Word to the Wise
Sunday, May 30, 2021 - Trinity Sunday - B
[Deut 4:32-34, 39-40; Rom 8:14-17; Matt 28:16-20]"All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
A Catholic life begins with the words, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." From that moment on, God is present in a way that is different from being simply made in God's image. [Genesis 1:27; Romans 6:3-4]. In short, the reality of God gets into every corner of our being and our actions as faithful Catholics. It is hard to imagine any Catholic time of prayer that does not begin, "In the name of the Father......"
The Bible does not go into the later Greek-inspired speculation about the nature of the Trinity, especially the specific relationship of the three persons to each other while yet remaining one reality. Theologians make a distinction between the "immanent" Trinity (the "inside" reality) and the "economic" Trinity (what it does in the world). We give it expression when we say that trinitarian prayer or even when we simply make the Sign of the Cross. Ultimately we are dealing with a great mystery. St. Augustine is often quoted in this regard: "Non est mendacium, sed mysterium." (It's not a lie but a mystery!)
Trinity Sunday falls between Pentecost and Corpus Christi, almost as if the number "three" is being used calendar-wise to remind us of the overarching reality of the Trinity. No matter what we say about it, the Holy Trinity gets into everything we believe, say (the creeds) and do (the Sign of the Cross) as Catholics. AMEN