The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Having come down in a cloud, the LORD stood with Moses there

and proclaimed his name, "LORD."
Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
"The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity."
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.

Trinity is a simple word, a formula that encapsulates all our experience and knowledge of God. It is a religious word of infinite depth, one that defies all explanation. It is so holy and so impenetrable, the very attempt to explain smacks of blasphemy, especially in the public forum.

The Buddhist had an expression for truths like this: “Those who say do not know; those who know do not say.” But no one “knows” the Most Holy Trinity. It is like the sun to anyone who is not an astronomer – good, beautiful, wonderful and fierce. Don’t go there.

The time for its exposition in catechesis is during the weeks after Easter, the “Mystagogia,” when the newly baptized learn more about Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation and the Most Holy Trinity. The merely curious who would compare Christianity with other religions have not demonstrated a readiness to learn about these dimensions of our faith.

And yet everyone is invited into this knowledge of God. When the Baptist’s disciples asked Jesus, “Where do you live?” he replied, “Come and see.” You cannot know the Most Holy Trinity by looking at definitions, arguments and explanations, any more than you can know a home by looking at the floor plan of a building. You must live there.

In his farewell address of the Gospel of Saint John, we hear Jesus say:

"Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. (John 14:23)

The saints speak of this “indwelling of the trinity” within us. God is most visibly present in our sacraments. But he also appears in our good works, in our courage, integrity, mercy and justice. God appears in our willingness to live with disappointment and to suffer injustice, in our presence to those who labor under these indignities, and in our willingness to right those wrongs where possible.

The Most Holy Trinity abides within our human hearts when we do God’s will. This is a privilege and responsibility beyond our imagination, a mystery we would not dare to utter if it had not been revealed to us.