< <  

Sunday, May 18, 2008

  > >

Trinity Sunday


Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Daniel 3:52-56
John 3:16-18

View Readings
Similar Reflections

triple play

"Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship." —Exodus 34:8

A bishop was examining the candidates for Confirmation at a certain parish. He asked the young people to tell him what the Holy Trinity was. A boy answered: "It's one-in-three, and three-in-one." The bishop, gently probing to determine if the boy truly prepared for the sacrament, said: "That's good, but I don't understand." The youth immediately responded: "You're not supposed to!"

We can't ever grasp the how of the Holy Trinity, but we can know the Who. This is because God continually reveals Himself to us. "Yes, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son" (Jn 3:16) "to reveal" Himself more fully to us (Lk 10:22). The Father and the Son pour out Their love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rm 5:5), Who constantly reminds us that we are now adopted children of God (Rm 8:15). Then the Holy Spirit helps us to know the Father so deeply that we can't help but "cry out, 'Abba!' (that is, 'Father')" (Rm 8:15; Gal 4:6).

When our heads start spinning in this cross-fire of Trinitarian love, we can respond as did Moses, bowing to the ground in worship (Ex 34:8). Rejoice exultantly with all the saints and angels, praising God "in the name 'of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit' " (Mt 28:19).

Prayer:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, grant that I may be caught up into the mystery of Your Triune love each day.

Promise:  "God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." —Jn 3:17

Praise:  "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen!"

Reference:  (This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 23, 2007

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.