Acts of the Apostles. 5

May 18, 2008

Most Holy Trinity

“The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”

Today we celebrate one of the central tenets of our Catholic faith, the most Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; who are three persons in one divine nature.

The Trinity may seem abstract and difficult to believe, but at the same time, its inexhaustibility points to the truth that it’s something we humans didn’t or couldn’t invent. Even within the vast array of religious beliefs, the Trinity doesn’t really “explain” or “solve” anything. There is no advantage or self-interest on our part to invent this belief. It’s beyond us, but yet we can begin to grasp it.

During the recent visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States, you may have noticed his coat of arms. The inexhaustible beauty and grandeur of the Trinity is one of the Pope’s favorite topics, as is St. Augustine. In fact, one of the symbols on his coat of arms, the shell, refers to it directly.

The shell comes from a story about St. Augustine, who was walking along the seashore one morning, trying to understand the Holy Trinity…

-Child: “And yet, it would be easier for me to do this than for you to understand the mystery, love, and mercy of the Holy Trinity.”

We are called to the same humble, confident childlikeness in our relationship with the Trinity.

The mystery of the Holy Trinity may seem beyond our grasp when we think about His communion, life, and mercy, but that doesn’t mean it is impractical. In fact the trinity (and our faith in Him) is the only practical source of hope for humanity and our community in today’s world. Even though technology, trade, and development are making our world into one closely-linked community, ironically there are deeper divisions among people across the board. Without hope, we easily sow the seeds of anger, resentment, revenge, and violence. Without the Trinity, we become easily unmoored from our moral and spiritual foundations.

With the Trinity, our humanity is grounded on solid foundations. We can rediscover the God-given balance of unity of essentials and diversity of non-essentials in building up healthy Christian community life.

The image and likeness of the Trinity – in which we are all made – becomes reality only when we put our faith in Him.

-Rev. Todd Molinari

http://www.stjosephchurch.com/pastor.html