By Fr. Antony Christy, SDB –
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…
This is the most famous phrase we have grown with. The making of a sign of the Cross with the names of the persons of the Trinity has a number of significance:
accepting the rule of the Cross over us,
invoking the continuous presence of the Lord in our lives and
above all the blessings of the Trinitarian God on ourselves.
The solemnity we celebrate today is one of the defining truths of a Christian and one of the earliest revelation of God that gave the Christian disciples their identity.
It is very clear to understand that our faith in the Holy Trinity, has its origins from the earliest of the historical times. The Scriptures already possess this clarity which signify that this way of understanding and believing has been there from the Early Christian times.
Apart from this historical roots, we see in the concept and belief of the Holy Trinity, an important foundation for Christian life. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Spirit… In their name, we have our being, our identity and our mission!
In their name we have our being:
Right at the creation we find God the Creator at work through God’s Word, while the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. God made humans in God’s image and blew God’s Spirit to give life and the Word took that same image to save that humanity at a later stage. Our very being is in the Trinity.
In their name we have our identity:
Believing in the Holy Trinity affects our identity as human persons and as Christians. As human beings we are challenged by the image we possess and as Christians we are challenged by the nature of that image. The nature of God is a communion. Hence, our very identity is communitarian, and our journey has to be constantly towards this perfection – to live in communion, in communion with God and with our brothers and sisters.
In their name we have our mission:
The mission that is entrusted to us is not merely what is done by us as individual persons but it is a holistic mission to establish the Reign of God, that is the Reign of Communion, the Reign of Love, the Reign of Equality, the Reign of Order, the Reign of Justice. This Reign exists and is exemplified in the Trinity. We need to stand for that, fight for that, even be ready to give our life for that Reign – the Reign of Truth and Love!
Today let us grow in our consciousness about the sense of intimacy and connectedness we have with the Trinitarian God. May that consciousness make us immensely grateful, truly loving and passionately communitarian. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen!