By Fr Antony Christy, SDB –
June 12, 2022: The Solemnity of Holy Trinity
Proverbs 8: 22-31; Romans 5: 1-5; John 16: 12-15
The Solemnity of the Holy Trinity is not merely a celebration of the Mystery of what God is, but it is a reminder of WHAT WE ARE! We are Trinity! We are the image and likeness of God… We are created in the image and likeness of God and we are called to be the image and likeness of the Triune God…for the world today.
To be the Image of the Father: is to live by FAITH.
It is to reflect God’s PARENTHOOD in the stewardship we show towards the creation and the care we extend to each other as brothers and sisters! Each of us has this in our very image – God cares! We were created and called almost immediately to care for the rest of the creation and for our brothers and sisters. Humaneness comes from here. Being human consists of being caring, that is the difference that God made while creating and we are called to care, like the Father and Mother that we have in God.
To live by faith is to possess the PATIENCE that God has had with us – creating us, making a covenant with us and being open and merciful every time we break that covenant! As human persons we are called to practice that same patience that we have been given with. Forgiveness sprouts here. The more conscious we become of God our Father and Mother, the more forgiving we shall become, that is our call in our family, in our surrounding, in our society and in the world, in our daily lives.
To grow in the likeness of the Son: is to live by HOPE.
It is to live with the OPTIMISM of a child, to see in all that happens and despite all that happens around us, the mysterious presence of God! Jesus did that. He had such a deep trust in his Father, that whatever happened he remained calm and collected. Serenity springs here. Being the children of God, consists in having a unwaivering trust in the One who cares for us.
To live by hope means to submit in OBEDIENCE like a real disciple; for one who loves obeys the commandments as Christ obeyed the Father! I say nothing on my own, I do nothing on my own, Jesus would say. Every word that he spoke and everything that he did, was after the will of the One who had sent him. That is why at his point of death, he was able to say, into your hands O Father, I commend my spirit. Salvation sprouts here. The capacity to surrender to the will of the Father, is the likeness of Christ that we are called to put on. In obedience, in trust, in humble submission to the will of the Father, we become truly children of God, brothers and sisters of the Jesus Our Saviour.
To become the temple of the Holy Spirit: is to live by LOVE.
It is to be filled with COMPASSION, to burn with love for the other, leading to action that manifests the faith and hope that is within us! One cannot claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit when he or she is not concerned about the other, about the needs of the other, about the sufferings of the other. Mission begins here. We are moved by the Spirit to respond to the other in compassion. That is where care comes from – it is not projecting ourselves in all that we do and feeding our ego in the name of service, but true compassion focusses on the other, just as the three persons of God who focus on the Other and create a perfect union.
To live by love is to create COMMUNION of hearts wherever one is, fighting against all selfishnesses, against all sources of division, discrimination and discord! The compassion of the Spirit, and the spirit of compassion creates communion. People of God are born here. We can rightfully claim to be people of God, when and only when we are persons who promote the good of the other, the good of all and the common good of the entire humanity. Our God is Trinity, that is communion and harmony, relationship and love! And therefore, war and conflict, division and discrimination cannot be within my frame of mind, if I am a reflection of that Trinitarian God and if I really belong to the people of God. That is being the temples of the Holy Spirit.
Let us pay heed to the call we have to grow to be images and likenesses of the Trinity! May the Triune God make us exemplars of faith, hope and love, in our daily life!
All glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, Now and forever. Amen.
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005 and has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (specialisation in Catechetics). He has a Doctorate in Theology with specialisation in Catechetics and youth ministry at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the young towards a World of Peace and dialogue is the passion that fires him.