Gospel Reflection for Sunday June 7th 2020 Trinity Sunday
Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday, the last day of the Easter season. Today we begin what is called ‘Ordinary Time.’ But today in fact is no ‘ordinary’ Sunday. Today is Trinity Sunday. Separated though we are from each other, today is the day to praise and experience 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 each of us every day of our lives. This is even more important to believe and appreciate these days as we are seperated from each other and are unable to go to our local parish church. Through our faith and prayer, we are not and are never alone.
When I was in school, I was never any good at numbers or mathematics. However, today is not the time to try and figure out the Trinity with our logic or even a calculator! We all like to have our questions answered and our problems solved. But the reality and mystery of the Trinity cannot be solved or proved with our brains. The Trinity is a matter of prayer and faith; it is a matter of the heart. It is something we are called and invited to feel and experience personally and intimately. The Trinity is not something ‘out there’ that is distant or remote from us. The Trinity is a part of faith and prayer life in simple yet profound ways.
When we were baptised, it was done in the name of the Trinity. When we start our prayers we do so by calling on the name of the Trinity as we simply yet faithfully make the sign of the cross. When we pray The Gloria or the Glory Be, we are praising the ever present and dynamic presence and power of the Sacred Trinity. We are never alone when we pray; 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 us with and pours into our hearts and lives the Holy Spirit who encourages and strengthens us. This is what we are called to appreciate even more during these difficult days of separation and isolation. We are never alone when we pray; we are surrounded and protected by The Trinity at all times.
Because of the virus, we are all in some way separated from each other and from those we love. This is painful and difficult. While we speak to each other on the phone and connect through our computers, we miss and long for that ever important and vital human touch of an embrace, hug and a kiss. We yearn for that sense and experience of community that we are being denied at present. It will return. Let us not lose faith in ourselves, each other or God, especially on this Trinity Sunday. When we pray we are not only in communion with God, we are also deeply connected to each other. I love this line from the prayer we say at the start of mass, ‘I ask you my brothers and sisters to pray for me to the Lord our God.’ Now more than ever, during these challenging days, we need to have a deep sense of communion with God and connection with each other as we pray in and from our own homes. When we pray, we are never alone.
We end with this ancient and sacred prayer from the today’s second reading from Pauls letter to the Corinthians, ‘May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of us.
– Br Michael Moore OMI
| Gospel for Sunday June 7th: Trinity Sunday | John 3:16-18 © |
|---|
For God sent his Son into the world so that through him the world might be saved.
Jesus said to Nicodemus,
God loved the world so much
that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him
may not be lost but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world
not to condemn the world,
but so that through him the world might be saved.
No one who believes in him will be condemned;
but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already,
because he has refused to believe
in the name of God’s only Son.
Have you signed up for our mailing list?
Each day, we email out a short thought for the day based on a piece of scripture from the day’s mass.
Our community also streams live short morning and night prayer, daily mass and rosary. Sign up to our email list to stay connected.
Each Sunday, we send the Sunday Gospel Reflection straight to your inbox.
Sign up here:
