Go Therefore and Make Disciples of All Nations

05-26-2024Weekly ReflectionFr. Manasseh Iorchir, VC

Central to the teaching of the Catholic Church is the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity which in simple terms holds that in the One undivided God are three persons: God the Father, the Creator of the all that exists; God the Son, the eternal Word of the Father who is begotten not made by the Father and who was sent by the Father to redeem creation after the fall of man; and God the Holy Spirit, the finger of God who proceeds from the Father and the Son and who animates all that the Father and the Son wishes to empower and renews the face of the earth.

The Church teaches that though the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons, they are essentially One God as Holy revealed in Holy Scripture. Thus, God the Father is neither God the Son, nor is He God the Spirit, yet God the Father is what God the Son is and what God the Holy Spirit is. Together, and as an undivided unit, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit create, redeem, Sanctify and, in fact, hold all things in being. On the weekend immediately following Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

Although there is no explicit mention of the term “Trinity” in the Holy Scriptures, one can find in abundance logical allusions to the reality that the nomenclature represents. In the very first two verses of the first Book in the Bible, the Father and the Holy Spirit are understood to be collaborating in the creation of the universe (Gen 1:1-2). When God was about to make man, The Creator deliberated with other entities “let us make man in our own image and likeness….” (Gen 1:26). Now, God was obviously not dialoguing with Angels, for if this were the case, the Angels would become co-creators with God. It is obvious that God’s intention was communicated to beings like Him, beings with divine substance and Holiness which the Father intended to communicate in some measure to man. After man was made, the Father breathed His Spirit into him to activate life in His most important creation (Gen 2:7)

In the New Testament, the incarnation was conceived and effected by the collaboration of the Trinity. The Father sent the Son who took flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the power of God the Holy Spirit. At the baptism of the Lord, the synoptics recount that after the incarnated God the Son was baptized by John the Baptist and as He stepped out of the River Jordan, the Heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the Form of a dove and the voice of the Father was heard from the Heavens proclaiming, “this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” As the Redeemer prepared to embrace His passion and death, He promised the Holy Spirit who will be sent by the Father to His Disciples in answer to His request (John 14:15), and after His resurrection, He mandated His Disciples to “make Disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Ma 28:19-20).

The Holy Trinity features prominently in all we do in the Church today. In fact, every Chris an activity should be initiated, sustained and completed in the name and authority of the Triune God. That is why every Catholic prayer should begin with a solemn invocation of the Trinity. That is why all the Sacraments are administered in the name of the Triune God. In the celebration of the Holy Eucharist for instance, the Church calls on God the Father to send God the Holy Spirit in order to transform the bread and wine into the body and Blood of His Son for the spiritual nourishment of the faithful.

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, we ask the Father to grant us the Grace to love in order to be Holy as He is Holy, we beseech the Son to teach us to be united in mind and in spirit so that we can collaborate with each other to truly be witness to the Gospel, and we invoke the Holy Spirit to bestow on each of us the willingness to submit to the will of the Father.

Please be kind and may God bless you.

Fr. Manasseh