1.Prov.8:22-31
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2.Rom5:1-5
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Gospel: John
16:12-15
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" The mystery to be lived"
When we pray we usually
begin in with these words : " In the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit." Also after our prayer we end up with the same words
or " Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit."
Jesus when He was about to ascend into Heaven He told His disciples to go to
the whole world and preach the good news and baptize them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, in order for a baptism
to be valid these words have to be used by us when we baptize somebody. The
Trinity tells us that there are three Divine Persons in one Divine Nature. The
names Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are names of persons. We call these three
divine persons as the Holy Trinity.
The word "
trinity" means " three in one." It is our belief and conviction
from Jesus' teaching that the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all is God. However, these three together are
Only One God and not three. In the words of the Athanasian Creed: "the
Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God and yet there are not
three Gods but One God." How? I think we can explain this truth by showing
an example. Through using examples we can be provided a picture of a certain
truth. Let us clarify this with the example of a hand. My hand has five fingers
but all five fingers are parts of one hand. However, the words finger and hand
do not refer to the same kind of thing. Thus it appropriate, therefore, that I
will arrive at a different number if I count my fingers than hands. Likewise,
Person and nature are different things
and when I apply these words to God I find that there are three of the former
and one of the latter.
Furthermore, we can go
to another example of three bottles of water, and let us name them A, B, and C.
Thus you will agree with me that bottle A is not bottle B and is not bottle C.
Am I right? so you have these three separate bottles which are different from
each other but filled with one and the same water. But how and why? If you can
answer these questions, then it is good for you and you have an idea of the
Holy Trinity. If you cannot answer these questions, then don't worry it's not
your fault.
Today we are
celebrating the solemnity of the Holy Trinity. This in our Christian calling is
the mystery. The Holy Trinity means three divine persons but one God or three
in one. The Solemnity of the Holy Trinity is unique feast in the church. Why
are we saying that it is unique? this is simply because we are not celebrating
an event like Christmas, Pentecost or Easter Sunday. Rather, we are celebrating
a teaching of the church, or simply a dogma. This Solemnity of the Holy Trinity
is the mystery as said before. There are so many questions that rise from our
minds after shall have arrived at an answer concerning the mystery of the Holy
Trinity.
Things that cannot be
comprehended and understood by human mind as mysteries. There are many
mysteries in our lives right now: things
that we have no answer for. Let us take few examples why we do not see thoughts
in our minds? for example when I cut my finger why I do not see the pain I
feel, even I cannot see thoughts or pain, or time or life? they exist just the
same. Obviously this is the same with Holy Trinity. It is one of the truths of
our faith that we cannot fully comprehend. Our limited minds cannot simply
discern everything about the truth of God. God is not completely beyond
comprehension, neither is He within complete comprehension.
By explaining the
further note on the mystery of the Holy Trinity, we can say that the Holy
Trinity is a mystery because it violates all laws of mathematics, logic, and
reason. Mathematicians say one plus one plus one equals three. But the mystery
of the Holy Trinity says one plus one plus one equals one. If we say to our
Mathematics teacher that one plus one plus one equals one, he will fail us. If
we tell the Pope that one plus one plus one equals to three, we will be named
heretics. We fall out of the church because the mystery of the Holy Trinity is
one plus one plus one equal one.
How can we experience the
presence of the Holy Trinity in our lives? The answer is that we can experience
the presence of the Holy Trinity if we are united. Let us think of the
Christian family. If they are united with each other in love, then we can see
in them the Holy Trinity who is the mirror of unity of this family especially
when they go to the church together. There is the father, the mother and the
children. This kind of family mirrors the Holy Trinity who is constant unity
with each other.
Another way of
experiencing the Holy Trinity is by respecting each other's uniqueness. The
Father and the Son respect the uniqueness and the identity of the Holy Spirit.
And the Holy Spirit respects the distinctness of the Father and the Son. This
is our Lesson. We need to respect each other.
Let
us learn some important points to share as we celebrate the solemnity of the
Holy Trinity
God is not a solitary
being: God does not exist in solitary individualism but in a community of love
and sharing. God is not a loner. This means that a Christian in search of
Godliness( Matthew 5:48) must shun every tendency to isolationism. The ideal
Christian spirituality is not that of flight from the world like that of
certain Buddhist monastic traditions where the quest for holiness means
permanent withdrawal to the Himalayas away from contact and involvement with
people and society.
True love requires
three partners: Remember the old saying " Two is company, three is a
crowd." The Trinity shows us that three is community, three is love at its
best; three is not a crowd. Taking an example from the human condition we see
that when a man A is in love with woman B, they seal the loving by producing a
baby C. Father, Mother, and Child- love when being perfected becomes a trinity.
We are reminded that we
had been created in God's image and likeness. Just as God is God only in a
Trinitarian relationship, so we can be fully human only in a relationship of
three partners. The self needs to be in a horizontal relationship with others
and a vertical relationship with God. In that way our life becomes Trinitarian
like that of God. Then we discover that the so-called " I-and-I"
principle of unbridled individualism which is acceptable in modern society
leaves much to be desired. The doctrine of the Blessed Trinity challenges us to
adopt rather an I-and-God-and-neighbor principle. I am a Christian in so far as
I live in a relationship of love with God and other people. May the grace of the
Holy Trinity help us to banish all traces of self-centerdness in our lives and
to live in love of God and of our neighbor.
0 Response to "HOMILY FOR TRINITY SUNDAY YEAR C"
Chapisha Maoni