Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Ref.:John 16:12-15. Baby steps to the Truth Dcn. Bill Kenney June 14/15, 2025
Most babies will take their first steps at around one year old. They do this with encouragement, direction, and example from their parents and older siblings. They stumble and fall but eventually get the hang of it. Before long, before you know it, they learn to hop, skip, jump, and run their way through life. But they start with baby steps.
Our Gospel reading from John highlights the sharing, cooperative, and collaborative relationship between the three persons of the Holy Trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are united as One to bring us to salvation in Christ. The reality of the Holy Trinity is a mystery, that is, a matter of faith. It is difficult for us to completely express our understanding. It is a truth to be reverenced with surrender. The Catechism says, the Most Holy Trinity “…is the mystery of God in himself.” It is therefore the source of all other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them.” The Holy Trinity is three distinct persons, distinguished in their relationship to one another, yet they are one God in divine being.
Jesus speaks to his disciples in the context of the days before his final hour. They accompanied Jesus for three years witnessing his parables, miracles, new teachings, commandments, and prophesies. Their minds and spirits are swimming with perplexities and fear, yet also with hope. Indeed, as Jesus said, he has “much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.” Were they experiencing a sort of “Jesus overload”? The Church, established by Christ, would take centuries to develop through the workings of the Holy Spirit. She grows as she continues even today with baby steps- sometimes stumbling and falling, but getting back up and, as we know, “…the gates of hell shall not prevail against it [her].”
The Holy Spirit, the promised Spirit of Truth who we’ve heard so much about in recent weeks, guides us, the Church, with encouragement, direction, and example. The Spirit hears, proclaims, and glorifies the Father and the Son in all things. The Father and his Word, the Son, together possess everything and share everything with each other “…in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit…” Together they guide the Church, teaching her to walk in the light of Christ.
Jesus says, “...the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” How are we guided to all truth by the Spirit of Truth? First, what is “all truth”? There is really only one definitive umbrella of ever-lasting truth of all: that is, the love between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. G.K. Chesterton said, “Trinitarian language is the theologically precise way of saying, ‘God is love’. The love they share is the Holy Spirit.” St. Augustine says, “… the Holy Spirit is the self-love between the Father and the Son.” As God’s children, we are blessed to take share of this love and are called to hear, proclaim, and glorify the Father and the Son in all things. We are guided to all truth by our faith and obedience to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and as witnesses to the truth of Christ to others.
We acknowledge the presence of the Holy Trinity:
- When we sign ourselves in the name, not the names, plural, of the Father, and of Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in all reverence and grace.
- When we are validly baptized in the Trinitarian formula to become children of God.
- When, as the Body of Christ, we pray in unison our Profession of Faith recognizing what we believe constitutes each person of the Most Holy Trinity.
- We acknowledge the presence of the Holy Trinity at the consecration of the Eucharist. We offer to the Father the sacrifice of the Son through the love and power of the Holy Spirit. When we take in the Body of Christ, we share in the love of the Trinity; we become what we eat.
How is the presence of the Holy Trinity empowering your life, your faith?
Understanding the mystery of the Holy Trinity is a matter of faith and reverence for the truth. Perhaps we will not have a perfect understanding of it until we reach our salvation where we will then know all truth. In the meantime, like a one-year-old, we take baby steps. We try our best to learn God’s will from his Word and those significant others placed in our lives. We entrust our hearts and
prayers to the cooperative, collaborative efforts of our Triune God to fulfill our needs. As the Body of Christ, may we be united, share, and profess the Holy Trinity’s bond of love in our lives.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.