If I were to ask you what is the most important teaching of Christianity, what would your response be? Would it be the Incarnation? Would it be the Resurrection? Would it be the moral teachings of Jesus Christ when He says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your mind, heart, soul, and strength”?
Today, brothers and sisters, our response should be the Most Holy Trinity. This is the most important of all Christian teachings because God reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes the importance of the Most Holy Trinity. It says, “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life.”
Every Sunday, brothers and sisters, is Trinity Sunday. It reveals what is at the root of what we believe, the root of the sacraments, and the root of our life of prayer. And so your life, my life, is meant to be Trinitarian. And so the question that might be raised is, how do I live this Trinitarian life?
God seeks to help us. He gives us the necessary means in order to enter into this Trinitarian life. He wants us to live like Him, and He gives us His assistance, first of all, through the most holy liturgy. We begin each Mass in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And we end each Mass by receiving a blessing from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Everything we say and do during Mass is a dialogue where God speaks His word to us through the person of Jesus Christ in the light and help of the Holy Spirit.
But the liturgy must not be separated from our life. It cannot be looked at as a separate entity in itself. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, once again, “We are called to live as we pray.” Put into practice what the Triune God has come to reveal to us.
How is that possible? What does this mean practically in our daily life? God reveals His love to us, and we are called, as St. Paul says, to imitate His love. And the way we imitate God’s love is first of all through sacrificial love. God’s love is sacrificial.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.” God’s love indeed is sacrificial.
And if we have difficulty trying to grasp this sacrificial love, draw close to the crucifix. That is the image par excellence of sacrificial love. If we have difficulty looking at the crucifix, draw close to the holy sacrifice of the Mass, the Eucharist. That is sacrificial love, where He feeds us with His body, blood, soul, and divinity.
We need, brothers and sisters, sacrifice of our own individual wants. We need to sacrifice for the good of others and put others’ interests first and ours second. Indeed, let us ask God for that grace.
God’s love is secondly other-centered. When you read the Gospels, we see that Jesus speaks constantly of the Father and of the Holy Spirit. When the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, He teaches them to pray in these words: “Our Father who art in heaven.”
And if we are going to share in this loving communion with God and others, there cannot be any self-centered aspect to our love. Indeed, it is a grace, and we must beg God for that grace.
Lastly, the third element of God’s love is that it is merciful. There is no mercy within the Trinity because each one loves the other equally. There is no jealousy in the Trinity. They love each other equally and most perfectly.
The Trinity calls to mind and helps us encounter the God of love. So let us enlarge the ears of our heart to live out our dignity as sons and daughters, to enter into deep communion with Him and with others. It is a time to receive the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit.
Father Kevin Lix, Parochial Vicar