From Father Steven - May 30, 2021

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
 
This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. We all know that the Trinity is made of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We often refer to the Father as the creator, the Son as the redeemer, and the Holy Spirit, as the sanctifier. But have we ever wondered what the relationship is  among themselves? Do we realize how our God allows himself to be known by man?
 
St. Patrick is one of the most popular saints who explained the Holy Trinity in a very simple way. When he was explaining to the Celtic people how God is three persons under one God, he used a three-clover leaf. There are three leaves in a plant, but they are all part of the same plant. So it is God. There are three different persons of the Trinity under one God. And how does that union take place? Through LOVE! They all love each other so much that they are united to each other. Pope Benedict summarizes saying that “the Father gives everything to the Son, the Son receives everything from the Father with gratitude, and the Holy Spirit is like the fruit of this mutual love between the Father and the Son.”
 
This great knowledge is not hidden from man, and it is not reserved for the chosen ones or someone with certain skills. It is revealed to all. The first reading today speaks how there is no other god who is so close to his people, who took his people from slavery, or who has spoken directly to them like our God. We know the reason behind God’s intervention in people’s lives. We find the answer in John’s Gospel: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16)
 
Some of this information may seem logical, or something that everyone knows about. But deep down, unfortunately, there are still people who have never heard of it before. I remember Fr Andrea telling me about the experience of his sister in China, who did not know a thing about Jesus. People around us maybe don’t connect the dots to the awesomeness of God. Others could have had their vision/understanding of God blurred by some events of their lives, or even there are people who simply don’t give much thought to God’s immense love. So what can we do to help people have this experience of God? The answer was given by Jesus in this weekend’s Gospel: “GO, THEREFORE, AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIIT, AND TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU.”
 
Last weekend we asked God to send us the Holy Spirit and we were commissioned to bear witness of him with our lives. We as part of the Church are called to participate in her mission of being the prophetic voice of God in the world. By how can we concretely do that as individuals, and, above all as a Parish? I invite you to come and attend our Pentecost Initiative meeting this Tuesday, June 1, at 7pm in the upper church. We will brainstorm ideas of where God wants to lead us, what kind of ministry we need in our parish to help us, and others, to grow in our faith, and people to be part of those ministries.
 
God bless,
Fr. Steven