The Holy Trinity is communion of the Divine Persons: one with the Other, one for the Other, one in the Other.

I would like to start this reflection with the blessing we read in the Second Reading: “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the friendship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” It is the blessing we receive at the beginning of every Sunday eucharist. It is the loving embrace of the Holy Trinity.

Under the current circumstances, we are still not allowed to participate in the Eucharist with the community, however, in our domestic churches (families) we receive the same embrace and blessing in the heart of all the members of our families.

Every day, but especially today - the solemnity of the Holy Trinity - we make the sign of the cross together, with confidence, trust, sense of belonging, and reverence in the presence of the Lord: in the name of the Father, and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is our praise, our confession, our hope, our consolation, and our daily commitment. And this experience has to become a living liturgy in our families.

Last Sunday, with the celebration of the Solemnity of Pentecost (the gift of the Giver of Life, the Holy Spirit) we concluded the Paschal Time (the period between Easter Sunday and Pentecost). Now we go back to the Ordinary Time, suspended on the First Sunday of Lent. Ordinary Time is a time for growth and maturation, a time in which the life of Jesus our Lord is called to accompany and penetrate ever more deeply into our daily life. His merciful embrace can never be quarantined. The first reading expresses it beautifully in the experience of Moses: “the Lord stood with Moses…”; “The Lord passed before Moses…” The Lord stands with us, and passes before us, today also, through His mercy, His forgiveness, His consolation, His breath of life breathed on each of us in many ways, His care, and concern for our life, in the gift of His Son, Jesus. The two verbs indicate that God is not distant and closed within himself.

Interestingly enough, the first Sunday after the resumption of the Ordinary Time, the Church decided to celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity as the root of everything, the origin of what we are, the source of all our efforts and thirst for relationship, communion, unity, forgiveness, grace, and authenticity of heart.

For a disciple of Jesus, the celebration of the feast of the Holy Trinity means to recognize - in order to adore and praise - the author of the History of salvation: God one and triune, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity is communion of the Divine Persons: one with the other, one for the other, one in the other.

During the COVID-19, for the common good, we have been asked to keep social distance and stay at home, however, precisely because of these trial moments, we also rediscovered the importance, the beauty, and the challenging truth of our need of an interpersonal relationship, the need of our family and communitarian relationship with the Trinitarian family: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are all made in His image, after His likeness (Cf. Genesis 1:26); in every human being there is His breath of life (Cf. Genesis 7:15). Every family, every Christian community, even with all our limitations and mistakes, are called to become a reflection (like a mirror) of the communion of the Trinitarian family. (Bawat pamilya, bawat Kristiyanong komunidad, kahit na sa ating mga kakulangan at pagkakamali, ay tinatawag upang maging larawan ng ating pakikipagkaisa sa Pamilya ng Santatlo.)

To celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity as disciples of Jesus means to witness the origin and the meaning of our life: to be with each other, to be for others, and to be in others. The Trinitarian family is the amazing mystery from where we all come and to where we all constantly go. This mystery (that is a plan that belongs to the Other), renews our relationships, our mission to live out the communion with the Lord and among ourselves: “Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace…greet one another with a holy kiss” (2nd reading).

Like Nicodemus, seeking the Lord in his life and in the nighttime dialogue with Him, we open our heart and intelligence to this living relationship: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.” John 3:16 must be our Passepartout, our master key to enter the reality of our relationship with the Lord, to enter our personal story, and the life of our parents, children, relatives, neighbors, particularly the poor. Today, still unable to participate in the Sunday Eucharist with the community, John 3:16 is our praise, our confession of faith, the reason of our immense gratitude and confidence, the truest way to see our life with the eyes of God and the strength to offer ourselves to our brothers and sisters: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Rom. 12:1).

Before the mystery of the Holy Trinity we all feel small, but always embraced with tenderness, compassion, and humility.