O
how long ago the earth would have been destroyed, if Mary had not interposed!
-St.
Fulgentius
O how long ago the earth would have been destroyed, if Mary had not interposed!
-St. Fulgentius
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Lectionary: 165
Reading 1
Moses said to the people:
"Ask now of the days of old, before your time,
ever since God created man upon the earth;
ask from one end of the sky to the other:
Did anything so great ever happen before?
Was it ever heard of?
Did a people ever hear the voice of God
speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself
from the midst of another nation,
by testings, by signs and wonders, by war,
with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors,
all of which the LORD, your God,
did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
This is why you must now know,
and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God
in the heavens above and on earth below,
and that there is no other.
You must keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today,
that you and your children after you may prosper,
and that you may have long life on the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever."
Responsorial Psalm
R. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.
For he spoke, and it was made;
he commanded, and it stood forth.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a Spirit of adoption,
through whom we cry, “Abba, Father!”
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia Alleluia
Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
to God who is, who was, and who is to come.
Alleluia
Gospel
The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
"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."
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YOU ARE VERY SPECIAL TO ALL OF THE HOLY TRINITY!
You are very special to God. You belong to God -- all of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The reason why it's so important to be baptized in the name of the full Holy Trinity, as Jesus instructs in this Sunday's Gospel reading, instead of only through Jesus our Savior as a few Protestant sects do, is because God in his fullness -- all three Persons of the triune nature of God -- wants to have a personal relationship with you, a true friendship.
Are you aware of living in a special love relationship with each Person of the Trinity? Can you sit and chat with God as Father, God as Savior, and God as Holy Spirit? When you're feeling hurt, can you sit in the Father's lap and receive his comfort? When you're fighting temptation, can you feel the strength of Jesus coming to your rescue? When you're worried or confused or struggling to have faith, are you aware of the Spirit's gentle guidance?
The Father of Jesus is our own, very special Divine Daddy or Abba in the reading from Romans. Is he a fearsome punishing authority who barely understands you? No, he gladly adopted you during your baptism, because he's a doting daddy who provides for our needs.
The Holy Spirit assures us of this. God's Spirit embraces us and comforts us and teaches us everything we need to know so we can live in the joy of a life that's full of love. And in that love, Jesus sacrificed himself for us so that we can be free from the punishment of sin and live holy lives with the help of his Holy Spirit.
God is a trinity of helpers, healers, strengtheners, and faith-builders. He wants you to live in the fullness of his divinity! He wants you to benefit from all that he is.
As baptized Christians and as sacramental Catholics who have God's presence fully available in the Eucharist, we lack nothing that really matters!
Today's Prayer
My Lord, May I always recognize and accept the commission You gave me, spreading fearlessly the Good News, remembering that You are always by my side. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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