Homily of Holy Trinity Sunday of
Year A, 2020
We celebrated the Solemnity of
Pentecost last Sunday. The descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles brings
the work of the Holy Trinity to its fullness. God the Father is the Creator.
God the Son is the Savior. God the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier and the
Renewer.
When Jesus was about to ascend to
heaven, he authorized his apostles to baptize in the name of the Trinity. He
said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). By
extension, Jesus commands us to do all things in the name of the Trinity: God
the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. That is why all our prayers
begin with the invocation of the Trinity, and end with the blessing of the
Trinity. We invoke the Trinity each time we profess the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirt, and sign ourselves with the Sign of the Cross. It is, therefore,
important that we profess the holy names and sign ourselves reverently. The
sign of the Cross was known in Christian liturgy about the 3rd century AD.
St. Paul prays for us today in
the 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.” St. Paul prays that our
existence be ruled and sustained by the saving grace of Jesus Christ, by the
everlasting love of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit. St. Paul prays
that our existence be rooted in the Trinity because life outside the Trinity is
not worth living.
The Trinity is one of the most
important mysteries in Christianity. That God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit are three persons, but one nature, one God, equal, undivided,
and no separation. We are not invited to fully understand the mystery. We are,
rather, invited to participate in the life of the Trinity, and walk in the way
of the Trinity.
Some lessons from the life and
way of the Trinity:
The three persons of the Trinity
are one nature and united. The word ‘trinity’ means a unity of three
(inseparable three).
The three persons of the Trinity
related in perfect harmony from creation to redemption, and to the descent of
the Holy Spirit.
There is no inequality with the
three persons of the Trinity.
The three persons of the Trinity
are bonded in love and are undivided.
The life and way of the Trinity
bring unity and peace. Any family, church, community, organization, or
country that walks in the way of the Trinity will experience peace. St. Paul
tells us in the second reading today, “… agree with one another, live in peace,
and the God of love and peace will be with you.” Where there is no unity, there
is no peace; and where there is no peace, there is disintegration. But where
there is unity, God reigns, and his blessings abound. Psalm 133:3 tells us that
where there is unity, “There the Lord has decreed a blessing, life forever
more.”
Unity is strength. When we work
together as a team, with the same agenda and the same goal, we are most
successful, and we make much progress. It is often said, “Where there is unity,
there is always victory;” “United, we stand, divided we fall.”
We are invited to be rooted in
the life and way of the Trinity. The crises we have all over the world are
because men and women refuse the life and way of the Trinity but prefer the
life and way of the world and the Evil One. The life and way of the world and
the Evil One, such as, inequality, injustice, disharmony, hate, disunity,
crises, and so on are opposed to the life and way of the Trinity which are one
nature, unity, harmony, love, equality and peace. Has humanity not seen enough
signs that what happens to one affects all; to show us that we are one nature,
and are supposed to be united, work in harmony and live in peace? An
English author, John Donne, in 1624 wrote, “No one is an Island, entire of
itself; everyone is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main. … No one is
self-sufficient; everyone relies on others.”
As we celebrate and worship the
Most Holy Trinity, may the rays of their holy light shine on us and dispel
forces of sin and darkness and bring us to conversion. May the rays of their
holy light grant healing to us and our land. May the rays of their holy light
guide us to the path of love, justice and righteousness. And may the rays of
their holy light grant us protection and peace. Amen.
Fr. Martin Eke, MSP
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