Holy Trinity
One day St. Augustine was walking on a beach near the ocean, thinking about how he was going to explain the Trinity to his congregation. As he walked along, trying to understand it himself, he saw a little boy running back and forth between the water and a hole he had dug in the sand. He had a little pail and he was dumping water from the ocean into the hole.
Augustine watched him for a little while and finally asked him what he was doing.
The boy said to him, “I’m going to empty the ocean into this hole I dug.” Augustine laughed and said that that was impossible.
The boy stopped, looked at the future saint and said, “I’ve got a better chance of emptying the ocean into this hole than you have of understanding or explaining the Trinity.”
If you’ve read any of his work, you know that Augustine was a lot smarter than I am and in this case, the little boy on the beach was smarter than either one of us. If you understand that you can’t understand the trinity, then you understand the trinity.
One God: three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. How can that be?
How can Jesus take the form of bread and wine?
How could He change water into wine?
How could He raise others and then himself from the dead?
They’re called mysteries. We believe them because we have faith in God, .….…….all three of Him.
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Do you understand why airplanes fly? I’ve studied it and I know the principles involved, but have you ever looked at an airplane and wondered how it can travel through the air without falling? Commercial planes weigh thousands of pounds. They carry thousands of pounds of people and cargo. Yet they travel through the air, and the air holds them up. How can that be?
Even if we don’t understand it, we believe it. Thousands of planes take off and land every day and they virtually never fall out of the sky. They may run into one another or run into a mountain once in a while, but they don’t just fall out of the sky. When we get on a plane, we have faith.
We have faith in the airline. We have faith in Boeing or whoever made the plane. We have faith in the pilot. We have faith in the mechanics who maintain the plane, even though we don’t see them or know who they are. Nowadays, we have faith in the TSA employees who screen the passengers and the baggage before they get on the plane. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t leave the ground.
If it’s possible for us to put that much faith into human beings who we don’t know, and often don’t see, why is it so hard for some people to have faith in God? We have faith in the plane because we see planes flying all the time. But, don’t we see God’s work all the time too? As Catholics, he’s present to us all the time, especially in the sacraments, especially in the person of the Holy Spirit.
Two weeks ago, Archbishop Burke ordained four men to be priests for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. He laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. The Spirit empowers them, as He empowers all priests, to turn ordinary bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. He also empowers them to forgive sins in the sacrament of reconciliation. Before Ordination, they couldn’t do either one. Now they can. That’s the working of the Holy Spirit.
One week ago, the Archbishop ordained eight men to the permanent diaconate. Again, he laid his hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. In the case of the new deacons, they still can’t turn bread and wine into anything other than what it is, and they can’t forgive sins. Deacons receive the Spirit to enable them to perform special services for the people of God. If you’ve got an hour or two, I’ll tell you some stories of things that have happened to me in the last four years the I can’t explain except that it was the Spirit working through me. Priests are ministers of the Eucharist. Deacons are ministers of service. The Holy Spirit works in and through each of them in a different way.
Of course, last Sunday was Pentecost when Jesus promised to send the Spirit to the Apostles. Remember He told them that He had much more to tell them but that they couldn’t bear it now. Their human minds just couldn’t handle it. Like Jack Nicholson said, “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth! But the Spirit would guide them to all truth. That was the beginning of our Church. Considering the mess we humans have tried to make of things for the last 200 centuries, there’s no doubt that the Holy Spirit is watching over the Church or it wouldn’t have survived.
This morning Father Gary will administer the Sacrament of the Sick to members of our parish. He’ll anoint each person with the oil of the sick. On Holy Thursday, when the Archbishop blessed the Holy Oils for each parish, he asked God to “send the power of your Holy Spirit, the Consoler, into this precious oil….” As Father anoints each person, he’ll say, “Through this holy anointing, may the Lord in His love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit will then work within each person who’s anointed. Notice that the prayer isn’t to make the person well. The prayer asks for help. And, through the Holy Spirit, each person will be helped. Some of us will get better. Some of us will receive additional grace to deal with our illnesses. Some will experience a peaceful death. But ALL will be helped.
This morning after 10:30 mass, we’ll see the Spirit work in another way. We’ll be baptizing three infants. One happens to be my granddaughter. If you’re interested, I have pictures. Next week, I’ll have more. The other two babies are her cousins. All three will be welcomed into the Church as they begin their faith journeys.
As I prepare the water for Baptism, I’ll praise “God, the Holy Spirit for you anointed Christ in His baptism at the waters of the Jordan, so that we might all be baptized in you.”
The Holy Spirit anointed Christ in His baptism, and He anointed each of us in our baptisms. In one day here at St. Bernadette, we’ll invoke the Holy Spirit for those who are just starting their earthly lives and for those of us who are closer to the end than to the beginning. The Spirit works in us all the time. Sometimes we let him in, sometimes we don’t. If it looks like the Spirit isn’t working in our lives, don’t blame Him. He’s always there. Sometimes, we just won’t cooperate.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus called on the Apostles to go 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.”
The Apostles followed Jesus’ instructions, and we still follow them today.
In the second reading, Paul wrote to the Romans that “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” He says that we’re children of God and since we’re children of God, the Father, then we must be brothers of Christ, the Son. How? Through the working of the Holy Spirit.
We were created by God the Father. He made the world and everything in it. When we made a mess of things, He sent His Son to live as one of us, to suffer and to die for our sins. Rather than leave us to fend for ourselves until He comes back, Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the Advocate who works in us in strange and wonderful ways.
Of course, the most wonderful way of all is through the Eucharist. In just a few minutes, with the blessing of God the Father, with the help of the Holy Spirit, Father Gary will turn bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Son, Jesus Christ. And, by receiving Him in the Eucharist, each of us will be energized to go out into the secular world. Like He said, “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” That’s why we believe that we should receive Christ in the Eucharist as often as we can.
One God, three persons. IT IS impossible to explain, but then how do you explain God’s love? You can’t. It’s Infinite. It’s boundless. We have as much chance of fitting it Into our tiny human minds as that little boy had of pouring the ocean, one bucket at a time, into that hole on the beach.
Augustine watched him for a little while and finally asked him what he was doing.
The boy said to him, “I’m going to empty the ocean into this hole I dug.” Augustine laughed and said that that was impossible.
The boy stopped, looked at the future saint and said, “I’ve got a better chance of emptying the ocean into this hole than you have of understanding or explaining the Trinity.”
If you’ve read any of his work, you know that Augustine was a lot smarter than I am and in this case, the little boy on the beach was smarter than either one of us. If you understand that you can’t understand the trinity, then you understand the trinity.
One God: three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. How can that be?
How can Jesus take the form of bread and wine?
How could He change water into wine?
How could He raise others and then himself from the dead?
They’re called mysteries. We believe them because we have faith in God, .….…….all three of Him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you understand why airplanes fly? I’ve studied it and I know the principles involved, but have you ever looked at an airplane and wondered how it can travel through the air without falling? Commercial planes weigh thousands of pounds. They carry thousands of pounds of people and cargo. Yet they travel through the air, and the air holds them up. How can that be?
Even if we don’t understand it, we believe it. Thousands of planes take off and land every day and they virtually never fall out of the sky. They may run into one another or run into a mountain once in a while, but they don’t just fall out of the sky. When we get on a plane, we have faith.
We have faith in the airline. We have faith in Boeing or whoever made the plane. We have faith in the pilot. We have faith in the mechanics who maintain the plane, even though we don’t see them or know who they are. Nowadays, we have faith in the TSA employees who screen the passengers and the baggage before they get on the plane. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t leave the ground.
If it’s possible for us to put that much faith into human beings who we don’t know, and often don’t see, why is it so hard for some people to have faith in God? We have faith in the plane because we see planes flying all the time. But, don’t we see God’s work all the time too? As Catholics, he’s present to us all the time, especially in the sacraments, especially in the person of the Holy Spirit.
Two weeks ago, Archbishop Burke ordained four men to be priests for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. He laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. The Spirit empowers them, as He empowers all priests, to turn ordinary bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. He also empowers them to forgive sins in the sacrament of reconciliation. Before Ordination, they couldn’t do either one. Now they can. That’s the working of the Holy Spirit.
One week ago, the Archbishop ordained eight men to the permanent diaconate. Again, he laid his hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. In the case of the new deacons, they still can’t turn bread and wine into anything other than what it is, and they can’t forgive sins. Deacons receive the Spirit to enable them to perform special services for the people of God. If you’ve got an hour or two, I’ll tell you some stories of things that have happened to me in the last four years the I can’t explain except that it was the Spirit working through me. Priests are ministers of the Eucharist. Deacons are ministers of service. The Holy Spirit works in and through each of them in a different way.
Of course, last Sunday was Pentecost when Jesus promised to send the Spirit to the Apostles. Remember He told them that He had much more to tell them but that they couldn’t bear it now. Their human minds just couldn’t handle it. Like Jack Nicholson said, “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth! But the Spirit would guide them to all truth. That was the beginning of our Church. Considering the mess we humans have tried to make of things for the last 200 centuries, there’s no doubt that the Holy Spirit is watching over the Church or it wouldn’t have survived.
This morning Father Gary will administer the Sacrament of the Sick to members of our parish. He’ll anoint each person with the oil of the sick. On Holy Thursday, when the Archbishop blessed the Holy Oils for each parish, he asked God to “send the power of your Holy Spirit, the Consoler, into this precious oil….” As Father anoints each person, he’ll say, “Through this holy anointing, may the Lord in His love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit will then work within each person who’s anointed. Notice that the prayer isn’t to make the person well. The prayer asks for help. And, through the Holy Spirit, each person will be helped. Some of us will get better. Some of us will receive additional grace to deal with our illnesses. Some will experience a peaceful death. But ALL will be helped.
This morning after 10:30 mass, we’ll see the Spirit work in another way. We’ll be baptizing three infants. One happens to be my granddaughter. If you’re interested, I have pictures. Next week, I’ll have more. The other two babies are her cousins. All three will be welcomed into the Church as they begin their faith journeys.
As I prepare the water for Baptism, I’ll praise “God, the Holy Spirit for you anointed Christ in His baptism at the waters of the Jordan, so that we might all be baptized in you.”
The Holy Spirit anointed Christ in His baptism, and He anointed each of us in our baptisms. In one day here at St. Bernadette, we’ll invoke the Holy Spirit for those who are just starting their earthly lives and for those of us who are closer to the end than to the beginning. The Spirit works in us all the time. Sometimes we let him in, sometimes we don’t. If it looks like the Spirit isn’t working in our lives, don’t blame Him. He’s always there. Sometimes, we just won’t cooperate.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus called on the Apostles to go 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.”
The Apostles followed Jesus’ instructions, and we still follow them today.
In the second reading, Paul wrote to the Romans that “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” He says that we’re children of God and since we’re children of God, the Father, then we must be brothers of Christ, the Son. How? Through the working of the Holy Spirit.
We were created by God the Father. He made the world and everything in it. When we made a mess of things, He sent His Son to live as one of us, to suffer and to die for our sins. Rather than leave us to fend for ourselves until He comes back, Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the Advocate who works in us in strange and wonderful ways.
Of course, the most wonderful way of all is through the Eucharist. In just a few minutes, with the blessing of God the Father, with the help of the Holy Spirit, Father Gary will turn bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Son, Jesus Christ. And, by receiving Him in the Eucharist, each of us will be energized to go out into the secular world. Like He said, “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” That’s why we believe that we should receive Christ in the Eucharist as often as we can.
One God, three persons. IT IS impossible to explain, but then how do you explain God’s love? You can’t. It’s Infinite. It’s boundless. We have as much chance of fitting it Into our tiny human minds as that little boy had of pouring the ocean, one bucket at a time, into that hole on the beach.
posted by Mike at 8:41 PM
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