(Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15)
Have you ever wondered how often you have made the sign of the cross? Think about it for a moment, how many times a day do we bless ourselves? Every time we start and finish prayers, at the beginning and end of every Mass, some people bless themselves when they pass a Church, we bless ourselves with Holy Water when we enter and leave a church, others bless themselves when they see an ambulance and maybe offer a silent prayer. Every time we bless ourselves, we are praying and stating that what we are either about to do or what we have just done, is done in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Today is a day which celebrates the three persons in the One God. Today is a crucial component in our Christian Faith.
For me, this is such a part of my life that there is a risk that sometimes I say and make the Sign of the Cross without fully appreciating the meaning of what I am saying and doing.
When we are baptised, we are baptised in the name of the Trinity. When Jesus commissioned the Disciples, He instructed them to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” [Mat 28:19]. This commission has been passed down through Apostolic succession for 2000 years and is still in effect today. Although we bear the name of Christ; the Son; in our title as Christians, we are Baptised in the name of all three persons of God. The use of the Sign of the Cross goes back to the earliest days of Christianity; in the Roman times slaves were branded by the mark of their owners on their foreheads. In our baptism the celebrant traces the Sign of the Cross on our forehead, turning what was a shameful execution into a sign to be proud of, we proudly profess our faith as Christians by using the Sign of the Cross.
The readings today give a brief insight into all three parts of The Holy Trinity. In the first reading we hear how before anything was created God was there and how God delighted in what and who He created. The words ‘delight’ and ‘rejoicing’ are present; a very positive sense of enjoyment on God’s part in the whole process of creation and in the ongoing sustainment of creation.[1]
Many people struggle to understand the concept of the Trinity; One God with three distinct parts; in today’s Gospel Jesus tells us not to worry about the things we cannot understand, He will send the Spirit of truth to lead us to the ‘complete truth’. This should give us great hope; Jesus is promising us that He will send His Spirit to lead us back to Him.
The idea of hope which is evident in John’s Gospel is fully supported by the passage from St Paul in his address to the Romans. He tells us that through suffering, endurance and character our hope is real because God has made it so. This stems from the love of God which has filled our hearts through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. By knowing God, fearing Him and loving Him; we have proof that the Holy Spirit has already entered into our mind and heart; this confirms that our hope is real.
Today’s readings invite us not to struggle with complex theological concepts, but rather to contemplate the truth of God actively present and ‘delighting to be with the sons of men’; this is you and me.
The late Pope, Pope Francis challenged us on Holy Trinity Sunday in 2022 to “think of the names of the divine Persons, which we pronounce every time we make the sign of the cross: each name contains the presence of the other. The Father, for example, would not be such without the Son; likewise, the Son cannot be considered alone, but always as the Son of the Father. And the Holy Spirit, in turn, is the Spirit of the Father and the Son. In short, the Trinity teaches us that one can never be without the other. We are not islands; we are in the world to live in God’s image: open, in need of others and in need of helping others. And so, let us ask ourselves this last question: in everyday life, am I too a reflection of the Trinity? The sign of the cross I make every day — the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit — is that sign of the cross we make every day a gesture for its own sake, or does it inspire my way of speaking, of encountering, of responding, of judging, of forgiving?”[2]
I will do my best to think upon this when I make the Sign of the Cross going forward.
Further Reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
CCC 202, 232-260, 684, 732: the mystery of the Trinity
CCC 249, 813, 950, 1077-1109, 2845: the Trinity in the Church and her liturgy
CCC 2655, 2664-2672: the Trinity and prayer
CCC 2205: the family as an image of the Trinity
Please keep in your prayers this week
- Those who are sick, housebound or in hospital, that the care they receive matches all of their needs.
- Those waiting for the results of medical tests, examinations or scans, that the results can pinpoint the treatment they may need; or alleviate their fears.
- Our Pastoral Area as we continue to take the first steps towards moving from Maintenance to Mission.
- The people killed in the aeroplane crash in India, their relatives and all of the emergency workers who responded to this tragedy.
- Peace in the world, and a de-escalation of the situations where war has already commenced or appears to be inevitable.
Deacon Tony
13th June 2025.
Inspired by Robert Draper, Breaking the Word Pastoral Review Vol 18 Issue 2, (The Tablet Publishing Company Ltd, Twickenham,2022)82-3.