How many times through-out our lives have we begun and ended our prayers with the sign of the cross in blessing, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit? Three persons in one God. Easy to say but difficult to understand, for the mystery of the Holy Trinity is beyond our comprehension. In the Gospel today, Jesus tells the disciples that everything the Father has is his and that the Holy Spirit will “take from what is mine and declare it to you.” Their relationship to each other is complete and entire. The Father sent the Son to be united with humanity, to suffer with us, and to redeem us. The Father and Son sent the Holy Spirit to be with us always, guiding and sanctifying us.
The relationship between the Father and the Son that inspired such trust and confidence in the face of death is matched in their relationship with the Spirit as well. The mutual love each person of the Trinity has for the others is a model of the love we are called to give each other according to the greatest commandment. To love God with our whole heart, mind, strength, and being, and to love our neighbor as ourselves is to mirror the love of our triune God. God is love and love naturally seeks an object of its desire. The Father, Son, and Spirit are bound in perfect love, love that can then be extended to humanity. Our love of humanity causes us to seek others to whom we can express that selfless, generous, and forgiving love that God lavishes upon us. After all, how can we love a God we can’t see if we don’t love our neighbor who we do see? God the Father, the creator; God the Son, the redeemer; and God the Holy Spirit, the sanctifier, “how wonderful your name in all the earth!”
Love, Peace, Joy,
Fr. Bob
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