Trinity Sunday, Cycle B

Our readings for The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity are here. 

These are the poems, my notes, and interpretations of Fr Dennis’ homily from the Masses of

• May 27, 2018 5PM
• May 31, 2015 10AM

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The poem Fr Dennis references this year is:

• Grace Before Meals by John Shea, from The God Who Fell From Heaven on May 27, 2018 5PM
• For My Son Reading Harry Potter by Michael Blumenthal on May 31, 2015 10AM

In 2018, we reflected on —

• The Mass observance feels like a celebration of worshipping God for coming close to us, for “pitching God’s tent with us,” even as it is a liturgical “Solemnity.”
• In the first reading from Deuteronomy of the Hebrew Scriptures, Moses proclaims the nature of God through this gift of land from One who helps the alien and the poor, forgives all debts, and thereby inspires and encourages all to do the same.
• In the Christian Scripture, we feast on the unity of spirit, of Spirit, and through Spirit.  In the Jewish tradition, Pentecost means the harvest fifty days after planting.  The crop is ripe for harvest and for offering the first fruits to God, something only the wealthy can offer: a lot of grains and animals.  The sacrifices were made on fires, then forgiveness.  The licking, leaping flames are resonant as the Christian Scripture “tongues of fire” of Pentecost.
• If we wade through the details of the readings and focus in on the mystery of the Trinity, we gain understanding.  If you know who you are — Beloved — you will act as you ought.  That’s also why we say “Our Father” rather than “My Father” or “Jesus’ Father.”  Through the second reading’s discussion of the Spirit of Adoption, we know we are.  But living in that Belovedness in our heart is the challenge for the moments of our days.
• The spirit of Belovedness / service / giving is our call — service ourselves and our community as people for others.
• John Shea’s poem (unavailable online) captures this beautifully:  Now by the favor of the festive God, there is no world but this table, no time but the moments between us.

In 2015, we reflected on —

• That the Solemnities of the Most Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi always go together and always right after Pentecost.
• This is interesting because they are very different from each other.
• The Holy Trinity is abstract and relational.  Maybe it is best explained by a chord of music (à la St Ignatius), yet It is not.  Even today, the Holy Trinity is still an obscure mystery … at the very center of our faith!
• The Holy Trinity is the mystery of family and relationship and of love — falling in love and/or those born to us.  While we can usually list reasons why we love someone, mostly we just end up shrugging our shoulders and declaring “I just do.”
• The Holy Trinity teaches us we can believe in someone even if we don’t understand them; in the mystery we can still be a people of great belief and service to others.
• The Holy Trinity teaches us living with a mystery.
• Today’s poem, For My Son Reading Harry Potter by Michael Blumenthal, is a touching reflection of the love a parent has for both the protection of their child from the world as it is and the knowing their child must know it and be in it to live life.

Our featured image is the Chi Rho (Christ, the first two Greek letters of His Holy Name) page from the Book of Kells (ca. 8th century) and housed in the Library of Trinity College Dublin. I found this very high quality from the now defunct site of http://bishandmrsbish.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Pic0014.jpg. So, thank you, Mr. Bish and Mrs. Bish. It also indicated a google site, but I didn’t find a formal citation.

In my search for an available Celtic Trinity Knot, I settled on the Chi Rho page. It is a mesmerizing example of Christ in our World, created out of a variety of designs, including many three-parted ones. I couldn’t find a “Trinity Knot” on the page — but I’d be down the Chi Rho rabbithole looking for days on end. 🙂 And certainly Spirit filled the one who illuminated the page!

Like an icon (not metaphorical, but the literal religious object), this image is sacred as part of an illustrated manuscript of the four Christian gospels, along with some tables and prefaces. It also has the quality of drawing you in deeper and deeper by engaging dynamic movement of the eye in, across, and through the image. The Irish animation studio, Cartoon Saloon, in a European partnership, produced THE SECRET OF KELLS (2009), an animated story telling of the creation of this treasured work of God and art. Some of the animated sequences bring to life the meditative and dynamic quality of the image. Hélio Sá offered a video clip on Youtube from the film’s end that animates the experience.