Catechism Links[1]
CCC 202, 232-260, 684, 732: the mystery of the Trinity
CCC 249, 813, 950, 1077-1109, 2845: the Trinity in the Church and her liturgy
CCC 2655, 2664-2672: the Trinity and prayer
CCC 2205: the family as an image of the Trinity
CCC 249, 813, 950, 1077-1109, 2845: the Trinity in the Church and her liturgy
CCC 2655, 2664-2672: the Trinity and prayer
CCC 2205: the family as an image of the Trinity
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| "Holy Trinity" (Pala della Convertite) by Sandro Botticelli 1491-93 |
Readings and Commentary:[4]
Reading 1: Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40
Moses said to the people:
"Ask now of the days of old, before your time,
ever since God created man upon the earth;
ask from one end of the sky to the other:
Did anything so great ever happen before?
Was it ever heard of?
Did a people ever hear the voice of God
speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself
from the midst of another nation,
by testings, by signs and wonders, by war,
with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors,
all of which the LORD, your God,
did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
This is why you must now know,
and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God
in the heavens above and on earth below,
and that there is no other.
You must keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today,
that you and your children after you may prosper,
and that you may have long life on the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Dt 4:32-34, 39-40
In this selection, his first discourse, Moses begins to describe the unique participation of the Hebrew people in God’s salvific plan. Moses presents a homily on the election of Israel. He explains how God has shown his omnipotence through the salvific acts and signs the people have seen (e.g. plagues in Egypt, saving miracles that facilitated the exodus). This section acts as a prologue to the introduction to the law.
“The end of this first discourse carries an important theological message: the profound notion of one God (monotheism); the election of Israel as God's specific people; his special and kindly providence towards this people; the might of God, as manifested in the prodigious works he does in favor of the chosen people; and the consequence of all this--Israel's duty to be faithful to the one and only God, keeping his commandments and offering due cult only to him; by so doing, Israel will continue to enjoy his protection.
“Reading this and other passages in the sacred books shows the efforts the inspired writers made to update the teaching of religious traditions and apply it to the situation and needs of Israelites in later periods; this is perhaps the reason for the frequent calls to fidelity to the Covenant. 'In the course of its history, Israel was able to discover that God had only one reason to reveal himself to them, a single motive for choosing them from among alt peoples as his special possession: his sheer gratuitous love (cf. Deuteronomy 4:37; 7:8; 10:15). And thanks to the prophets, Israel understood that it was again out of love that God never stopped saving them (cf. Isaiah 43:1-7) and pardoning their unfaithfulness and sins (cf. Hosea 2)' ('Catechism of the Catholic Church.' 218).”[5]
CCC: Dt 4:37 218
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22
R. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.
For he spoke, and it was made;
he commanded, and it stood forth.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22
Psalm 33 is a song of praise and thanksgiving. In this selection the emphasis is on faithfulness to God who has saving power combined with hope, a central component of faith in God.
CCC: Ps 33:6 292, 703
-------------------------------------------
Reading II: Romans 8:14-17
Brothers and sisters:
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a Spirit of adoption,
through whom we cry, "Abba, Father!"
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rom 8:14-17
St. Paul continues his discourse about the importance of making life in the spirit a priority as opposed to the life of the “un-spiritual.” He reminds his Christian audience that when they became Christians they were not made slaves but adopted children of God. They are able, he tells them, to call God “Abba,” the familial term used by Jesus. He emphasizes that they are coheirs with Christ whose sufferings and glory they share.
"Paul reflects on the sonship of believers in Christ. Though Christ is the eternal Son of God by nature, we share in his life and become adopted sons of God by grace. This takes effect through the Spirit, who is poured into our hearts (Romans 5:5) and shows us the way to the Father (8:15) (CCC 1996)." [6]
CCC: Rom 8:14-17 1996; Rom 8:14 259, 693, 1831, 2543; Rom 8:15 257, 693, 1303, 1972, 2777; Rom 8:16 2639; Rom 8:17 1265, 1460, 1831
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20
The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
"All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 28:16-20
This passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew presents “The Commissioning” monologue that concludes this Gospel. The doubting disciples are reassured that all the Lord had predicted, and all the prophets had foretold, had come to pass, and the Lord had now assumed his place with the Father.
“This moment of encounter on the mountain is fraught with tense solemnity that cuts deep into the flesh of the apostles’ faith. Yes, they have responded to the summons that both the angel and Jesus himself sent them through the women. And yes, despite their misgivings, they have faithfully come to the precise place of their appointment with Jesus on this mountain. Nevertheless, it is all too evident that the apostles are not as unequivocally filled with joy as the two Marys were. The text tellingly makes no mention of the rejoicing by the disciples in its description of their reaction on encountering their risen Lord. Instead we read: ‘When they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted.’ There are different ways of interpreting this mixed response. I, for my part, read it as signifying a total shift of theological focus on the part of the evangelist as he portrays the meeting that is the climax of his whole Gospel.” [7]
The Lord then sends them out to continue his earthly mission. His command to them is an important one: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” In this statement, we receive the proper “form” and institution of the sacrament of baptism and the command to bring all nations to follow the Lord. The critically important emphasis here is: "make disciples," which goes beyond the sacramental act of baptism, the imparting of the Holy Spirit, to converting the hearts of those so washed. Finally, he reassures them that he will be with them always.
CCC: Mt 28:16-20 857, 1444; Mt 28:16-17 645; Mt 28:17 644; Mt 28:18-20 1120; Mt 28:19-20 2, 767, 849, 1223, 1257, 1276
-------------------------------------------
"Ask now of the days of old, before your time,
ever since God created man upon the earth;
ask from one end of the sky to the other:
Did anything so great ever happen before?
Was it ever heard of?
Did a people ever hear the voice of God
speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself
from the midst of another nation,
by testings, by signs and wonders, by war,
with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors,
all of which the LORD, your God,
did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
This is why you must now know,
and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God
in the heavens above and on earth below,
and that there is no other.
You must keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today,
that you and your children after you may prosper,
and that you may have long life on the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Dt 4:32-34, 39-40
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
by the breath of his mouth all their host.
For he spoke, and it was made;
he commanded, and it stood forth.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22
-------------------------------------------
Reading II: Romans 8:14-17
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a Spirit of adoption,
through whom we cry, "Abba, Father!"
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rom 8:14-17
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
"All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 28:16-20
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The celebration of Trinity Sunday always invites the homilist to preach heresy. This was driven home to me over twenty-five years ago. An instructor of Christology asked the class at the beginning of a session on the Holy Trinity that each student stand and provide a definition of the Holy Trinity to the rest of the class. One by one each student stood and did their level best to provide a scrupulous answer and at the end of each attempt the instructor would say “You’re a heretic. Sit down.”
You may be waiting for me to say that when my turn came, I brilliantly answered, “It’s a mystery.” But that was not an option. I too was called “heretic” and asked to take a seat. The point Father Phil was making was really a great warning for us. When we try to define God’s reality using human language we fail to appreciate that aspect of the Trinity, which is God, that lies beyond human understanding.
The theological understanding itself was not easily established in the early Church. Many of the Church Fathers, including St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Hilary, wrote and struggled with detractors of this theological truth.
Many of you who know me know that I enjoy humor and my bad jokes are something of a legend. While doing research for this solemn feast I came across the following for which I must give credit to Fr. Munachi Ezeogu, to illustrate the point I am trying to make (which I have been told is also incorrect and likely heretical as well as gently blasphemous as it makes fun of our attempt to put a deep mystery into words).
“Jesus said, who do men say that I am?
And his disciples answered and said, “Some say you are John the Baptist returned from the dead; others say Elias, or other of the old prophets.”
And Jesus answered and said, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Logos, existing in the Father as his rationality and then, by an act of his will, being generated, in consideration of the various functions by which God is related to his creation, but only on the fact that Scripture speaks of a Father, and a Son, and a Holy Spirit, each member of the Trinity being coequal with every other member, and each acting inseparably with and interpenetrating every other member, with only an economic subordination within God, but causing no division which would make the substance no longer simple."
And Jesus answering, said, "What?"
This of course brings us quickly to understand that it is not necessary for us, in our lives on earth, to struggle to understand the theological reality which is God. Rather it is important for us to recognize what our faith in God calls us to.
It is this call that is echoed by Moses in Deuteronomy, by St. Paul to the Romans, and by Jesus himself as he takes his final leave from his disciples in the Gospel of St. Matthew. The fundamental importance of our faith in the triune God is that we are called to action based upon our faith. Nowhere in Sacred Scripture does God say to us “Simply believing in him is enough; it does not matter how we treat one another or use the gifts he has given us." Rather the gift of faith obligates us past, present and future to follow his commands, to love one another and to impart the faith we have been given to others.
What should we minimally understand about the Trinity? We bless ourselves in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
-God the Father called us before time and created us. He established his covenants with Noah, Abraham and Moses each attempting to show his creation his love and how they were to love him.
-That the Son came to establish a final and eternal covenant; bringing his perfect revelation of the Father and defeating death that entered the world through Adam and Eve.
-That he left the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit as our advocate and guide.
All this we believe and have as a central belief. This belief must color our every action and bring us ultimately to the heavenly kingdom and the promise of the Trinity who is the only true and living God.
Pax
The celebration of Trinity Sunday always invites the homilist to preach heresy. This was driven home to me over twenty-five years ago. An instructor of Christology asked the class at the beginning of a session on the Holy Trinity that each student stand and provide a definition of the Holy Trinity to the rest of the class. One by one each student stood and did their level best to provide a scrupulous answer and at the end of each attempt the instructor would say “You’re a heretic. Sit down.”
You may be waiting for me to say that when my turn came, I brilliantly answered, “It’s a mystery.” But that was not an option. I too was called “heretic” and asked to take a seat. The point Father Phil was making was really a great warning for us. When we try to define God’s reality using human language we fail to appreciate that aspect of the Trinity, which is God, that lies beyond human understanding.
The theological understanding itself was not easily established in the early Church. Many of the Church Fathers, including St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Hilary, wrote and struggled with detractors of this theological truth.
Many of you who know me know that I enjoy humor and my bad jokes are something of a legend. While doing research for this solemn feast I came across the following for which I must give credit to Fr. Munachi Ezeogu, to illustrate the point I am trying to make (which I have been told is also incorrect and likely heretical as well as gently blasphemous as it makes fun of our attempt to put a deep mystery into words).
“Jesus said, who do men say that I am?
And his disciples answered and said, “Some say you are John the Baptist returned from the dead; others say Elias, or other of the old prophets.”
And Jesus answered and said, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Logos, existing in the Father as his rationality and then, by an act of his will, being generated, in consideration of the various functions by which God is related to his creation, but only on the fact that Scripture speaks of a Father, and a Son, and a Holy Spirit, each member of the Trinity being coequal with every other member, and each acting inseparably with and interpenetrating every other member, with only an economic subordination within God, but causing no division which would make the substance no longer simple."
And Jesus answering, said, "What?"
This of course brings us quickly to understand that it is not necessary for us, in our lives on earth, to struggle to understand the theological reality which is God. Rather it is important for us to recognize what our faith in God calls us to.
It is this call that is echoed by Moses in Deuteronomy, by St. Paul to the Romans, and by Jesus himself as he takes his final leave from his disciples in the Gospel of St. Matthew. The fundamental importance of our faith in the triune God is that we are called to action based upon our faith. Nowhere in Sacred Scripture does God say to us “Simply believing in him is enough; it does not matter how we treat one another or use the gifts he has given us." Rather the gift of faith obligates us past, present and future to follow his commands, to love one another and to impart the faith we have been given to others.
What should we minimally understand about the Trinity? We bless ourselves in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
-God the Father called us before time and created us. He established his covenants with Noah, Abraham and Moses each attempting to show his creation his love and how they were to love him.
-That the Son came to establish a final and eternal covenant; bringing his perfect revelation of the Father and defeating death that entered the world through Adam and Eve.
-That he left the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit as our advocate and guide.
All this we believe and have as a central belief. This belief must color our every action and bring us ultimately to the heavenly kingdom and the promise of the Trinity who is the only true and living God.
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 is "Holy Trinity" (Pala della Convertite) by Sandro Botticelli 1491-93.
[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] The Navarre Bible: “Pentateuch,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 682.
[6] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 267.
[2] The picture used is "Holy Trinity" (Pala della Convertite) by Sandro Botticelli 1491-93.
[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] The Navarre Bible: “Pentateuch,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 682.
[6] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 267.
[7] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume IV, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 2021 pp. 642-43.
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