The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
May 22, 2016
John 16:12-15
“But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide
you to all truth (Jn 16:13).”
The mystery of the Holy Trinity is the
most foundational yet the most difficult teaching of the Catholic Church. The
greatest minds in the Church, like St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Thomas Aquinas
and Karl Rahner have attempted to fathom the mystery, but their explanations
hit a giant wall. One day, when St. Augustine was strolling along the beach,
meditating the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the holy bishop saw a young boy
digging a hole on the sand. He came close and noticed that the boy was trying
to move the sea water inside that small hole. St. Augustine then told the lad
that what he did was futile. Then, suddenly the little boy replied, ‘It is the same thing, when you try to put
the Trinity inside your small head.’
Yet, we must not be in despair. To get
nearer to the Holy Trinity, we will see that the mystery of the Holy Trinity as
the mystery of Love. The word mystery means something that we cannot fully
comprehend, yet we know that the reality is so true and undeniable. Love is a
mystery precisely because at times, we cannot really understand it, but we are
sure that it is real and undeniable. As parents, we love our children, we take
care of them, and want the best things for them, yet we do not understand why
they do not appreciate us, and often become tough to love. A young man who
falls in love with his girlfriend, often finds hard time to please his girl,
but he knows that his love is true. Even, for a couple who have been in
marriage for decades, sometimes, they still face a bumpy road and fail to
understand each other, yet again, they never doubt their love for each other.
The Trinity is love. Bishop Robert Baron
of Los Angeles, explains that true love always involves the lover who loves,
the beloved who receives the love, and the love itself that binds the lover and
the beloved. In love, there is beautiful dynamic of the three loves. Love is
one, yet it is three. The Father loves the Son totally, and the Son loves the
Father radically, and the love that unites the Father and the Son is the Holy
Spirit. No wonder, St. John would call God is love (1 John 4:6). Again, the
real love is not about theory, but a life-transformation. We can discuss about
Trinity for hours, yet it is useless if we fail to help a famish beggar who is
in dire need of food. St. Thomas Aquinas has written very well of God. His
treatise on Trinity remains foundational for theology students seek to
understand better the mystery. Yet, at the end of his life, the Lord on the
cross appeared to Thomas and asked what he would wish as a reward. Blessed
Thomas humbly replied, “Nothing but You,
Lord.” For Thomas, all what he wrote was just like a straw compare to the
Love he personally encountered.
Indeed, the most Holy Trinity is a
utmost mystery that cannot be fully understood by our little and limited minds,
but every time we care for others, help our friends, forgive our enemies and
love truly, the Trinity lives and manifests in us.
Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP
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