The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity celebrates a doctrine of the Church—the Triune God, one God in three divine persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. First we should define the word “doctrine” in terms of Catholic usage, which sometime is confused with the term “dogma.” Doctrine is any truth taught by the Church as necessary for acceptance by the faithful. The truth may be either formally revealed (as the Real Presence), or a theological conclusion (as the canonization of a saint), or part of the natural law (as the taking of innocent life). In any case, what makes it doctrine is that the Church authority teaches that it is to be believed. This teaching may be done either solemnly in ex ca-thedra pronouncements or ordinarily in the perennial exercise of the Church's Magisterium or teaching authority. Dogmas are those doctrines which the Church proposes for belief as formally revealed by God. (Etym. Latin doctrina, teaching).
Getting back to today’s solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity…in the 4th century Arius, a priest of Alexandria, denied the divinity of Christ, and as a consequence, faith in the Trinity and the equality of the three divine Persons. This heresy, called Arianism, was condemned by the Church’s Councils of Nicea, in 325 A.D. and Constantinople, in 381 A.D. The heresy Arianism caused the creation of the Nicean Creed which we recite every Sunday following the homily. The Catholic belief in the Trinity is paramount to our foundational faith. Notice during the celebration of the Sacred Eucharist how many times we state our Trinitarian belief: in the sign of the Cross, the Doxology at the end of the presidential (priest’s) prayers, in the Gloria and in the Profession of Faith (Creed), and in the Eucharistic prayer which concludes in the Great Doxology, and then one more time in the Solemn or final blessing at the end of the celebration of Mass. We are firm and unbroken in our belief in One God coming to us in three divine Persons.
In today’s first reading, the Book of Proverbs, which among other things is a collection of wise sayings and tells us about the wisdom of God—is begotten before all ages and considered His “master craftsman” in the creation of all things. This eternal wisdom delights in the creation (us) that He would be called to redeem at the end of the ages. In the second reading Saint Paul wants us to understand that there are two things which we Christians can boast about: faith and suffering. In faith we can boast that the gift of righteousness we have received comes directly from God. In suffering, we can continue to place our hope in the gift of salvation which is given to us in the power of the Holy Spirit. In today’s Gospel of Saint John Christ tells His apostles that the promised Holy Spirit will declare to all what comes from Christ—which is Christ’s by the gift of the Father. Here we have another Trinitarian ideal—the Holy Spirit will declare to all that which Christ proclaimed and was is given to Christ by God the Father. You and I are invited to participate in this divine relationship. We are given the Truth by Christ and the Father—all has been revealed already by God—and the Holy Spirit will continue to make His Wisdom known in the world…in His Church which is built of living stones—all of us who believe in the power of the relationship between and within the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Church has for thousands of years proclaimed this doctrine of a Trinitarian God and we should be eager to under-stand that this is not a new or modern belief; it is not something that came to us in a flash. In fact, the Old Testament also alludes to the Trinitarian nature of God. In the story of Abraham and Sarah about hospitality to strangers by the oaks of Mamre near Hebron, three unnamed visitor appear in front of their tent and are provided with food and water, after which they promise the elderly couple that Sarah would soon bear a son. Throughout this biblical account the visitors are referred to as three, as one, as the Lord; the three acted in perfect unity and spoke with one voice. The early Christian community recognized this as Three within the One, the Trinity…and Saints Augustine and Ambrose interpreted the three men as manifestations of the Trinity.
Great Works. We have lots of great things going on in this parish by so many wonderful people. This past Sunday, at the 5 p.m. Mass of Appreciation (and at a reception afterward), hundreds of volunteers who build-up the Kingdom of God each and every day through acts of charity and corporal works of mercy came together at Mass for two main reasons: first, to give praise to God for the outpouring of love of our parishioners who have decided to say “yes” to God’s invitation to help others; and sec-ond, to recognize each other as cooperators in God’s plan of salvation.
What this weekend’s event represents is the ultimate in the definition of “Stewardship.” Now don’t be so quick to think that “stewardship” is about raising money. It is not that simple. “Stewardship” is really about saving souls. And saving souls is exactly what all the volunteers in our parish—and all parishes—are doing. No matter what the act of volunteerism is—being a lector or distributing Holy Communion, feeding the hungry or helping little children celebrate Christmas, making shawls for the sick or homebound or refurbishing a home—doing so in God’s name illustrates to others the Love of God and the desire of God to have all of His creation love Him in return and ultimately being in union with Him for ever. That is saving souls!
The Benefits of Eagle Scouts. We are truly blessed in this parish to have so many Eagle Scouts in our presence—and so many more young men seeking to become Eagle Scouts. And their desire to attain this impressive level of excellence in their lives has a number of benefits for our parish. First, their becoming an Eagle Scout builds a personal level of character that will only add to our caring community and build-up our reserves of people who act righteously in doing good deeds. Second, many of them have selected required community projects that either directly benefit our parish or our local community. This year alone, James DePasquale, son of Dr. and Mrs. Philip (Patty) DePasquale, has done an outstanding job in repairing ten of the exterior wooden doors in the atrium and Russell Hall. The original doors, which are actually interior doors but were used for exterior use, have been badly destroyed by the weather and elements. Faced with a large bill to repair them or even replace them, James has sanded, repaired, stained and applied polyurethane to make them look better-than-new. Take a look and see how great they are. He is a master craftsman for sure, and I thank him for all his hard work.Kevin McCann, son of Betsy Garrison, took on developing, creating and installing directional and informational signs along the bike path that makes its way through the Town of Simsbury. A great deal or planning, fundraising, organizing and implementing went into this community project—which Kevin connected to our parishioners through a fundraising project that incorporated collection recyclable cans and bottles—highlighting his marketing, planning, and communicating skills. [Editors note: Kevin just sent a thank you note to the parish for their participation and generosity making this project a reality].
Hats off and congratulations to these two young men as they move toward completion of Eagle Scout requirements!
