lived out his
vocation in Egypt, said: “God cannot be grasped by the mind. If God could be
grasped, God would not be God.”(Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
5. Trinitarian Love
the essence of family life: One day, while he was walking with God in the
Garden of Eden Adam said, “Excuse me God, can I ask you a few questions?” God
replied, “Go on Adam, but be quick. I
have a world to create.”
So, Adam says, “When you created Eve, why did you make her
body so curved and tender unlike mine?” “I did that, Adam, so that you could
love her.” “Oh, well then, why did you give her long, shiny, beautiful hair?”
“I did that Adam so that you could love her.” “Oh, well then, why did you make
her so stupid? Is that too because I should
love her?” “Well, Adam, no. I did that
so that she could love you.”
6: Wisdom from
child’s mouth: A priest went into a second-grade classroom of the parish
school and asked, “Who can tell me what the Blessed Trinity means?” A little
girl lisped, “The Blethed Twinity meanth there are thwee perthonth in one God.”
The priest, taken aback by the lisp, said, “Would you say that again? I don’t
understand what you said.” The little girl answered, “Y’not thuppothed to
underthtand; ‘t’th a mythtewy.”(Another version: At confirmation, the
Archbishop asked the children for a definition of the Holy Trinity. A girl
answered very softly – “The Holy Trinity is three persons in one God.” The
Archbishop, who was rather old and almost deaf, replied – “I didn’t understand
what you said.” And the young theologian standing in front of him replied:
“Well, Your Excellency, you are not supposed to. The Trinity is a mystery.
Nobody understands it.)”
7: Trinitarian
pastor: One parishioner said, “The Trinitarian God is a lot like our
pastor. I don’t see him through the week, and I don’t understand him on
Sunday.”
8: God Is Everywhere:
A pastor was trying to explain to a little Sunday school child that God is
calling people everywhere in the world to believe in him. “God is much bigger
than we imagine him to be and God can use all of us in lots of different ways
to do his work everywhere,” the pastor said. “God is everywhere!” “Everywhere?”
asked the little boy. “Everywhere!” said the pastor. The boy went home and told
his mother, “God is everywhere! The pastor said so.” “Yes, I know,” said the
mother. “You mean He is even in the cupboard?” “Yes,” said the mother. “In the
refrigerator — even when we close the door and the light goes out?” “Yes,” said
the mother. “Even in the sugar bowl?” the lad asked as he took the lid off.
“Yes,” said the mother, “even in the sugar bowl.” The boy slammed down the lid
and said, “Now I’ve got Him.”
9: Lutheran satire about St. Patrick’s bad analogies (Funny
You Tube joke):
27 Additional
anecdotes:
1) The world’s
biggest mysteries scientists still can’t solve: Ghost ships, alien
contact, and technology-built thousands of years before their time still remain
mysteries, unexplained by modern science. Ten such mysteries are the 1)
Baghdad, or Parthian, Battery, date ca. 2000 years ago, capable of generating
electric charge. 2) Terrifying SOS message about the death of all crew members
from a from a Dutch freighter, the SS Ourang Medan. 3) The Dancing
Plague of 1518 which made 400 women hysterically dance themselves to death. 3)
Man, with no identity: A man who would soon adopt the name Benjaman Kyle woke
up in 2004 outside of a Burger King in Georgia without any clothes, any ID, or
any memories. 4) The WOW! Signal received by Jerry Ehman, a volunteer for SETI,
the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence from within the Sagittarius
constellation near a star called Tau Sagittarii, 120 light years away. 5) The
Voynich Manuscript: The writing is composed of over 170,000 characters written
in patterns that resemble natural language. The sections appear to describe
different topics of herbal, astronomical, biological, cosmological, and
pharmaceutical nature. 6) Oak Island Money Pit: Oak Island is the home of what
is informally known as the “Money Pit,” of Nova Scotia in eastern Canada. It is
an incredibly deep hole of incredibly elaborate construction discovered in
1795. 7) The Antikythera mechanism is an incredibly intricate analogue computer
found in a shipwreck near Greece in the year 1900. The device was used to
determine the positions of celestial bodies using a mind-bogglingly complex
series of bronze gears. 8) “Sea Peoples” — a technologically inferior,
unaffiliated group of seafaring warriors who raided the lands and are often
credited with the collapse of once-great civilizations in the Aegean and
eastern Mediterranean regions. 9) Turkey’s Göbekli Tepe is composed of more than
200 pillars, up to 20 feet in height and weighing up to 20 tonnes, arranged in
roughly 20 circles, built more than 13,000 years ago, predating Stonehenge by
more than 8,000 years. 10) The Confederate Treasury. The year was 1865, and the
American Civil War was drawing to a close. As the Union army marched the final
path to victory, the Confederate Secretary of the Treasury George Trenholm made
one last effort to preserve the South’s assets by liquefying all gold and
silver and burying them in untraceable places along with jewels. (http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/archaeology/the-worlds-biggest-mysteries-scientists-still-cant-solve/news-story/aac87ed0bc09d5cd4dfba0d49f613334)
But these are no mysteries in comparison with the mystery of the Holy
Trinity. (Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
2) Human mystery
confronting divine mystery: The story is told that Franklin D.
Roosevelt and one of his close friends, Bernard Baruch, talked late into the
night one evening at the White House. At last, President Roosevelt suggested
that they go out into the Rose Garden and look at the stars before going to
bed. They went out and looked into the sky for several minutes, peering at a
nebula with thousands of stars. Then the President said, “All right, I think we
feel small enough now to go in and go to sleep.” The wonder of the power and
wisdom of God puts things in perspective for us humans. Creation was not an
accident, but the result of a Divine Plan; planets, stars, plants, birds, fish,
and animals were all created by God. And the climax of God’s creation was
humanity. (Fr. Kayala). (Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
3)Aggressively
selfish child: A report some years ago, allegedly by the Minnesota
Crime Commission, painted a dark picture of human nature indeed, particularly
with regard to small children. I quote: “Every baby starts life as a little
savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered. He wants what he wants when
he wants it – his bottle, his mother’s attention, his playmate’s toy, his
uncle’s watch. Deny him these once, and he seethes with rage and
aggressiveness, which would be murderous were he not so helpless. He is, in
fact dirty. He has no morals, no knowledge, no skills. This means that all
children not just certain children are born delinquent. If permitted to
continue in the self- centered world of his infancy, given free rein to his
impulsive actions to satisfy his wants, every child would grow up a criminal a
thief, a killer, or a rapist.” [Cited in R. Scott Richards, Myths the World
Taught Me (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991), p. 39.] It is to
transform this self-centered human nature into a selfless, God-centered one
that the Second Person of the Holy Trinity took human form as described in
today’s Gospel.
(Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
4) “You ask me a
riddle?” Richard, Cardinal Cushing (d. 11/2/1970), Archbishop of Boston,
MA, told of an occasion when he was administering last rites to a man who had
collapsed in a general store. Following his usual custom, he knelt by the man
and asked, “Do you believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit?” The Cardinal said the man roused a little bit, opened an eye, looked
at him and said, “Here I am, dying, and you ask me a riddle?” Call them riddles.
Call them Mysteries. There are things about life and Faith we do not
understand, but I am not going to suggest that you resign your effort to
understand.
(Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
5) “The undertaker.” There
is an old story about a henpecked husband who went to a psychologist. He was
tired of being dominated by his wife. The psychologist told him, “You do not
have to accept your wife’s bullying. You need to go home right now and let her
know that you’re your own boss.” The husband decided to take the doctor’s
advice. He went home and slammed the door on the way in. He confronted his wife
and said, “From now on you’ll do what I say. Get my supper, then go upstairs
and lay out my clothes. After I eat, I’m going out with the boys while you stay
home. By the way, do you know who is going to tie my tie for me?” “I sure do,”
said his wife calmly, “the undertaker.” Some marriages are filled with
conflict. So are some offices. Unfortunately, some Churches are filled with
conflict as well. The feast of the Holy Trinity challenges us to cultivate the
Trinitarian relationship of love and unity in our families and offices and
parishes.
(Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
6) “Bad things always
come in threes.” An old adage warns, “Bad things always come in threes.”
Have you found this true in your own experience? That bad things (and good
things), like to happen in community, in bunches? You say: we invent this connection
by suddenly realizing that we got a flat tire on the same day that a computer
glitch devoured our hard drive, shortly after our last contact lens just slid
down the drain. I say: there seems to be something significant about the power
of three. Today the Church celebrates the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit—on this “Trinity Sunday,” affirming the truth that good things also come
in threes. We recognize God as Power (the Father), God as Person (the Son), and
God as Presence (the Holy Spirit). (Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
7) “But the machine
can’t ask me about my arthritis.” The true story is told of a woman
named Mamie who made frequent trips to the branch post office. One day she confronted
a long line of people who were waiting for service from the postal clerk. Mamie
only needed stamps, so a helpful observer asked her, “Why don’t you just use
the stamp machine? You can get all the stamps you need and you won’t have to
wait in line.” Mamie said, “I know, but the machine can’t ask me about my
arthritis.” That’s part of the wisdom of Christ’s coming to our earth to live
among us as described in today’s Gospel (John 3: 16-18). He can relate to
us in all of our daily needs. As we try to walk in Jesus’ steps, we might do
well to pray the ancient Irish poem set to an Irish ballad tune, which says,
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
(Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
8) A dumb debate on
God: The following imagined debate for mute and deaf scholars is a warning
to our pastors who think that they have explained Holy Trinity well to their
flock on Trinity Sunday. The Jews and the Catholics are having a debate
about God and decide that they will each send one representative to prove that
their side is right. The only rule is that words are not allowed. They decide
on their representatives. The Vatican decides to send their best brain –
Cardinal Ratzinger, the head of the Congregation on Faith and Morals – while
the Jews pick one of their best rabbis to represent them. As a sign of respect,
the Jews allow the debate to be held at the local cathedral. The time for the
debate comes and the rabbi walks into the cathedral and up to the cardinal. The
cardinal waves his hand towards the sky. The rabbi responds by slamming his
fist into his palm. The cardinal holds up three fingers. The rabbi responds by
holding up his middle finger. The cardinal then pulls out bread and wine. The
rabbi then reaches into a bag and pulls out two fish. At this point the
cardinal holds up his hands and walks away.
After the debate the cardinal heads back to the Vatican to
talk it over with the pope and the other cardinals. “Man, those Jews have it
all figured out. First, I said to him, ‘God is everywhere,’ and he responded,
‘God is right here.’ I was taken aback. So, I held up three fingers
representing the Holy Trinity, and he responded, ‘We all worship the same one
God.’ I didn’t know what to do so I showed him bread and wine representing the
sacrifice of Jesus, and he responded with two fish, representing that Jesus
provides.
The Rabbi headed back to the synagogue to tell the others
his version what had happened. “Man, you wouldn’t believe those Catholics. The
moment I walked in this guy with a weird hat gestures at me ‘No Jews Allowed.’
I said ‘I’m staying right here.’ Then he said, ‘You have three minutes.’ I
said, ‘Get lost.’ Then he pulled out his lunch, so I showed him mine.”
(Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
9) Why Isn’t the
Whole West Coast Included? A woman wrote to Reader’s Digest.
She wanted to tell about an experience that she had when she took a young girl
from India to church with her. It was the eleven-year-old girl’s first exposure
to a Christian worship service. The young lady’s parents were traveling on
business and had left her in the care of their American friends. The little
Hindu girl decided on her own to go with the family to Church one Sunday. After
the service was over, they went out to lunch. The little girl had some
questions. She wondered, “I don’t understand why the West Coast isn’t included,
too?” Her Christian friends were puzzled and asked, “What do you mean?” She
responded, “You know. I kept hearing the people say, ‘In the name of the Father,
and the Son, and the whole East Coast.’”
(Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
10) God Is
Everywhere: A pastor was trying to explain to a little Sunday school
child that God is calling people everywhere in the world to believe in Him.
“God is much bigger than we imagine Him to be, and God can use all of us in
lots of different ways to do His work everywhere,” the pastor said. “God is
everywhere!” “Everywhere?” asked the little boy. “Everywhere!” said the pastor.
The boy went home and told his mother, “God is everywhere! The pastor said so.”
“Yes, I know,” said the mother. “You mean He is even in the cupboard?” “Yes,”
said the mother. “In the refrigerator — even when we close the door and the
light goes out?” “Yes,” said the mother. “Even in the sugar bowl?” the lad
asked as he took the lid off. “Yes,” said the mother, “even in the sugar bowl.”
The boy slammed down the lid and said, “Now I’ve got Him.”
(Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
11) “What?” Jesus
said, “Who do men say that I am?” And his disciples answered and said,
“Some say you are John the Baptist returned from the dead; others say Elijah,
or other of the old prophets.” And Jesus answered and said, “But who do you say
that I am?” Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Logos of the Father,
the Son Whom the Father loved from eternity and Whom the Holy Spirit, the
eternal Personification of the love between the Father and the Son, begot on the
Virgin Mary.” And Jesus answering, said, “What?”
(Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
12) “I’m surprised at
you!” An English teacher of a 21-sophomore high school class put a
small chalk dot on the blackboard. He then asked the class what it was. A few
seconds passed and then someone said, “That is a chalk dot on the blackboard.”
The rest of the class seemed relieved that the obvious had been stated, and no
one else had anything to say. “I’m surprised at you,” the teacher told the
class. “I did the same exercise yesterday with a group of kindergartners and
they thought of 50 different things the chalk mark could be: an owl’s eye, a
cigar butt, the top of a telephone pole, a star, a pebble, a squashed bug, a
rotten egg, a bird’s eye, and so on.” The older students had learned how to
find a right answer, but had lost the ability to look for more than one right
answer. The Holy Spirit helps us, in His wonderful Wisdom, to see more than we
might have seen by ourselves. The Spirit’s vision allows us wonderful options
for expansion and new possibilities. It is the Spirit’s Wisdom that reveals the
Word to us. It is the Wisdom of the Spirit that shows us our sin, which guides
us, which instructs us, which leads us in the way to Life
Everlasting. (Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
13) Trinitarian
design for medieval cathedrals: When the architect and engineer Aldo
Spirito was commissioned to design a cathedral for the Archdiocese of Abidjan,
Ivory Coast, West Africa, he used a number of architectural elements, as was
the tradition of the builders of the medieval cathedrals, to reinforce the
truths of our Faith. Among those elements is the fact that the basic structure
is triangular, so as to state dramatically the fundamental truth of Christian
Faith: God has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Fr. Tony
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
14) The Sundial: A
missionary from Africa, on his home-leave, came across a beautiful sundial. He
thought to himself, “That sundial would be ideal for my villagers in Africa. I
could use it to teach them to tell the time of the day.” The missionary bought
the sundial, crated it and took it back to Africa. When the village chief saw
it, he insisted that it be set up in the centre of the village. The villagers
were thrilled with the sundial. They had never seen something so beautiful in
their lives. They were even more thrilled when they learned how it worked. The
missionary was delighted by everyone’s response to his sundial. He was totally
unprepared for what happened a few days later. The people of the village got
together and built a roof over the sundial to protect it from the rain and the
sun! Well, I think the sundial is a lot like the Holy Trinity, and we
Christians are a lot like the African villagers. The most beautiful revelation
of our Faith is the teaching about the Holy Trinity, namely, the Father, Son
and the Holy Spirit. But instead of putting the teaching to work in our daily
lives, we have built a roof over it, just as the villagers did over their
sundial. For many of us the Trinity seems of little practical value, when it
comes to our daily lives. We treat it more like an ornament of our Faith. (Mark
Link in Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (Fr. Tony
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
15) Jesus’
brother, Isukiri, died in Jesus’ place on the cross and Jesus went to Japan :
While visiting one of the members of one of the congregations I served some
years ago I was offered a cup of coffee, and while I sat in the lounge room
waiting, I noticed something unusual. On a table there was what appeared
to be a shrine. Inside was a Buddha statue with candles and flowers and
food and other symbols. As we sipped coffee, I asked about the display on
the table expecting to hear a story about an overseas trip and souvenirs.
Instead I heard a story about this person’s involvement in the cultic Japanese
religion Mahikari and how she felt that what she was learning through this
religion complimented and supported her Christian Faith. She told me how it
taught her about karma, reincarnation, ancestor worship and making food
offerings to the spirits of the departed, and so on. She told me that
Jesus’ brother, Isukiri, died in Jesus’ place on the cross, that Jesus went to
Japan when he was 37 and he died there when he 106. The amazing thing about all
this, is that this person saw no conflict between what she confessed on Sunday
mornings when she said the Apostles’ Creed with us and what she did the rest of
the week as she prayed before the shrine in her lounge room. This reminds
me of the young man who asked if he could go into the Church to pray.
Before the pastor could respond, he quickly added, “By the way, what kind of
Church is this? Not that it makes any difference. I don’t follow
any particular religion. Whenever I pass a Church or a mosque, I go in
say a prayer and plug into the Divine. Any God will do!” —
“Plug into the Divine,” like it is magic, a kind of pill
that will keep us safe and sound! Today’s feast reminds us that our God
is a Triune God, one God in Three Persons. (Rev. Gerhardy).
16) Exploring the
mystery of Holy Trinity: Explorers and the pioneer families did solve the
mystery of what was out there beyond the coastal strip. In fact, people have
been exploring the mysteries of our world on many fronts – medicine,
technology, and what is out there in space. Where there is any kind of a
mystery, people will try to solve it. But there are some Mysteries that will
always be Mysteries. Today, Trinity Sunday, we come up against one of those Mysteries
– God. Who is God? Where is God? What is God? I can’t touch Him. I can’t
say how big He is. I can’t see Him. The early Christians started talking about
a Triune God. This wasn’t to make God more logical and understandable and
acceptable to human ways of thinking. In fact, the idea of the Trinity
intensified the Mystery and awesomeness of God. They observed that Jesus had a
unique relationship with the Father and that the Holy Spirit had a unique
relationship with the Father and the Son. Against all sorts of odds, against
all human logic, and in the face of mounting opposition, the Church maintained
that Jesus Christ is true God, equal with the Father, and that the Holy Spirit
is God, equal with the Father and the Son. Who is God? He is our Heavenly Father
Who made us, takes cares of us and calls us His dear children. Who is God? He
is Jesus Christ Who gave His life on the cross to re-establish our relationship
with God. He reveals the way to God and to eternal life. Who is God? God is the
Holy Spirit in you giving you Faith in God and guiding you in your daily walk
as a Christian. Faith in the Triune God acknowledges the might and majesty of
God but, at the same time, trusts in His care and intimate knowledge of our
needs and of what is happening in our lives. O LORD, our Lord, the
majesty of Your Name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. Let
us make this our prayer: “Lord God, in spite of our unbelief and lack of
understanding of Who You are, show us Your new way of living. Amen.” (Rev.
Gerhardy).
(Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
17) Holy Trinity
prayer (Fr. De Mello version of Tolstoy’s Three Monks): When the
bishop’s ship stopped at a remote island for a day, he decided to use the time
as profitably as possible. He strolled along the seashore and came across three
fishermen mending their nets. In Pidgin English they explained to him that,
centuries ago, they had been Christianized by missionaries. “We, Christians!”
they said, proudly pointing to themselves. The bishop was impressed. Did they
know the Lord’s Prayer? They had never heard of
it. The bishop was shocked. How could these men claim to be Christians when
they did not know something as elementary as the Lord’s Prayer? “What do
you say, then, when you pray?” the bishop asked. “We lift eyes in
heaven. We pray, ‘We are three, You are three,
have mercy on us.’” The bishop was appalled at the primitive,
downright heretical nature of their prayer. So he spent the whole day teaching
them to say the Lord’s Prayer, and he succeeded although the fishermen were
poor learners. (Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
Months later the bishop’s ship happened to pass by those
islands, and the bishop, as he paced the deck saying his evening prayers,
recalled with pleasure the fact that on that distant island were three
fishermen who were now able to pray correctly, thanks to his patient efforts.
While he was lost in thought he happened to look up and noticed a spot
of light in the east. The light kept approaching the
ship and, as the bishop gazed in wonder, he saw three figures walking on the
surface of the water towards the boat. The captain stopped the boat and all the
sailors leaned over the rails to see this amazing sight. When they were within
speaking distance, the bishop recognized his three friends, the fishermen.
“Bishop!” they exclaimed, “we are so glad meet you! We heard your boat go past
island and came in a hurry, hurry to meet you.” “What do you want?” asked the
bishop filled with wonder seeing them walking on water as Jesus did. “Bishop,”
they said, “we so sorry. We forgot that lovely prayer you taught us. We
remember only this much: ‘Our Father in Heaven, holy be your name, your
kingdom come’ . . .the rest we forgot. Please teach us whole
prayer again.” The bishop felt humbled. “Go back to your homes, my good men,”
he said, “and each time you pray, say your Holy Trinity prayer, ‘We are
three, You are three, have mercy on us!’” (Fr. Anthony de Mello S.J., The Song of the
Bird, adapted from Tolstoy’s original story of Three Monks). (Fr. Tony
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
18) “Welcome!” There is a beautiful
Russian icon of the Blessed Trinity painted by a monk named Rublev. The monk,
Andrei Rublev (c. 1360 – 1430), was a medieval Russian who painted Orthodox
icons and frescoes. His Trinity icon is considered the
greatest of its kind, and one of the finest works of religious art ever
created, depicting a wordless conversation between Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. It is based on an earlier icon known as the “Hospitality of Abraham”
illustrating Genesis 18 which depicts the three angels who visited Abraham at
the Oak of Mamre (see Genesis 18:1-15) sitting around a table. But the painting
is full of symbolism and often interpreted as an icon of the Holy Trinity. A
dish of food lies on the table. But the thing that immediately strikes you is
the fact that at the front of the table there is a vacant place. The vacant
place is meant to convey openness, hospitality and welcome towards the stranger
and outsider. That vacant place is meant for each one of us, and for all the
human family. It signifies God’s invitation to us to share in the life of the
Trinity. God doesn’t exclude us. He invites us to come in and sit at His table.
He wants to share His life with us. (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday &
Holy Day Liturgies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
19) You don’t need to
understand God for Him to take over your life
Thomas Edison, the inventor, once remarked: “We don’t know
what water is. We don’t know what light is. We don’t know what electricity is.
We don’t know what heat is. We have a lot of hypotheses about these things, but
that is all. But we don’t let our ignorance about these things deprive us of
their use.” The truth of that statement is real. Most of us do not know how an
electric light works, how a telephone or a TV works, but this does not prevent
us from using them. Let us try to apply the same common sense to our Faith in
the doctrine of the Trinity. (John Pichappily in The Table of the Word;
quoted by Fr. Botelho). (Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
20) “Holy, Holy,
Holy”: Today’s “signature” Hymn is familiar to all of us. It begins,
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, Holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity. (Fr. Tony
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
21) Blessed Elizabeth
of the Trinity Becomes a House of God: No one understood this better that
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity. She grew up in France in the late eighteen
hundreds, the daughter of a successful military officer who died of a heart
attack while she was still only a girl. She was an extremely strong-willed and
temperamental child. Her frequent fits of rage were almost uncontrollable, and
she was known as the “little devil.” This began to change after her first
Communion, when she was eleven. That afternoon she met for the first time the
prioress of the nearby Carmelite convent. The nun explained that the girl’s
name, Elizabeth, meant “house of God,” and wrote her a note that said: “Your
blessed name hides a mystery, accomplished on this great day. Child. Your heart
is the House of God on earth, of the God of love.” From then on, recognizing
that God had taken up residence in her soul, she waged a holy war against her
violent temper. She didn’t win overnight, but she did win, eventually, and she
also discovered her vocation to become a Carmelite herself. Her mother didn’t
like the idea, however, and made her wait until she was twenty-one. She won
friends of all ages during those years of waiting, singing in the parish
choirs, arranging parish day-care service for families that worked in the local
tobacco factory, and also winning several prizes for her skill at the piano.
She died only five years after entering the convent, at the age of 26, after
having suffered horribly for months from an extremely painful disease of the
kidneys. But her realization that the Blessed Trinity dwelt within her enabled
her to suffer with patience and even with joy. As she wrote to her mother: “The
bride belongs to the Bridegroom, and mine has taken me. [Jesus] wants me to be
another humanity for him in which he can still suffer for the glory of his
Father, to help the needs of his Church: this thought has done me so much
good.” Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity had discovered the intimate, loving
presence of God that He so eagerly wants to reveal to all of us. (E-Priest).
(Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
22) “As there is fire
and water in this brick” According to Tradition, when St. Spyridon of
Trimithund was asked at the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) how three can
simultaneously be one, he responded (with a little Divine help!) by taking up a
brick and squeezing it. From the now-soft clay in his hands, a flame flared up,
while simultaneously water flowed downward. “As there is fire and water in this
brick,” said St. Spyridon, “in the same way there are three persons in the one
Godhead.” (The great 20th-century Catholic theologian Father Karl Rahner, SJ,
was supposedly asked once by a priest friend how he should explain the Holy
Trinity when preaching. Father Rahner’s reply was simple: “Don’t!” The mystery
we celebrate in today’s feast defies not only explanation but also
comprehension. The preacher is left to reaffirm our core belief that God,
remaining One, is somehow also Triune. The preacher is further challenged to
help his congregants (and himself) understand why that truth might matter in
their daily lives.)
https://www.osv.com/OSVNewsweekly/DailyTake/Article/TabId/736/ArtMID/13645/ArticleID/22072/June-11-2017-The-Incomprehensible-Mystery-of-the-Trinity.aspx). (Fr. Tony
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
23) The universal
testimony: A good illustration of the Trinity comes from
world-renowned scientist Dr. Henry Morris. He notes that the entire universe is
Trinitarian by design. The universe consists of three things: matter, space,
and time. Take away any one of those three and the universe would cease to
exist. But each one of those is itself a trinity. Matter = mass + energy +
motion. Space = length + height + breadth. Time = past + present + future.
Thus, the whole universe witnesses to the character of the God who made it (cf.
Psalm 19:1). (Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
24) More simple
explanations: According to Tradition, when St. Spyridon of Trimithund was
asked at the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) how three can simultaneously be one,
he responded (with a little Divine help!) by taking up a brick and squeezing
it. From the now-soft clay in his hands, a flame flared up, while
simultaneously water flowed downward. “As there is fire and water in this
brick,” said St. Spyridon, “in the same way there are three persons in the one
Godhead.” St. John of Damascus, a great Eastern theologian of the eighth
century, said we should think “of the Father as a root, the Son as a branch,
and of the Spirit as a fruit, for the sustenance of these three is
one.” (Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
25) A Divine Mystery
in our world of mysteries: The world, we live in, is not as simple as
it might seem to be. It is full of unexplained mysteries that raise several
questions that remain to be answered even today. There are many such mysterious
phenomena, which find no satisfactory explanation in science. Many of the
mysteries keep us wondering, asking questions, and striving to learn more about
our world; others are simply amusing. They have perplexed individuals all
throughout history. The Bermuda Triangle is believed to possess certain
supernatural powers due to which aircraft and ships coming in its vicinity
disappear. Moreover, researchers have never been able to find the exact cause
of the disappearing of vessels and aircraft, neither have they been able to
trace the lost objects. The Bermuda Triangle remains an unexplained mystery.
Unidentified objects, abbreviated as UFOs, are disk-like objects seen in the
night sky. Some of them glow and have lights. People claim to have seen them
float in sky or fly across speedily. It is said that they could be spaceships
or vehicles of the aliens traveling to Earth. Archaeologists have found about
thirteen crystal skulls in parts of Mexico as well as Central and South
America. They are 5000 to 36000-year-old human like skulls made out of milky
crystal rock. Long years of research might be able to find answers to some of
them while many will remain being unresolved for generations to come. If there
are so many things that cannot be explained in this world, how can we explain
the mysteries relating to the Creator of this world! Today we celebrate the
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. It is a mystery that cannot be comprehended
by the human beings. (Fr. Bobby Jose). (Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
26) The “Dogmatic”
Sarcophagus, also known as the “Trinity Sarcophagus” is an early Christian sarcophagus dating to
320–350,[2] now
in the Vatican
Museums (Vatican 104). [1] The
three persons of the Trinity are portrayed as three bearded males, in the act
of creating Eve while Adam lies nearby in a deep sleep. It was discovered
in the 19th century during rebuilding works at the Basilica
di San Paolo fuori le Mura, (Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Wall),
in Rome, Italy. Together with the Sarcophagus
of Junius Bassus, it one of the most important examples of Christian-Roman
sculpture of the Constantinian era.
It draws its name from its clear references to the dogmas of the Council of Nicaea (325),
in particular to Christ being consubstantial with God the Father, as shown (for
example) by the scene of a figure with the appearance of Jesus between Adam and Eve, though
whether the figure is to be understood as Christ or God the Father is less
clear – the dogmatic point works either way. (Sanchez Archives &
Wikipedia). (Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
27) Icon
of the Trinity by Andrew Rublev: In 1425 C.E., Andrew Rublev, a Russian
monk painted an icon of the Trinity in which three angelic figures are seated
around a small table, engaged in intimate conversation. On the table is a
chalice, in the background is a tree. The trio of figures and the tree are
reminiscent of the visit which angelic messengers paid to Sarah and Abraham at
the Oak of Mamre. As they enjoyed the generous welcome of Sarah and Abraham,
the messengers announced the unexpected birth of Isaac (Genesis 18) whom
Abraham would later be willing to sacrifice if God willed it (Genesis 22). From
his knowledge of iconography, Henri Nouwen has suggested that Rublev intended
this angelic appearance to prefigure the Divine visitation by which God sends
the unexpected gift of His Son, who sacrifices himself for sin and gives new
life through the Spirit. Rublev wished that his icon would offer his fellow
monks a way to keep their hearts centered on God, Father, Son and Spirit,
despite the chaotic world of political unrest in which they lived. (Sanchez
Archives). (Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2020
From Sermons.com
A preacher proudly boasted that he does not preach doctrinal sermons. They are boring he asserts and people do not understand or relate to them. Further, he claimed, I am a preacher and not a theologian. I get down do the practical issues and simply preach Christ crucified.
His thinking is faulty at several points. First, he is wrong when he says that he is not a theologian. The fact is that everyone to a certain extent is a theologian. Theology is nothing more than what you think about God. Well, shouts one person, I don't believe In God. That then is your theology. I would also take issue with him when he claims that he does not preach theology but gets down to practical issues. In my thinking there is no difference in good theology and good practice. Good, solid theology gets down to the very core of our existence.
Finally, I would disagree with him when he says that we should only preach Christ crucified. I know that is what the Apostle Paul said but this preacher doesn't mean what Paul meant. He is saying that he only preaches about the cross and saving the sinner. I submit to you that the cross is not central in Paul's theology; rather, it is Christ. It has always puzzled me why some ministers preach the message of salvation to people who have been sitting in the pews all their life when they need so much more of Christ's teaching on life's other issues. There are many strings on a guitar. To make beautiful music all of them must be played and not just one. That is why in the United Methodist Church we honor the lectionary and the seasons of the church year. That insures a witness to the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ. How can one go through the season of Advent and not touch upon the doctrine of the incarnation. How can one go through Lent without touching upon the doctrine of the resurrection? Likewise, how can we embark upon the season of Pentecost, as we did last week, without mentioning the doctrine of the Trinity?
Today is Trinity Sunday...
The soul has its seasons. "There is a time to be born, a time to die."
The Bible has its seasons. The biblical New Year begins at the appearance of the first "new moon" of spring, when nature comes to life. The West has its seasons. The New Year begins in the depths of the winter, which is often when the new comes, in the midst of winter, the soul most often coming to life in the wintry seasons of life.
The church has its seasons.
In the church our "seasons" are not determined by climate changes or a vernal equinox. Instead of fall, winter, spring, and summer, the church calendar recognizes seven "seasons:"
Advent
ChristmasEpiphany
Lent
Holy Week
Easter
Pentecost
Kingdomtide (unique to Wesleyans and Presbyterians)
Unlike those other "four seasons" that neatly divvy up the year into four equal parts, the church seasons are all of different lengths. Advent is only four Sundays long. Lent is observed for six Sundays. Epiphany and Eastertide both extend over seven Sundays. The week of Holy Week gets its own "season." But by far the majority of the church calendar year is designated as the "Sundays after Pentecost" - depending on what church calendar you are using, up to twenty-seven Sundays in all, with this week being the first of those many "Pentecost Sundays."
The reason for such a lop-sided division of the "seasons" in the church is explained in part by this week's gospel text. Matthew 28:16-20 is identified as the "Commissioning of the Disciples" text. It is a hotly contested text, to say the least. The phrase "The Great Commission" doesn't appear in the Bible, and wasn't widely used until the early 20th century, when the phrase and the text became wed-locked forever.
In these few verses Matthew manages to encapsulate the whole of his gospel story...
This is Trinity Sunday. God in three persons--Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Do we fully understand this wonderful doctrine? No, but some of us will fight for it.
You may remember that ancient story about St. Augustine. One day he took a break from writing about the Trinity to take a walk along the seashore. There he came across a child with a little pail, intently scooping up a pail full of water out of the ocean, then walking up the beach and dumping it out into the sand, then going back down to scoop out another pail of water to pour into the sand, etc.
Augustine asked the child what he was doing, and the child explained that he was "emptying the sea out into the sand."
When the Bishop tried to gently point out the absurd impossibility of this task, the child replied, "Ah, but I'll drain the sea before you understand the Trinity."
There's truth to that child's comment. We don't understand the Trinity, but we're ready to go to war to defend it. Well, maybe not anymore. But there was a time when battles were fought over church doctrine, and even today churches are being split over whose interpretation of the Word is correct. And it's tragic.
King Duncan, Collected Sermons. www.Sermons.com
Thomas Troeger, a Presbyterian pastor and gifted preacher, tells a story of an experience he had once. He wrote:
"One day several years ago I was in a department store buying myself a new shirt when a complete stranger walked up to me and said, 'You must be Henry Troeger's son.'
"One day several years ago I was in a department store buying myself a new shirt when a complete stranger walked up to me and said, 'You must be Henry Troeger's son.'
"I looked at this person and I said, 'I don't believe I have ever seen you.'
"He said, 'Oh, no, you have never met me at all, but a long time ago I worked with your father. I was a close colleague of his and when I saw you across the aisle of the store, I said to myself, `I'd know that face anywhere.' You are the very image of your father.'
"For several weeks after that, I would sometimes be going down the street, and maybe come around a corner, and catch my reflection in a store window. I started to see myself with the eyes of someone else. It is not like looking into the mirror in the morning. I would come around the corner, catch that reflection and I would think, 'That's Henry Troeger.' All of a sudden I would be seeing how I bore the image of my father."
And so it is with us.
Each one of us is created with the image of God indelibly imprinted on our souls, so that, in some miraculous and inexplicable way, the diverse expressions of God that are you and you and you and me all come together to illustrate the mystery, to live together in community as we do our best to display for the world all the possibilities that the divine imprint on all of us could mean.
Amy Butler, A Curious Community
Who
Unfortunately, most of us act like the out-of shape, overweight man who decided to take up tennis. He took lessons from a pro. He read several self-help books which advised him to "think positively" and "develop a winning attitude."
A friend asked him how his tennis was going. With a positive, winning attitude in his voice, the man replied, "When my opponent hits the ball to me, my brain immediately barks out a command to my body: 'Race up to the net.' Then, it says, 'Slam a blistering shot to a far corner of the court. Then immediately jump back into position and return the next volley to the other far corner of the court.' And then my body says, 'Who, me?'" I'd be willing to bet, if we could go back in time, that the first words out of the mouths of all the Disciples after Jesus spoke these words were the same: "Who, me?" You have to remember that the events of this passage actually took place before Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But the question is still pertinent. "Who, me?"
Billy D. Strayhorn, Go!
I rather like the story Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick once related from his own childhood days. His father had said to his mother, upon leaving the house one Saturday in the morning hours: "Tell Harry that he can cut the grass today, if he feels like it."
Then, halfway down the walk, his father turned once more to add: "And tell Harry that he had better feel like it."
Well, in its own rather humorous way, there is something essential about life wrapped up in that. For there is a difference between knowing we are supposed to do something, and 'feeling like" doing it. There is a difference between a sense of obligation and a sense of generosity. There is a difference between obedience and desire. And the one of those weighs us down, while the other lifts us up.
Christianity says to us, you do not know God, if you know Him only as a sense of authority over your life. Furthermore, you do not know God, if you merely believe intellectually that God is a God who cares and loves.
You do not know God somehow at all, unless the same spirit of His authority and His love captivates you from within, so that you live knowing the spirit of it for yourself. You do not know God, unless all this that we have been saying about Him becomes for you your own way of life and not an obligation imposed on you by the Church, or by the fear of death, or by anything else.
Paul van Dine, Not the Nature, but the Character of God - Trinity!, Cathedral Publishers.Safely through the Storm
Max Lucado tells the story about the time he was sailing with his son and a church friend of the coast of Miami. They were having a leisurely cruise and the weather was perfect. But out of nowhere a storm appeared. The sky darkened, the rained started and the ocean became violent. Max was terrified and looked at his friend Milt for help.
Milt was deliberate and decisive. He told the men exactly where to sit and gave them specific instructions. Last he said, "just hang on." They did what he said. Why? Because Milt was the only skilled sailor on board and knew exactly what to do in a storm. Until then Max could have boasted about his merit badge in sailing that he had received in the boy scouts. But, that was no comparison to a real storm on the high seas. He had no choice but to trust in Milt's directions...
