We make the Sign of the Cross many times a day at the beginning and at the end of the worship or celebration. But most of the time we do it mechanically. We don’t realize that each time we do the sign of the cross, we pray to the Father through the Son in the unity of the Holy Spirit. That means that the Sign of the Cross is a prayer that recognizes that God dwells within us. That we belong to the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. And we are called to live in communion with them. Today is Holy Trinity Sunday. Today we stop to focus our full attention on God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We celebrate the mystery of one God in three persons. Father is God. Son is God. And the Holy Spirit is God. There is no competition. No division of property in God, no sense that this is mine and that is yours. What belongs completely to the Father belongs completely to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Many people in the past have tried to explain and understand the Holy Trinity but they have failed. They could not because it is a mystery of our faith. That means we can understand some, but we cannot fully explain it. I think that if you want to discover or explain the Holy Trinity, you are wasting your time because the question is not: How is one God in three persons? But why did God reveal this mystery to you? What can we learn from the Holy Trinity?
Many years ago, I was participating in a rally to support right for life in Arlington, Virginia. In that rally, there were many people, priests, nuns and lay people singing and praying while walking. And when we got to the Washington monument, we met a group of the people who were against the rally. Suddenly, one of them approached me and said: I see that you are a priest with your roman collar, why do you put your nose in the business of the politicians? You should be in the Church praying. In reply, I just responded to that man that: I am here because as a believer, human being on the planet, life matters. We need one another. As human beings, we are one family. Whoever you are, your life is important and your life.
As a Christian I cannot be indifferent when some members of the body of Christ are suffering or dying. As a Christian I cannot rejoice when there is injustice in the world. Because those who are suffering are part of the body of Christ I belong to. As a Christian, I cannot rejoice when children in Africa, America or Asia are dying for hunger. What is the point of this story? Why am I telling you that story? As a practical application of these fundamental truths, I would like us to focus our attention this week on our community life within the parish family. Each parish is a living community of the Universal Church. Pope Benedict said that “the Church is Eucharistic fellowship” (God is Near Us, Joseph Ratzinger, p. 115). I find these words to be quite significant because they indicate that it is not enough just to go to Sunday Mass as a private spectator. Each parish is a community or communion of believers. As a Church family we pray together. But we can do more as brothers and sisters. Because the Holy Trinity teaches us the unity in diversity. We are different but we belong to one God. The same family. We need one another. We are community. As living members of the parish family, we are called not only to worship, but to participate in the community life of the parish. The parish is our church family.
As Church family, are you interested in the sick people in our community? Are you interested in those who are struggling with addiction, do you worry about those who live in fear? Are you worried about those who suffer injustice? Are you worried about those who cannot go to bury their parents? Are Do you care about what is going on with other people in the community? Do you care about those who are hungry? Are you worried about those who don’t have a job? Or how they live? What do you do?
