Prologue
Saint
Thomas Aquinas concluded [from the original Latin]: “Quod impossibile est per rationem naturalem ad cognitionem Trinitatis
divinarum Personarum pervenire” - “It is impossible by natural reason to
attain to the knowledge of the Divine Persons of the Trinity” (Summa Theologicæ). Interesting, though, is that Saint Thomas
Aquinas believed that the existence of God can be reasoned. Arguably the greatest theologian the Church
has ever had, Saint Thomas had a most peculiar but incredibly fair way of
presenting his arguments: He would state his case, answer all objections and
even produce opposing arguments no one ever thought of and respond to those as
well.
As
far as the Trinity being “three Persons” Saint Thomas said that this doesn’t
mean three separate individuals in the subject of God. In other words, the Trinity is not as
sometimes portrayed in artwork with the Father as the older, white-haired Man
with the patriarchal beard, while the Son is the younger, brown-haired Man, and
the Holy Spirit is the Dove. Saint
Thomas thinks of the Trinity as relationships within one God. These relationships within God depict His
knowledge of Himself and His Love. This
means that the Paternity of God is God.
God’s superior knowledge of Himself is the Filialness or Son of God and
the relationship of Love between God and His Self-knowledge is the Holy
Spirit. The Angelic Doctor explains it
this way: “Quicumque enim intelligit, ex
hoc ipso quod intelligit, procedit aliquid intra ipsum, quod est conceptio rei
intellectæ, ex vi intellectiva proveniens, et ex eius notitia procedens. Quam
quidem conceptionem vox significat; et dicitur verbum cordis significatum verbo
vocis” - “Whenever we understand, by the very fact of understanding, there
proceeds something within us, which is a conception of the object understood,
issuing from our intellectual power, and proceeding from our knowledge. This conception is signified by the spoken
word; and it is called the word of the heart signified by the word of the
voice” (ibid.).
Granted,
that explanation from the gifted mind of Saint Thomas Aquinas is not an easy
read but the truth is that no one possesses the intellectual capacity to fully
comprehend and thus define the Most Holy Trinity. The Trinity is a great, sacred mystery.
First Reading Commentary
Never
before the time of this Reading were the signs and wonders of Almighty God ever
witnessed by such a multitude of people beginning with their captivity in
Egypt. One can almost interiorly hear
how awestruck Moses is in this speech to the people as well as how adamant he
is when he says: “You must keep His statutes and commandments that I enjoin on
you today . . .”
“Did
a people ever hear the Voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you
did, and live?” It was generally thought that if anyone
witnessed any outward sign from God, such as an angel or hear God’s Voice in
the midst of fire, you would immediately die.
“The
Lord is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no
other.” This verse is saying that God
is everywhere, even in places we don’t know exist; and there is no person,
place or thing that is more powerful than Him.
“Long
life on the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you forever” in the
literal sense is the land that the Lord promised to Israel; but in the
prophetic sense it is referring to heaven; and “long life” is translated into eternal life.
On
this coming weekend’s celebration of the Most Holy Trinity we see Father, Son
and Holy Spirit prefigured in this Reading.
God is Father by the love and care He gives to His sons and daughters of
Israel. God is Son in the person of
Moses who was called upon to be God’s instrument and proclaim the wonders of
the Almighty. God is Spirit in the signs
and wonders that are witnessed by the people of Israel.
Second Reading Commentary
We
are sons and daughters of God by the
grace of adoption; and it is this grace which we have received from the Spirit
of God that enables us to call God “Father.”
As children of the Father, we are heirs with the Son; but as heirs with
the Son we must act in accordance with the way that the Son has taught us,
bearing our sufferings with patience and with the hope and trust that, like the
Son, we also shall be glorified.
Let
us not forget the words “Spirit of adoption,” and the love that these words
suggest. If we are adopted, then we are
chosen. We did not choose God but He
chose us. We were sought out by God
because He loves us; and how much does He love us? So much that He would sacrifice His only Son
to have us.
Gospel Commentary
“When
they all saw Him, they worshiped, but they doubted.” There are several possibilities to the
meaning of the word “doubted.” It’s
possible that it is referring to those other than the apostles who see Jesus on
this mountain in Galilee. It may also be a statement about the
disciples who first doubted, namely Thomas.
It may also be suggesting that the doubt is not in the Resurrection or
in the Divinity of Jesus, but is the Person who appeared to them really their
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
We
have those doubts: Does Jesus really hear my prayers? Is that really Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament? Are my sins really absolved
in Confession by Jesus through a priest?
The list goes on. There is doubt
in this Reading based on what is seen.
How much more can doubt creep into our faith because of what is unseen
or invisible? “I do believe Lord; help
my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).
“All
power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” This verse can be confusing
for if Jesus is God, how could the power He possesses be given to Him? Jesus is God and Man and in this verse He is
speaking as a Man. There is also a
lesson of humility to be learned here.
We must always remember that all we have or possess is given to us by
God. He trusts us with His goods.
At
this point Jesus has taught His disciples all they need to know for salvation
and He has given them the assignment to go and do the same, beginning with
baptism “in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” - the Most Holy Trinity.
“I
am with you always, until the end of the age.”
With all the struggles in this life, these are words of great comfort
and they are words that are very real to us, even in times of struggling with
our faith. The Holy Spirit is present everywhere in the world; but also, Jesus
in the Most Blessed Sacrament waits for us in the Tabernacles of the Catholic
Church throughout the world. Jesus is
always with us, but we need to stay familiar with what our faith teaches. In other words, we need to constantly grow in
the spiritual life; for if we make no attempt to grow spiritually, then the
burdens of this life will continually rest on our shoulders alone. Even with Jesus, as with a total stranger,
pure desperation excepted, we would not ask Him to help us with our crosses because
the relationship isn’t close enough.
That’s just human nature whether we’re dealing with another human being
or with the divine. In all close
relationships there is some level of trust, but without a daily conversation
with our Lord, there’s little faith, little trust, and really, without growing
in the spiritual life, we’re not even sure how to approach Him.
One of the aides of
Saint John Paul II walked into a washroom and found the Holy Father kneeling at
a sink in prayer. In the pope’s summer
residence someone on staff opened the door of a utility closet and found His
Holiness deeply immersed in prayer (Saint
John Paul the Great: His Five Loves).
For those, however, who see God as their most important relationship
would likely applaud that kind of determination and faith. Question is: Which of those opinions do we
adhere to?
