Holy Trinity Sunday

Holy Trinity Sunday. 

Once Jesus asked His disciples, "What do people say that I am?' They said, "Some John the Baptist, others Elijah and Still others one of the prophets". Then He said, "What do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said, "You are the Logos, existing in the Father as His rationality and then, as an act of pure love and His will generated in consideration of various functions by which the Father is related to his creation. But on the fact of Scripture speaks as of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity of persons not of three gods but only one God and consubstantially united with each other". Jesus then looked at Peter and said, "What?" 

Once on confirmation day, a bishop asked the children, "What is holy trinity?" One of the children said, "The Father is god, the Son is god and the Holy Spirit is god. But they are not three gods but only one God...It's a belief in Triune God". The bishop hard of hearing said, "I don't understand what you are saying". Then the deacon who was standing next to the bishop said, "Bishop, you suppose not to understand. It's a mystery". 

The Holy Trinity is one of the basic doctrines of Christianity. Every Catholic prayer begins and ends with the name of the trinity saying...in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. All the church's sacraments are administered in the name of the Holy Trinity. We bless ourselves in the name of the Holy Trinity.  

Since Holy Trinity is a mystery, our human mind cannot comprehend. One of the classical stories tells that once St. Augustine wanting to resolve the mystery of the Holy Trinity was walking along a sea shore where he saw a little boy taking water from the sea and pouring it on the shore using a small sea shell and when St. Augustine asked the boy what he was doing. The boy said, "I am going to take all the water from the sea and pour it on the shore using this sea shell..." 

 St. Augustine laughed and laughed and said, " It's impossible. How can you do this. Do you know the vastness of the ocean? Then the little boy looked at St. Augustine and said, "If you mortal with your limited and conditioned mind are trying to resolve the mystery of the Holy Trinity and then I can easily do this too..." When Augustine realized what was going on, the story ends saying the boy vanished from his sight.  

Yes, the Holy Trinity is the mystery. We never say in the names of the Father, son and the Holy Spirit instead in the name of the Father, son and the holy spirit. We believe in One God the Father almighty creator of heaven and earth. We believe in Jesus Christ the only Son of God who is now sitting at the right hand of God almighty. We believe in the Holy Spirit the sanctifier.  

The Old Testament has some hidden and vague references to the Holy Trinity. For example, in the book of Genesis, God says, "Let us make man in our own image and like us..." When people went against God and built babel, He said, "People are going against us. Let us go down and teach them to come back to us...." 

God talks about Himself in plural form. He says instead of saying, "I", we. God is a community of persons. The Father is the creator, the Son is the redeemer and the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier. They are not three gods but only one God. 

But God reveals Himself as Trinity of persons more in the New Testament. At the annunciation, God the Father sends His angels to Mary and the Holy Spirit comes upon her and the son becomes incarnate in her womb. 

At the baptism of the Lord, the Holy Spirit descends on Christ and the Father's voice says, "Behold my Son with whom I am well pleased..." 

Christ our Lord before ascending to the Father asks His disciples, "Go, therefore and baptize them all in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". 

The Holy Trinity is a mystery that deepens our faith in God, Son and the Holy Spirit. Many saints and holy men and women tried their best to explain the unexplainable mystery. St. Patrick used shamrock the three gloved leaves to explain the mystery. St. Cyril used the Sun and its light and its heat to explain the mystery.  

But the question is how can we explain the Creator by using His created things. God can only be experienced but not explained. The mystery of God deepens our faith in God. 

The story of three monks in an island says as their bishop visited them, he found out that they did not even know the Lord's prayer and the bishop took time to teach them. Then as he left the island and his little ship was back in the open sea, he noticed that the three monks were walking on the water. In fact they were running towards the ship. Then they said to the bishop, "Please teach us the our father prayer again. We forgot it. The bishop who was so amazed their walking on the water said, "How are you pray then?" They said, "Holy God, we are three and you are three and we adore you".  

As we deepen our faith in the mystery of the Holy Trinity, we too can experience miracles and wonders and we too can do amazing things in His name and we too can bring back our family members and friends back to Church. So let us deepen our faith in the trinity and bless ourselves as often as we can saying, "In the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit". Amen.