The Most Holy Trinity

Fr Dominic’s Homily

We are now in Ordinary Time. Next Sunday of course we celebrate Corpus Christi – body and blood of Christ. And today we celebrate the most central mystery of our Faith. The most holy Trinity.

Not the incarnation, not even the Eucharist – real presence. Source and summit of Christian life. But the Trinity is the foundation of all other mysteries because it about who God is.

We have celebrated many other feasts and celebrations about what God has done and what we have received from him. But this is who he is. Fr Son and Holy Spirit. God is a family. He has Fatherhood, son ship and the essence of love – the Holy Spirit. Today in a way is the Sum of all the feasts.

Who is God? Father, son and Holy Spirit. A community. Three persons. Nature all with a divine nature.

Today in the Gospel we hear about the Trinity. It’s a resurrection appearance of Christ. Jesus appears to them. On a mountain. Classic appearance of God in a dramatic way. We see this in the Old Testament many times.

The apostles worship him. Although we hear that some doubted. The apostles are in front of the risen Jesus on top of a mountain and they still struggle to believe. There is hope for all of us yet.

He says go and Baptise all nations in the name of the Father and of the Holy Spirit. It’s the great commission. And explains the mystery of the trinity.

He says Baptise them in the Name of the Father / son / Holy Spirit and not the Names of the Father, son and Holy Spirit. One God – three divine persons. One divine nature but three persons. All one God.

We have vestiges of Trinity in the Old Testament but not fully revealed until the New Testament.

In the first reading we hear that the Lord is God in heaven. That there is only One God the Lord. Maker of heaven and Earth. It is he who makes the universe and saves Israel.

Yet there is more than one person in God. We often hear God refer to himself as us. For example in Genesis when he is creating the universe.

Psalm praises the Lord. We hear about God the Father. Creator of heaven and Earth. Through his Word and his Breath who is the Holy Spirit.

We get caught up in analogies – Shamrock. Water. But here in the scriptures we see clear explanations of who God the Father, son and Holy Spirit are.

Don’t find the word Trinity in scriptures. But the idea is there. Father to children of Israel. Holy Spirit – breath of God hovers over the surface of the waters. Breathes spirit into mouth of Adam. Inspires the prophets to speak the word of God.

In the New Testament. Baptism of Jesus. The Father and Holy Spirit. All three.

The message is that God is love. In God we find an internal relationship of love. A community of love and God wants us to be part of this relationship. At the end of the day it’s not about knowledge – but love.

St Augustine says that if you think you have understood God then what you have understood is not God. Aquinas says whatever can be known or understood by us is less than God. The essence of God is always hidden from us. He transcends everything that we can think of him.

Fatherhood, community and loving relationships are images of God. He is the original and perfect example of what family is.

God is eternal, The Son is co-eternal with the Father. Not younger. Same in every way. Of the same substance. Same essence. He became Man at a point in time who was like us in every way but sin. But also performed miracles.

Aquinas: tells us that being communicates images of itself. Higher you go the more perfect it becomes. Lowest level – rocks. Creates an image imprinted. Through a window. Or image in mirror. Then you have plants that can produce seeds that are an even better image. Or shoots sprout from sides of plants.

Animals have their young which are even more sophisticated. Then Humans can construct images in their minds. Interior worlds. We can know ourselves. We can step aside from ourselves and speak about ourselves.

God, however, as the perfect being can make the perfect image. In the son the Father generates a perfect image of himself. Then we have the Holy Spirit who is often referred to as the will or intention of God. We can think of him as the love that exists between the Father and the Son.

And this Trinitarian community wants to communicate its family and unity and love with us.

So let us Let us make sure that we have hearts that are truly ready to participate in this mystery. And may we grow in the love of God not just because of what he has done for us in our lives, but for the great mystery of who he actually is.