Feast of the Holy Trinity (C)

Feast of the Holy Trinity June 15, 2025

Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15

(image courtesy: Google)

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it would be a long journey. So one day he got up early and packed his bag with some biscuits, chocolates and soft drinks and set out on his journey without telling anyone. He had walked a short distance and reached a garden and found an old woman sitting quietly and feeding pigeons. The boy went and sat next to her and kept watching her action.  Then he felt hungry and took out a biscuit and was about to eat. But he looked at the old woman and shared some with her. She willingly accepted it and gave him a bright smile. He too smiled.  He shared his chocolates and drink and each time she gave her a smile better than previous one.  They shared no word with each other. Evening approached and the boy was tired and wanted to return home.  He had but taken a few steps, he turned back and gave a hug to the old woman who hugged in return giving the biggest smile ever. The boy reached home and the mother asked him why he looked so happy. The boy said: “Mom I had lunch with God today.”  Before she could say anything he added, “Look mom, she had the most beautiful smile I have ever seen.”  The Old Woman too reached home and her son asked her why she was so happy. She responded saying, “Look son I had lunch with God today and I did not know he was so young.”

In our daily life, we begin every one of our prayers, activities, programmes or works with the sign of the cross and call upon God, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Even though we remember the Trinity several times a day, it is difficult to comprehend the full meaning because the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit we invoke constitute a great Mystery.

Today's First Reading is taken from the Book of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings and counsels.  This Book reminds us of the many facets of God.  There is the creative action of God the Father, forming the world and all that the world contains.  It portrays God, not as an authoritarian remote figure but someone intimately accessible to the created world.  

The farewell discourse of Jesus is characterized by five Paraclete or advocate passages.  Two important aspects of the Paraclete is emphasized in these passages: first the Holy Spirit as the continuing presence of Jesus in the post-resurrection community and second the Paraclete as a teacher and a witness.  These passages have become very important in the church’s subsequent theological development of the doctrine of the Trinity.  John provides us with a rich understanding of the divine mutuality that existed between the Father and the Son. When those insights are combined with these Paraclete passages we have all the necessary ingredients for shaping the rich and essential doctrines of the Trinity.

As a whole the readings of the day could be summarised with the following lines 

1.  Experience is how we ENCOUNTER God

2.  Theology is what we KNOW of God

3.  Spirituality is how we LOVE God

Let us try to understand the three Persons 

The first person is the Father and he is called Father because he is the source of life for the son. 

The second person is called the Son because he receives his life from the Father. Father and Son love each other with a love more complete and perfect than we can imagine. Their love is so perfect that it is a person, the Holy Spirit. 

The third person then is the personal love between Father and Son and is the bond of unity between the Father and the Son. Yet in our practice of faith, there is no other words remembered than the names of Father Son and the Spirit and this Trinity is needed for us to fully live our Christian life.

St. Augustine said: “The Sign of the Cross was introduced by the Apostles themselves.” Tertullian (194 AD) observed: “At every step and movement, whenever we come in or go out, when we dress ourselves or prepare to go out of doors, in the bath, at table, when lights are brought, at lying or sitting down, whatever we may doing, we make the Sign of the Cross.”

The Sign of the Cross as a form of our devotion to the Blessed Trinity is very venerable and holy because it reminds us of the mystery of the Blessed Trinity and of our redemption.

Trinity is the source, model and reference point of all human communities. It is a Source because we are created in the image and likeness of God i.e. Trinitarian God. We are social beings and by nature we are Trinitarian. In us we have Father dimension: Transcendence – capacity to go beyond, Son dimension: transparency/openness and Spirit dimension: Immanence, i.e capacity to go within oneself. 

Model: We are community beings. Our communities are modelled after the Trinitarian communion. We come together on Sundays as a community to reflect the Trinitarian aspect in us. 

Basic reference point for Christian communion: the entire humanity is a community. We are relational and community people and therefore as a community we refer back to Trinity to live a fitting Christian life. 

Living the Trinitarian Life

Understanding the Trinity is not merely an intellectual exercise but a call to live in a way that reflects the relational nature of God. The Trinity teaches us that at the core of reality is a community of love. We are created in the image of this Trinitarian God, which means we are made for relationship—with God and with one another.

To live a Trinitarian life is to embrace a life of love, unity, and mutual self-giving. It challenges us to build communities that reflect the unity and diversity of the Trinity. In our families, parishes, and workplaces, we are called to foster relationships marked by respect, compassion, and solidarity.

The Trinity in Worship and Prayer

Our worship and prayer are deeply Trinitarian. Every time we make the Sign of the Cross, we invoke the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, reminding ourselves of our baptismal identity and our connection to the divine community. In the Eucharist, we participate in the Trinitarian love of God as we are united with Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live out the Gospel.

In our personal prayer, we can deepen our relationship with each person of the Trinity. We can turn to the Father with our needs and gratitude, seek to know and follow Jesus more closely, and invite the Holy Spirit to fill us with wisdom, courage, and love.

As we celebrate Holy Trinity Sunday, let us embrace the mystery of the Triune God with awe and gratitude. Let us strive to reflect the love and unity of the Trinity in our lives and communities. By living out our faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we become witnesses to the world of the transforming power of God’s love. Just like the boy in the story who could find God wherever he went may we too make the trinity personal. May our understanding of the Trinity deepen our faith and inspire us to live as true disciples of Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit and united in the love of the Father.

Happy Feast