The readings for the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, invites us to reflect on our relationship with God and His transformative presence in our lives. In the readings from proverbs, we hear about the value of wisdom personified as present with God at the creation of the world. “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work”. This wisdom is not just an abstract concept; it is a relational one. The trinity is a community of love and Knowledge, inviting us into that very relationship. The Psalm echoes this sentiment, marveling at humanity’s place in creation. “What is humanity that you are mindful of?”. Despite our smallness in the grand scheme of the universe, we are deeply cherished by God. This is a reflection of the relational nature of the Trinity, where love overflows from one person to another, and now to us. God in His mystery, desires communion with us. In Romans St Paul reminds us of our justification through faith and the hope that does not disappoint. This hope is grounded in the mutual love of the Trinity. Through the Holy Spirit, poured into our hearts, we experience God’s love first hand. It is this love that strengthens us, comforts us, and empowers us to face life’s struggles.
In the Gospel in his parting conversation with his apostles after the last supper, Jesus promised that he would give them a wonderful “private tutor” the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, a title previously mentioned in John 14:17 and 15:26. Until the coming of Jesus, the Jews thought of God as a single person. Jesus came into the world not only to reveal the existence of three persons in God but also to let us know of the wonderful life, union, and love that goes on between Himself, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel, Jesus insisted time and again that he had come in to the world in his father’s name, (John 4: 34) And yet, he was not inferior to his father: all that the father has is also his (John 16:14); his father loves him and he loves his father in return by bestowing his love on us all, (John 17:23-26); he is one with his father (John 10: 30, 17: 21). Similarly, there is an intimate communication, an identity of purpose between Jesus and the Spirit, as also between the Spirit and the Father, the father would send the spirit to the apostles at Jesus’ request (John 14: 15-16). While the spirit would repeat to them what Jesus had taught would be complete in them the work Jesus had started.
Yet, we should not think of the Holy Spirit as inferior to Jesus or to the father; he communicates God’s life to us, and we call him in the Credo, “the lord and giver of Life”. All three Divine persons share in each and every work that God does, but looking from a human point of view at the work that they carry out within us, we can say that the father created us, the son redeemed us and the holy spirit makes us holy. It has also been said that the father is the power of God, the Son is God’s wisdom, and the Holy Spirit is God’s love. Obviously human terms fail us to express the wonderful life that goes on between the three Divine persons. But what interests us most is the fact that God has called us to share in that life. We started sharing in it at Baptism when, faithful to his promise, Jesus communicated to us the Holy Spirit, just as he sent him to the apostles on Pentecost Day.
While in this world, we share in God’s life only partially; the work of the Spirit within us is to render us fit to share that life in full on reaching heaven. In other words, during our life on earth, the Holy Spirit patiently goes on teaching us the way we should love God and our own brothers and sisters. We should learn to love “the way God loves” that is never counting the cost. In this way the spirit goes on training us to gradually become the loving children that we ought to be within God’s family, rather than the uncouth, ill-mannered people, prone to quarreling children that we often are.