Mt. 28:16-20
Let us bring to our mind a well known short story. There were three monks in a monastery which was situated in an island.One day the bishop decided to make his pastoral visit to this monastery.The monks welcomed the bishop whole heartedly. He asked about the prayers that they recite everyday. Unfortunately the monks didn’t know any prayers even Our Father.Bishop with great enthusiasm taught them the prayer Our Father.With this sense of satisfaction Bishop said goodbye and returned to his place.While he was on the boat he saw this spectacular scene.Three monks were running over the river and approach Bishop’s boat and told him we forgot the prayer that you taught, could you repeat once more.Bishop could not believe his eyes.He asked monks what is the ordinary prayer that you recite. Looking up to heaven they said you are three there,we are three here have mercy on us.Having heard this profound prayer and witnessed their deep trinitarian spirituality. Bishop told them to recite the same prayer. Bishop continued his journey and monks returned to their monastery.
Today we celebrate the solemnity of the most Holy Trinity.This is the most important mystery of our Christian faith.When we address it as mystery that does not mean that we can never comprehend it.It is a mystery in the sense that we can fully comprehend the nature of this Triune God. By knowing our own salvation history we could grow deeper in our understanding on the Holy Trinity. All the three persons of the Holy Trinity are co-eternal and uncreated. Father the Creator, the Son, the only begotten and our redeemer, the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son,who is the sactifier. All this three persons are united in the bond of love and perfect communion.
A Christian Life is called to live in a Communion with the Holy Trinity and commissioned to live this communion that we enjoy with the holy Trinity in our relationships.In the Old Testament, we could not decipher the manifestation of the Holy Trinity in a vivid manner because the focus of biblical authors were strict monotheism. At that time humanity did not have enough maturity to accept the relavation that there is only one God at the same time there are three persons united as one.The decisive moment of the salvation history was the incarnation of the Son of God, wherein we see a clear manifestation of the three persons of Holy Trinity.God the Father send his only begotten Son to take flesh in the virgin’s womb, and this process of Word becoming flesh happened through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit. Again a clear relavation of the Holy Trinity was given to the world at the time of Jesus’ baptism. At that moment Jesus became aware of his divine identity and also a self awareness of his role in the Holy Trinity.While living his earthly pilgrimage, Jesus had shown to us the ultimate destiny for which every human being is called that is, to be with the Triune God forever. Anyhow, this relationship does not begin after our earthly sojourn rather it begins while we live our earthly life. All the prayer moments of Jesus that testified in the scriptures were his efforts to connect to his Abba Father through the Holy Spirit inorder to experience this divine communion and love.
All the teachings of Jesus and all the sacraments that he instituted were meant to facilitate this communion.Jesus told that the kingdom of God is among you.Once we experience this communion with the Triune God then we live our earthly pilgrimage as a foretaste of our heavenly glory marked this communion of love. All our prayers, sacraments, etc. invoke the name of the Holy Trinity. It is a constant reminder for us to connect ourselves to this communion.
Unfortunately we forget this unity aspect in our spiritual life and understand the Holy Trinity as three distinct persons.The lack of understanding on the communion that bind together as one God should reflect in our relationships with each other.Being in communion with the Holy Trinity and fellow bretheren both are inter-related.If we fail in one we fail in other too.That’s why Jesus stressed this communion dimension in all his teachings. Jesus says:”if you love me, you will keep my commandments.And I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper,to be with you forever,even the Spirit of truth,whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him,for he dwells with you and will be in you.”(Jn.14:16,17)Again he says:”if anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”(Jn.14:23)
Thus when we live in communion in Holy Trinity we become agency of unity and communion wherever we are.May this celebration help us to live this Trinitarian spirituality in our day to day life.