A Homily for Trinity Sunday (B)
If you ask most priests and deacons, they will tell you that probably the most difficult solemnity of the liturgical year to preach about is today’s celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. How can anyone summarize the Trinity in a few minutes? Even if I were to preach for an hour – now don’t start to stress out, I am not going to give an hour-long homily, but even if I did, I would only be able to scratch the surface of this most profound mystery of our Faith.
The Ven. John Henry Cardinal Newman once noted that the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity was unlike any of the other major feasts that we celebrate during the Church year. While the Annunciation, Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, the Ascension and Pentecost are all profound mysteries, Newman noted that we do not celebrate them simply because they are mysteries, rather we celebrate them for the blessings which we gain from them. However, “to-day we celebrate, not an act of God’s mercy toward us, but, forgetting ourselves, and looking only upon Him, we reverently and awfully, yet joyfully, extol the wonders, not of His works, but of His own Nature” (J.H. Newman, “Sermon 23: Faith without Demonstration,” Parochial and Plain Sermons, Ignatius Press, p. 1390). It is truly good to spend time in prayerful contemplation of the Most Holy Trinity, yet we cannot spend the whole homily just in silent contemplation. So I had to pick one aspect of the Trinity, ideally based on the Scripture readings from today’s Mass, to reflect on.
Let me ask you all a question, what did you do when entered the church today? Hopefully we dipped our right hand in the Holy Water fount at the door of the church and then made the Sign of the Cross. OK, maybe some of you forgot to do so, but we really should bless ourselves with Holy Water as we enter a church. Why? What is the Holy Water and Sign of the Cross suppose to remind us of? All of you who said “Baptism” get a gold star. In fact, I was taught as a child, that when I enter a church I should dip my hand in the Holy Water, and as I make the Sign of the Cross say, “I remember my baptism in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
In today’s Gospel reading we hear Jesus, just before He ascends into Heaven, tell the Apostles to, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” The Church still uses these words of Christ in the Sacrament of Baptism.
If I was to ask you what was the best day of your life, I would probably get a variety of answers like, “the day I got married,” or “the day my child was born.” How many of us would say, “The best day of my life was the day I was baptized?” Probably not many of us. Now, to be fair, one reason for that might be because many of us do not remember our baptism because we were little babies. However, we should have learned about the sacrament of Baptism, so we should know just how important it is. What could be more important than receiving the sacrament that Jesus said was necessary for salvation? What could be more momentous than the day we were “born again” as sons and daughters of God? “Yet sadly, many of us have been baptized without ever coming to understand its reality and meaning, and we, in turn, baptize our children with our eyes still veiled to the eternal significance of this sacred ritual” (Judith Landrieu Klein, MTS, Living Water: Understanding the Gift of New Life through Baptism, Catholic Faith Explorers, p. 1).
There are so many effects of baptism that I could talk about, but since it is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, let me focus on just one. Through our baptism we are brought into the life of the Blessed Trinity. Jesus commanded the Apostles, and their successors, to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit because He desires that we bear His family name. Yes, the name of the Holy Trinity is God’s family name.
As we know, the One, eternal God consists of three Divine Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and receiving the Sign of the Cross signifies our belief in their existence and union. The Sign of the Cross also expresses our understanding that we are born into God’s extended family by our Baptism. “The innermost mystery of the Divine Family is precisely the familial love shared among them – a love exchange between the Eternal Father and his only begotten Son that is so great that it literally overflows into a Third Person, the Holy Spirit. When we are baptized, we are granted more than a ‘name only’ association with the Trinity; we are impregnated with the Spirit of their love, who comes to live within us to enable us to behave as God’s family members. That means that we can now put our unwavering faith in God’s promises, hope in heaven as our true home, and most importantly, love with the very love of God” (Judith Landrieu Klein, MTS, Living Water: Understanding the Gift of New Life through Baptism, Catholic Faith Explorers, p. 7).
Pretty awesome don’t you think? To quote Moses, from today’s first reading, “Did anything so great ever happen before?”
Yet, too many Christians fail to live up to their Baptismal promises, which can be summarized by two Scripture passages; “Go, and do not sin again” (John 8:11), and “Be holy because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). Promises are important. Not to keep a promise, especially one made to God, is immoral.
Since we are here, at Mass today, I think it is fair to say that most of us here are at least trying to live out our Baptismal promises. Sure, each of us fail at times to do so, but we are coming to Mass each week to be instructed by the Word of God and strengthened by the Body and Blood of Christ. However, I am sure that each of us knows someone who is not making any effort to live the Faith they were baptized into. Maybe some of you parents have children who are no longer practicing their Faith, and not raising their children in the Faith. Maybe we were asked to be godparents to someone, and they no longer practice the Faith. What are we to do? We might be tempted to shrug our shoulders and say, “its their own choice, they are adults now.” Maybe we ask, with Cain, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Well the simple answer is YES! As God is a community of Divine Persons, we are baptized into the community of the Church, and yes, we share responsibility for each other. That means asking our children, godchildren, brothers, sisters, cousins, parents and friends why they have become slack in the practice of the faith. Don’t let them off the hook easy. Don’t let them make excuses like, “well, I’m too busy. Besides, I don’t need to pray in church to be a good Catholic.” That is wrong, and it is endangering their immortal soul. Don’t yell, don’t scream, don’t threaten them. Invite them back to Church. Share with the joy of the Lord that you have from practicing the Faith, the consolation and strength you receive from it in times of trials. Let the love of the Trinity shine through you.
We cannot be silent. Jesus commands us to spread the Good News of our salvation, making disciples of all the nations. This greatest charity must begin in our own homes, families and neighborhoods.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
