May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for
us.
It is a love story.
The entire message of the Sacred Scriptures and the entire message of
our Holy Catholic faith is a love story.
It is the story of the love that God the Father has for God the Son, a
love that is so powerful and so real that it is the person of the Holy Spirit. This is the mystery of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity is the relationship of
perfect love.
Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity. Eight weeks ago we celebrated the glorious
resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Last
week we celebrated the feast of Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Next week we will celebrate the great feast
of the Body and Blood of Christ, and meditate upon the gift of the
Eucharist. Today our focus is drawn to
the central mystery of our faith: our God is a gift of love. We believe in one God who is Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. We believed in a God who is
a relationship of perfect love. This
great mystery of the Holy Trinity surrounds our whole life. We were created by the God of perfect love. We were baptized in the name of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit. We receive
absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the name of the Trinity. The bride and the groom exchange rings with
each other in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As we go forth from this life we are
commended to the Father who created us, the Son who redeems us, and the Holy
Spirit who sanctifies us. All of our
prayers begin with the sign of the cross and the confession of the Triune
God. In the celebration of the Holy
Mass, we pray to God the Father through Jesus Christ his Son and in the power
of the Holy Spirit. Our God is a
relationship of love, and the greatest gift that God has given to us is a share
in that relationship.
From all eternity, God has desired to share his love. God has desired to share his love with you
and with me. In the Trinity there is
perfect love. There is no need for
anything else or anyone else to make the Trinity of love complete. God does not need us. God wants us.
We exist because God wants us, and God desires to share his love with
us.
In the fullness of time, the Father sent the Son so that we
might share in their love and have eternal life. The great gift of God is that we share in the
Son’s own relationship with the Father.
In baptism we were united with Christ to share in his life. We have all been adopted as beloved children
of the Loving Father. This great feast
of the Holy Trinity reminds us that we have been drawn into the loving
relationship of Almighty God. We have
been invited by the love of God. We have
been filled with the love of God.
The love of God was shared with us in the sacrament of
Baptism. The love of God and the power
of the Holy Spirit were bestowed upon us in the sacrament of Confirmation. The love of God and the power of God, and the
forgiveness of God and the compassion of God are given to us as food for the
journey in the Holy Eucharist. When we
gather in this place and we go to the Altar of God, the mystery of love that is
Jesus Christ is made present among us.
The perfect gift of love in Christ Jesus invites us to become a gift of
love for our heavenly Father. In the
celebration of the Eucharist, and through power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord
Jesus makes us a gift for the Father.
As we now draw close to the mystery of
the Lord’s love let us profess our faith in the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit. Let us embrace the love that the
Lord offers to us. And let us accept the
invitation of the Lord and take our place in the relationship of perfect
love. Amen.
Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes
Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
