Father Chas Canoy
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A brief reflection on the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity and how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit invite us into God’s eternal exchange of love.
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The Most Holy Trinity: Entering the Mystery of God’s Love
Now, on to the sublime mystery of today’s Solemnity: The Most Holy Trinity.
I want to begin with a question:
What is your image of God?
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of God?
Is it some old man with a beard dressed in white?
Or is it Jesus?
The first image would be incorrect.
The second image—Jesus—is, of course, correct because Jesus is God. But if it is only the one person of Jesus that you think of, then your image of God would still be incomplete.
Jesus Himself reveals that He is one with God the Father. He also tells His disciples that after His Ascension, He would send the Holy Spirit. Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit dwells within us and makes us temples of God, indicating that the Holy Spirit Himself is God.
That already implies the mystery of the Trinity.
Although God is most certainly one, that one God exists as a relationship of Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And He has destined us to share in that divine exchange.
That is heaven: union with God and participation in that eternal exchange of love.
The innermost secret of who God is can be summarized in one statement:
God is love.
And because God is an eternal exchange of love, this helps us understand why God is necessarily a Trinity of Persons.
Love requires relationship.
You necessarily need more than one person for love to occur because love always entails a relationship.
Wherever there is love, there are three realities.
First, there is the lover.
Second, there is the beloved.
And what is the third reality?
The very love that they share.
So what are the individual roles of the Persons of the Trinity?
God the Father: Creator
God the Father is the Creator.
He is the origin of all things.
Even the Son and the Holy Spirit proceed from the Father.
However, it is important to understand that the Son and the Holy Spirit are eternally begotten from the Father. This means there was never a time when the Son and the Spirit did not exist.
Therefore, they are co-equal with the Father.
God the Son: Redeemer
God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, is the Redeemer.
He is the One who fully reveals the Father to us.
He is the perfect expression of the Father, which is why He is called the Eternal Word.
Jesus is the Savior who united Himself to humanity, raising us to the dignity of sons and daughters of God.
God the Holy Spirit: Sanctifier
The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, is the Sanctifier.
He is the One who makes us holy.
He enters into our lives and makes us temples of God.
The Holy Spirit animates our lives and forms us into the likeness of Christ.
A Challenge for Trinity Sunday
So I encourage you today, on this Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, to reflect on this question:
Which Person of the Trinity do I feel most distant from?
Do I feel distant from the Father?
From the Son?
Or from the Holy Spirit?
Pray specifically to the Father, through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit, asking God to draw you closer to the Person of the Trinity with whom you most need a deeper relationship.
For as we grow closer to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we enter more deeply into the very life and love of God.