The Spirit Will Guide You into All the Truth
Feast of Most Holy Trinity
May you continue to grow in the “knowledge” of the GOD Who is Abba-Father, Son, and “Knowledge” is often thought of as having comprehension of a fact. But the Biblical concept of knowledge implies something more. In the Bible, “to know” means to have a personal relationship with a concept or another person. It involves much more than the mind. It includes a personal commitment to an idea or a person. Thus, when the angel Gabriel appears to Mary and announces that she is to be the mother of the savior, she responds, “How can this be since I do not ‘know’ man.” We are invited, particularly today, to deepen our “knowledge” of the GOD Who is Abba, Son, and Holy Spirit. It does not limit us to just coming to a fuller understanding of the Triune GOD, but to developing our relationship with GOD. We will never fully comprehend the Trinity with our mind, but we can apprehend (hold on to the relationship with) the GOD Who is Abba-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Our readings present to us a view of the Most Holy Trinity, whose solemnity we celebrate today. The First Reading describes GOD the Creator begetting Wisdom Who takes part in the process of creation. The psalm declares the magnificence of creation and the most blessed part of creation GOD has given to humans. In the Second Reading, St. Paul speaks about the gift of salvation that GOD (the Abba-Father) has extended to us in and through the Jesus Christ (the Son) and poured out upon us by the love that flows from the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel, Jesus promises a further share in the life of GOD by the presence of the Holy Spirit Who completes the relationship with the GOD Who is Abba, Son, and Holy Spirit.
First Reading; Proverbs 8:22-31: Before the beginning of the earth, Wisdom was brought forth.
Commentary: How did we Christians come to see God as a Trinity of Persons? With a noble sense of reverence the Israelites saw God as so infinitely other than the world that it became difficult to understand how God could mix with the world, even how God could ‘dirty his fingers’ by creating the world. The solution was that God must have created the universe by his Wisdom, the ‘master-craftsman by his side’ in the work of creation. God’s Wisdom is in a way the same as God, but yet not exactly the same. But is God’s Wisdom itself created? It is not clear whether God ‘created’ or ‘possessed’ Wisdom, for the Hebrew word, different from the word used for ‘creating’ the universe, is given both senses by different ancient translators. So there is in God something which both is God and is not the same as the Creator. The Wisdom of God is also similar to the Word of God by which God created, ‘He spoke and it came into being’ (in the Creation Story in Genesis 1). In the New Testament, Jesus is known both as the Wisdom of God and as the Word of God. The first thing we know about God is that we can not know about God. Nevertheless, the Bible is groping towards the idea that there is diversity within God. This is the beginning of the understanding of the Trinity.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 8:4-5. 6-7. 8-9: O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth!
The psalm praises GOD for so wonderfully creating the world and for taking particular care in the placing of humans as the care-takers and climax of created beings. Humans are not worthy of such an exalted position but have been graced and gifted by GOD with being in relationship with GOD. It is all gift on GOD’s part.
Second Reading; Romans 5:1-5: To God through Christ in the love which is poured out through the Spirit.
Commentary: In this reading, Paul is beginning his teaching on the obedience of Christ, the Second Adam, whose obedience undoes the disobedience of Adam. By their courage and perseverance, the martyrs make their own the obedience of Christ to his Father in the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the instructions of Jesus at the Last Supper.
Gospel; John 16:12-15: ‘All that the Father has is mine; the Spirit will take what is mine and declare it to you.’
Commentary: Since every human era and generation has a slightly different mentality and way of thinking, differing dominant skills (the present generation dominated by social media) it will use different questions and different terminology. The guidance of the Paraclete will be necessary to translate or formulate the truth in ways that are intelligible, relevant, and gripping to each new generation. Sometimes, these will be expressed and forwarded by charismatic personalities who stand out from the accepted norms of society and yet are revered as transcending those norms (a Mother Teresa or a Nelson Mandela). At other times, the truth will be forwarded by the established hierarchy of the Church. It may even be that some members of the hierarchy are also seen as charismatic leaders (Oscar Romero, Pope John Paul II, Pope Francis). At all times, the Paraclete would be needed to guide Christian thinkers with regard to new philosophical insights and insights into human nature, such as Augustine, Aquinas, John Fisher, and John Henry Newman.
An important element in this would always be the understanding of Christ himself, for instance in the concepts of personality and nature, in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, in the part played by Christ in the salvation of all people. In all these, the revelation and guidance of the Paraclete would ‘glorify me’.
Reflection: How can we know God personally and grow in our understanding of his wisdom, truth, and love for us? Jesus made a claim which only God can make - he knows all things - the present and the past, as well as the future. Jesus not only claims to speak the truth, he calls himself the very source of truth when he proclaims that he is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Now Jesus promises to send his disciples the Spirit of truth who will guide them in understanding all that Jesus came to say and do! Jesus tells his disciples that it is the role of the Holy Spirit to reveal what is true. It is through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit, who enlightens our hearts and minds, that we come to understand that the Godhead is a trinity of persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
One Father, One Son, and One Holy Spirit perfectly united: The Jews understood God as Creator and Father of all that he made (Deuteronomy 32:6) and they understood Israel (the promised son and his heirs) as God's firstborn son (Exodus 4:22). Jesus reveals the true nature of God the Father in an unheard of sense. He is eternally Father by his relationship to his eternal and only-begotten Son, who, reciprocally, is Son only in relation to his Father (see Matthew 11:27). The Spirit, likewise, is inseparably one with the Father and the Son. Jesus reveals the triune nature of God and the inseparable union of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The mission of Jesus and the Spirit is one: The mission of Jesus and of the Holy Spirit are the same - to reveal the glory of God and to share that glory with us by uniting us in a community of love with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus tells his disciples that the Spirit will reveal the glory of the Father and the Son and will speak what is true. Before his Passover, Jesus revealed the Holy Spirit as the 'Paraclete' and Helper who will be with Jesus' disciples to teach and guide them "into all the truth" (John 14:17,26; 16:13). The ultimate end, the purpose for which God created us, is the entry of God's creatures into the perfect unity of the blessed Trinity. In baptism we are called to share in the life of the Holy Trinity here on earth in faith and after death in eternal light.
Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD), an early church father and teacher at the catechetical school in Alexandria, wrote: "What an astonishing mystery! There is one Father of the universe, one Logos (Word) of the universe, and also one Holy Spirit, everywhere one and the same; there is also one virgin become mother, and I should like to call her 'Church'."
Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, unites us with the Father: How can we personally know the Father and his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ? It is the Holy Spirit who reveals the Father and the Son to us and who gives us the gift of faith to know and understand the truth of God's word. Through the Holy Spirit, we proclaim our ancient faith in the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ until he comes again. The Lord gives us his Holy Spirit as our divine Teacher and Helper that we may grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God. Do you seek the wisdom that comes from above and do you eagerly listen to God's word and obey it?
May the Lord Jesus put his hands on our eyes also, for then we too shall begin to look not at what is seen but at what is not seen. May he open the eyes that are concerned not with the present but with what is yet to come, may he unseal the heart's vision, that we may gaze on God in the Spirit, through the same Lord, Jesus Christ, whose glory and power will endure throughout the unending succession of ages. (prayer of Origin, 185-254 AD)
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The Mystery of the Holy Spirit, by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD)
"John tells us that all things came into being through the Son who is God the Word abiding with you, Father, from the beginning. Paul in his turn enumerates the things created in the Son, both visible and invisible, in heaven and on earth. And while he is specific about all that was created in and through Christ, of the Holy Spirit he considers it enough simply to say that he is your Spirit.Therefore I concur with those chosen men in thinking that just as it is not expedient for me to venture beyond my mental limitation and predicate anything of your only-begotten Son except that, as those witnesses have assured us, he was born of you, so it is not fitting for me to go beyond the power of human thought and the teaching of those same witnesses by declaring anything regarding the Holy Spirit other than that he is your Spirit. Rather than waste time in a fruitless war of words, I would prefer to spend it in the firm profession of an unhesitating faith.
"I beg you therefore, Father, to preserve in me that pure and reverent faith and to grant that to my last breath I may testify to my conviction. May I always hold fast to what I publicly professed in the creed when I was baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. May I worship you, the Father of us all, and your Son together with you, and may I be counted worthy to receive your Holy Spirit who through your only Son proceeds from you. For me there is sufficient evidence for this faith in the words 'Father, all that I have is yours, and all that is yours is mine,' spoken by Jesus Christ my Lord who remains, in and from and with you, the God who is blessed for endless ages. Amen." (excerpt from ON THE TRINITY 12.55-57)
more of god: “We are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” —Romans 5:1
Many people know there is a God. Some people even experience that God is present, loving, and personal. Others only sense God as a force. Those people who are aware of God as a Person know they can reject God by sinning. They sometimes know when they’re not at peace with God. Then they feel a need to get right with God, to be justified (Rm 5:1). Few people experience much more of God than this, but there is much, much more of God. Jesus said to His disciples: “I have much more to tell you” (Jn 16:12).
God is Trinity, three Persons in one God. God is a family. God has become a man. This God-made-man is Jesus (see Jn 1:14), Who is fully God and fully man. There is so much more to God than our experiences. The holiest saints who have ever lived have only just begun to know God. “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor 2:9).
On this Trinity Sunday, may we experience in a new way the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom (Ps 111:10). May we devote all our energies to developing as deep a relationship with the Trinity as possible. May we let the Spirit guide us to all truth about the Trinity (Jn 16:13).
Prayer: Father, Son, and Spirit, I give my life to You. May I be baptized — immersed — into You (see Mt 28:19). “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.” —Rm 5:5. “O most Holy Trinity, undivided Unity; Holy God, mighty God, God immortal, be adored."
The personal action for today: How do I “know” and relate to GOD as Abba-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Am I constantly trying to solve the problem of what the Trinity is, or am I able to live the mystery of the Trinity by relating to GOD as Abba, Son, and Holy Spirit? What does my prayer life (how I address GOD) say about Who the Trinity is for me? Am I allowing myself to be “known” by (relate to, experience) GOD? In what way do I make my “knowledge” of the Triune GOD evident in my daily practice? Can people come to know GOD better by my living out my relationship with the GOD Who is Three-in-One?
*Saint Marguerite d’Youville: We learn compassion from allowing our lives to be influenced by compassionate people, by seeing life from their perspectives, and reconsidering our own values.
Born in Varennes, Canada, Marie Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais had to interrupt her schooling at the age of 12 to help her widowed mother. Eight years later she married François d’Youville; they had six children, four of whom died young. Despite the fact that her husband gambled, sold liquor illegally to Native Americans, and treated her indifferently, she cared for him compassionately until his death in 1730.
Even though she was caring for two small children and running a store to help pay off her husband’s debts, Marguerite still helped the poor. Once her children were grown, she and several companions rescued a Quebec hospital that was in danger of failing. She called her community the Institute of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal; the people called them the “Grey Nuns” because of the color of their habits. In time, a proverb arose among the poor people of Montreal, “Go to the Grey Nuns; they never refuse to serve.” In time, five other religious communities traced their roots to the Grey Nuns.
The General Hospital in Montreal became known as the Hôtel Dieu (House of God) and set a standard for medical care and Christian compassion. When the hospital was destroyed by fire in 1766, Mère Marguerite knelt in the ashes, led the Te Deum—a hymn to God’s providence in all circumstances—and began the rebuilding process. She fought the attempts of government officials to restrain her charity, and established the first foundling home in North America.
Pope Saint John XXIII, who beatified Mère Marguerite in 1959, called her the “Mother of Universal Charity.” She was canonized in 1990, and her liturgical feast is celebrated on October 16.
Saints deal with plenty of discouragement, plenty of reasons to say, “Life isn’t fair” and wonder where God is in the rubble of their lives. We honor saints like Marguerite because they show us that with God’s grace and our cooperation, suffering can lead to compassion rather than bitterness.