“The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself. to men and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin” (CCC 234).
Does anyone have a fidget spinner? or, Who knows what this is?
(Take out fidget spinner and spin it for a moment… explain how much you love these things and how big they became even at the seminary).
But the fidget spinner, I think can also serve as a metaphor for our own relationship with God. Because, with this fidget spinner, it is clearly one, but it has three distinct parts, and, when it spins, those three parts need to balance just right so that the spinner can continue to spin.
The same is true for our relationship with God. We are called to have a balanced relationship with God – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And as we grow in our relationship with each Person of the Trinity, we become more fully aware of God’s ongoing presence in our life. So, a good question for all of us to reflect on this weekend is this: how is my relationship with God? More specifically, how is my relationship with the Heavenly Father? With Jesus Christ? And, with the Holy Spirit? Is it a balanced relationship, or, is our relationship with one Person of the Trinity lacking?
When a relationship with one person of the Holy Trinity is lacking, things can fall off the rails; just as the fidget spinner falls off the finger as it loses balance. From the Heavenly Father – we receive our identity – as his sons and daughters. If our relationship with the Father is lacking then we might forget that we are his beloved children. (Give ex. of young man and father experiencing a difficult relationship, young man tries to prove his worth to his Father). Friends we never have to prove ourselves to God. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us less! We are his sons and daughters.
Through Jesus – we are justified, saved and given the gift of being called children of God. Jesus is our closest friend. I have called you friends, he says, so that your joy may be complete! If our relationship with Christ is lacking then we might lose sight on what Christ has done for us – that he has saved us. We might begin to presume God’s love. Salvation came with a price (Jesus’ death) and it calls us to conversion. When we look at that cross, we see the most powerful sign of God’s love for us. A healthy relationship with Christ, remembers the love freely given on the cross, and the call to allow that love to change our lives – to put on the new self in Christ.
The Holy Spirit – the one who fills us with his love, binds us together in peace and love as God’s holy people… The Spiritual life that lacks a relationship with the Holy Spirit is, I think, that today, we forget about the Holy Spirit presence in our lives. This is a very real struggle for all of us today. Whenever we are experiencing a lack of hope or lack of trust in God, God wants us to know that he is present to us with the Holy Spirit. We may be afraid, but we always have hope and the love of the Holy Spirit to take us through any struggle (think of the Acts of the Apostles!)
My friends in Christ, this is why we celebrate Trinity Sunday when we do. We have just completed celebrating the Easter Season, and during that time we commemorate how God has revealed himself to us throughout the ages (CCC 234). It started way back when, when the Father revealed Himself to the Israelite people. It continued when Christ was sent to proclaim the Father to the world. The revelation of God was completed for us when the Holy Spirit was sent among us, to be the very presence of God living in us. God wants to reveal the fullness of himself to each of us. Today we are invited to pray to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit constantly.
This is Paul’s teaching in his second letter to the Corinthians: The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. When we consider what we do at Mass, all of our prayers are Trinitarian. Every prayer is addressed to the Father, through the Son and in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
So, this weekend we have been called to reflect on our relationship with the Holy Trinity. May we seek a balanced relationship with the God. One where we know that we are all the Heavenly Father’s beloved Children. One where we know that Christ is both our Savior and Friend. One where we know that the holy spirit dwells among us to encourage and strengthen us to live in peace, and the love of God.
May the Eucharist we receive today, remind us how precious each of us is to God.
Pax,
Fr. Stephen
What makes your heart sing? 