Trinity Sunday

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Sunday, 4 June 2023 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the Sunday after the Pentecost Sunday, all of us, the whole Church celebrates the occasion of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, also known as Trinity Sunday. This Sunday marks a very important celebration for the Church as it commemorates one of the most crucial, distinctive and central tenets of our Christian faith. It is our belief in the Holy Trinity that sets us apart from any other monotheistic faith and beliefs, because while we truly believe in the Oneness of God, and that there is no other God besides Him, but at the same time, we believe that our One and only God exists in Three Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. That is what our belief in the Most Holy Trinity is all about, and which we focus on in this Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

It is also interesting that we always celebrate this Trinity Sunday at the Sunday immediately following the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday that marked the descent of the Holy Spirit on the people of God, on the Church. This is a reminder that all of us as part of the same Church of God has always been guided by the Lord all the same, willed into being by our Father and Creator, and with the Son having dwelled amongst us and walked with us, touching us all with His Presence in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and finally, the Holy Spirit, the Lord and the Giver of life, have descended upon us, giving us the Wisdom, strength and courage to live our lives with great faith and commitment to God. Thus, in all aspects and parts of our lives, we always have God ever present by our side, with us, the same one and only True God.

Ever since the very beginning of the Church, the Apostles and the earliest Church fathers, bishops and priests and other Christians have testified and recorded the belief in the Triune God and in the Trinitarian nature of the Lord. While there were those who debated on whether the Lord Jesus was truly the Son of God or whether He was equal to the Father, or whether He was just like us, any other human beings, but most of the Church fathers and early Christians subscribed to the teachings and path that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was truly born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, His Mother, and yet, is not merely just the Son of Man, but also the Son of God in the flesh, assuming our human existence and our form so that He might make His love to become tangible, real and approachable by us. By the will of the Father and by the power of the Holy Spirit, dwelling within Mary, the Divine Messiah was conceived in her, as the Son of God Most High made Man.

If there were indeed many of those who refused to believe that this was possible, or that the historical Man named Jesus Christ was truly the Son of God, Equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, then we must remember that everything is possible for God. If He could make the blind to see again, restore the sick and those who were dying, casting out demons and evil spirits, and raising the dead back to life, and if He could make the barren ones like Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth to bear a child in their barrenness, and for Mary to have a Son without any human intervention and action, then everything is truly possible for God. Not only that but the Lord Jesus Himself has mentioned the Holy Trinity most clearly in the Great Commission that He entrusted to His disciples and followers, the mission of His Church which still continues to this very moment.

The Lord said, ‘Go and make disciples of all the nations, and baptise them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.’ Through this simple and direct instruction, the Lord has made it truly clear of the connection and the equal nature between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus has often referred to the Father in Heaven as His heavenly Father, and referring to Himself as the Son. If the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are referring to different beings, how can we then reconcile our believe in the one and only true God as the Church fathers and the old Jewish and Israelite faith and customs had believed? Therefore, each of the members of the Holy Trinity must indeed be referring to the same God, that has manifested in Three Divine Persons, namely the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Throughout the Scriptures, we can find clear indication how the Lord has revealed Himself in His identity as the Holy Trinity, the Triune God, One God consisting of Three distinct Persons, and Three Persons united indivisibly as One God. At the very beginning when God created all things, the three members of the Holy Trinity were already present, highlighting our belief in the Co-Equal and Co-Eternal nature of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and also their consubstantial nature, having the same Divine essence and substance, with the Father being fully God and Divine, and so is the Son and so is the Holy Spirit. At the beginning, God the Father willed all things to be created, from nothingness into being, and He did so, as we read in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, through His Word, and this was referred to at the beginning of the Gospel of St. John.

St. John began his Gospel with ‘In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God; He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing came to be.’ Through this part from St. John’s Gospel we are reminded that the Word of God was the means through which God created all of us, and this Word of God is the Son, just as St. John further continued on with, ‘And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.’ which highlighted to us that the Word of God, the Divine Logos Himself, has become Man, taking up our existence and appearance, becoming fully Divine and fully Man in the Person of Jesus Christ, the One through Whom God’s love and truth have been made tangible and approachable to all of us. The Lord Jesus Himself said to Nicodemus, that God so loved the world, that He sent unto us His beloved Son, to save the world, and He did indeed save the world, by His death on the Cross.

Then, the Holy Spirit, in the Book of Genesis was described as being present throughout the whole thing before existence and before creation, and through the Holy Spirit, the world has life, just as we said in the Creed, ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and the Giver of Life’ and the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son, as the Holy Spirit came unto us from the Father, Who willed that His Spirit came unto us, and by His Word, everything came to be. At Pentecost, which we have just celebrated last Sunday, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord, strengthening them and empowering them just as the Lord Jesus, the Son, has promised that the Father would send them the Holy Spirit. It was through the same Spirit that all of us have received life as well, and those who have received the Holy Spirit, that is all of us, have received more fully the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Now, we can all see how the Holy Trinity has always worked together, in perfect harmony with each other. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all worked together and were united in purpose and action, as although They are Three distinct Persons, but They are indivisible and inseparable from each other, and is part of one Godhood. It is wrong to say that the Father is the Son, or the Holy Spirit, or vice versa as They are all distinct from each other. But They exist together in one perfect union of love that cannot be separated, by anyone or anything. The Father is fully God, just as the Son is fully God, and the Holy Spirit is also fully God, all sharing the same Godhood, the one and only True God. This is something which some people find hard to accept or to understand, and some failed to believe it because they thought that they knew things better. But God and His mysteries are far more than what we can comprehend with our minds alone.

There are many ways for us to understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity better, one of which is the famous shamrock or three-leaf clover that St. Patrick used in his missionary work in Ireland, as he utilised it to explain better the mystery of the Holy Trinity to those whom he was evangelising and preaching the Good News so that they may know God and His truth and identity better. The shamrock or the three-leaf clover is a leaf composed of three leaf blades conjoined together as one leaf. We can clearly see that there are three parts of the one leaf, that are distinct from each other and yet each of them are inseparable from each other without diminishing and changing the whole leaf. In the same way therefore, each of the members of the Holy Trinity are distinct from each other while at the same time being indivisibly united as One, and we cannot take One out of the Three without diminishing or changing the nature of God.

Another way is to use the symbolism of a flame, which can also be used to represent somewhat the concept of the Holy Trinity. Flame has three dimensions just as the Holy Trinity is composed of three Members or Persons. Flame consists of its heat, its light as well as its appearance and shape, all three of which makes up a flame as we all know it. We can feel the heat from the flame of a burning object, and we can see the illumination from the light given off by the flame, and we can see the shape of the flame itself as it burns brightly. If we are to remove the heat from the flame, it will indeed be very strange to be able to see a flame and yet without its heat, or if we remove the light instead, to see a flame with its heat, but not being able to see the light that it should have illuminated the room with. Through this comparison, we can see that each aspects of the flame are distinct from each other, and yet, each one of them describe what the whole full flame is all about, and we cannot subtract one from the whole or else we diminish or make the whole unrecognisable and different.

In the same manner therefore, the Holy Trinity is indeed composed of Three Divine Persons, the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, each of Whom are equally Divine, equal in their substance and essence, equal in their Lordship and Existence from time immemorial, before even time and existence themselves began. They are Co-Equal and Co-Eternal, distinct from each other and yet at the same time, being perfectly united as the One and only One True God of all. That is what we believe in as Christians, in God Who is One but Three, and Who is also Three but One. One God, One Godhood but Three Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each of the Three Divine Persons show the different aspects of the One Godhood, and which are perfectly united and are in harmony with each other in the perfect union of perfect love that is found in God alone.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, while we may try to make the concept of the Holy Trinity better understood, as how the Church fathers and others like St. Patrick had done, and as I had attempted to explain and elaborate on ways to understand the Holy Trinity mystery better, but the reality is that, this most important tenet of our faith is indeed a mystery that can never actually be fully understood by our minds and intelligence alone. We have to understand and appreciate the Holy Trinity through the eyes of faith, and by listening to God Himself speaking to us through the Wisdom He has given us through the Holy Spirit. That is how we can truly understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity, guided by the Lord and His love, His Wisdom and His providence.

And we should not try to seek to know the fullness of the truth behind the Holy Trinity, as St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the most brilliant among the Church fathers and a Doctor of the Church can show us, in how when he was pondering about the mystery of the Holy Trinity, he encountered a young boy by the seashore, pouring the water of the sea into a small hole using a seashell. When St. Augustine asked the boy, the boy responded saying that he was pouring the whole entire sea into the small hole, which was impossible, and when St. Augustine mentioned that to the young boy, it was when the young boy, which was a vision for St. Augustine to remind him, responded that the same applies therefore to his attempts to understand the Holy Trinity, as it is impossible for the limited human mind and intelligence to be able to contain and understand the full nature of the Holy Trinity.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect carefully on our faith in our God, the Most Holy Trinity of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Let us all do whatever we can to believe wholeheartedly in Him, and entrusting ourselves to His Providence so that we may truly live our lives worthy of God, guided by the will of the Father, led by the examples of the Son, and encouraged by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. May our lives be the shining beacons of light and truth of God to many others who journey together with us and encounter us at each and every moments. May our Lord, the Most Holy Trinity, continue to bless us and guide us throughout our lives, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 4 June 2023 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 3 : 16-18

At that time, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Yes, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through Him the world is to be saved.”

“Whoever believes in Him will not be condemned. He who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God.”

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Sunday, 4 June 2023 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Corinthians 13 : 11-13

Finally, brothers and sisters, be happy, strive to be perfect, have courage, be of one mind and live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

The grace of Christ Jesus the Lord, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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Sunday, 4 June 2023 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Daniel 3 : 52, 53, 54, 55, 56

Blessed are You, Lord, God of our fathers, be praised and exalted forever. Blessed is Your holy and glorious Name, celebrated and exalted forever.

Blessed are You in the Temple of Your sacred glory, Your praises are sung forever.

Blessed are You on the throne of Your kingdom, honoured and glorified forever.

Blessed are You Who fathom the depths, Who are enthroned on the Cherubim, praised and exalted forever.

Blessed are You in the firmament of heaven, praised and glorified forever.

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Sunday, 4 June 2023 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Exodus 34 : 4b-6, 8-9

Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai as YHVH had commanded, taking in his hands the two slabs of stone. And YHVH came down in a cloud and stood there with him, and Moses called on the Name of YHVH.

Then YHVH passed in front of him and cried out, “YHVH, YHVH is a God full of pity and mercy, slow to anger and abounding in truth and loving-kindness.”

Moses hastened to bow down to the ground and worshipped. He then said, “If You really look kindly on me, my Lord, please come and walk in our midst and even though we are a stiff-necked people, pardon our wickedness and our sin and make us Yours.”

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Sunday, 12 June 2022 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we celebrate the occasion of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, celebrating the Most Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the core of our Christian belief in one God Who exists in Three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This belief in God Who is Three but also One at the same time is what made us unique among other monotheistic beliefs out there, and the one that we all held to be the only Universal truth above all else. For we all believe that God, our Supreme Lord and Master, the Creator of all things and the whole entire universe, of all existence and time, is this Most Holy Trinity, the Triune God.

The belief in the Most Holy Trinity had always been kept and upheld. Since the earliest days of the Church, the Christian faithful had believed in the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and while there were differences in how the Holy Trinity was perceived by the faithful, but in general most of them believed in the presence of three distinct Persons and identities in the One God. This belief was also Scriptural in basis and also based on the teachings and traditions of the Apostles and the Church fathers who all received their truth and knowledge not just from the Lord Himself but also through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The most obvious passage is the Lord’s great commission to all His disciples, to go forth to the nations and to baptise all in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

This belief in the Holy Trinity is truly crucial and important as part of our Christian identity and faith, as we define our faith within the context of this belief in the Holy Trinity. And in order to understand our Christian faith fully we have to go and understand the nature of the Holy Trinity more fully. Many Christians unfortunately do not truly understand and appreciate the importance of Holy Trinity of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and quite often we may even see and hear those who had wrong and mistaken idea on what the Holy Trinity is truly all about. There are those among us who think that we really worship three different Gods, something that those who do not have the Christian faith also commonly misunderstood about. There were those who criticised Christians simply because they thought that we worship more than one God, misunderstanding the nature of the Holy Trinity.

Then, on the other extreme, we also have those who misunderstood how the Holy Trinity works, in that they think of God as a single God without different Persons, those who claimed to be Unitarian in faith as opposed to our Trinitarian faith. Those who are holding such thoughts and ideas are also quite varied in their thoughts with some of them rejecting that Jesus Christ is God, thinking that He is merely a created Being, a Prophet and not the Son of God, contrary to what our Christian faith and the Apostolic tradition through the Church have revealed to us. As mentioned, since the earliest days of the Church, the teachings of the Church, the Apostolic traditions passed down through the Church have always affirmed the Trinitarian God as the One and only True God, the One and only Saviour of the whole world, the same Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Proverbs, we heard the words relating to the moment of Creation, by the author of the Book of Proverbs, which was King Solomon of Israel according to historical evidence and tradition. In that account about Creation, we heard of the peculiar and interesting words regarding a Being that was created by God, Who was already existent when everything was created and formed, the formation and creation of the entire world and the universe. This was in fact an allusion to the presence of the Holy Trinity in Creation, as we can see from the Book of Genesis, of its first chapter when the author of the Book of Genesis described how the whole world and universe was created by God.

At the moment of Creation, if we go back to the Book of Genesis, we can see how the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and the Holy Spirit was present all in one, taking part in the work of Creation, as the one and only True God, Who knows all, has dominion and power over all, and oversees all of the entire Creation. God the Father willed Creation into being, and by His words, the Word of God, He willed all of Creation into existence, with the words like, ‘Let there be Light’, ‘Let there be a vault between the waters, to separate the water above the Heavens from the water below it.’, ‘Let the water be filled with living creatures, and let the skies be filled with birds that fly above the earth in the vault of the sky.’ among others, all of which heralded the Creation of the world.

The Book of Genesis began with the account of what happened before the moment of Creation. Back then, there was complete nothingness, and the whole entire universe had not been created yet. The Lord our God existed before time and existence itself, and He is not bound to time and existence. God surpasses time and space, and as mentioned in the Book of Genesis, the Spirit of God was floating and going around and about all things, this Spirit of God refers to the Holy Spirit. How about the Son then? The Son is the Word of God, through Whom the Father created all things, and the Persona mentioned in the first reading today from the Book of Proverbs in fact refers to the Son, as we see things from His perspective.

The Son of God is begotten from the Father, before time and existence, and He is Co-Eternal and Co-Equal with the Father. Since He existed with the Father from even before the beginning of time, He is of the same Essence, same Nature and essentially same as the Father, as part of this Holy Trinity of Godhood. The Church teaches that the same Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Incarnate in the flesh as the Son of Man, is this same Son, Co-Eternal and Co-Equal with the Father. While His humanity was given form only at the moment of the Incarnation after the Annunciation of Mary, His mother, but His divinity has existed from before all ages, just as the Father and the Holy Spirit are also Co-Eternal and Co-Equal.

The Holy Spirit meanwhile according to the Creed, proceeds from the Father to us and the world, and He does so through the Son, as is written and mentioned in our Creed, that the Holy Spirit, the Lord of life, proceeding from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son, He is adored and glorified. This procession of the Holy Spirit must be understood in the context that it does not imply that the Holy Spirit is inferior or subservient to the Father and/or the Son. Rather, the Holy Spirit is also Co-Equal and Co-Eternal to the Father and the Son, existing before time and creation, and existing in perfect equality to the Father and the Son. Rather, the Holy Spirit naturally comes into this world and to us, by the will of the Father, and hence flowing from Him, and through the Son, through Whom, the Father’s will was made manifest to this world.

Now, I hope that through what we have discussed, all these can help us to better understand the nature of the Most Holy Trinity, the Triune God that we believe in. This is important because if we ourselves do not understand the nature of the Most Holy Trinity or even attempt to learn more about this core and most important tenet of our faith, then how can we expect others to believe in the Lord when the Lord calls us to be His witnesses and missionaries in our communities today? If others asked and even challenged us on our belief in the Most Holy Trinity among other tenets of our faith, because they did not know what they meant, or had the wrong impression or understanding, then are we able to respond confidently and share with them the truth of God as accurately as possible?

We do not have to worry if we cannot comprehend or understand the whole mystery of the Most Holy Trinity of our One God in Three Persons. Even many of the greatest saints and Church fathers struggled to understand the whole meaning and nature of the Most Holy Trinity, and it remains a mystery for all of us as well. It took the Church and the whole assembly of the faithful, and several Ecumenical Councils before the teachings and tenets regarding the Most Holy Trinity were formulated and standardised. And even so, if we were to study the history of the Church, there were numerous heresies and false teachings that disputed this truth that we have for the Holy Trinity, as I mentioned earlier.

And in one occasion, the famous St. Augustine of Hippo, the great Doctor of the Church according to tradition also received a vision as he walked by the seashore, reflecting and being intrigued with the nature of the Holy Trinity, and he saw the vision of a young boy who was trying to empty the entire ocean into a small hole in the sand, and when the saint asked the boy, who according to explanations, was in fact God in disguise, He explained that just as it is impossible to pour the entirety of the ocean into the small hole in the sand, hence, it is impossible for us in our limited intellect and ability to understand, to comprehend the entirety of the mystery of the Holy Trinity. We do not need to worry, but instead we should let the Lord to guide us and teach us His Wisdom and truth, and hold firmly to the true teachings of the Church and our faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Trinity Sunday, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, let us all renew our commitment to the Lord, our Triune God, He Who is One and yet existing in the perfect harmony of Three Divine Persons. Let us all ask the Father to bless us all and continue to love each and every one of us at all times, and the Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ to be with us through our journeys of faith in life, inspiring us with His obedience to His Father and His loving sacrifice on His Cross, and the Holy Spirit, for the guidance and the strength, the courage and power to carry out our mission of evangelisation in our world and communities today with faith. May the Lord, the Most Holy Trinity, be with us always, and bless us in our every good works and endeavours, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 12 June 2022 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 16 : 12-15

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “I still have many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. When He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into the whole truth. He has nothing to say of Himself, but He will speak of what He hears, and He will tell you of the things to come.”

“He will take what is Mine and make it known to you; in doing this, He will glorify Me. All that the Father has is Mine; because of this, I have just told you that the Spirit will take what is Mine, and make it known to you.”

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Sunday, 12 June 2022 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Romans 5 : 1-5

By faith, we have received true righteousness, and we are at peace with God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Through Him, we obtain this favour, in which we remain, and we even boast to expect the glory of God.

Not only that, we also boast even in trials, knowing that trials produce patience, from patience comes merit; merit is the source of hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because the Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God.

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Sunday, 12 June 2022 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 8 : 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

When I observe the heavens, the work of Your hands, the moon and the stars You set in their place – what is man that You be mindful of him, the Son of Man that You should care for Him?

Yet You made Him a little lower than the Angels; You crowned Him with glory and honour and gave Him the works of Your hands; You have put all things under His feet.

Sheep and oxen without number and even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea and all that swim the paths of the ocean.

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Sunday, 12 June 2022 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Proverbs 8 : 22-31

YHVH created Me first, at the beginning of His works. He formed Me from of old, from eternity, even before the earth. The abyss did not exist when I was born, the springs of the sea had not gushed forth, the mountains were still not set in their place nor the hills, when I was born before He made the earth or countryside, or the first grains of the world’s dust.

I was there when He made the skies and drew the earth’s compass on the abyss, when He formed the clouds above and when the springs of the ocean emerged; when He made the sea with its limits, that it might not overflow. When He laid the foundations of the earth, I was close beside Him, the designer of His works, and I was His daily delight, forever playing in His presence, playing throughout the world and delighting to be with humans.