Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR A TRINITY SUNDAY - 22.5.05 Ex 34,4-6.8-9; 2 Cor 13,11-13; Jn 3,16-18 At Home with a Tri-une God Caught
in the love of Father-Son-Spirit. Today
we celebrate Trinity Sunday. The word ‘Trinity’ is nowhere to be found in
the Bible, yet its implications are found everywhere. The truth that God is
revered & loved as Father (Abba),
Son (Ben-Ha M’vorakh) & Holy
Spirit (Ruach-Ha Kodesh) is central to Jewish & Christian
belief. The Mystery of the Trinity is essential to our Christian faith &
life.There are in the Bible many symbols & images to describe & express
the meaning of a Tri-une God in our spiritual life. Every page of the Bible
proclaims that God is forever present as loving Father,
forever active as redeeming Son,
forever beyond our wildest dreams as Holy
Spirit. Of course, there is also in
the Bible a powerful warning that we humans can never pretend to pierce -let
alone understand-, the mystery of God. He is ‘utterly other’ & beyond
our human comprehension. At the
same time, the Bible urges us to relate & deal trustfully with our loving
God as Father, Son & Holy Spirit.
We are encouraged to experience our life as an intimate relationship “with the
Father, in the Son, through the Holy
Spirit”. All our Christian life is caught in a love relationship with a
Tri-une God: everything in our life: flows from & returns to, the Blessed
Trinity. We are baptized in the name of Father,
Son & H.Spirit. Right through life we pray in the name of the Trinity:
every time we gather for the Eucharist, we make the sign of the cross &
greet each other with St. Paul’s words: “the grace of our Lord J.C., the
Love of God & the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you”. And at the
end of each celebration, we depart with the blessing again in the name of
Father, Son & H.Sp. At Baptism, we receive on our forehead the
1st sign of the cross, then we receive it right through life & even at point
of death. All along we receive it in
the name of Father, Son & H.Sp
= Lover (Father), Beloved (Son), Love between (Spirit) Trinitarian
Symbols & Images. In 325ad, Emperor Constantine held the 1st Ecumenical Council at Nicaea
near Constantinople, & ever since we profess our common belief in the
“Trinitarian Nicene Creed”: We believe in one God, Father almighty... We
believe in one Lord Jesus Christ... We believe in the Holy Spirit... Over the
Centuries, Christians have come up with special formulas to profess their
Trinitarian faith. The best known formulas are the “Sign of the Cross”: (In
the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit); & the “Glory Be”: (Glory
be to the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit, as it was....) But God’s
three-fold mystery as “Father - Son & Holy Spirit” is clearly implied in
the Bible, in the Church’s Liturgy & in the spiritual life of people. At
Mass we take it from the Prophets & exalt the awesome majesty of God, when
we pray 3 times: Holy, Holy, Holy... We also pray 3 times the ‘Lamb of God’;
while at the “I confess” for 3 times we strike our breasts & pray:
‘mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa’. When the Bishop imparts his final
blessing on the congregation, he makes “three signs of the cross”. -
Christian Art knows many symbols & images which aim at honouring the Blessed
Trinity: the triangle, 3 concentric circles & many ‘triads” like: 3
virtues of Faith, hope & charity - 3 days of Jesus in the tomb - 3 angels at
the hospitality of Abraham (painted by Andrew Rublev) - a three-fold blessing of
Aaron in Num. 6,24f - 3 major feasts: Christmas, Easter, Pentecost - 3 main
areas of the Temple: narthex, sanctuary & Holy of Holies - There’s a
“Trinity Song”... & there must be lots more. The No. 3 itself
points to perfection & completeness. Please send me any ‘Trinitarian’
Symbol or Image or Prayer that I have missed. ______________________________________ |
