MOST HOLY TRINITY 3rd June 2012
Io Parlo Italiano?
My friends in Missionary Orders who are invited to appeal in parishes for funds are always offered Trinity Sunday first as parish priests quickly run out of different ways of explaining this great Mystery of Faith!
I wonder though why we shy away from thinking about the Trinity? It’s easy to dismiss it as being stuff only for intellectuals and theologians to worry about. But in the same way, I could have thrown the towel in with my Italian lessons because I really am not a linguist and find it very hard going. And yet, if you think about it, the Trinity frames all of our prayers as we start them and finish them with the sign of the cross! So what does it mean?
The teaching of the Blessed Trinity is revealed in the incarnation of the Son of God. The principle is that God enters human time and space and allows Himself to be humiliated, crucified and killed. As St Paul says, this is unthinkable for the Greeks and the Jews, as well as for Muslims who see Christ as a prophet. Yet that automatic action of “crossing” ourselves that we do so readily reveals the Mystery of the Trinity in a clear and precise way. In the Godhead there are three persons – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Creator and the historical figure Jesus, who deigned to share our humanity, are one. And He who promised to be with us always does so through the gift of the co-equal Holy Spirit who comes to us most profoundly through the sacraments of the Church.
The Trinity is therefore not something to run away from but is at the very heart of our faith. Without it God becomes a distant figure far removed from our humanity. In the words of a great Italian and a patron of Europe, St Catherine of Siena, “O eternal Trinity, God, you are an abyss, a deep sea; You have given Yourself to me – what greater good could You give? By Your light You enlighten our minds, as by Your light You have brought me to know You.” Dico basta. Enough said.
Well, enough on that subject anyway. This weekend we give thanks to God for the 60 years of unstinting and dedicated service of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to our country and the Commonwealth. At the 12 Noon Mass we will pray for her in a special way and before the final blessing there will be a prayer which begins as follows:
O Lord, save Elizabeth, our Queen. And hear us on the day we call upon you.
O Lord, hear my prayer And let my cry come before you.
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit.
I know you will join me in wishing Her Majesty well on this great occasion and in praying that she may long reign over us. God bless you, Ma’am.
Fr Kevin
My friends in Missionary Orders who are invited to appeal in parishes for funds are always offered Trinity Sunday first as parish priests quickly run out of different ways of explaining this great Mystery of Faith!
I wonder though why we shy away from thinking about the Trinity? It’s easy to dismiss it as being stuff only for intellectuals and theologians to worry about. But in the same way, I could have thrown the towel in with my Italian lessons because I really am not a linguist and find it very hard going. And yet, if you think about it, the Trinity frames all of our prayers as we start them and finish them with the sign of the cross! So what does it mean?
The teaching of the Blessed Trinity is revealed in the incarnation of the Son of God. The principle is that God enters human time and space and allows Himself to be humiliated, crucified and killed. As St Paul says, this is unthinkable for the Greeks and the Jews, as well as for Muslims who see Christ as a prophet. Yet that automatic action of “crossing” ourselves that we do so readily reveals the Mystery of the Trinity in a clear and precise way. In the Godhead there are three persons – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Creator and the historical figure Jesus, who deigned to share our humanity, are one. And He who promised to be with us always does so through the gift of the co-equal Holy Spirit who comes to us most profoundly through the sacraments of the Church.
The Trinity is therefore not something to run away from but is at the very heart of our faith. Without it God becomes a distant figure far removed from our humanity. In the words of a great Italian and a patron of Europe, St Catherine of Siena, “O eternal Trinity, God, you are an abyss, a deep sea; You have given Yourself to me – what greater good could You give? By Your light You enlighten our minds, as by Your light You have brought me to know You.” Dico basta. Enough said.
Well, enough on that subject anyway. This weekend we give thanks to God for the 60 years of unstinting and dedicated service of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to our country and the Commonwealth. At the 12 Noon Mass we will pray for her in a special way and before the final blessing there will be a prayer which begins as follows:
O Lord, save Elizabeth, our Queen. And hear us on the day we call upon you.
O Lord, hear my prayer And let my cry come before you.
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit.
I know you will join me in wishing Her Majesty well on this great occasion and in praying that she may long reign over us. God bless you, Ma’am.
Fr Kevin
posted by Sinead Reekie at 11:32 am