Today is the Feast of the Holy Trinity. On this feast, we celebrate the mystery of the one God. And this God is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Three persons, but God is one! God the Son revealed to humanity the other two persons of God. This mystery of the Trinity was revealed to us by Jesus himself. He showed us the face of God as merciful Father; he presented Himself, true man, as the Son of God and Word of the Father, the Saviour who gives his life for us; and he spoke of the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son, the Spirit of Truth, Paraclete.
Today we read from the part of the long farewell discourse pronounced by Jesus shortly before his Passion. We know that the Gospel of John is not easy because he does not use parables but speaks of very deep theological concepts. However, the Trinity is not a theological riddle but rather the splendid mystery of God’s closeness. The mystery of the Trinity tells us that we do not have a solitary God above in heaven who is distant and indifferent.
Revealing his self-identity, Jesus emphasises the work of the Holy Spirit. After years of moving with his disciples, he entrusted them with the Mission he had initiated. Although he will cease to be with the disciples physically, he has offered his life and his Spirit to them and promised to be with them till the end of times. That is how Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit. It will be the work of the Holy Spirit to enable us to adhere to the Father’s plan of salvation and Son’s saving work.
The mystery of the Trinity speaks to us of ourselves, our relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In fact, through baptism, the Holy Spirit has placed us in the heart and the very life of God, who is a communion of love. God is a “family” of three Persons who love each other so much as to form a single whole. This “divine family” is not closed in on itself but is open.
While explaining the meaning of the Sign of the Cross, Pope Francis made this beautiful reflection: “Each time we make the sign of the Cross, we name the Holy Spirit and touch our shoulders, precisely to remind ourselves that it is the Spirit who comes to give us strength, to encourage us, to bear the burdens. With God, the burdens of life do not rest on our shoulders! Indeed, he is an expert in resuscitation, raising up again, and rebuilding. Therefore those who draw near God do not lose heart but go forward: to re-start, try again and rebuild. They also suffer but manage to start over, try again, and rebuild.
For Your Reflection
The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity invites us to commit ourselves in daily events to communion, consolation and mercy. Our being created in the image and likeness of God calls on us to understand ourselves as people who care for one another.
Father Josekutty
Mathew CMF
