Today is the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. It falls also on the celebration of Father’s Day. We allow ourselves to embrace and rejoice to receive this mystery and the gift of every father in the world. I find it more comforting to think of our father with us and how he provides for us in every way. Some of us no longer have earthly fathers with us. Some may not have the father that they needed, and, of course, many have caring, nurturing fathers; yet all of us share the same loving Father who gave us His only Son, that we would be saved. Jesus is our brother who gives His Body and Blood so that whoever eats this bread will live forever. The enduring presence of Christ strengthens and sustains us, for He wants to share His life and mission.
Today we are not dealing here with concepts or ideas in order to understand this profound mystery of the Holy Trinity but to reflect on the mystery based on our individual experience of relationship and our encounter with the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One God in three persons.
Let us reflect on each of the readings today which manifest the unity of God who continues to reveal Himself in human history and what is written down in the scriptures.
In the 1st reading today from the Book of Proverbs is a poetic reflection of the co-eternity within the three persons in God. There is the Highest Being called the Father who is in existence, omnipotent, and the power of creating resides in Him. He has all the wisdom to design everything here on earth, including the human race, who was made into His masterpiece. He made man His co-partner of His creation. God breathed on them to illustrate His creative power, made according to His own image.
The 2nd reading, taken from the epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, notes that it is through the work of Jesus Christ that “we have peace with God,” which means “eirene” in Greek, that surpasses all understanding and gains for us all access to the grace of God.
The gospel, taken from St. John, is a section of Jesus’s last words with His friends. The beginning verse is to make us understand what He says that, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.” Therefore, because of our limited mind and also attention span, we cannot carry some of His teachings. We are humbled though by the fact that we are just His mere creation. We need to patiently conquer our iniquities so that through His grace we sustain our eagerness to figure out that this Holy Trinity is not difficult to accept and to embrace. Jesus speaks of the Spirit, who shares all that the Father has given to Jesus, the Son. The Spirit will also guide the disciples and believers to learn what Jesus taught us. The Spirit accompanies us to remember everything.
There are some important points to guide our understanding of the mystery revealed to us.
First, the deepest truth that Jesus came to reveal is that there is a Creator Who loves all the creation, and then everything He created returns to the Creator, the Father. Our main concern is to love and protect the environment and the world and never misuse or selfishly abuse created things. We are all recipients of these gifts and stewards of all things around us. They are all ours but still belong to the Father who created everything and with which humanity cannot do whatever they want.
Second, the coming of Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, who lives in human history, opens our minds that all good things around us have come from heaven above. He was sent by the Father, to praise and glorify all with His Holy Name by preaching, good deeds and love. In His Word from the gospel, He preaches that all good things come from God and are part of God’s goodness and so we must return them. Jesus’ mission is to embrace us with sacredness according to the sacredness of His Father. We are all redeemed so that we may all be saved.
Third, the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to send an Advocate, the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, had been fulfilled during the Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has something to do with the perpetuation of God’s presence here on earth and beyond to build and to kindle in us the fire of God’s love, unity and communion. The Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, found delight in working within our souls to keep reminding us that in three persons, there is One Divine Being.
The Holy Spirit sustains us patiently on our journey through life’s holy pilgrimage. When we are weak and tempted to give up on our holiness, the Spirit is quick to assist us in seeing all the other gifts bestowed upon us so that we may persevere to our holy and eternal destiny.
This mystery about the Trinity has been revealed implicitly, accepting humbly the Holy Trinity which remains in the hearts of the Apostles and the early Christians and taught to us by the Fathers of the Church. In particular, St. Augustine encourages us to keep on searching, pondering, being warmed by anything which keeps us alive in faith, and interested in watching the play of God who delights amidst our human limitation to grasp the totality of God. However, the most important is that we are being loved enough.
Today, let us be renewed in our relationship with the three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and we can grow in our desires for a greater openness to the graces that each person wants to offer us. May this feast bring us all a renewal of the graces we need and the desire to enjoy the very personal gift of God’s love for us – for God’s greater glory and the service of others.
God bless you.
Fr. Arlon, osa
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El Dictado del Corazón: Solemnidad de la Santísima Trinidad, Ciclo C
- Proverbios 8, 22–31
- Salmo 8, 4–5. 6–7. 8–9
- Romanos 5, 1–5
- Juan 16, 12–15
Hoy celebramos la Solemnidad de la Santísima Trinidad, que también coincide con el Día del Padre. Abracemos con gozo este profundo misterio y el don de la paternidad en todas sus formas. Me resulta muy consolador pensar en nuestro Padre celestial: cómo está siempre con nosotros y cómo provee en todo momento.
Algunos de nosotros ya no tenemos a nuestros padres terrenales con vida. Otros quizá no tuvieron el padre que necesitaban. Muchos, gracias a Dios, han conocido el amor de un padre cariñoso y atento. Sin embargo, todos compartimos una misma verdad: tenemos un Padre amoroso que nos dio a su único Hijo para que seamos salvados. Jesús, nuestro Hermano, nos entrega su Cuerpo y su Sangre, para que quien coma de este pan viva para siempre. Su presencia constante nos fortalece y sostiene. Él quiere compartir con nosotros su vida y su misión.
Hoy no se trata solo de entender el misterio de la Trinidad como una idea o concepto. Se trata de reflexionar sobre nuestra experiencia vivida: nuestra relación y encuentro con la Trinidad: Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo, un solo Dios en tres Personas.
Reflexionemos sobre las lecturas de hoy, que manifiestan la unidad de Dios y su continua revelación a lo largo de la historia humana, recogida en las Sagradas Escrituras.
En la primera lectura, del libro de los Proverbios, encontramos una reflexión poética sobre la coexistencia eterna de las tres Personas divinas. Se presenta al Padre como el Ser Supremo, todopoderoso, Creador de todo. La Sabiduría está junto a Él desde el principio, participando en la creación. Por medio de esta Sabiduría, diseñó el universo y creó al ser humano como su obra maestra. Dios sopló sobre nosotros su aliento de vida, nos hizo a su imagen y nos invitó a ser colaboradores en su creación.
En la segunda lectura, de la carta del apóstol san Pablo a los Romanos, se nos recuerda que, por medio de Jesucristo, “tenemos paz con Dios”. La palabra griega eirene se refiere a una paz que supera todo entendimiento. Gracias a Cristo, tenemos acceso a la gracia de Dios.
El Evangelio de san Juan nos presenta parte del discurso de despedida de Jesús a sus discípulos. Comienza diciendo: “Todavía tengo muchas cosas que decirles, pero ahora no las pueden comprender.” Estas palabras nos invitan a la humildad, reconociendo nuestras limitaciones humanas. Sin embargo, Jesús promete el envío del Espíritu, que nos guiará a la verdad plena. El Espíritu tomará todo lo que el Padre ha dado al Hijo y nos lo hará conocer. Nos ayudará a recordar y vivir las enseñanzas de Jesús.
Para ayudarnos a abrazar el misterio de la Trinidad, consideremos tres puntos clave:
Primero, Jesús nos revela la verdad más profunda: tenemos un Creador que ama su creación. Todo lo que Dios ha hecho está llamado a volver a Él. Por eso, debemos amar y cuidar la naturaleza y el mundo que nos rodea. No podemos abusar ni usar egoístamente lo creado. Somos administradores de estos dones, no sus dueños. Todo le pertenece al Padre.
Segundo, la venida de Jesús, el Hijo de Dios hecho carne, nos ayuda a reconocer que todo bien proviene del cielo. Él fue enviado por el Padre para glorificar su nombre a través de la predicación, las obras de amor y el testimonio de vida. Todo lo que Jesús enseñó nos muestra que la bondad viene de Dios y debe regresar a Él. Su misión fue abrazarnos con la misma santidad del Padre. Hemos sido redimidos para alcanzar la salvación.
Tercero, la promesa de Jesús de enviar al Defensor, el Paráclito, se cumplió en Pentecostés. El Espíritu Santo continúa haciendo presente a Dios entre nosotros. Él enciende en nuestros corazones el fuego del amor divino, la unidad y la comunión. Procede del Padre y del Hijo, y actúa en el alma humana para recordarnos que en tres Personas hay un solo Ser Divino.
El Espíritu Santo nos acompaña pacientemente en nuestro caminar. Cuando estamos débiles o sentimos ganas de abandonar el camino de la santidad, el Espíritu nos recuerda los dones que hemos recibido, para que perseveremos hacia nuestro destino eterno.
Este misterio de la Trinidad ha sido revelado y humildemente acogido por los apóstoles, los primeros cristianos y los Padres de la Iglesia. San Agustín, en particular, nos anima a seguir buscando, reflexionando y dejándonos tocar por aquello que alimenta nuestra fe. Aunque somos limitados y no podemos comprender plenamente a Dios, lo más importante es saber que somos profundamente amados.
Hoy, renovemos nuestra relación con las tres Personas divinas: el Padre, el Hijo y el Espíritu Santo. Abramos el corazón para recibir las gracias que cada Persona quiere darnos. Que esta fiesta nos renueve en el amor de Dios y nos impulse a servir a los demás, para mayor gloria de Dios.
Dios los bendiga.
