The solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity

This Sunday is the solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity… a.k.a. Trinity Sunday where the Catholic Church honors the Triune God. The Feast of the Most Blessed Trinity was approved by the Catholic Church during the 9th century, but it was only included in the church calendar in the 14th century by Pope John XXII. Today’s scripture reading comes from John 16: 12-15.

“[Jesus said to his disciples, ] 12 “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. 13 But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. 15 Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”

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In the Old Testament, we know that Moses spoke to one God in Mt. Sinai. But we do get “hints” of the Blessed Trinity in the Old Testament. For instance in Genesis, when God created man, he did not say “I will make man in my own image.” Rather what is clearly written is God saying, “Let us make man in our own image.” Call this a “hint” that when God created the universe, he was not alone,they were already a Triune God.

If you continue reading Genesis in the story of the Tower of Babel, you will also read a similar passage when God confused mankind who spoke only in one tongue,and said, “Let us then go down and there confuse their language so that one will not understand what another says.” You can also open your Bible to Proverbs Chapter 8: 22-31 and you will clearly see that God was not alone when he created the firmament. God’s Holy Spirit was with him all the time.

We all know that the Bible, which includes the Old and the New Testament, is divinely inspired. But clearly, the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity is “hidden” in the Old Testament, but it will be revealed in the New Testament. I’m no theologian, so I will not attempt to explain the mystery of the Blessed Trinity because even the smartest theologian cannot explain this truth that the magisterium of the Catholic Church teaches and preaches.

What we do know is that the Blessed Trinity exists and this is very evident in the New Testament. Let us recall the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ in the River Jordan by John the Baptist where God was heard saying, “This is my begotten Son with whom I am well pleased.” Above the head of our Lord was the Spirit of God in the form of a dove.

During the Transfiguration, God once more revealed himself in Matthew 17 where Peter, James and John were up in Mt. Tabor and our Lord Jesus Christ was transfigured and became “white as light”. Then the Shekinah Glory cloud covered them and a voice was heard saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” In that scripture passage, one can see the Triune God in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit as a Glory cloud, and God the Father’s voice.

Perhaps you may want to know more about the Holy Spirit coming as a cloud? Look at the pages of your bibles. In the Annunciation, which we can read in Luke 1:29-33, the Angel Gabriel announced to the Blessed Virgin Mary in a strange greeting, “Hail favored one! The Lord is with you.” This greeting troubled the Blessed Virgin Mary. Then the Angel Gabriel said to her, “Do not be afraid Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.”

Of course, the Blessed Virgin Mary wanted some kind of clarification as she remarked, “How can this be when I know not man?” The Angel Gabriel answered her saying, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” This “overshadowing” was the work of the Holy Spirit again in the Shekinah Glory cloud.

If you’re still looking for proof of the existence of the Holy Spirit, look no further and read Matthew 28:19 when our Lord Jesus Christ was about to ascend into heaven, he gave his last command to his disciples saying, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Jesus also said, “I am the way, the truth and the light.” Therefore even if the word “trinity” doesn’t appear in the Bible, our Lord’s statement is crystal clear to us Catholics.

Our final word about the Holy Spirit comes in today’s gospel when our Lord Jesus said to his disciples,“Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.” 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!

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