I Love a Good Mystery
Coordinator of
Religious Education
~ Today we celebrate a core doctrine of our Catholic faith, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. I wish I had a dollar for every homily I have heard in my lifetime bemoaning that the Trinity is a mystery we can’t understand so why even try.
I don’t know about you but I love a good mystery. Whether it is Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Murder She Wrote, Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster, or UFO sitings, mysteries continue to capture our imaginations and attention.
So it is no wonder that the mystery of the Holy Trinity has been grappled with from the Council of Nicea to theologians from Augustine and Aquinas, to LaCugna and Downey. The Trinity remains a central mystery of our faith. And just like any good mystery, we are captivated, searching for answers and explanations that satisfy our curiosity and understanding. The mystery for us in our daily lives is not so much how or why this is possible, but how the doctrine of the Trinity applies to our lived Christian faith.
If God the Creator is the source of all love, Jesus is that love made flesh, and the Spirit is experienced in the ongoing presence and power of love in the world, the Trinity calls us to loving relationship with God and one another. Catherine Mowery LaCugna wrote, “The doctrine of the Trinity is ultimately a practical doctrine with radical consequences for Christian life.” This great mystery, which we continue to unravel and explore, may not be so much about persons and substance but about the mystery of God who works in us and through us and with us.
Mysteries draw us in. They cause us to think and rethink what we thought we knew. The great mystery of the Trinity takes us one step further and asks us how we also participate in the mystery of God and the work of salvation. I hope we don’t put aside what seems to be too much to understand. I hope we keep writing the story of this mystery of life, love, and faith together.
And so we pray:
Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
to God who is, who was, and who is to come.
Amen.
Throughout the year, we present an article in the bulletin each week on a variety of topics, written by a member of our Parish staff or ministries on a rotating basis.
