Trinity Sunday - The God We Profess

Pope Francis once commented on how today's Catholics can proclaim Christ and live the Gospel message in the modern world.  The key, he said, is lived witness. "The love of Christ, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, enables us to live like this, to be like this: as persons always ready to forgive, always ready to trust, because we are full of faith in God, always ready to inspire hope, because we ourselves are full of hope."

This week we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity and there is a sense of closure about this feast.  As we come to worship each week, we journey through salvation history from Ash Wednesday to Pentecost, commemorating the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, his ascension to the Father, and the sending of the Holy Spirit. 

The Feast of the Holy Trinity summarizes all of these events in terms of how they help us understand the mysterious nature of our God, and his presence in our world and in our lives.

Yes, our God is a mystery, invisible, and transcendent. But our God is personal, and intimately bound up in who we are, what we do and how we relate to one another.  The community of persons in the Triune God is the result of a divine love that is so intense and so profound that it cannot be contained or defined in a single dimension. It is a love that not only creates, but a love that redeems and sanctifies. It is a love that brings light and warmth to the dark side of our journey. It is a love that is constantly healing our brokenness, lifting us above our selfishness and pettiness, and reaching out to save us when we edge toward the abyss of despair. It is this Love that helps us to maintain a sense of purpose and peace and unity in our lives.  It is this love that enables us to go out and preach to all nations.

The God we profess reveals Himself to us as Creator, Savior and Sanctifier. He fills out our understanding by being present to us in the beauty and wonder of creation.  He reveals Himself through the life, death and resurrection of His Word-Made-Flesh, Jesus the Christ.  And He continues to reveal Himself to us by the indwelling of His Spirit who enables us to proclaim His presence with courage, wisdom, reverence, and abiding trust. 

The Holy Trinity should not be reduced to a "doctrine" that we commemorate each year.  It is the active presence of a God who continues to pour out His love on this community as we journey in faith.

It is in this God that we live and move and have our being.