Catechism Links[1]
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“Adoration of the Holy Trinity”
by Johann Heinrich Schönfeld, 1647-49 |
Additional Information about the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary: [4]
Reading 1: Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9
Early in the morning Moses went up Mount Sinai
as the Lord had commanded him,
taking along the two stone tablets.
Having come down in a cloud, the Lord stood with Moses there
and proclaimed his name, " Lord."
Thus the Lord passed before him and cried out,
"The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity."
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.
Then he said, "If I find favor with you, O Lord,
do come along in our company.
This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins,
and receive us as your own."
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Commentary on Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9
The events in this section of Exodus occurred after Moses came down the mountain with the initial tablets, found the people had fallen to idolatry, and smashed the tablets. This exchange, between God and Moses ("If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins and receive us as your own.") demonstrates that the covenant between God and the people is still intact.
CCC: Ex 34:5-6 210; Ex 34:6 214, 231, 2577; Ex 34:9 210
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Responsorial Psalm: Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
R. (52b) Glory and praise for ever!
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
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Commentary on Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
The responsorial psalm is a song of praise to God taken from the Book of Daniel. This selection is the hymn chanted by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as they stood in the white-hot furnace. (Note: in Daniel 1:7 Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were given the Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.) This section is part of one of the litanies contained in the hymn. In this instance, it is a doxology. “In general, this word means a short verse praising God and beginning, as a rule, with the Greek word Doxa.” [5]
The three heroes were being punished by King Nebuchadnezzar for not worshiping a golden idol he had set up. An angel of God came to them in their plight and kept them from harm, even though the furnace was so hot it burned those who tended it.
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Reading II: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Brothers and sisters, rejoice.
Mend your ways, encourage one another,
agree with one another, live in peace,
and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the holy ones greet you.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
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Commentary on 2 Cor 13:11-13
These verses, which conclude the second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians writing from the church of Macedonia, are perhaps the clearest trinitarian passage in the New Testament. It takes the form of a blessing, proposing the peace of Christ, almost ironic after the many stormy passages contained within the letter. "St. Thomas points out that this greeting includes reference to all necessary supernatural graces: 'The Grace of Christ, by which we are justified and saved; the love of God the Father, by which we are united to him; and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, who distributes the divine gifts to us.' (Commentary on 2 cor, ad loc.)" [6]
CCC: 2 Cor 13:13 249, 734, 1109, 2627
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Gospel: John 3:16-18
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
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Commentary on Jn 3:16-18
This passage is the part of St. John’s Gospel that describes Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus. At this point it has turned into a monologue and in these verses, it is clear that the evangelist is speaking, as the promise of eternal life is made to those who believe in Jesus as the Only Son of God.
"Increasingly contemplating the whole of Christ's mystery, the Church knows with all the certainty of faith that the Redemption that took place through the Cross has definitively restored his dignity to man and given back meaning to his life in the world, a meaning that was lost to a considerable extent because of sin. And for that reason, the Redemption was accomplished in the paschal mystery, leading through the Cross and death to Resurrection" (St. John Paul II, "Redemptor Hominis", 10)." [7]
CCC: Jn 3:16 219, 444, 454, 458, 706; Jn 3:17 2447
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Reflection:
Before I begin, I want to tell you that back in 1980, when I was in formation for the diaconate, Fr. Phil Gallagher (may his soul rest in peace) taught our formation class on Sacramental Theology. On the first day of the class Fr. Phil asked the class: “Please tell me what the Trinity is.” One by one we were asked to stand up and give our answer. And one by one we were told, “You are a hypocrite, sit down.” It finally came to me, and I confidently responded: “It is a mystery, Father,” (thinking I had avoided hypocrisy), to which Fr. Phil responded, “You are a coward, sit down.” The point Fr. Phil was making is that when we try to use human language to describe a supernatural relationship, we will fail. So, I first defer to one of our great patristic fathers.
St. Thomas Aquinas famously said in his commentary on 2 Corinthians, when we invoke the Trinity with “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” we refer to all necessary supernatural graces: The love of God the Father, by which we are united to him; the grace of Christ, by which we are justified and saved; and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, who distributes the divine gifts to us.
Our understanding of the One God in three persons is, while implicit in Holy Scripture, not explicit. All three persons are referenced only twice in the same sentence. Once in the great commissioning in Matthew 28, and in our second reading from 2 Corinthians. The word “trinity” is not found in the Bible, and it took great scholars many years to formulate an understanding that attempts to describe the relationship in essence between the three persons. The Church finally codified our concept of the trinity at the Fourth Lateran Council (1213) well before the Reformation.
In the early years the understanding of how there could be three persons in one God raged. Between the Eastern Rite churches and the Church of Rome, there was the accusation of polytheism. There was even violence as the great christological heresies were ultimately resolved. How ironic!
The end result of that painful struggle is what we believe today. That there was a battle is evident in our creed. The Nicene Creed we use demonstrates our need to proclaim the mystery of the Trinity in no uncertain terms:
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
And further, after we recall the Lords miraculous birth, passion and resurrection we recall the Advocate and Guide, the third person left for us:
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life,
Who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Who with the Father and the Son are adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We hear and say in these words the defense of the Trinity, One God, Three Persons. Hammered out in the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople so that it was absolutely clear that the three are one Triune God.
I was once told by a parishioner that he hated it when, on Trinity Sunday, all he could take away from a homily was that it was a “mystery.” Unfortunately for him – that is what it is (I guess there are other cowardly clerics out there). But what is important about our belief in the Trinity is what it says to us, as faith-filled believers.
The three persons of the Holy Trinity are mentioned in Scripture today. First, we hear Moses, pleading with God to remember the covenant he had made. Moses tells God that, yes, the people are a stiff-necked and stubborn lot, prone to sin. Of course, God knows this. Then Moses asks for forgiveness on behalf of all the people. And God, the merciful Father, also acceded to that request. But there would be more; the law God gave to Moses was not enough.
Next, God sent the prophets, individuals directly influenced by the Father, doing their best to interpret the Father’s will to the people through the flawed mechanism of human speech and understanding. Still, they could not grasp the unfathomable love their Father and Creator had for them. They saw him as a child sees a disciplinarian; the punishment handed out was quick and often severe.
In love, he sent His Only Son, begotten but not made, into the world so we could understand the depth of his love for us. It was not until the Son revealed the Father that we understood that he indeed had answered Moses' request for forgiveness. It was so difficult for the people to understand this purpose that instead of raising the Son of God upon their shoulders in triumph, they raised him upon the cross in crucifixion.
But the revelation was made, the seed was sown and those whom the Father had given the Son were not lost. Still they needed the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, to reside with them because they must not be alone. So, God gave us the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, so that we could have his guidance and a palpable sense of his love for us indwelling.
The Holy Trinity is, in its construct and relationship, a mystery, but the unified purpose is clear. The Trinity is God the most high, creator of all things, lover of all creation, and guide to all mankind. It is he who offers us eternal life.
A thousand years have passed since Holy Mother Church, in her wisdom, proclaimed the Triune God and did so after centuries of debate and even physical violence over the doctrine. After all, how could we worship three gods not one? We have at last come to understand that it is a metaphysical and supernatural relationship that is a mystery, one created out of love, for our salvation. ╬ In the name of the Father…
Pax
[1] Catechism links are taken from the
Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used today is “Adoration of the Holy Trinity” by Johann Heinrich Schönfeld, 1647-49.[3] S.S. Commemoratio[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.[5] Catholic Encyclopedia at New Advent.[6] The Navarre Bible, Letters of St. Paul (Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003), 348.[7] The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, (Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002),570.
