SUNDAY MAY 26, 2024
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
Deuteronomy 4:32-34,39-40
Roman 8:14-17
Matthew 28:16-20
THE HOLY TRINITY: UNITY AND COMMUNION OF LIFE EXEMPLIFIED
The solemnity of the Holy Trinity is not an occasion to probe into the theological doctrine of explaining the nature or the essence of the Godhead. Such theological difficulties must be admitted is beyond human comprehension no matter how intellectually one is endowed. Even mystical theologians and spiritual gurus are afraid of talking or writing anything on this for fear of blasphemy.
While we tread gently and with caution, we must divert into depending on what the Church says about the Holy Trinity alone with the main and sole reason of abstracting the relationship with man and the lessons it leaves with us human beings.
The gospel of today gives us the foundational basis on our belief in the Holy Trinity. That those who come to the faith are initiated through baptism with this Trinitarian formular as Jesus instructed the disciples saying, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,”
This is the visible and most direct indication given by Jesus himself on the doctrine of the Trinity. As the catholic catechism number 249 puts it, “from the beginning, the revealed truth of the Holy Trinity has been at the very root of the Church’s living faith, principally by means of Baptism.”
That the Trinity is made of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. That though they are three persons, yet there is one God, undivided, eternal and inseparable. So, in the nature of the union, the church holds that, “we worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father is one, the Son’s is another, the Holy Spirit’s another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is One, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.”
So as they are inseparable in their “divine persons so they are also inseparable in what they do. But within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity especially in the divine missions of the Son’s incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Putting the doctrine into summary as the Church holds, we uphold that, the Trinity is one; the divine persons are really distinct from one another; the divine persons are relative to one another. And because of that unity, it teaches that, “the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit, the Son is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son.”
So their uniqueness is known and felt but their communion is most important to say. This unity and communion is one which we must reflect upon and try to emulate. That is the unity that binds the whole of creation and brings purpose to all created things.
Unity and communion makes the human family to grow and flourish. That is why God in his wisdom has created us into and from families. We live in relations to one another. We are differently endowed and gifted. We are supposed to tap into each other’s gifts and endowment to be able to function maximally and live truly.
This unity and communion begins in the family and needs to be extended to the entire human family. It is sustained by respect and humility of heart. It is what makes the whole world better and functional. Without unity and communion, the scientific snd technological advancement in our world would have been impossible, the family structure would have crumbled and the world would have been filled with isolated individuals and community life would have died.
So following the life of the Trinity, we must try to key into sustaining and upholding communion and unity in whatever society we live, whatever work we do and whatever life we live. That is the most direct message of the Trinity in our world today.
Heaven Father, with your incarnate Son and the power of the Holy Spirit, One God, eternal and true, we appreciate our incorporation and baptism into your Godhead. May we resemble you in your unity and communion. Help us to uphold the unity, oneness of creation and especially the human family. May we appreciate, value and uphold our uniqueness and respect with great humility the value of each other so that our communion will be enhanced and our unity blossom through Chrisr our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno.
