Breaking Open the Word

By James Cavanagh

May 30: Trinity Sunday

Scripture readings:

Proverbs 8:22-31
Psalm 8:4-9
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15

Overview: The doctrine of the Trinity is not the result of abstract speculation, but flows out of the concrete experience of those who were eyewitnesses of Jesus Christ and the events that followed. Even the Old Testament bears rudimentary witness to God’s triune nature. In the first reading the wisdom of God is personified as God’s “craftsman” who “was brought forth, while as yet the earth and fields were not made.” The idea of God’s wisdom who is present at the beginning creation, through whom all things were made stands behind the “Word” (“logos”) of John 1:1-14. The Psalm expresses poetically the story of creation, at the pinnacle of which stands mankind who is “crowned with glory and honor.”  Made in the image and likeness of God, man reflects the triune nature of God. In the second reading the Trinity is implicit in this brief, but theologically rich summary of the Gospel. God is the author of our redemption, which is accomplished through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit “that has been given to us.” The triune structure of the Christian experience is evident here and in many of Paul’s letters, especially in his greetings and blessings. This week’s Gospel comes from the Last Supper discourse of St. John’s Gospel (chapters 13-16). Again, the Trinity is implicit. Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, speaks to his disciples about the Spirit who “will declare to you the things that are coming.” The Spirit does not speak on his own, but only what he hears from the Father and the Son.

Key verse: “The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rom 5:5).

“Catechism of the Catholic Church”: “God’s very being is love. By sending his only Son and Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange” (No. 221).

Pope Benedict XVI: “The gift of the Spirit, ‘Person-Love’ and "’Person-Gift,’ as the Servant of God John Paul II described him, passes through Christ (“Dominum et Vivificantem,” No. 10). The Spirit of God reaches us through Christ as the beginning of new and ‘holy’ life. The Spirit instills God's love in believers' hearts in the concrete form it had in the man Jesus of Nazareth” (Homily, June 3, 2007).

Life application: In one sense the Most Holy Trinity is a truly awesome mystery, far exceeding our understanding. In another sense, however, it is perhaps one of the most tangible doctrines of our faith. For, as Scripture teaches, God is love and love by its very nature desires another. From all eternity, God the Father gives himself to the Son who in turn gives himself back to the Father in an endless exchange of love that is so intense, so radiant and palpable that it is another person. As members of the body of Christ we actually participate in that exchange every time we receive the sacraments.

James Cavanagh is director of Evangelization and Catechesis for Metro-Area Parishes of the Denver Archdiocese.