The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (Year B)
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.
—Romans 8:16-17
When I think of the feast that we know as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, I’m reminded of an old folk tale (which has found its way into several religious traditions, including Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist texts) which tells the story of three blind men who examine an elephant to try to determine what sort of animal it might be. One grabs hold of the elephant’s tail and exclaims, “This creature is very like a rope.” The second man runs his hand over one of the tusks, declaring, “This creature is very like a spear.” Finally, the third man, patting the wide, solid side of the elephant, says, “This creature is surely a wall.”
“The Blind Men and the Elephant” as depicted in the 1907 edition of The Heath readers by grades, D.C. Heath and Company (Boston)
Individually, each of the blind men grasped an aspect of the majestic creature, but their understanding was limited. But, if they share their insights, they could come to have an understanding of elephants than none of them could have alone.
Like the experience of those three men, all of the Church’s various celebrations throughout the year work together to help us enter more deeply into the mysteries of salvation and the ways that God has been—and continues to be—at work in the world. However, while each of these celebrations highlights a certain facet of our faith, none of them present the fullness of the Mystery that is God. We need to allow the feasts and seasons of the Church Year to illuminate one another so that we can have the fullest possible experience of God.
This Sunday’s celebration honoring the Most Holy Trinity is no exception, although it does offer us a unique perspective the nature of God and who we are in light of God’s grace and mercy. Falling as it does on the Sunday after Pentecost, this day honoring the Trinity brings together all the mysteries that we have celebrated during the seasons of Lent and Easter: the creative, saving, and sanctifying work of God that not only freed us from the powers of sin and death, but which also unites us as a communion of faith—the Church—which is itself a reflection of that communion of love that is God.
The Preface of the Mass for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity helps us to understand this communion—a “Trinity in unity”—defines our experience of the inner life of God:
For with your Only Begotten Son and the Holy Spirit
you are one God, one Lord:
not in the unity of a single person,
but in a Trinity of one substance.
For what you have revealed to us of your glory
we believe equally of your Son
and of the Holy Spirit,
so that, in the confessing of the true and eternal Godhead,
you might be adored in what is proper to each Person,
their unity in substance,
and their equality in majesty.
This text invites us to consider how our own relationships are reflections of that unique and dynamic communion that exists within God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. By grace, we are constantly being invited to be part of that relationship, to live in the love of God. Henri Nouwen explored this idea in his book Sabbatical Journey, when he wrote,
“I am deeply convinced that most human suffering comes from broken relationships. Anger, jealousy, resentment, and feelings of rejection all find their source in conflict between people who yearn for unity, community, and a deep sense of belonging. By claiming the Holy Trinity as home for our relational lives, we claim the truth that God gives us what we most desire and offers us the grace to forgive each other for not being perfect in love.”
Although the liturgy for Trinity Sunday places before the mystery of God’s inner life, like the other solemnities and feasts of the Church Year, it could never exhaust the riches of the mystery that it presents. However, this important Sunday is also an invitation for us to continue to move beyond our individualism and sense of “mine” by calling us to live as people of communion, whose lives are formed, informed, and transformed by the life of the Most Holy Trinity.
God continues to bless us—in the ongoing act of creation, in the freely given gifts of healing and redemption of Christ, and the life-giving Spirit that inspires faith, hope, and love—and invites us to receive the graces and gifts God gives so freely.
God our Father, who by sending into the world
the Word of truth and the Spirit of sanctification
made known to the human race your wondrous mystery,
grant us, we pray, that in professing the true faith,
we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory
and adore your Unity, powerful in majesty.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
