Today is the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. Sunday Masses have been moved from the main chapel to the smaller daily Mass chapel in anticipation of the need for air conditioning. We could have used a bit of heat today but that is another story. Some summer photos following the homily.
Solemnity of the Holy
Trinity
Dt 4:32-34, 39-40
Ps 33
Rom 8:14-17
Mt 28:16-20
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. This celebration forces us to consider an
essential dogma of our faith. We recall
this dogma every time we begin and end Mass.
We invoke the Trinity every time we pray. We recall the Trinity whenever we say the
words Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What
we call the Trinitarian formula was given by Jesus at the end of today’s
Gospel. It is Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. It is NOT the absurd, gender-free,
"politically correct" versions in vogue in certain circles. The Trinitarian formula is critical to every sacrament from
baptism to the anointing of the sick and dying.
The sign of the cross begins and ends everything the Church does. As it
should.
We read in The
Catechism of the Catholic Church, “The
mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and
life. It is the mystery of God in Himself. It is therefore the source of all the other
mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching
in the hierarchy of the truths of faith.”
Every time we make the sign of the cross, we recall a mystery
that remains ultimately incomprehensible despite the volumes attempting to
explain the dynamics within the Trinity.
Each book may contain a small kernel of insight into the nature of the
Trinity, but none captures the essence of the Trinity. The dogma of the Trinity depends on faith. This begs the question what is faith? One
definition is: “Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material
evidence.” Another short definition of
faith comes from the Letter to the Hebrews: “Faith is the conviction of things not seen.”
Both definitions tell us something important about the
doctrine of the Holy Trinity; there will never be a logical proof of the dogma
of the Trinity that satisfies everyone. Thus,
we must become comfortable with faith at its most mysterious because, despite
the absence of logical proof, despite the impossibility of philosophy or
science to explain the Trinity, one cannot call oneself Christian if he or she denies
the Trinity.
The word Trinity does not appear in scripture. Rather, the understanding of the Trinity grew
in the early years of the Church as Christian thinkers began to consider what
Jesus said and did during His time on earth. Jesus always speaks of His Father as distinct from Himself. Yet, He also states that, “I and the Father
are One.” The same is true of the Holy Spirit.
We are
accustomed to persons being distinct rather than the same. We have a hard time wrapping our minds around
three in one. We really have a hard time
wrapping our minds around the meaning of consubstantial.
Over
the past weeks many of the gospels have been taken from the farewell discourse in
John’s Gospel Jesus refers to both the Father and the Holy Spirit in reference
to Himself several times throughout this farewell. Ultimately though, the Trinity is, and will
remain, a mystery.
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The first two photos are proof of the old Boy Scout motto: Be prepared. I had the camera in the car. More critically, the tripod and cable release were in the trunk. During a stop in Hairy John State Park, one of my favorite state parks, I came across a flock of butterflies. They were all over the place. One cluster was trying to create, or so it seemed, a pyramid in a small mud puddle. Using a 300 mm lens and tripod (no way to hold a camera steady at that kind of magnification) I got these shots. There are many more where they came from.
The sun porch at Al and Karen's.
Finally, two irises in the arboretum.
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