The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Mt 28:16-20
May 30, 2021

We are Baptized

In the Name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

That is our Tradition…inspired by today’s Gospel. And it is beyond discussion or debate. But, how many of us have stopped to think about just exactly what that means? Candidly, it’s not an “easy think.” Still, this Trinity Sunday is the perfect time to make the effort.

Although the “Three-ness” of God is woven tightly into our Tradition, expressed in prayer, liturgy, and art, it remains shrouded in mystery. We struggle to pierce the cloud of unknowing by reducing the Three Divine Persons into one symbol or image, but our efforts always fall short. Things such as triangles and shamrocks are used to catechize our children. That can be helpful.

Artists have painted masterpieces depicting a powerful, white-bearded ancient standing over a figure recognizable as the historic Jesus, a dove hovering nearby. Art is often a window that offers a view…although limited…of what exists on the other side.

In recent years, an author wrote a best-seller that became a popular movie. Like other attempts to capture the reality of “The Threeness” of God, “The Shack” was inspiring.

But all efforts, no matter how brilliant or inspiring, are totally inadequate. Much like we hear in The Book of Exodus…no one sees “The Three Faces of God and lives.” However, there is a “scenic lookout” that often provides a breathtaking view when there are no spiritual clouds (doubts) or fog (sin) obstructing it.

If we meditate on the mystery of the Trinity and look out over the Divine landscape with the “eyes of our heart,” we just might catch a glimpse of what symbols and paintings and books merely suggest. Prayerful reflection and meditation just might enable us to travel through the stained-glass window or into the painting.

From the perspective of prayerful reflection and meditation, what we might just enjoy is a brief encounter with the infinite and all-powerful relationship we call The Trinity. What our eyes cannot see our hearts could well feel…and what we “feel” might be something totally surprising and overwhelming…

pure, unconditional, unselfish love.

The communication between the Three Divine Persons is perfect. Single-minded in Their love of one another as well as for Creation, there is discussion but no debate or disagreement…only perfect and unending harmony.

Each assumes a role or function that promotes a cosmic plan that blossomed from the pool of Wisdom, Goodness, Mercy, and Peace, which they share together. The concept of personal ambition is totally absent. There is no competitive spirit, only HOLY SPIRIT.

We live in times when a prayerful reflection on The Trinity is particularly critical. Consider how little harmony there is in our country…in our world…in our Church…even within many of our families.

Think about how greed, pride, and ambition have threatened world peace and devalued our sense of solidarity with and sense of responsibility for the people with whom we co-exist on this planet Earth. Civil conversations and fruitful discussions easily give way to heated debate and disagreement that all too frequently end in violence.

Plans are ego-driven and give little, if any, consideration for the common good.

The very foundation of the Christian Tradition into which we were baptized has been rocked by the cultural earthquake that seems is becoming more and more intense with each news cycle.

But all is not lost.

Our hope rests in our all-powerful Creator, God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit…In Whose Name we have been Baptized…and Whose harmonious and loving relationship we are called to imitate…as best we can.
On this Trinity Sunday, we celebrate the truth that the Triune God is alive within each of us. Reflective prayer and meditation is a way to do that. But where to begin.

St. Francis de Sales offers a prayer that is a fine starting point:

“I vow and consecrate to God all that is in me:
my memory and my actions to God the Father;
my understanding and my words to God the Son;
my will and my thoughts to God the Holy Spirit.”