This weekend the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity is at the core of our faith. It is an integral part of our sacramental life and prayer. We were baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Each time we sign ourselves with the cross to pray, we use those same words. The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity “the central mystery of Christian faith and life.” (#234) It also says, “The Trinity is a mystery of faith in the strictest sense, one of the ‘mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless they are revealed by God.’” (#237) The Catechism of the Catholic Church goes on to explain the revelation of the Trinity: basically that the Father was revealed by the Son – “he is eternally Father by his relationship to his only Son, who reciprocally, is Son only in relation to his Father.” (#240) As for the Holy Spirit, before the Passover, Jesus announced the sending of the Paraclete who would be with and in all the disciples to teach them and guide them “into all the truth.” (#243) “The Spirit is sent to the apostles and to the Church both by the Father in the name of the Son, and by the Son in person, once he has returned to the Father. The sending of the person of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ glorification reveals in its fullness the mystery of the Holy Trinity.” (#244)
As we celebrate the mystery of our Triune God this week, we give glory to God who is perfect love, who demonstrates that love in the relationship and unity between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We give thanks to God for his unconditional love for us and for sharing his very divine life with all of us.
Let us continue to praise God by taking time each day this week to pray a simple prayer we learned as children: 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.
Father’s Day
On this Father’s Day weekend we wish many blessings on all Fathers, may the Spirit continue to guide them as they play their role as Fathers.
Blessing of Fathers
God and Father of all creation,
we come before you today
with humble hearts.
You are our model of a loving father.
When we fail and fall short of your expectations,
you are always there at the end of the day with open arms, ready to heal the cuts and scrapes of the day and to encourage us to try again and not to give up.
We hold up these men in our midst who act in the world as fathers to their children or models of fathers for others.
Bless them in their moments of doubt and frustration with their children.
Give them warm and open hearts to forgive failures.
Provide them with the words needed for encouragement and perseverance.
We ask all this in the name of Jesus.
Amen.