Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Dear Friends,
What a joyful solemnity we celebrate today as we meditate on the awesome mystery of the Trinity. The fact that God exists in this perfect triad relationship, that we have these three mighty persons to know and to love, is a fact of our faith that we can easily gloss over or take for granted. We make the sign of the cross countless times a week, and we throw out prayers to each person of the Trinity interchangeably, but how often do we take the time to marvel at this tremendous and complex mystery that is the center of our faith?
Today’s first reading from proverbs speaks of a divine relationship that exists long before the foundations of the world. This concept of God existing always and with no beginning, long before we or our world materialized, can be mind-bending to contemplate. But there God was, in perfect, loving, joyful completeness: three persons, one God, total harmony. And that divine life was so vibrant and glorious that God wished for us to have a chance to enjoy it with him. And through the divine Word, the second person of the Trinity, He created us. And since the moment of our creation, these three persons of God have accompanied us on our journey, constantly seeking to know us, love us, and bring us into the life with them that we are made for.
We see in the Gospel a sweet snapshot of the harmonious relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–a relationship that is being offered to us in its fullness. Jesus, the Son, sits with his disciples at supper and addresses us as a loving friend, describing how the Father has entrusted everything to him, and that he is offering us a part in it. He also tells us that the Spirit will come and continue to guide us on our way to the Father. How amazingly and how completely we are loved by God!! How overwhelming and astounding that the God of the universe is a Father who desires a relationship with us, a Son who enters into our humanity and sanctifies it, and a Spirit who guides us to perfect union and love with them. It’s truly mind boggling to realize that at every moment, we are being invited into the most mysterious, satisfying, all-loving, all-giving relationship in the universe. It’s a relationship that exists in a perpetual NOW, and which will be there for us even when all of our earthly ones pass away. Let us dive into this mystery with gratitude and awe.
Jule Coppa, Penn Campus Minister
