Sunday 15 June 2025 - The Most Holy Trinity (Year C)
Mass Readings:
Prov 8:22-31 Ps 8 Rom 5:1-5 Jn 16:12-15
Key Verse to Meditate:
"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the
truth (Jn 16:13).
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
Today, we joyfully
celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity—the feast of our one true God
in three divine persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father
is the Creator, the Son is the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier.
While explaining the mystery of the Holy Trinity is indeed a challenging task,
we can understand it in a simple and profound way: the Trinity is the eternal
expression of divine love.
Following last Sunday’s
celebration of Pentecost, the liturgy today draws us into the heart of our
faith—into the mystery of the Triune God. The Preface of today’s Eucharistic
liturgy beautifully expresses this truth: "You are one God, one Lord,
not in the unity of a single person, but in the Trinity of one substance."
Christianity, while being one of the great monotheistic religions, proclaims a
unique doctrine: One God in three distinct persons who share the same divine
nature without confusion or division. This foundational belief is deeply rooted
in Scripture and affirmed in the ancient prayer of Israel, the Shema: "Hear,
O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD" (Deut 6:4-5).
The First Reading: Wisdom
as God’s Companion in Creation
Our first reading from the Book of Proverbs offers a poetic reflection
on divine Wisdom, personified as present and active at the dawn of creation.
The author reveals that Wisdom was not only with God but delighted in God’s
creative work and found joy in humanity. This passage underlines the role of
divine Wisdom as the companion of God in bringing forth the universe.
Proverbs 8:22–31 presents three core affirmations:
- Wisdom’s
Unique Relationship with God – Wisdom is portrayed
as being intimately united with God, existing before all things.
- Wisdom’s
Primordial Existence – She precedes
creation and has authority over the cosmos.
- Wisdom’s
Role as Co-Creator – She is like an
architect, working alongside God, and her laws govern both creation and
human life.
The passage can be divided into four parts:
- Verses
22–23: Wisdom speaks of her origin. She was
possessed by God before the beginning, highlighting her eternal nature.
- Verses
24–26: Wisdom describes the pre-creation state,
affirming that she was present before anything was made.
- Verses
27–29: These verses detail God’s creative acts,
with Wisdom as His artisan and master builder.
- Verses
30–31: Wisdom delights in creation and especially
in the human race. The Hebrew word ‘āmôn can mean both “master
worker” and “child,” suggesting a dual image of Wisdom as both architect
and beloved child.
Thus, divine Wisdom is not merely knowledge but a living, active force
that reflects God’s presence in the created world.
The Second Reading -The Outpouring of Divine Love
St. Paul further assures the Christians in Rome
that the hope of sharing in God’s glory will never disappoint us, because “the
love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has
been given to us” (Rom 5:5). Here, Paul makes a stronger affirmation of the
outpouring of divine love. He emphasizes that this love is not abstract or
distant but is deeply personal and transformative, poured directly into our
hearts through the Holy Spirit. This divine outpouring is not merely a theological
concept but a lived experience for the believer. It assures us that God's love
is both present and active within us, sustaining us through trials and enabling
us to hope with confidence. For Paul, this love is the foundation of Christian
life and the unshakable proof that God is intimately involved in the journey of
every believer. At times, Paul speaks specifically of the “love of Christ” (2
Cor 5:14) in place of “the love of God.”
In Scripture, the human heart is not merely a
physical organ but the seat of understanding, knowledge, and will. It is the
place where we encounter God (see 1 Thess 3:11–13; 2 Thess 2:16–17; Gal 4:6).
This image of divine love being poured into our hearts recalls the prophetic
promise in Joel: “And it will come about after this that I will pour out My
Spirit on all mankind” (Joel 3:1).
Paul makes this idea even clearer in his letter
to the Galatians: “God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts,
crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Gal 4:6). Here, he emphasizes the transformative role
of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who enables us to comprehend and
experience the depth of God’s love. The divine love flows into the hearts of
believers, assuring us that our hope in God will not fail. The astonishing
generosity of God's love strengthens us, giving us the confidence to live in
hope.
The Gospel Reading
On the Solemnity of the
Holy Trinity, the Gospel reading from John brings to a beautiful culmination
what he has been proclaiming to us over the past weeks regarding the Holy
Trinity: “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into
all the truth” (Jn 16:13). What does it mean for the Spirit of God to lead
us into truth, and how is this connected with the solemnity we celebrate today?
One and Three: The Mystery of the Holy Trinity
The Holy Trinity is a
profound mystery—indeed, the mystery of mysteries—from which all other
mysteries flow. It is the great mystery of love: revealed, yet still beyond
full human comprehension. There is a well-known story about one of the greatest
minds in Christian history, St. Augustine of Hippo. One day, while walking
along the beach deep in meditation on the mystery of the Trinity, Augustine saw
a child digging a hole in the sand and trying to pour the sea water he fetched
with a shell into it. Curious, Augustine asked, “What are you doing, child?”
The child replied, “I want to put the whole sea into this hole.” Augustine
smiled and said, “That’s impossible—you cannot fit the vast sea into such a
small hole.” Then the child looked at Augustine and said, “Then how can you,
with your small mind, hope to grasp the infinite mystery of God?”
We Are Made in the Image of the Trinity
Our limited intellect
cannot fully comprehend the mystery of the Trinity. Yet, it is precisely
Augustine who, at the conclusion of his great work De Trinitate, offers
this beautiful insight: “Whoever sees charity sees the Trinity.” In this
way, the Trinity becomes visible to us through love, because we are created in
the image of the Triune God. Augustine teaches that the Trinity reveals itself
in charity—love made manifest. This is the deeper meaning of today’s Gospel,
where St. John declares, “God so loved the world that He gave His
only-begotten Son.”
Jesus is the highest and
most perfect expression of charity—the love of the Father made flesh and made
present to us through the work of the Holy Spirit. Charity is at the heart of
God’s saving work throughout history; it is the sole motivation behind the
Father’s sending of His Son. Every act of genuine, selfless love reflects the
Trinity and becomes a radiant beam of the inaccessible light of the Holy
Trinity in the world.
The Triune God: A God of Love
“Blessed be God the Father,
and the only-begotten Son of God, and the Holy Spirit: for great is His love
for us.” God is love—love that communicates itself and manifests in every
personal and communal encounter with humanity. Today’s first reading from
Exodus reminds us of God’s self-revelation to Moses on Mount Sinai: “The
Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and
gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness’”
(Ex 34:6). Here, God reveals His merciful and compassionate nature—a love that
is patient, tender, and faithful.
God’s love is made most
manifest in forgiveness, in His tenderness as Father and Savior. Jesus, the
only-begotten Son, reveals the depth of the Father’s love on the cross, and
through His resurrection, He shows us the destiny God calls us to. The Holy Spirit
continues this divine work in history, guiding us back to God, our true
destiny.
This is the essential
identity of God revealed through Jesus Christ: infinite love. The Son is the
concrete image of the Father’s love. Who is the God in whom we believe? The Catechism
of the Catholic Church tells us that God reveals Himself to Israel as one
who loves with a greater intensity than even a mother or father loves their
child, or a bridegroom loves his bride. God is love itself (1 Jn
4:8,16), who gives Himself completely and freely. He loved the world so much
that He gave His only-begotten Son so that the world might be saved through Him
(Jn 3:16-17). By sending His Son and the Holy Spirit, God reveals that He is an
eternal exchange of love.
Points for Personal Reflection
Every liturgical act of the Church, from the grandest solemn celebration
to the simplest personal prayer, begins with the Trinitarian formula: “In
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” How often
do we repeat these words! Each time, we turn to God and immerse ourselves in
the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
The familiar greeting at the start of every Mass derives from the
closing blessing in St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians: “The grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with all of you” (2 Cor 13:13). In other words, a shorter version could
simply say, “The Lord be with you.” Even the Angel Gabriel greeted Mary
with these words: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28).
The solemnity we celebrate today reveals to us the truest face of God:
the triune God is merciful, forgiving, and saving. He does not condemn but
invites us to trust and believe in Him. “For God so loved the world that He
gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).
This feast invites us to contemplate the mystery of God who continuously
creates, redeems, and sanctifies—all in love and for love. To every creature
who welcomes Him, God gives a reflection of His beauty, goodness, and truth. To
understand the One and Triune God, the key is not intellect alone, but love. We
are called to love God because He first loved us (1 Jn 4:19)—beyond all
our merits and failings.
Celebrating the feast of the Holy Trinity means recognizing that we are
loved profoundly and unconditionally by the Triune God.
Conclusion
Dear brothers and sisters, the Solemnity
of the Holy Trinity invites us to contemplate the very heart of God—a communion
of love between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This love is not
static or distant, but dynamic and ever-giving. Through creation, redemption,
and sanctification, God reveals Himself to us not only as the Almighty but as
our loving Father, our saving Brother, and our guiding Spirit.
May today’s celebration deepen our
awareness of this divine mystery and inspire us to live in the image of the
Trinity: in love, unity, and communion. Let us open our hearts to the
outpouring of divine love and strive to reflect that love in our relationships,
communities, and world.
Ask yourself today: Am I guided in my life by the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy
Spirit?
Happy Feast of the Holy
Trinity!
Glory
be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As
it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
