ON THE HOLY TRINITY - Trinity Sunday

Two things distinguish the Christian doctrine from other religions. First, that God is one and three; second, that the Second Person of this Triune God became incarnate and died for us – in this second distinction, the Catholic doctrine that Christ upon His return to the Father gave us Himself in the Eucharist, so that He would forever be truly, really and Substantially present among us, sets the Catholic Church apart in the Christian fold.

Today, the Holy Mother Church celebrates the first: God who is one and three. One in essence but three persons:

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. There are three but one because of the eternal processions within the intellect and the will – for the Son proceeds from the Father as the Word, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the SON as Love. Though the Son proceeds from the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, they are not inferior – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are co-equal, co-eternal and co-substantial. The creation story in the Book of Genesis tells us that God created the human person in his image and likeness. So, there exists in the human person an image of the Trinity. This image of the Trinity in the human person is identified in his possession of the intellect and the will. His natural aptitude for understanding and loving God.
And being a copy of the image of the Trinity –of God who knows all things in Himself, the human mind in its infinity desires to know infinitely. But this desire to know is started, carried out and completed by the help of the Holy Spirit; for it is the Spirit that increases in us the desire to know the Son, the Visible Image of the Invisible God, the Word of God, who is the Truth that we yearn for – the Way to the Father from whom all things come. This is why the Letter to the Ephesians says: “Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by the peace that binds you together…. there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; there is one God and Father of all men, who is Lord of all, works through all and is in all.” But how can we preserve unity among us if not by being true to the Image of the Trinity in us – by living out our natural aptitude for understanding and loving God? We can only live out this natural aptitude for understanding and loving God by being open to the Holy Spirit who reveals Christ, the Visible Image of the Unseen God. For the Holy Spirit helps us to understand and believe in the mysteries.
Conclusion

Brothers and sisters have you ever wondered why the Church celebrates Trinity Sunday after Pentecost Sunday, it is so that in explaining the inner life of the Triune God we would come to know who we are – men and women created in the image and likeness of God. By celebrating this solemnity after Pentecost, the Church also underlies the necessary role of the Holy Spirit towards helping the human person to be true to his natural aptitude of understanding and loving God and for the growth of the Church. The question is: how open are you to the Holy Spirit towards helping you live out your natural aptitude for understanding and loving God and fulfilling your mission as a member of the Church?