Friar’s Corner: Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Exodus 34:4b-6,8-9; , Daniel 3:52-55; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; John 3:16-18
The mystery of the Holy Trinity is the first of the core teachings or revelations of our Christian faith. I shall postpone my expansion of the gifts of the Holy Spirit for a few weeks while our church reflects on these core revelations of our faith. Dogmas are the core principles that we must believe to be Catholic Christians. We find them in our revealed scriptures, what the church has taught from its earliest days (tradition) and most simply expressed in the core principles of the Apostles Creed. Flowing from the dogmas, we have doctrines which are ways of explaining the core values.
First and most important is that we believe in the designer and creator of all things in the entire universe including our earth and those humans who live on this tiny planet earth. God is not human as we are male and female. He is a person intimately loving us and wanting us to spend eternity with Him and those others who are already in heaven. Our God is a Trinity of three distinct persons: the Father, the Son and their Holy Spirit.
The Father in the Old Testament
The Jewish people believed in one supreme God, not many gods. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord…,” Deuteronomy 6:4. Basically, God the Father was working throughout the Old Testament. Because of Israel’s disobedience and to correct the first mistake in Genesis 3, the Father sent His Son, incarnate of the virgin Mary, in the person of Jesus Christ conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was here on earth clearly healing, teaching and forming men and women to continue His work of saving the human race, if we accept Him and His mission. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, He went back to heaven and He and His Father sent their Spirit of love to continue to direct, enlighten and guide us according to God’s truth, His plan for our lives.
Looking for purpose
Some of us are striving to find our ultimate meaning or purpose in life and human existence. Where did we come from? How did we get here? What are we supposed to do while we are here and what comes after our time here on earth? Some more educated Christians know that this ultimate meaning can be found only in the one, true God.
We have been created to find our fulfillment and peace only in knowing, loving and serving God. It is an unmistakable fact of experience that human beings will be restless and searching until they have surrendered their lives totally to God. We have been created with a God-shaped hole, or vacuum, in our hearts, which can only be filled by Him who created us. It simply won’t work to find true happiness and fulfillment in anything or anyone else. St. Augustine expressed it this way: “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You,” O God.
The Trinity within us
After Jesus went back to heaven at the Ascension, He and His Father sent their Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost to continue their work of guiding us to follow God’s plan so we can be in heaven for all eternity. This whole Trinity of Persons came to dwell within us, obviously with a tiny amount of their power, at our Baptism. They are the source of all of our goodness.
Let us seek God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, to fill us up with more of their love and power, like going to a gas station. Thus having more divine power, we can be in this world blessing others and bearing more fruit for God’s kingdom.
Have a good week filled with more the God’s love,
+ Father Bob Hilz
fbhilz@gmail.com
(© 2020 Father Bob Hilz, TOR)
