The Church of the Holy Trinity -- Cohoes, NY

One of the many joys of the Catholic faith is the sheer amount of celebrations. It’s not just Christmas, Easter and a bunch of generic days surrounding them. You can wake up on a random Tuesday and find that it’s the feast day of a remarkable saint. Holy Days of Obligation are sprinkled about the Christian Year. Maybe you head to Mass (I know, I know, not yet) and notice the priest wearing a different-colored garment and remember that we just entered the next phase of the liturgical year. There’s always something happening.

In fact, here comes another wonderful celebration! We are three days from Trinity Sunday, which is celebrated the Sunday after Pentecost. From ChurchYear.net:

So let’s talk about the Holy Trinity, and I’m going to tread carefully here. Many believe that if you try too hard to understand the Trinity, you will fall into heresy or risk dumbing it down to something entirely earthly and rational. But it can be explained thusly: God is, in essence, one. But He is, also, distinct in person. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, the Spirit is not the Father, but each is God individually and yet they are, together, the one true God of the Bible.

It’s tough to get your head around. Because it’s a mystery. And this mystery won’t be tidily wrapped up like an episode of Law & Order. We’re not meant to completely figure it out. At least not here on Earth. But through prayer, worship and faith, we can “know” the Trinity without fully grasping it. That’s OK. That’s good.

So while we won’t be able to celebrate the Holy Trinity on Trinity Sunday at Holy Trinity together this year, perhaps we can say this special prayer of thanks to our triune God:

“Through your efforts, blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we have been redeemed, created, and sanctified. Although we have never understood the fullness of the Trinity, you have granted us new life and have declared us innocent through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. For this we worship you in humble adoration. Keep us in the faith until we join the elect around your glorious throne. We ask this in your name, you who live and rule, ever one God, through all eternity.  Amen.”

 

~ Dana Marascia