This Sermon is prepared by
Rev.Fr.Peter Jayakanthan sss
Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament
Corpus Christi Catholic Church,
Houston, Texas, US
The Most Holy Trinity1+1+1 = one Grace…….!Dt4:32-34, 39-40 Rom8:14-17, Mt28:16-20Dear Sisters, Brothers and Children, we remember and celebrate the feast of our identity, the feast of our oneness and the participating grace of God in our lives. I welcome you to celebrate the feast of The Most Holy Trinity around the altar of God on this Lord’s Day. We pray that the sign and prayers of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit, will create awareness of our union with The Triune God, and enable us to grow deeper in our faith journey.How is the Catholic Church united among the differences around the world? How is the worship and celebration of Sacraments the same globally? How does the Church stand firm in spite of wars, attacks, violence and threats in many countries? What is the unifying factor of the Church beyond the differences, tradition and administration? The study reveals that at the end of 2012, the Catholic population had reached 1.228 billion, an increase of 14 million or 1.14%, slightly outpacing the global population growth rate, which, as of 2013, was estimated at 1.09%. Pope Francis offered a video message during the Christian Unity week, saying, “The devil knows Christians are one.” Yes, it is the oneness of the Holy Trinity, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit that keeps, sustains and strengthens with the great identity.” What is the oneness of the Holy Trinity? What is the message of the Holy Trinity in every liturgy and in our daily life? We begin all our prayers and our every liturgy with the Holy Trinity. We read in the Gospel that the Apostles are commissioned by Jesus, with the words of “go and baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and The Holy Spirit.” Baptism is the means of entrance into the community of the Risen One, the Church. This is perhaps the clearest expression in the New Testament of Trinitarian belief. The other Sacraments are administrated with the invoking presence of the Holy Trinity. We may not be aware how many times we trace sign of the cross and pronounce the Trinitarian formula, every day and in our lifetime. The first reading is the challenging response to the people who lost their original image and call of God, who left from the love and the beloved privileges of God. The Book of Deuteronomy must have been written at the time of Babylonian Captivity – 587-539 BC. The exit of Kings, Priests, Prophets and the temple officials due to the internal corruption and the external pressures looked for some solution and support. The words of today’s reading were the response to the crisis of that time. The audience was struggling for their identity and faith. They were given the 1250 BC response of Moses of that time, “We have a better God who gave us a better law and we're a better people. There's no other god like ours, nor law like ours, and no other people like us, so shape up!" Through the Gospel, Jesus shares the joy and happiness of the family with us and experiences that sense of belonging from the moment of Baptism, where we become sons and daughters of God. The Matthean Jesus sent forth his followers to make disciples of all nations and to baptize them in the name of this triune God. This is accepting the newly baptized, to immerse in the bond of the family, like the members of the Trinity, to be the members of the one Church. Initially, Baptism was administered only in the name of Jesus. Later to emphasize the unity, oneness and togetherness of the Church, it was administered in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew’s commissioning of the Apostles by Jesus emphasized this practice and affirms that we will belong to him until the end. Jesus constantly said, I am from the Father…the Father knows me and the Father has a plan for me. Jesus also assured the ever present companionship of the Holy Spirit with Him as He experienced from the womb of Mother Mary and always. Here the sense of belonging and oneness articulate that Jesus was not alone, the Father was not alone and the Spirit was not alone; rather the Trinity is companionship, togetherness and enjoying the presence of one another. The mystery of the most Holy Trinity is a basic doctrine of Faith in Christianity, understandable not with our heads, but with our hearts. It teaches us that there are three distinct Persons in one God, sharing the same Divine Nature. Our mind cannot grasp this doctrine which teaches that 1+1+1 = 1 and not 3. But, we believe in this Mystery because Jesus who is God taught it clearly, the Evangelists recorded it, the Fathers of the Church elucidated it and the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople defined it as a dogma of Christian Faith. “Eternal God, Eternal Trinity, you have made the Blood of Christ so precious through His sharing in Your divine nature. You are a mystery as deep as the sea; the more I search, the more I find, and the more I find the more I search for you. Enrich your soul in the great goodness of God: The Father is your table, the Son is your food, and the Holy Spirit waits on you and then makes His dwelling in you. -- St. Catherine of Siena St. Cyril says, "God the Father is that blazing sun. God the Son is its light and God the Holy Spirit is its heat — but there is only one sun. So there are three Persons in the Holy Trinity but God is One and indivisible." St. John Marie Vianney used to explain Holy Trinity using lighted candles and roses on the altar and water in the cruets. “The flame has color, warmth and shape. But these are expressions of one flame. Similarly the rose has color, fragrance and shape. But these are expressions of one reality.” These explanations insufficiently grasp the essence of the Holy Trinity because It is a mystery to be lived, and It is the call to live this oneness. Church bells ring thrice daily, reminding us to pray to the Holy Trinity. We begin all the prayers with the Holy Trinity. Every sacrament is administered with the prayers of Trinity. Church bells ring three times to pray to Trinity and Priest blesses us in the name of the Trinity. The greetings and the blessing prayer we pronounce at every Mass, from the word of St. Paul, 2Cor13:11-13 “Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” Here being aware of the factions and divisions in the newly formed Christian communities, Paul concludes with pain and at the same time wishing, blessings and rightful demands to be one like the Holy Trinity in fellowship-communion, with grace-filled mind and in binding love. St. Francis Xavier’s favorite prayer was: “Most Holy Trinity, Who live in me, I praise You, I worship You, I adore You and I love You.” Let the Son lead us to the Father through the Spirit, to live with the Triune God forever and ever. Amen. 
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