May 22 Holy Trinity Sunday

One day a Christian group came to my grandma's home and questioned her faith about the concept of Holy Trinity. She invited them to her prayer room and asked them to kneel down and pray to Jesus that you will understand the mystery of Holy Trinity. This was a teaching for her grand children and to the Christian group that everything of the faith is not understandable through head, everything of the faith cannot be proved in the lab. 

The mystery of the most Holy Trinity is a basic doctrine of Faith in Christianity, understandable not with our heads but with our hearts. It teaches us that there are three distinct Persons in one God, sharing the same Divine Nature.  Our mind cannot grasp this doctrine which teaches that 1+1+1 = 1 and not 3. But we believe in this Mystery because Jesus who is God taught it clearly, the Evangelists recorded it, the Fathers of the Church tried to explain it and the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople defined it as a dogma of Christian Faith.

Why Trinity is important in our Christian life? 1) All prayers in the Church begin in the Name of the Holy Trinity and end with glorifying the Trinity.

2) All Sacraments are administered (we are baptized, confirmed, anointed, our sins are forgiven and our marriage blessed and our Bishops, priests and deacons ordained) in the name of the Holy Trinity.

3) We bless ourselves, and the priest blesses us, in the name of the Holy Trinity.

What are the Biblical proofs? There are only vague and hidden references to the Trinity in the Old Testament. But the New Testament gives clear teachings on the Holy Trinity.

1) At the Annunciation, God the Father sends His angel to Mary, God the Holy Spirit overshadows her and God the Son becomes incarnate in her womb.

2) At the baptism of Jesus, when the Son receives baptism from John the Baptist, the Father’s Voice is heard and the Holy Spirit appears as a Dove.

3)  At the Ascension, Jesus gives the missionary command to his disciples to baptize those who believe, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

What are the life teachings of this feast? 

 1) Let us have the firm conviction that the Trinitarian God abides in us, that He is the Source of our hope, courage and strength and that He is our final destination. The awareness and conviction of the presence of God within us, gives us the strength to face the manifold problems of life with Christian courage.  It was such a conviction that prompted the early Christian martyrs, when taken to their execution, to shout the heroic prayer of Faith from the Psalms: "The Lord of might is with us, our God is within us, and the God of Jacob is our helper" (Psalm 46).  

 2) This feast is inviting us to practice the Trinitarian relationship of love and unity in the family relationships of father, mother and children because by Baptism we become children of God and members of God’s Trinitarian family. Pope Francis says, Holy Trinity is the model of the Church “in which we are called to love one another as Jesus has loved us.” Love, Pope Francis said, is the distinctive mark of the Christian. This mystery of the Holy Trinity asks us to renew the Christian mission of living in communion with God and others.

In the letter to Corinthians chapter 13 we read about the conflict in the church of Corinth. Somebody said, I am following Peter, somebody else said I am following Paul. Finally paul said, brothers and sisters, stop fighting, this is all about Jesus.  And this is then last thing paul said to the church in Corinth as the answer to bring them together, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  He wanted the church of Corinth understand the love among the Trinity and the communion of the Trinity and be peaceful and love one another. Communion is so rich word. It means 7 things, presence, fellowship, Sharing together, intimacy, participation, communion, friendship. 

We live in a world of confusion, fight, war, hatred and individualism. Therefore, celebrating this feast is very meaningful. 

Let us pray to open our hearts and our minds to understand this.

We have heard the old age saying, no man is an island. But we are proud to be islands. We  are proud to be individualistic and narcissistic. Pope Francis says: “We are not called to live without the other, above or against the other, but with the other, for the other and in the other”. 

Any psychologist will tell you that addictions, depression, anxiety, neuroses and many other mental ailments flourish in isolation; however, by sharing honestly in groups they tend to get better. Man is not an island, he is created to live like Holy Trinity in loving relationship. And whenever he looses this relationship he looses happiness and peace.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us remember when we have a broken relationship the only help we have to seek is grace of God -God the Father, who created us, his Son who saved us, and the Holy Spirit who continues to guide us. Our lives should reflect the Trinity. This is our mission as Christian. We should be always creative like the Father, compassionate like his Son, and dispose our talents in the service of others like the Holy Spirit. Let us celebrate this feast reflecting and renewing about our relationship with God and others. 

St. Francis Xavier’s favorite prayer was this: “Most Holy Trinity, Who live in me, I praise You, I worship You, I adore You and I love You.”   Let us say this prayer mindfully.  May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  

Fr. John Pozhathuparambil

Courtesy: Catholic Bishops Confrence India 

Homily 6th Sunday

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him".

Today's gospel is written in the background of Jesus' departure. Jesus knows that his departure will create pain in the hearts of the disciples. Therefore, he assures disciples that he is not abandoning them and promises his continuous presence will be among them through word of God, Holy Spirit and his peace. These words of Jesus are so comforting to disciples and to us that he is present among us. He is alive and live with us! 

There is a Sufi saying, If you step once in to God, God will step thrice in to you. According to eastern thought three is a full number. Therefore, it means if you make your first step in to God, God will come in abundance. 

Jesus says in today's gospel, that if we keep his words, he will come and live with us.  Jesus is talking about the simple first step that we should take in our lives. The simple first step is to love Jesus, and invite him in to our lives. If you want to love him spend a little time each day in personal prayer, scripture reading and reflection. 

Today approximately 25% of all adults live alone, they feel abandoned, belong to nowhere. Spouses, parents and children often live as virtual strangers to one another.   This is unfortunate because we never need to be alone.  Jesus promises us he can always be present to us.  He can give is peace, he can make our burden light and He can turn our grief into joy.  In order this is to happen, just make your first step, start loving him and make a personal relationship with him.

You all might have seen the painting the light of the world by William Hunt Holman. It's picture of Jesus knocking at the door, if you carefully observe, the door has no handle which Hunt purposefully did. He wanted show us that if Jesus wants to come to us we have to open our doors of our lives, our hearts.  

I know the  first step is a struggle. I asked one of my friends to go for a renewal retreat, he said, I can't because I will be transformed. He knows once he transformed, he has to accept new ways in his life. So he wants to be just as he is now. 

We fear to give up our sins and pleasures because it is a challenge. 

In this process of opening our hearts to love Jesus, Jesus promises he Is not only the one who is going to help us, we are going to get an advocate who will teach us and remind us of Jesus teaching. Therefore,  the role of the Holy Spirit is two fold a) to teach "  b)to “remind" us of what Jesus has taught us.

Pope Francis says, God has left the guidance of the Church "in the hands of the Holy Spirit." "The Holy Spirit  as Jesus said, will teach us everything" and "remind us what Jesus taught us"

"The Holy Spirit is the living presence of God in the Church. He keeps the Church going, keeps the Church moving forward. More and more, beyond the limits, onwards. The Holy Spirit with His gifts guides the Church. You cannot understand the Church of Jesus without this Paraclete, whom the Lord sends us for this very reason. 

When Jesus lives with you another beautiful thing happens in our lives, he brings peace in to our lives.  "Peace" is not just the absence of conflict or the peace world gives you, it is the concept of shalom, the total well-being of the person and community.  “In Johannine language, peace, truth, light, life and joy are figurative terms reflecting different facets of the great gift that Jesus has brought from God to the world. 'Peace is my gift to you,' is another way of saying, 'I give them eternal life' (Jn 10:28) (Raymond E. Brown)

Dear brothers and sisters this is the opportunity Jesus promises us. Everything begins in loving him.  Depends on our first step.

We have cows in India and we tie them up on a pole to feed them grass. They can eat only the grass around.  We are like cows tied on a rope eating grass from a circle. Let us break our bondage of sins, pleasures and enjoy the great opportunity ahead of us. Let us take first step, open the door snd let Christ live with us and let us enjoy peace.

Fr. John Pozhathuparambil OFM Conv.