By  Deanna Bartalini

 

 

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” ~ 2 Corinthians 13:14

 

As I read today’s Mass readings, I realize they are all about God’s great and merciful love for us. From the beginning of what is recorded in Genesis all the way to Revelation, God is with us, showering us with love. The scriptures contain all the ways God loves us, with the verse from John 3:16 pointing us to the gift of Jesus, who is love personified. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he promised that the Holy Spirit would come and remain with us, our Advocate.

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity when we remember that God is Three in One.

Thoughts on the Trinity 

When I think of the Trinity, these words come to mind: love, community, fullness, create, purpose, and peace. Those words are how we are to live as Christians. We live in many different communities – our family, our work, where we worship – all communities. And within those communities, in varying degrees, we work to create, to live out the fullness of our vocation with the people in our lives. The Trinity is God’s reminder that we are not meant to be alone.

Our purpose is to love others as well as we are loved by the Trinity. We know that the Father gives us the Son, Jesus, out of love and a desire to be united with us one day in heaven. Jesus died for us out of his love for the Father and each one of us. The Holy Spirit, present from the beginning of time, descended in a spectacular way at Pentecost and remains with us out of love for the Father and the Son and the desire to be with us.

When I envision the Trinity, I see a circle, not a candle flame, shamrock, or Venn diagram. A circle because it is endless, and it can easily widen to include more. There are no sides; it shows unity. There is room for all of us within the love and perfection of the Trinity.

Receive to Give

The spiritual life is not only about what we receive; it is also about what we give. God gives us so much so that we can share it with others. So he invites us to share in the Trinitarian life, and when we are filled, as St. Paul says, “with the grace of Jesus, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,” we then go out and give what we have been given to others.
If we do nothing of what the world considers to be important, successful, exciting, or fulfilling, but we love well, we are living as we are called to do by God. Understanding the nature of the Trinity helps us to know how we are to live. Today, let’s try to gain a bit more head knowledge of the Trinity and transfer it to our soul to live more fully as Catholics in this world.

 

 

Prayer

Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.

Call to Action

 This week, when you are tempted to act in less than loving ways, pray the Glory Be and ask for help from the Trinity. 

 

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