Most Holy Trinity Sunday
(Cycle “A" – May 22, 2005)

Q. 320:   I find it hard to relate the Holy Trinity to my own life.   Is there a way?

A. 320:   Somewhere I remember reading a comment by that great Jesuit preacher, Walter Burghardt, that has stuck with me: “without the Trinity, life would make little sense.”  The reason for me is simple: it is because of God’s love that you and I even exist!   He desires to share His very life with us, and all He asks is that we return His love!   Our Gospel today (Jn 3:16-18) proclaims that very essence of God, “love.”   “Yes, God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son…(for our) eternal life.”  Believing in Him, and living fully the Christian life that He taught us, is “returning” His love.

If you are single, you have experienced the unity, oneness and total self-giving of your parents, which co-created love: you!   If you are married, you have experienced unity, oneness and total self-giving which of itself co-creates love: your children!   This is not about “me”; it is about the “us” which is created by total self-giving.   All of this total self-giving mirrors the love within the Holy Trinity.   This is also why the Sacrament of Marriage is a wonderful example of and mystery of the Holy Trinity itself, as St. Paul teaches (Eph 5:32).

As you can see clearly, the key words above are “total self-giving.”   This is the divine life God wants to share with us.   This is the kind of human life we are called to lead.   This is what “unity” is all about.   And that is why, for me, “without the Trinity, life would make little sense.”

Know Your Catechism!   Our Catholic Church teaches that God is One, in three Persons, the “Trinity” (CCC#253).  This is an undivided Unity, and the distinction of Persons resides solely in the relationships between them; that relationship is always self-giving love (CCC#255).  How are you reflecting that “totally self-giving” love in your daily life?   Think about the implications of your answer.

Deacon Paul Rooney
Mary Our Queen Parish, Omaha

(Return to INDEX page of "Didja Know?" series)

(Go back to Deacon Paul's HOME PAGE)

Comments?