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Sunday Reading Reflections May 22 - Feast of the Most Holy Trinity
This is a discussion on Sunday Reading Reflections May 22 - Feast of the Most Holy Trinity within the Christian Families - Catholic forums, part of the Culture category; In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Glory be to the ...
Sunday Reading Reflections May 22 - Feast of the Most Holy Trinity
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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, world without end. Amen.
`The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
By using these words we profess our belief in the central mystery of the Christian faith: that God is one, yet three. Three `Persons’ yet one God, a Trinity of Persons who `possess’ the one divine nature, who have all those things that go with being `God’.
The Catechism says: `The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. The whole history of salvation is (about) the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin’. (CCC page 56)
The Christian understanding of God is different from that of all other world religions. Until Jesus came most people believed in many gods. The First Reading tells us that the God who revealed himself to the Jews on Mount Sinai was `a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness’.
It was Jesus who revealed to the world that there was also a `threeness’ about this one God:. `Threeness’ refers to the three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and `oneness’ refers to the one divine Nature, which all three persons `possess’. These three Persons live in an eternal loving relationship. When we are baptised we are drawn into the life of the Blessed Trinity. The three Persons come to `live’ in us, to be life-giving to us.
The Second Reading tells us that `God loved the world so much that he sent his only Son, not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved and have eternal life’……No one who believes in him will be condemned: but whoever refuses to believe in him is condemned already, because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son’.
At first sight, this text seems to suggest that most people in the world face condemnation, since the vast majority have not heard of the Blessed Trinity and so do not `believe in the name of God’s only Son’. The Catechism says: `Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will, as they know it through the dictates of their conscience, may achieve salvation’.
How many in this country `have not heard of the Blessed Trinity, and so do not believe in the name of God’s only Son’……because we have not told them about it?
There are simple ways that we can help other people to `hear’ of the Blessed Trinity. Making the sign of the cross before eating, whether at home, at work, or in a restaurant, is a way of professing our faith, a way of arousing the curiosity of those around us. This allows the Holy Spirit to `touch’ them, to begin in them a process that may lead them to question their own beliefs, or lack of them. Jesus `revealed’ the Blessed Trinity to the Apostles, and through them to us. We are `ambassadors’ of Christ, his representatives. He relies on us to `reveal’ the `mystery’ of God to others. We need to ask ourselves: `Do I by my words, actions or omissions `reveal’ God to others or create a `curtain’ that obscures him from others?
Sunday Reading Reflections May 22 - Feast of the Most Holy Trinity
