THE WORD
FIRST READING Prov 8,22-31
“The LORD begot me, the beginning of his works,
the forerunner of his deeds of long ago;
From of old I was formed,
at the fi rst, before the earth.
When there were no deeps I was brought forth,
when there were no fountains or springs of water;
Before the mountains were settled into place,
before the hills, I was brought forth;
When the earth and the fi elds were not yet made,
nor the fi rst clods of the world.
When he established the heavens, there was I,
when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;
When he made fi rm the skies above,
when he fi xed fast the springs of the deep;
When he set for the sea its limit,
so that the waters should not transgress his command;
When he fi xed the foundations of earth,
then was I beside him as artisan;
I was his delight day by day,
playing before him all the while,
Playing over the whole of his earth,
having my delight with human beings.
SECOND READING: Rom 5,1-5
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access [by faith] to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.
GOSPEL: Jn 16,12-15
Jesus said to his disciples, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
“Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
IN OTHER WORDS
Traditional mud houses in Southern Africa have usually two tiny windows at opposite ends. The practical positioning allows rays of the rising or setting sun to shine through into the house. In a Village parish, one of the weekly Bible sharing/study groups gathered in such a house. In view of the forthcoming Feast, the group focused their study and reflection on the Holy Trinity. After a lovely song that served also as an opening prayer, a lay minister of the Word introduced the reflection by admitting that the topic at hand was a mystery he could not explain enough: “That there is one God is reasonable, but to explain farther this God is in three persons is almost impossible.” A young school teacher joined in with new ideas but ended up confusing some elderly group members. Then the owner of the hut took the floor meekly. “I am a ‘no-read and no-write’ old man but maybe I can share something. Some of you witnessed my baptism last year and together we still remember the words of Fr. Gaongalelwe: ‘I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’as he poured that rather cold water on my forehead on a winter morning. I have been thinking about those three persons in one God ever since.” After a brief pause the old man went on, “Can you see those two tiny windows of my hut? The rays of the sun come through them in the morning as well as in the afternoon and on winter time they keep me warm all through the night. That speaks of the Blessed Trinity for me loud and clear. The sun represents the Father, the rays are like the Son who comes from the Father and the warmth that keeps me alive and healthy is the Holy Spirit.” That evening, everyone went home with new understanding.
Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Most Blessed Trinity. We meet this God in three Persons in the second reading. Writing to the first Christians of Rome, St. Paul says: “It is by faith and through Jesus (Son) that we have entered this state of grace…The love of God (Father) has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.” Our celebration today reminds us that since our Baptism, this Triune God lives in us. Like that old man in our story, the Holy Trinity lives in him through his personal experience of the sun, rays and the warmth at home day in, day out. As we celebrate God’s infinite presence in us, we highlight our connectedness to him starting in our homes, families and communities. To conclude, we meet the three persons in one God in the Gospel with Jesus telling his Apostles and he is also telling us now: “When the Spirit of truth (Holy Spirit) comes, he will lead you to the complete truth…He will glorify me (Jesus) since all he tells you will be taken from what is mine…Everything the Father has is mine…”. All the previous major Feasts we recently celebrated, namely, the Resurrection, Ascencion and last Sunday, the Pentecost point to a more faith-energizing celebration. A BLESSED SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY TO ALL!
- Fr. Emil B. Pati, SVD | San Fernando, La Union
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
