The Most Holy Trinity
The power of a name
(ref. Matt. 28:16-20) Dcn. Bill Kenney 5-26-24
I like to think and hope that each name given a person for their entire life is divinely inspired. Each name, we pray, should be revealed through the promptings of the Holy Spirit within the parental union, such as with Mary and Joseph naming Jesus and Zechariah and Elizabeth naming John. Many parents will prayerfully discern the names to be given their children. Afterall, we are naming a child of God and God calls us each by name, right? But what’s in a name?
A name is a word or phrase that makes up the unique identification of a person or thing. There are many reasons and meanings for names. Some people are named after Saints and other religious figures, such as John, Paul, George, Ringo, well…maybe not a St. Ringo, but others!
Names can also be given in memorial of a beloved relative, such as a grandparent. Our son, Billy, yes, we still call our adult son “Billy”, is a fourth generation “William” out of tradition, respect, and honor. B.T.W, my sisters, and other family members still call me “Billy”.
Names we are given can shape and reflect our character. They can give us dignity, identity, and self-worth. In the sacrament of Confirmation, we choose and proclaim a Saint’s name that inspires us to accept and live the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit to guide and grow us as witnesses to the Gospel.
A name can be efficacious, that is, possess a special quality or virtue that gives effective power. This is no more evident than the power, grace, and love in the name of Jesus. Jesus says in John 14 (:14),
”If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it”.
On this, the first Sunday after Pentecost, the Church calls us to celebrate a special Solemnity. The Catechism refers to it as, “the central mystery of the Christian faith and life, the mystery from which ‘all the other mysteries of the faith flow’” (CCC 234). It is the mystery of God in Himself. That is, the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity: One in essence and three in persons, named the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is the mystery who in the name of our triune God we bless ourselves with the sign of the cross. The sign of the cross is itself a short prayer- an early lesson of our faith.
When invoking the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we must consciously and with great reverence act, understand, and believe what we are doing. We slowly and reverently make the sign across our body; a cross, not a circle. We hold onto and carry that cross in humility, respect, and love for God throughout our lives.
The great church patriarch Saint Athanasius teaches us his creed prayer focused on the Holy Trinity. He says,
- “The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten.
- The Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created but begotten.
- The Holy Spirit is of the Father and the Son, not made nor created nor begotten but proceeding.
So there is one Father not three Fathers, one Son not three Sons, and one Holy Spirit not three Holy Spirits. And in this Trinity, there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less, but the whole three Persons are coeternal together and coequal. They are, “One God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity”.
Bsp Robert Barren further illumines the Holy Spirit within the Trinity: The Father and the Son are “consubstantial”, one in being, united in love, and this love is itself the divine life. The Holy Spirit is the coequal love shared between the Father and Son proceeding from them to us in a covenant bond of charity for God and for each other.
Using the Trinitarian formula at baptism, we are graced with the indwelling of the Holy Trinity. “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”. The Father creates; the Son redeems; and the Holy Spirit sanctifies. Efficacious names indeed.
The Holy Trinity is revealed in the Eucharistic prayers at Mass. We offer our humble gifts of bread and wine to the Father, through the Son, and by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit is made manifest the true presence, the Body and Blood of Jesus, for our sanctification.
The Holy Trinity is three named persons uncreated, infinite, eternal, and almighty. One God, not three Gods. One God,
named Abba, Father that we may have relationship with him,
named for our belief, praise, and worship of him, and
named for our uniting with him as coheirs with Christ in the joy of our eternal salvation, for the glory of God.