TRINITY SUNDAY - MAY 26, 2024

TRINITY SUNDAY

The great wonder of life is that so much of it is unknown. Even with all of the experiences of our pasts, all of the stability of the present moment, and all of the hope we have for our futures, we are completely unaware of what lies in store for us tomorrow or after. This could be frightening, but it can also be exciting; the unknown is an essential aspect of the human experience. God instilled this in our creation because of our place in the hierarchy of being - we can never understand Him fully. Therefore, He wrote into our hearts the desire and the joy of Mystery. To know something fully is to have some authority over it, which is why love received must manifest itself in Mystery first before becoming fully known. There is no greater expression of love and no greater mystery in life than the Most Holy Trinity.

READ THIS SUNDAY'S MESSAGE

This Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the fullness of the glory of God and the source of all goodness, happiness, holiness, and love. Traditionally, priests have had great difficulty preaching on this Sunday because the Trinity is entirely unexplainable. It is a mystery divinely revealed to us, not so that we may be confused, but so that we may constantly grow in an understanding of the essence of God. To claim something to be a mystery might seem like a cop-out to avoid discussing or explaining the concept, and the Trinity seems to be no exception to this accusation; in fact, for most people coming into the faith, trying to grasp or understand the Trinity is one of the great hurdles in finalizing their movement into the Church. However, mystery remains essential to growing in love for God. We should not know Him fully, at least not yet. When we speak of love, especially in human relationship, we speak of a gradual revelation of the other. A first meeting only reveals the bare minimum. Additional conversations fill in the gaps. A life together reveals the intricacies. Only giving yourself entirely allows you to know a person fully because you become integrated with them on a level that surpasses mere information. This takes time. This is what makes life so exciting and so worth living; there is so much yet to be discovered about another person, so much to learn, so much to be revealed. God slowly revealed Himself through creation, not by exposing the fullness of who He is immediately, but by revealing details about His identity so that we can learn of Him gradually, and fall more deeply in love with Him. First, He touched His creation. Then, He revealed His being in the form of a name: “I AM.” Then, He shared His law, showing how He desired to be loved. Then He sent His Son, giving Himself fully in the person of Christ, revealing the Mystery of the Trinity, and integrating us into Himself through His Church, His Heavenly bride.

To know everything about the world around us is actually boring; it leaves no doors to be opened, no veils to be lifted, no mysteries to be revealed. Gradually, God revealed Himself bit by bit so that we would not be overwhelmed when He shared with us His full glory in the Trinity. When He did, we knew Him as He is in His full essence, yet there is still so much to grow in understanding. God is love. Love is relational. Love has existed for all time and is not contingent on creation. Instead, creation is a fruit of that relational love between Father and Son, expressed in the Spirit. We are the fruits of God’s essence. We are His creation. We are His beloved. The uncertainties of life are scary, but the potential of growing more in knowledge of God on both an individual level and in terms of all of humanity is inexpressibly exciting. It is the Mystery of life, especially the Greatest Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, that makes life worth living.