With the Easter season concluded, we have resumed Ordinary Time.
Over the coming Sundays, we will pause for some significant celebrations, the first of which is today, when we celebrate the Most Holy Trinity. God is Trinity. One God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Regarding the Trinity, the Gospel does not offer formulas, but recounts the final mission entrusted to the apostles: Baptize every creature in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The liturgical solemnity of the Trinity, “while it makes us contemplate the wonderful mystery from which we come and toward which we are going, renews in us the mission to live in communion with God and to live in communion with one another, following the model of divine communion. We are called to live not without one another, above or against others, but with one another, for one another, and in one another” (Pope Francis).

Most Holy Trinity (S) (B)
Proper

Texts taken from the missal “On Your Word” May-June 2021

FIRST READING

From the Book of Deuteronomy (Deut 4:32-34, 39-40)
Moses spoke to the people, saying: “Ask now about former times, long before your own, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other: Has anything so great ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? Has any people ever heard the voice of the living God speaking from the fire, as you have, and survived? Or has any god ever tried to go and take a nation for himself from another nation by trials, signs, wonders, and battles, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? Know therefore today, and take it to heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth beneath; there is no other. Keep his statutes and commandments that I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper and that you may remain long in the land the Lord your God is giving you forever.” The word of God.

Commentary on the First Reading

“Know therefore today, and take it to heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth beneath; there is no other.” One God, to be known through experience and pondered at length. He is truly the only deity in heaven and on earth; he is present among the people and things with which we relate every day, and he is also everything we perceive as superior to us. Yet how many false idols have there been among the people of Israel! What are the puppet idols of our age? How often do people act as though they are superior simply because they are extremely fragile inside, deeply insecure, and unhappy: then they feel an irresistible need to climb onto the pedestal of success, wealth, appearances, flashy cars, and a “collection” of numerous male or female conquests to boast about to their friends… Look instead and see the serenity, the light in the eyes, the relaxed faces of so many young people who have chosen generosity, prayer, and chastity; look and see the profound joy of fathers and mothers who have sacrificed themselves to be truly at the service of others: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt 6:21).

SECOND READING

From the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Romans (Rom 8:14-17)
Brothers and sisters, all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, through whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. The word of God.

Commentary on the Second Reading

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” This passage from the Letter to the Romans speaks of the entire Trinity. It tells us how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit act in us human beings. We are children; we are heirs with Christ the Lord. It is not enough to say this aloud. Saint Paul is very clear in pointing first of all to life in Christ’s sufferings, which leads us to live his divine glory with him. How many times have I heard people say, when faced with devastated families and their children: how will these poor children be able to call God Father, to pray the Our Father? It is a perfectly legitimate question from a human perspective. But Sacred Scripture teaches us always to adopt a perspective that places God at the center, a perspective of faith. No man’s or woman’s love, not even a father’s or mother’s, will be perfect: the only way to love truly is not to reproach others, but to love with the heart of God.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 28:16-20)
At that time, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Jesus approached and said to them: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” The Gospel of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the Day

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you.” The Trinity of God is love: within itself and in every relationship with its creatures. But with Jesus Christ, everything has reached such fullness that we can no longer live, think, and behave as before. We were slaves to sin, placing ourselves - as a defense - at the center of every relationship. Thus, even when we tried to raise our eyes, we found only an idol reflecting our wounds, fears, and conditioning. But since Jesus is true God and true man, our deepest nature too is completely transformed by him: we are no longer slaves, but children, immersed in the Trinitarian life of God who is love. Like someone who has received an invaluable gift, we therefore hurry to make it known to everyone. Those who are not Christian are as if they had received an extraordinary gift that overturns their existence, but do not know how to unwrap the covering in which it is contained; or they are not even aware that they are children of God, the Trinity-Love, the most beautiful gift there is. The Church cannot therefore forget its mission and explicit witness to make God-Trinity known to all.