Gospel Reflection for May 30th – Trinity Sunday

By Brother Michael Moore OMI

Go Make Disciples of All Nations – Trinity Sunday May 30th

The Season of Easter ended last Sunday when we celebrated the Feast of Pentecost. Today is Trinity Sunday. As we continue to move forward with an easing of lockdown and social restrictions, today is the day to praise and acknowledge the love and power of the Trinity. We are invited to experience God who creates and loves us, Jesus who saves and forgives us, and The Holy Spirit who encourages and strengthens us every day of our lives. 

The Trinity is rightly called a ‘doctrine’ of the Church. It is something we are called to accept and believe; we learn about it with our minds and our reason. But in reality we can’t really understand it fully. While we like to have our questions answered and our problems solved, we can’t ‘solve’ the mystery of The Trinity with our logic or a calculator. The Trinity is a matter of prayer and faith; it is a matter of the heart, not the head. When we use the word ‘mystery’ we are not talking about a puzzle to be solved. The Trinity is a mystery in the sense that it is so endlessly rich and profound that it can never be fully understand or exhausted. Mystery means that there is always more to learn, more to experience and that we can never have they final word about God.

The Trinity is not ‘out there’ somewhere distant and remote or beyond us. It is part of our faith and prayer life in simple and at the same time profound ways. When were baptised, it was done with water and oil in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. When we pray we begin and end by simply but faithfully making the sign of the cross. When pray or the sing The Gloria or the Glory Be, we are calling on the name of and praising the ever present and powerful Trinity. When we pray we are never alone; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are always with us.

The Trinity is often called the ‘perfect community of love and sharing.’ God freely shares with and gives us Jesus, who in turn anoints and pours into our lives and hearts the Holy Spirit who encourages and strengthens us. Through our faith, prayer and willingness to live as followers of Jesus we are a part of this dynamic and life giving mystery.  In the first reading we are told everyone moved by the Spirit is a son and daughter of God. The Spirit you have received is not the spirit of slaves… it is a spirit of sons and daughters. This is the language of family, belonging and intimacy. The reading also tells us that If we are sons and daughters of God, we are heirs as well; heirs of God and coheirs with Jesus.’ We are part of the relationship that Jesus has with God and by extension, the Holy Spirit.

The gospel for today ends with Jesus sending out his followers to carry on his mission and ministry of proclaiming the Kingdom of God. He says to them; ‘Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptise them in the name of the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit… and know that I am with you until the end of time.’ He sends them out in the name of the Trinity, not their own. They are not to rely on their own strength, but on the power of the Trinity. They were not on their own and neither are we today. As we move forward out of lockdown in small but significant ways, we ask the Sacred Trinity to guide, lead, strengthen and protect each of us this day. Perhaps these days, now more than ever, we can make this ancient prayer ours today; ‘May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the community of the Holy Spirit be with all of us.’

Br Michael Moore OMI

Today, make the sign of cross and bless yourself slowly and let the words become part of you in a more personal and intimate way.

– Br Michael Moore OMI

Go and make disciples of all nations