20240526 TRINITARIAN SPIRITUALITY AND MISSION
26 May 2024, Sunday, The Most Holy Trinity
First reading |
Deuteronomy 4:32-34,39-40 © |
The Lord is God indeed: he and no other
Moses said to the people: ‘Put this question to the ages that are past, that went before you, from the time God created man on earth: Was there ever a word so majestic, from one end of heaven to the other? Was anything ever heard? Did ever a people hear the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the fire, as you heard it, and remain alive? Has any god ventured to take to himself one nation from the midst of another by ordeals, signs, wonders, war with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors – all this that the Lord your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt?
‘Understand this today, therefore, and take it to heart: the Lord is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other. Keep his laws and commandments as I give them to you today, so that you and your children may prosper and live long in the land that the Lord your God gives you for ever.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 32(33):4-6,9,18-20,22 © |
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
For the word of the Lord is faithful
and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right
and fills the earth with his love.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
By his word the heavens were made,
by the breath of his mouth all the stars.
He spoke; and it came to be.
He commanded; it sprang into being.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
Second reading | Romans 8:14-17 © |
The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God
Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God. And if we are children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Rv1:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
the God who is, who was, and who is to come.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 28:16-20 © |
Go and make disciples of all nations
The eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’
TRINITARIAN SPIRITUALITY AND MISSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Dt 4:32-34.39-40; Ps 33; Rom 8:14-17; Mt 28:16-20]
Last weekend, we celebrated the Solemnity of Pentecost. With the celebration of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church, the revelation of God is complete. We now know for sure that in the inner life of God, there are three distinct persons, different, but sharing in the oneness of the divine being, namely, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Before Easter, we only knew that God is Father. He revealed Himself as the Lord of heaven and earth. He is not just the creator of heaven and earth but He is a loving God who cares for His people. God chose Israel as His own as the responsorial psalm says. God not only spoke to His people but also worked signs and wonders in their midst. Moses said “Has any god ventured to take to himself one nation from the midst of another by ordeals, signs, wonders, war with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors.” But that was not all, He gave them His word and the commandments for them to share in His life of love.
With the coming of Christ, Jesus revealed to us His divine Sonship. He is the Word of the Father. He was sent by the Father to reveal His love for humanity. Right from the outset of the Priestly Prayer, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you.” (cf Jn 17:1-3) Jesus concluded by saying, “I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (Jn 17:25f) Jesus was clear that His mission was to reveal the identity of the Father and His love for us. This is why He said to Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also.” (Jn 14:6) Truly, Jesus is one with the Father in mind and will. (Jn 10:30; 5:19)
After His death, the Father vindicated Jesus of His claims of divine Sonship and the truth of all that He taught by raising Him from the dead. This explains the basis for the early Church in teaching the Lordship of Christ. In his speech at Pentecost, Peter declared, “let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 3:36) Consequently, the resurrection of our Lord is central to our faith because it affirms the divine Sonship of Jesus. So, from this moment, revelation has reached the second stage where the Father is affirmed as the Lord and no other, but Jesus is also affirmed as the Son of the Father, sharing in His divinity, hence, also called Lord.
Last Sunday at the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, whom the Son and the Father promised to send to the Church, was realized. Who is the Holy Spirit? In the gospel of John, the Lord told His disciples, “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.” (Jn 15:26) This Holy Spirit is identified with the Father and the Son, as the Lord said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (Jn 16:12-14)
Hence, following Pentecost, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Trinity, because God reveals Himself as a Trinitarian God. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons in the One God. Although they have distinct roles in the history of salvation, they work together as one, always with each other, in each other, by each other, and for each other. They are in perfect communion within the divine being. The Father is the Origin, the Son is generated, and the Holy Spirit is spirated by the Father and the Son. So all are equal in majesty, power and glory. The inner life of God is one of intense communion and mutual love in the three divine persons. There is perfect communion of life and love among the three persons, and all three together are involved in the work of salvation.
For this reason, we are commanded to be baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” It is significant that we are not baptized in the name of Jesus only, but the Father, the Son and the Spirit. In other words, in baptism, we are called to be the adopted children of the Father in Christ through the Holy Spirit. St Paul wrote, “Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God and it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God.” Through Jesus, we come to know His Father and the existence of the Paraclete. Through the Holy Spirit we come to know Jesus personally and we become one with Jesus and the Father.
But why is this revelation of the Trinitarian God important for us? God does not reveal to us about Himself, and lesser still, His inner life, to satisfy our curiosity, but for the sake of our salvation. Because the God we know and worship is a Trinitarian God, and we who are created in His image and likeness, are called upon to share in His Trinitarian life. We are called to relate with God, not just in His divine essence, but to have a personal relationship with Him by relating with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In this way, the God we worship is not an abstract relationship but a very personal one, and with His personal presence in our midst, this God who is our Emmanuel, is truly God with us.
How, then, do we relate to the Holy Trinity? We pray to the Father when we want to thank God for the gifts of creation, for the mysterious and providential ways that God works in our lives; when we need to feel the fatherly protection of God in times of danger and in times of need because He is our heavenly Father. When we need someone to feel with us, and one who can understand us, we turn to Jesus because He is not just truly God but also truly man. Jesus who shares our humanity can empathize with us in every way because He suffered like us and was truly a man, only without sin. So we turn to Jesus as our model, our brother, and our exemplar in faith, love and charity, especially when we suffer unjustly and innocently. Finally, we pray to the Holy Spirit when we need to express our feelings, when we need to feel the joy, the peace, the love and gentleness of God. The Holy Spirit provides us the feeling dimension of God in our hearts. Joy and peace in life is not just dependent on the external circumstances, or how we perceive situations, but how we feel in our hearts as well. When the mind and heart are one with God in loving and willing, we find peace and joy. The gifts of the Holy Spirit, as listed in Paul’s letter to the Galatians in chapter 5, are the intangible fruits, but they are necessary feelings.
Being baptized in the name of the Trinity, we are called to reflect the inner life of God in our lives as well, especially as Christians. In our relationship with each other, we too must live in communion, caring for each other, working with each other, walking side by side, and always keeping united in what we do. This must take place especially in our homes and our Christian communities where we are called to respect each other, cherish each other, and complement each other as members of the body of Christ – diverse and blessed with different charisms but all one in Christ. We are called to complete each other and not compete with each other. In this way, the Trinitarian God whom we worship is also the way we live our identity as well. This is the key to communion with God and with our brothers and sisters. What we worship is how we live our lives.
However, baptism is not just for our salvation but also for a mission. This is why the Lord commanded His disciples and gave them the mission which He received from the Father. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations.” Just as the Father sent Jesus, His Son, now the Son sends us by empowering us with His Spirit which is one with the Father.
Mission, therefore, implies sending. We do not send ourselves. We are sent by the Father to make disciples of all nations by teaching them to observe all the commands the Lord has given to us. We are also sent by those who are in charge over us. In the Church, it is the bishop who sends and appoints his collaborators to help him minister to the Church and to spread the gospel. But we can accomplish His mission only by being united with our Lord and empowered by His Holy Spirit, and also when we are in union with the bishop, or whoever is in charge of us.
Today, in celebrating the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, we are grateful that God chose to reveal His inner life to us so that we can truly share in His life and find lasting peace, love and joy. Let us not just allow this dogma of the Holy Trinity be merely an empty doctrine, as if it has no bearing on our lives. Rather, we must relate with God in a personal way with the Three divine persons at prayer, and then live out our life in unity within diversity. In this way, we will be able to enjoy the riches and joys of our relationships with each other because we enrich each other with our distinct gifts given to us by God, without being competitive.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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