MOST HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY, YR B: HOMILY BY FR JUSTIN ADIELE

THEME: LIVING IN THE ONENESS, UNITY AND LOVE OF THE TRINITY

INTRODUCTION:

Today, we celebrate the greatest mystery of our Catholic faith, the mystery of the Trinity. It is a truth and doctrine based on divine revelation rather than on science, human reasoning or sophistry. St. Thomas Aquinas began his teaching on the Trinity by asserting that; “God is Father, God is Son, and God is Holy Spirit”, and these are not three but one God. It is this same unity in diversity that unites us in faith, and in humanity. Living out in principle this one, loving and undivided unity revealed in the Trinity will perfect humanity; will perfect our world just as God is perfect in Trinity.

 

GOD WANTS US TO BE ONE/LIVE AS ONE

As we celebrate the Blessed Trinity today, we are challenged to reflect amongst us the Oneness of the Trinity. It is an effort in futility (unrealizable) to determine which of the Trinity is more powerful, more glorious, more majestic, or more eternal. They are just one in glory, equal in majesty and co-eternal. In the same vein, we should strive to eliminate amongst us every power tussle; every racial/tribal domination/supremacy; and every claim/pride of primacy/importance over others. The more we emphasize on our differences, the more we end in futility. The more we see, feel and work as one, the more powerful we become as God. Jesus had to pray; Father, may they be one, as you and I are one, seeing no discriminatory difference between us and our brothers and sisters.

 

GOD WANTS US TO BE UNITED

As we celebrate the Holy Trinity today, we recall their distinct persons and their undivided unity, no one person claims to work without the others. Jesus revealed that he only gave what he received from the Father, and the Holy Spirit also gives what he took from the Son (cf. Jn. 16: 14,15). We all are also distinct by names and personality, yet we can still live and work harmoniously together, taking, giving and receiving from each other. We can actually live and share without any greed, strife, envy, enmity, division, war or rancor. We must be united in the service of God and humanity. We must learn to accept and receive one another, unbiased and in good faith.

 

GOD WANTS US TO LOVE, BECAUSE ONLY LOVE UNITES

Peter Kreeft once said; “If God is not a Trinity, God is not love. For love requires three things: a lover, a beloved, and a relationship between them.” The Bible says God is love; the Trinity is the perfect expression of that ‘love essence’ of God. In a similar way, we must essentially be loving / love one another.  We must remain in the Trinitarian cycle of love; either you are the lover, or the beloved or in the relationship/business of love. Scripture crowns it all; “…God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God and God in him… We have received from him this commandment; whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (cf. 1 Jn. 4: 16 & 21)

 

CONCLUSION:

Robert A. Heinlein said something that could be interpreted in both ways; he said; “Anyone who can worship a trinity and insist that his religion is a monotheism can believe anything.” This could be interpreted positively to imply that the person is a man of faith. The Trinity One God is a real basis/expression of strong faith. If you can believe it, you can believe in all that the Scripture revealed, you can believe in love, you can believe in unity, you can believe in yourself, you can believe in others, you can believe in the impossibility, you can believe in the sacraments, you can believe and share in the power and essence of the Trinitarian God.

 

Happy Sunday!

Fr. Justin

 

Most Holy Trinity Sunday, Year B: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

Theme: Living a life inspired by the Trinitarian relationship

Readings: Deut. 4:32-34,39-40; Rom 8:14-17; Mt 28:16-20 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, we celebrate the solemnity of one of the greatest mysteries of our Christian faith, the mystery of the Holy Trinity. It is a celebration that reminds us that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one. It teaches us that there are three distinct Persons in one God, sharing the same Divine Nature, they are co-equal and co-eternal. Each Person of the Trinity is God, yet there is still only one God; they are one in substance, yet distinct in Persons and functions, but in their functions, there is unity of purpose.

The teaching of the Blessed Trinity is one that no amount of philosophical and scientific research can fully explain or even deny. It is indeed a mystery; it is beyond the full grasp of the human mind. In reality, the nature of our God is beyond the full grasp of the human mind. That was why God, in the prophet Isaiah (55:8-9), said that: “my thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways. For as the heavens are high above the earth so are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.”

The word ‘Trinity’ cannot be found in the Bible, but many teachings of Jesus pointed to the reality of the existence of the Blessed Trinity. One of those teachings is found in today’s gospel reading where Jesus instructed us saying: “Go into the world and baptize them, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19).

Though today’s second reading didn’t offer any systematic teaching on the Holy Trinity, in it, St Paul presented the three divine persons in their concrete forms and actions. He said: “Led by the Spirit, we are sons of God…And we are heirs with Christ.” It is the same spirit that proceeds from both the Father and the Son that helps us to call God ‘Abba Father’. Elsewhere, in 2 Cor. 13:13 precisely, St Paul showed us the unity of the Blessed Trinity when he said: “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

In the first reading, Moses reminds us of the beautiful and mysterious nature of the works of God. Dear friends, it takes a loving and mysterious God to accomplish such a wonderful and mysterious salvation task. Hence, Moses encourages us to strengthen our faith in God by simply obeying his commandments.

Which of the commandments does the life of the Holy Trinity inspire us to obey? The life and function of the Holy Trinity inspire to live a life of love and unity. Out of love for the Son and for the world, God the Father sent the Son to redeem the world. Out of obedience to the Father and love for both the Father and the world, Jesus Christ the Son accepted death on the Cross for the salvation of mankind. Then, out of love for us, the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit upon us to be our Counsellor, advocate and comforter. In all these actions, we see the Trinity lovingly working in unity for the achievement of the same goal, which is the salvation of mankind.

Dear friends, we who have been created in the image and likeness of God who is three but one, are urged to pay particular attention to the commandment of love and unity. We should embrace love and unity in everything we do and everywhere we find ourselves. If someone who is created in the image and likeness of the Triune God cannot live a life adorned by love and unity in his relationship with fellow human beings, then, there is a problem; such a person cannot fully claim to possess the image of God. Let us, therefore, make unity and love top priorities in our relationships starting from this week.

Let us pray that we will model our lives according to the relationship that exists between the Persons of the Blessed Trinity.

Happy Feast Day. Peace be with you.

Fr Isaac Chinemerem Chima

 

HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY, YR B: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

LIVING OUT THE TRINITY IN THE WORLD

(Matthew 28:16-20)

In the face of the mysterious happenings in our world today, the Church celebrates the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

This is the doctrine that states that God is One God, but Three coeternal and consubstantial persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Thus the Gospel of today presents us with the Great Commission, where Christ sent His disciples in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to participate in the Trinitarian mission and baptise people into this family.

The Father, as we know, is known for the principal role He played at creation in union with the Trinitarian Family. The Son is the Saviour, sent by the Father to redeem the creation of God when Sin, corruption, and the devil threatened to destroy it. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son to confirm the work of the Son, sanctifying and renewing the face of the earth doing wonders among the people of God and proving that God is not just transcendental but immanent even after the ascension.

Today, we celebrate the love of God. We celebrate the unity of God. We celebrate peace and harmony. We celebrate divine mentorship. Yes, we celebrate what God designs for us, for our world, for the Church, and for our society.

We hereby open ourselves to learn from the TRINITY, calling to mind once again what the Holy Trinity reminds us in our daily living as Christians and how we can be missionaries of the Trinity wherever we find ourselves in the world.

LEARNING FROM THE TRINITARIAN SCHOOL

From the Most Holy Trinity; God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we've got a lot to learn.

CREATIVITY AND PROGRESSIVENESS

The Father is the maker of all things, visible and invisible. All He created are good. The success of His creation is team spirit: 'Let us' He carried the Son and the Holy Spirit along. His spirit hovered. His Spirit was breathed in man. His Spirit was with His people by day and night as they journeyed. His spirit inspired the prophets.

Let us carry each other along and put in our best wherever we find ourselves to be useful and bring out something from the chaotic situations serving as raw materials for us to apply our creative initiatives. Is it impossible to create an ordered, peaceful, good, and loving world? No. It is not. If only we could come together with pure intention and dedication. Let's put our talents together. Let's pull our resources for the common good. Doing this is living the Trinitarian creativity. Let us respect each other's functions and roles. Let us not frustrate the positive enhancement of our society and missions by laziness. Let's be positively creative.

 

REDEMPTION AND SALVATION

Jesus, the Saviour in the family of the Trinity reminds us of: Whom shall I send? Asked by the Father answered by the Son and made possible by the Holy Spirit.

The work of redemption calls for passion, determination, and readiness to say yes to what ought to be done. It calls for being sensitive, having feelings, and being touched. In our case, we need to know when things have fallen apart. Moses on the mountain was able to learn when the people began to derail, and He intervened. We need to in our little way to restore and salvage the peace that has become a thing of the past in our world, the love that has gone on exile from our families, the truth that has departed from our lips, the dignity for the human person and human life that has gone away from our people etc.

We can reposition our society where God wants it to be, we can bring back lost values, glories, and positive cultures that are gradually suffering extinction.

 

RENEWAL AND SANCTIFICATION

The Holy Spirit in the Trinitarian Family is the fruit of the love that exists between the Father and the Son. His expression is seen in making the dream of the Father and the Son to come true in the world. The dream that we should be one, holy, pure, and make the face of the earth radiate with the love of God.

In the light of the Spirit of God, let us renew our joy, our zeal, and our desire for spiritual things. We need to renew our prayer life. We must renew and rekindle the life of our consciences.

We have to put away the old-fashioned ways of doing things. The old way of politicking, the corrupt practices we indulge in, the various vices that are being enthroned among us must be refined and allowed to pass through the purifying furnace of the Spirit of God in order to make them become what the godhead wills.

 

OTHER LESSONS

The TRINITY is indeed a school that offers us a lot. We learn trust. The Trinity believes in each other and trusts each other so much.

We see accountability; the Son gave feedback to the Father and the Holy Spirit when His work on earth was done.

We learn consultation; they consult one another. We must learn this and not make ourselves 'eze onye agwalam' (self-willed, sole administrators, dictators).

We learn supportive Spirit. No one knows it all. We need each other. Let's be there for one another in good times and bad. The Father and the Holy Spirit were there with Christ during His passion.

Unity in diversity: We may be many, but we can be one. We can drop our differences and come together to achieve a common goal. There may be separation of powers and roles, but with love for a positive end, there comes a beautiful masterpiece.

In the family,  let the father, mother, and children be united in the purpose of forming a lovely society, a loving church journeying to the lovely kingdom where the Trinity lives and reigns.

May the Most Holy Trinity be blessed both now and forever.

LET US PRAY

We thank You, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for being the sign of our Blessing. Continue to bless us and remain glorified in Your undivided nature. Grant that we may become worthy abiders in the Trinitarian Love as we pray: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.

Happy Trinity Sunday (Yr B).

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh.