The Most Holy Trinity
Today, we come face to face with the inner mystery of God as a family of three persons. Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. A complete harmony of love.
When you hear the word ‘God’ who do you immediately think of? How do you visualise God? Do you automatically think of the Trinity, or just one person in the Trinity? I remember one of my interview questions for the priesthood was: ‘Who do you pray to?’ That was an interesting question, a question that caught me off guard, something I had to ponder upon. Who do I pray to? For me, in my private prayers, it will be probably be Jesus Christ, however, in other areas in my priestly ministry, it will be a mixture of praying to God the Father, and also to the Holy Spirit.
The word ‘God’ is the most used and also abused word in the human language. The challenge for us, is to always speak rightly about God and his Holy Name, with honour, praise and worship, being extremely careful not to be disrespectful by using the Lord God’s name in vain, in anyway shape or form.
The Trinity is central to the Liturgy of the Mass, even by our first action entering the church we make the ‘sign of the cross’ with Holy Water, as we remember the Trinity, through our Baptism of the Faith. Then the Trinity pops up again at the general greeting by the Priest, using this formular of words: ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.’
The central part in the Mass where the Trinity is recalled is during the Eucharistic Prayer. With the priest being ‘in persona Christi’ – the ‘person of Christ’, Jesus offers up the gifts of bread and wine to God the Father, and calling down the Holy Spirit upon them, during the laying on of hands over the gifts, which is called the ‘Epiclesis’. Through the words of Christ in the Eucharistic Prayer, the gifts are changed in substance into the Body and Blood of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.
So, you can see the three persons of the Trinity at work here. Jesus is offering the gifts to the Heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit is changing them into our Eucharistic food.
In our daily lives we also need to remember how important the Trinity is to us. We are children of God, a Father who cares for us, and in Jesus Christ we have a brother, who died for us. In the Holy Spirit we possess a friend and a comforter, who strengthens and protects us.
The Trinity is our personal invitation to discover and deepen our relationship with God. We are made in the image and likeness of God, and so we should strive to become like him as much as humanly possible. Since our destiny from this life, is to be with God, eternally in Heaven, where we will see our Creator face to face.
The Trinity is so important in the faith of the Church. We are Baptised in the Name of the Trinity. We profess the Trinity in the Creed each Sunday:
‘I believe in one God, the Father Almighty …’.
‘I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, only begotten Son of God…’
‘I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life…’
To embrace the Creed, we enter into communion with the Holy Trinity and also with the whole Church. The Creed is our spiritual seal, our hearts meditation, and a treasure for our souls, allowing us even more, to come closer to God the Almighty.
So, let our Christian lives mirror the life of the Trinity today, allowing the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the Communion of the Holy Spirit, to govern our words, actions, and deeds.
Through our Baptism we have pledged to live our lives under the protection of the Most Holy Trinity, allowing the Spirit to inspire us, by bring us closer each day to the knowledge and love of God, since the Father sent his Son, so that through Him the world might be saved.
Rev. Fr Philip Wrigley's Blog 