The Most Holy Trinity / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
The Church celebrates Trinity Sunday this weekend, and it uses the celebration to teach us about the mystery of three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—in the one God.
For its first reading, the Church offers us a passage from the Book of Proverbs. It is part of the section of the Old Testament known as the wisdom literature. The purpose behind these books was to reassure pious Jews that their belief in the one God of Israel, a divinity of mercy and eternal faithfulness, was fully in harmony with sound human reasoning.
This reading reveals the essential link between God and the quality of wisdom. Wisdom is of God. “The Lord possessed me,” personified Wisdom declares in the reading. “From of old,” it continues to say, “I was poured forth. … I was brought forth” (Prv 8:23-24).
In other words, God gives us wisdom, another gift of divine mercy and love. Without this wisdom, we cannot fully understand reality.
St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans furnishes the second reading. As so often appears in the writings of Paul, the realities of Jesus and life in him are majestically presented. Humans are reconciled with God through the Lord Jesus and through his sacrifice accomplished in the incarnation and redemption.
God’s love comes to us through the Holy Spirit. This statement affirms the Spirit’s divine identity. Love is dynamic. It is not a commodity. Love is something essential to the lover. It is not incidental.
St. John’s Gospel provides the last reading. As is typical of all the parts of the fourth Gospel, the reading literally gleams with eloquence and grace.
This passage is a direct quotation from Jesus. In it, the Lord powerfully reassures the Apostles that the Holy Spirit will come to strengthen and empower them. “He will guide you to all truth,” the Lord tells the Twelve (Jn 16:13).
The reading establishes the place of the Apostles in the unfolding of salvation. It testifies to the esteem in which the Church holds the Apostles, and their successors, today.
The reading also reveals the Trinity, albeit obliquely. The Holy Spirit will convey God’s truth to the Apostles. As with love, truth is not a commodity. It is an awareness of what actually is. Only the supremely wise, namely God, possesses this unobstructed view of what actually is.
Finally, the reading reveals the place of the Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit will give glory to God in bestowing divine wisdom upon the Apostles. Jesus foretold the coming of the Spirit. God sends the Spirit. Guided and strengthened by the Spirit, the Apostles continue Christ’s works of salvation.
The Father sent Jesus. Jesus sends the Spirit. The Father, Son and Spirit are one.
Reflection
The Church teaches that the Holy Trinity is a profound revelation of God. As such, the Church presents this teaching in its pronouncements, in prayer and on this great feast. This teaching is at the root of Catholic belief.
From the moment that Catholic parents teach toddlers the sign of the cross, through extensive studies at the highest levels of institutional education, Catholics hear of the Trinity.
Still, even for those who believe, even for the devout, it can be an abstract statement of a reality seemingly ethereal and remote.
On the contrary, it is supremely relevant to all that we are and to everything that we do. It explains human life, the critical need to love all others, salvation and the very identity of God. It explains who and what we are, and what our purpose in life is.
God is love. God is good. God loves us. We belong to God.
The Criterion will not have an issue next week due to its summer schedule. The reflection of Msgr. Owen Campion for Sunday, June 22, will be posted at www.archindy.org/campion. †