Homily Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity Year A

 

Reading 2: Our faith in the Trinity is expressed in the words of St. Paul in this second reading: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” Our faith expresses the revelation of God of himself to us. God is One and Triune: one in being, three persons, Father, Son and Spirit.

 

There is perfect relationship among the three persons. That relationship is love. Their very life is perfect love for each other, which bonds them together, though distinct persons into the oneness of the Godhead.

 

Instead of dividing the attributes or functions of God as Paul did for better human understanding, he could just as easily have said: “the grace, love and fellowship of God be with you.” What Paul is saying is: May all the blessings and favors given to us by God as a sign of his intimate and personal love for us bring us into union with God and one another. All God has done for us has been done because of his love.

 

Once we grasp and accept this mystery of revelation, then our life will be different. We will “mend our ways”, put off sin and put on the mind of Jesus Christ. We will “encourage and agree with one another”, reaching out to one another with the same love God gives us. Following what Paul says, we will let love be the basis of all we do to one another. This in turn will draw us into the bond of unity and there will be real peace and harmony between us. Then the God of love and peace will be with us.

 

Reading 1: God wanted humankind to know that the union which the three Persons of the Trinity share with one another in love is his desire for them. God created us in unity with him and with one another. But man and woman freely chose to alienate themselves from God through sin.

 

But it is God who begins the return journey of man and woman to himself. In this reading, God gives Moses a personal revelatory experience of God. The Lord stood with Moses and revealed his name: “Lord” and his attributes of mercy and graciousness, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.

 

Moses, in turn, reflected the deep longing within him and all humankind. “Be with us on this journey.” There is a longing within the depth of each one’s heart for the presence of God. St. Augustine once said: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O God.”  To fulfill this desire, God has revealed himself to us and invites us into intimate union with him as Father, Son and Spirit.

 

Gospel:  We are reminded that all God does is done in love. He created us out of love. He became man out of love. He redeemed us out of love. He adopted us as his sons and daughters out of love. In all this, we did nothing. 

 

But what should our response be to God’s unconditional, gratuitous love? Love. A love that is expressed into belief and acceptance of his will for us in each present moment.

 

Though Jesus has saved us without our earning it in any way, our salvation needs to be embraced and responded to in a life of love and surrender to his will for us. In so doing, we will share in the very life and love of God forever. We will not be God, but we will experience the very life of God in union with him and one another.