Feast of the Holy Trinity A

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. 

· This is the core message of the Gospel: the depth and unconditional magnitude of God’s love for us. Reflect on Paul’s realization that Jesus died for us when we were sinners, not friends. (Rom 5:6-11)

· The Father gave his Son to us in a twofold manner: a) through the Incarnation; b) through his death on the cross.

· “Eternal life” is another way of saying “sharing God’s own divine life.”

· Reread the verse and put yourself in it: God so loved me…

 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

· If God wanted to condemn the world all of salvation history from Abraham to Jesus’ death of the cross would not have been necessary.

· There is no salvation outside of Jesus. He came to save all.

· Again reread the verse and put yourself in it.

Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 

· Though Jesus saved all, not everyone will be saved. Do you hear the condition?  What does it mean “to believe in him?”  It is more than assent and acknowledgment. What is involved?

· What about those who do not know, through no fault of their own, and therefore do not believe in Jesus?  Is salvation possible for them? (Catechism of the Catholic Church—paragraphs 846-848)

· How do we respond to God’s love and how should we realistically  respond?

· What do you take from this reflection and apply to your life?