May 22, 2016 –The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity – Lectionary: 166

 Reading 1 – Proverbs 8: 22-31

Thus says the wisdom of God:
“The LORD possessed me, the beginning of his ways,
the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago;
from of old I was poured forth,
at the first, before the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no fountains or springs of water;
before the mountains were settled into place,
before the hills, I was brought forth;
while as yet the earth and fields were not made,
nor the first clods of the world.

“When the Lord established the heavens I was there,
when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;
when he made firm the skies above,
when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth;
when he set for the sea its limit,
so that the waters should not transgress his command;
then was I beside him as his craftsman,
and I was his delight day by day,
playing before him all the while,
playing on the surface of his earth;
and I found delight in the human race.”

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 8: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

1. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
   When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
   the moon and the stars which you set in place —
   What is man that you should be mindful of him,
   or the son of man that you should care for him?
2. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
   You have made him little less than the angels,
   and crowned him with glory and honor.
   You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
   putting all things under his feet:
3. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
   All sheep and oxen,
   yes, and the beasts of the field,
   The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
   and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
4. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

 Reading 2 – Romans 5: 1-5

Brothers and sisters:
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
to this grace in which we stand,
and we boast in hope of the glory of God.
Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions,
knowing that affliction produces endurance,
and endurance, proven character,
and proven character, hope,
and hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

 Gospel – John 16: 12-15

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you.”

Listen to the Scriptures: click on the link below:

http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/16_05_22.mp3

REFLECTION

– TRINITY SUNDAY –

THE TRINITY IS A MYSTERY, that is, a fact we cannot fully understand.  Great Christian thinkers have written about it, but to little avail for the rest of us.  We must be content, for the present time, with the certitude that God wants us to know of the reality of the Trinity, and, insofar as we can, to explore its practical implications for us.  Although the Trinity is a mystery beyond our human comprehension we have been incorporated into the reality of our triune God by virtue of our Baptism.  We are called to share in the life and activity of Father, Son, and Spirit as we participate in the work of creation, salvation and sanctification.

 

INTRODUCTION: The unity and solidarity of the human family has been, and is, one of the pillars of civilized society.  We tend to admire families who seem to accomplish the so called ideal which is achieved by a deep rooted love and inner unity.  We might look at a particular family and speak of all the members as a single entity even though each contributes to the whole with their different talents and personalities.  The father may be successful businessman who also gives of his time and talents to his parish church, the mother is particularly loving and caring, involved in volunteer groups; and one of the children is excelling in his studies as well as being captain of the church school’s football team.  All extend themselves to achieve the goal of harmony and peace which in turn is shared with other people and other families.

 

POINT 1: Today the Church celebrates one of the great and fundamental truths of revelation: the fact that God has shown himself to be unity in three persons.  He is Father, He is Son, He is Holy Spirit.  Man in his limited knowledge finds it impossible to understand the meaning of a triune God yet God in his love and concern for mankind has chosen to present us with the mystery of His divinity.  Through the Scriptures we can come to know God as one who is the author of all that exists in His creative power.  He is a loving Father who cares for His chosen people and through them promises salvation.  This redemption is eventually fulfilled and accomplished by Jesus Christ, the God-Man who leads us to a deeper knowledge of who God really is.  It is Jesus who promises the Spirit of God who will lead us to better understand the truth of revelation and a Spirit who shares his sanctifying power with us.  We are presented with a God who is pure unity, total oneness, who effects every aspect of our lives in His creative word, in His redemptive word, in His sanctifying word, words not spoken just once in the course of human history but are constantly being pronounced.

 

POINT 2: Through the waters of baptism each Christian is initiated into the divine life of this triune God and invited to participate and, in fact, cooperate in God’s continuous involvement in our world.  It is truly a beautiful share in God’s creative activity when a man and a woman conceive human life reflecting their love for one another.  We are able to live a fuller life by building on past knowledge and experience in creating new dimensions in our world.  As disciples of Jesus Christ we accept the vocation of continuing His saving power by being active witnesses to the cross and empty tomb in our dealings with our brothers and sisters as ministers of healing, reconciliation and loving concern.  The Spirit of holiness and truth promises by Jesus has indeed taken root in our lives and we are called to share His truth in our teaching and participate in His sanctifying power in our prayer life, in our liturgical celebrations, in our transforming our world by our vision of the Kingdom of God.

 

POINT 3 – CONCLUSION: Our understanding, therefore, of one God in three persons is not merely a mystery that does not effect our lives.  We have been invited to share in the reality of God in our day to day life as we cooperate with His life.  We are challenged to continue the creative, redemptive and sanctifying words of God by opening ourselves to His divine life not merely by mere lip service and blind faith, but rather in dynamically active participation of speaking to our world who God really is.

 

 

QUESTIONS THAT MAY LEAD TO OTHER THOUGHTS / REFLECTION / DISCUSSION

 

1. Is our belief in the Trinity reflected in our daily lives by a greater appreciation and respect for the diverse personalities, talents, and spiritual gifts within our community of faith which is the local church?

 

2. Has our belief in the Trinity helped us to develop the goal of imitating God in seeking unity without uniformity and diversity without division?

 

3. Do we as worshipers of a triune God think of each other with a higher degree of mutuality, seeking the benefit of others over self and celebrating differences rather than fearing them or competing with them?

 

4. Can you say in what ways (give examples) of how the doctrine of the Trinity makes a difference in the way you live and think?

A FURTHER THOUGHT / QUESTION

Who is God?  If you ever had to answer that question in your own words, what would you say?  Could you imagine a homilist some Sunday morning coming out into the congregation with a microphone like a news reporter asking the question: “Who is God for you?”  Or imagine a rare quiet moment when your family or community was all together.  If you were to ask each one, “Who is God for you?”  What kind of an answer do you think you would get?  What kind of answer would you give?

 

If God is the source of the entire universe, then all of us are part of a bigger picture.  If God’s Spirit permeates all, we are related to all of creation, especially to that part of it entrusted to us, the planet Earth.  It is ours to promote harmony and order in nature and to oppose whatever contaminates or destroys the environment without which we cannot live.  There has been abundant evidence that chemical waste, air pollution, and insecticides etc. used in agriculture destroy people.  For the love of our Creator and for the love of one another and generations to come, it is the responsibility of our generation to do our part to restore the balance in nature.

 

Jesus was sent not to condemn, but to save.  He spent his life spreading the reign of God on earth.  To his followers he promised the gift of the Spirit that they might continue his mission in the world.  It is our mission to spread the reign of peace and justice in our times.  It is ours to promote harmonious relationships and to oppose violence where we find it, in the family, in the workplace and in the world.  Those who treat others with justice, respect and love are contributing to the order and harmony in the world and honoring the God who made us and in whose image we were created.

 

How we live reflects what we believe.  As we grow in our relationship with God, our lives are gradually transformed into God’s likeness.  Take some time this week to look at the mirror of your life, then answer the question, “Who is God for you?”

Ponder This

The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity may seem abstract and impractical.  In fact, just the opposite is true. The Trinity is the only practical source of hope for humanity in our more and more globalized world.

Technology is making the world into one closely linked community. And within that community we find different races, religions, traditions, and cultures. If, on the one hand, we let the process of globalization simply erase the rich diversity of cultures, we will sow seeds of anger, resentment, and revenge in the hearts of nations.  But if, on the other hand, we fail to create real bonds between the different cultures, the globalized world will simply make it easier for different groups to attack each other.

We need both unity and diversity – we need to become one human family with many different cultures.  And we can. We know we can.  Because we are created in God’s own image, and he is both one and three; he is perfect unity and perfect diversity. He is an unbreakable communion of persons by his very nature.   And the Church, which creates one unified community from many different peoples through common faith in and obedience to Christ, is proof that this is possible.

The Trinity is the source of the human family, and the Trinity is our goal, and the Trinity is our model. Today, as we renew our faith in the Triune God, let’s ask him to help each one of us build up this Kingdom of Christ by living truly in his image, through, as St Paul told us in the Second Reading: mending our ways, encouraging one another, agreeing with one another, and living in peace.

 

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

TRINITY SUNDAY – 22 May 2016

For the Church: that we may experience the length, breadth and depth of God’s love that has been poured out into our hearts and that empower us to be disciples, let us pray to the Lord.

For a deeper appreciation of the gift of nature: that we may see in the heavens, on the earth and in the sea the handiwork of God and delight in God’s gifts to us, let us pray to the Lord.

For a greater desire for truth: that we continually seek the truth so that we may see God in all things and be aware that we are always in God’s presence, let us pray to the Lord.

For a deepening of virtue in our lives: that we grow in patience, endurance, fortitude and hope and thus manifest God’s life in us, let us pray to the Lord.

For all who are in need of God’s saving grace, particularly those who hold others in servitude, who abuse others, or who are entrapped by crime: that God’s love will change their hearts and help them to transform their actions, let us pray to the Lord.

For a renewal of our relationships: that we may learn from the mutual life and love of the Trinity and share life with all those with whom we are in relationship, let us pray to the Lord.

For all who strive to live in community: that the Trinity will inspire them to work for the common good, accept one another, and have patience with one another, let us pray to the Lord.

For all who are preparing for marriage: that God will form them into a community of life, strengthen their commitment to each other and help them to encounter Jesus in their love, let us pray to the Lord.

For all who are ill: that God’s healing Spirit will renew them in body, mind, and spirit so that they may live fully, enjoy their relationships and appreciate all of God’s gifts, let us pray to the Lord.

For all leaders of government: that God will give them wisdom so that their policies may promote a peaceful and just society with respect for freedom and religious liberty, let us pray to the Lord.

For all who have experienced natural disasters: that God will bring them comfort and strength, and speed the assistance which they need, let us pray to the Lord.

For the gift of peace: that God will heal the wounds of past actions, give understanding to all world leaders and deepen the desire for peace in their hearts, let us pray to the Lord.

Reading I: Proverbs 8:22-31
Responsorial Psalm: 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Reading II:Romans 5:1-5
Gospel: John 16:12-15