Sunday the 15th of June 2025 - The Most Holy Trinity

Proverbs 8:22-31/ Ps 8/ Romans 5:1-5/ John 16:12-15

There is a story that a young man in formation for the priesthood asked his theology professor how to explain the Trinity when preaching. The wise theologian replied simply, ‘Don’t’. The mystery of the essence of who God is, celebrated today, is beyond our comprehension and therefore our ability to explain. At this point I should stop for fear of heresy, however, if we give up trying to understand God then we fail to respond to God who is continually revealing his nature to us as he has done throughout history. We are created in the image and likeness of God and for that reason we should try to understand that image and likeness as best we can so that we will understand ourselves and the reason God created us.

In the Old Testament the image of one God encompassing three persons is alluded to throughout but not made explicit. The chosen people of God needed to understand that there is only one God as opposed to the many deities worshiped by pagan communities so the emphasis in the Old Testament is mostly on one entity whilst only hinting at the three persons within it. In Genesis, the first book of the bible, God speaks to himself about the creation of humanity referring to himself in the plural, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.” A little later in the same book Abraham is visited by God but under the appearance of three people however Abraham addresses them in the singular as ‘My Lord’ as well as in the plural. In the account of the tower of Babel, also from Genisis, God says to himself, “let us go down among them and confuse their language.” From these passages from the first book of the ancient bible the seed of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is planted.

With the appearance of Jesus in the New Testament the understanding of the three persons in one God became implicit. In Luke’s account of the Annunciation the Archangel Gabriel was sent by God, to announce to Mary that she would conceive through the Holy Spirit the one who is the Son of God to be named Jesus. In Matthew’s account of the baptism of Jesus the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove and the voice of God was heard acclaiming his pleasure in Jesus his son. The Gospel passage for today is a section of the gospel of John in which Jesus is teaching directly about the three persons making up the Trinity. Through his actions and statements Jesus made it clear that he was God, but he also referred to God his Father and to the Holy Spirit. Jesus knows that it is all too much for his disciples to understand at that time but assures them that with the coming of the Holy Spirit they will be guided to the truth. Jesus also stated that all that God the Father had was his hinting at a union but also a separation of individuals. Also, in John’s gospel Jesus stated to Philip that if he had seen Jesus he had seen the Father, a clear implication that although Father and Son they are one as God. In the final passage of Matthew’s gospel Jesus commands his disciples to go out to all nations and baptise them in the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit. This is something we continue to do to this day; indeed, a baptism is not valid unless the Trinity is invoked in these words.

To get closer to God and to know him and therefore to understand who we are and what we have been created for we should strive to understand the nature of God as best we can whilst confined in this physical world. One of the ways of understanding why there are three persons in the one God is to consider that God is Love, God defines what love is. Love does not exist in one entity, there must be a reciprocation between at least two entities or more for love to exist. In the three persons of the Trinitarian God we find a community of perfect love. That same love overflows into all of creation and being created in the image of that same God allows us to be part of that community of love. We are already baptised into that love in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of The Holy Spirit. Our destiny is to be completely absorbed into that community of love for eternity in heaven. In the meantime, no matter how incomprehensible it might be, we can try and immerse ourselves into that community of love as best we can. We do not do this by saying it is all too difficult to comprehend and so give up but, as Paul points out in the second reading today, we come to a greater understanding of God through Christ in the love being poured out by the Holy Spirit.

As good a place to start as any is to pray the Creed, the prayer and statement of faith we recite every Sunday at Mass. It might not explain how the Trinity is manifested but it does set out what we believe about the nature of the one God but three persons. It even contains a unique word, consubstantial, a word only used to describe the relationship between God the Father and God the Son. That they are of the same substance or essence. It is a unique relationship and therefore requires a unique word to explain it. We believe in one God, The Father, who made all things. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, who is consubstantial, one being with the Father, who became human through the Holy Spirit to gain our salvation. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the giver of life who proceeds from the Father and Son, who together with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified.

When we call upon God in prayer, we can remember that it is through God the Father that we were created, through Jesus, God the Son, that we have been redeemed, and through the Holy Spirit living within us that sanctifies us, making us and our lives holy, and giving us an understanding of who God is.

Glory be to the Father, and to The Son, and to The Holy Spirit.

God Bless Brendan.