FIRST READING Proverbs 8:22-31 Thus says the wisdom of God: "The LORD possessed me, the beginning of his ways, the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago; from of old I was poured forth, at the first, before the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no fountains or springs of water; before the mountains were settled into place, before the hills, I was brought forth; while as yet the earth and fields were not made, nor the first clods of the world. "When the Lord established the heavens I was there, when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep; when he made firm the skies above, when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth; when he set for the sea its limit, so that the waters should not transgress his command; then was I beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of his earth; and I found delight in the human race."
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Domine, Dominus noster, quam admirabile est nomen tuum in universa terra!
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth! When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place-- What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them? R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth! Yet you have made them little less than a god, crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them rule over the works of your hands, put all things at their feet: R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth! All sheep and oxen, even the beasts of the field, The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and whatever swims the paths of the seas. R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
SECOND READING Romans 5:1-5 Brothers and sisters: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
ALLELUIA Cf. Rev. 1:8 Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, Deo qui est, et qui erat, et qui venturus est. Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to God who is, who was, and who is to come.
GOSPEL John 16:12-15 Jesus said to his disciples: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."
ANGELUS, 12 June 2022 Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno and blessed Sunday!
Today is the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, and in the Gospel of the celebration Jesus presents to us the other two divine Persons, the Father and the Holy Spirit. He says of the Spirit: “He will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come”. And then, regarding the Father, he says: “All that the Father has is mine” (Jn 16:14-15). We notice that the Holy Spirit speaks, but not of himself: he announces Jesus and reveals the Father. And we also notice that the Father, who possesses everything because he is the origin of all things, gives to the Son everything he possesses: he keeps nothing for himself and he gives himself fully to the Son. That is, the Holy Spirit speaks not of himself; he speaks about Jesus, he speaks about others. And the Father does not give himself, he gives the Son. It is open generosity, one open to the other.
And now let us look at ourselves, at what we talk about and what we possess. When we speak, we always want others to say something good about us, and often, we only speak about ourselves and what we do. How often! “I have done this and that…”, “I had this problem…”. We always speak like this. How different this is from the Holy Spirit, who speaks by announcing others, and the Father the Son! And how jealous we are of what we possess. How hard it is for us to share what we possess with others, even with those who lack the basic necessities! It is easy to talk about it, but difficult to practice.
This is why celebrating the Most Holy Trinity is not so much a theological exercise, but a revolution in our way of life. God, in whom each Person lives for the other in a continual relationship, in continual rapport, not for himself, provokes us to live with others and for others. Open. Today we can ask ourselves if our life reflects the God we believe in: do I, who profess faith in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, truly believe that I need others in order to live, that I need to give myself to others, that I need to serve others? Do I affirm this in words or do I affirm it with my life?
The Triune God, dear brothers and sisters, must be manifested in this way — with deeds rather than words. God, who is the author of life, is transmitted not so much through books as through witness of life. He who, as the evangelist John writes, “is love” (1 Jn 4:16), reveals himself through love. Let us think about the good, generous, gentle people we have met; recalling their way of thinking and acting, we can have a small reflection of God-Love. And what does it mean to love? Not only to wish them well and to be good to them, but first and foremost, at the root, to welcome, to be open to others, to make room for others, to give space to others. This is what it means to love, at the root.
To understand this better, let us think of the names of the divine Persons, which we pronounce every time we make the sign of the cross: each name contains the presence of the other. The Father, for example, would not be such without the Son; likewise, the Son cannot be considered alone, but always as the Son of the Father. And the Holy Spirit, in turn, is the Spirit of the Father and the Son. In short, the Trinity teaches us that one can never be without the other. We are not islands; we are in the world to live in God’s image: open, in need of others and in need of helping others. And so, let us ask ourselves this last question: in everyday life, am I too a reflection of the Trinity? The sign of the cross I make every day — the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit — is that sign of the cross we make every day a gesture for its own sake, or does it inspire my way of speaking, of encountering, of responding, of judging, of forgiving?
May Our Lady, daughter of the Father, mother of the Son and spouse of the Spirit, help us to welcome and bear witness in life to the mystery of God-Love.
...---->And now I would like to address the people and authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. Dear friends, with great regret, due to problems with my leg, I have had to postpone my visit to your countries, planned for the first days of July. I truly feel great regret for having had to postpone this trip, which means so much to me. I apologize for this. Let us pray together that, with the help of God and medical treatment, I will be able to be with you as soon as possible. Let us be hopeful!
Today is the World Day against Child Labour. Let us all work to eliminate this scourge, so that no child is deprived of his or her fundamental rights and forced or coerced to work. The exploitation of children for work is a dramatic reality that affects us all!
The thought of the people of Ukraine, afflicted by war, remains vivid in my heart. May the passage of time not temper our pain and concern for that suffering population. Please, let us not grow accustomed to this tragic reality! Let us always keep it in our hearts. Let us pray and strive for peace.
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY BENEDICT XVI ANGELUS Saint Peter's Square Sunday, 30 May 2010 After the Easter Season that ended last Sunday with Pentecost, the Liturgy has returned to "Ordinary Time". This does not mean, however, that Christians must be less any committed: indeed, having entered divine life through the sacraments, we are called daily to be open to the action of divine Grace, to progress in love of God and of neighbour. This Sunday of the Most Holy Trinity, in a certain sense sums up God's revelation which was brought about through the Paschal Mysteries: Christ's death and Resurrection, his Ascension to the right hand of the Father and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The human mind and language are inadequate to explain the relationship that exists between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; yet the Fathers of the Church sought to illustrate the mystery of the Triune God by living it with deep faith in their own lives. The divine Trinity takes up his abode in us on the day of our Baptism: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". Every time we sign ourselves with the sign of the Cross we remember God's name in which we were baptized. With regard to the sign of the Cross a theologian, Romano Guardini, remarked: "We do it before praying so that... we may put ourselves spiritually in order; focus thoughts, heart and will on God; after praying, so that what God has given us may remain within us.... It embraces the whole being, body and soul... and everything is consecrated in the name of the Triune God" (Lo spirito della liturgia). The sign of the Cross and the name of the living God therefore contain the proclamation that generates faith and inspires prayer. And just as in the Gospel Jesus promises the Apostles that: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (Jn 16: 13), so it happens in the Sunday Liturgy, from week to week, when priests dispense the bread of the Word and of the Eucharist. The Holy Curé d'Ars also reminded his faithful of this. "Who welcomed your soul", he asked, "at the beginning of your life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest, always the priest". Let us make our own the prayer of St Hilary of Poitiers: "Keep uncontaminated this upright faith that is in me and, until my last breath, grant me likewise this voice of my conscience, that I may be ever faithful to what I professed in my regeneration when I was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (De Trinitate, XII). Invoking the Blessed Virgin Mary, the first creature to be fully inhabited by the Blessed Trinity, let us ask her protection and help to make good progress on our earthly pilgrimage.
APOSTOLIC PILGRIMAGE OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II TO BERN HOMILY Solemnity of the Holy Trinity Sunday, 6 June 2004 1. "Blessed be God the Father and his Only-Begotten Son and the Holy Spirit: for he has shown that he loves us" On this first Sunday after Pentecost, the Church invites us to celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity. We do so, dear brothers and sisters, in a superb setting of snowy peaks and green valleys covered with an abundance of flowers and fruits and numerous lakes and springs that make your Land beautiful. Our meditation is guided by the first reading which brings us to contemplate divine Wisdom: "When [God] established the heavens... when he made firm the skies above..., when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit... when he marked out the foundations of the earth..." (Prov 8: 27-29).
Yet, we should not only turn our gaze toward creation, "the work of God's hands; it should be especially attentive to the people around us. I greet you with affection, dear brothers and sisters of this marvellous region in the heart of Europe. I would like to shake hands with each one of you to greet you personally and say to you: "The Lord is with you and he loves you!"... Dear young friends, may you know that the Pope loves you, that he accompanies you in his daily prayers, that he is counting on your collaboration to proclaim the Gospel and encourages you to advance confidently on the path of Christian life. 2. "We joyfully proclaim our faith... You have revealed your glory", we will say in the Preface. Our Eucharistic Assembly is a witness and proclamation of the glory of the Most High and of his active presence in history. Sustained by the Spirit, whom the Father sent to us through the Son, "we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope" (Rom 5: 3-4). I ask the Lord to be a witness of hope among you, a witness of that hope that "does not disappoint" because it is founded on God's love, "poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rom 5: 5). Today, the world is especially in need of this: a supplement of hope! 3. "You are one Lord, one God" . The three Persons, equal and separate, are one God. Their real distinction does not divide the unity of their divine nature. Christ proposed this immensely deep communion to us, his disciples, as a model: "that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (Jn 17: 21). The celebration of the mystery of the Blessed Trinity is a strong appeal for the commitment to unity. It is an appeal that involves everyone, Pastors and faithful alike, and impels all to a renewed consciousness of their personal responsibility in the Church, the Bride of Christ. How is it possible, in the face of these words of Christ, not to feel the goad of ecumenism? I reaffirm also on this occasion the desire to advance on the path to full communion with all believers, albeit difficult, yet full of joy. It is certain, however, that a strong contribution to the ecumenical cause derives from the commitment of Catholics to living inner unity. In the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, I stressed the need "to make the Church the home and the school of communion " (n. 43), keeping the eyes of the heart fixed "on the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the face of the brothers and sisters around us" . In this way we foster that "spirituality of communion" which, departing from the places where people and Christians are formed, reaches the parishes, associations and movements. A local Church in which the spirituality of communion flourishes will be able to purify herself constantly from the "toxins" of selfishness that give rise to jealousy, diffidence, manias for self-affirmation and harmful contrasts.
----> 4. May calling to mind these risks inspire in us a spontaneous prayer to the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised to send to us: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (Jn 16: 13). What is the truth? One day Jesus said: "I am the way, and the truth and the life" (Jn 14: 6). Thus, the correct formulation of the question is not "what is the truth?", but "who is the truth?". It is this question too that men and women of the third millennium are asking themselves. Dear brothers and sisters, we cannot be silent with the answer because we know it! The truth is Jesus Christ, who came into the world to reveal to us and give to us the Father's love. We are called to witness to this truth with words and especially with life! 5. Dear friends, the Church is mission! Today she also needs "prophets" who can reawaken in the communities faith in the revealing Word of God, who is rich in mercy (cf. Eph 2: 4). The time has come for preparing young generations of apostles who are not afraid to proclaim the Gospel. It is essential for every baptized person to pass from a faith of habit to a mature faith that is expressed in clear, convinced and courageous personal choices. Only such a faith, celebrated and shared in the liturgy and in fraternal charity, can nourish and fortify the community of the Lord's disciples and build it up into a missionary Church, free from false fears because she is certain of the Father's love. 6. "The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit" (Rom 5: 5). It is not our merit; it is a free gift. Despite the burden of our sins, God has loved us and has redeemed us in the Blood of Christ. His grace has healed us in our inner depths. Therefore, we can exclaim with the Psalmist: "How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!". How great it is in me, in others, in every human being! This is the true source of the greatness of man, this is the root of his indestructible dignity. The image of God is mirrored in every human being. This is the deepest truth about man that can never be ignored or violated. In short, every violation by man turns out to be a violation against his Creator, who loves him with the love of a Father.
FAUSTI - The going away of Jesus creates a vortex that also overwhelms us behind Him. The time between His departure and His return is the history of our life in the Spirit, history that is both church history and world history. The Spirit is like the light that dispels the darkness, shows to the world its deception and reveals to the disciples what they have not yet understood. The Spirit will make us understand the "unspoken" of what Jesus said to us, will make His presence actual in history, speaking here and now of what He said at that time. The whole of history is the fulfillment of the revelation of the Son, in the light of love that increases knowledge and knowledge that grows in love. The Word, the principle of all things, has a specific weight superior to any reality. Only after the cross, where we see and welcome His love, do we understand what Jesus said and we are able to bear the weight of His Words. If the Gospel narrates Jesus to us, the Spirit of love is like the light that makes us perceive and live Him. It is true that the flesh of Jesus showed us His glory. But this is never totally understood, it will always be more and more understandable, infinitely, because it is infinite. It is a dynamic truth, a journey of understanding and endless love. When the " to say " of Jesus has ceased, the " to speak " of the Spirit in us will continue, That will make His Words present to us. The Word that became flesh revealed everything to us. The Spirit repeats the Word to us and announces it again, giving us light and to interpret and live it in our concrete situation. The Spirit of Truth will make us understand the mystery of the Son in history: This is the Spirit of prophecy, who makes us read what happens in the light of "He who comes". What happened to Him happens and will happen to every disciple, in every place and time. Our prophecy is an actualizing remembrance of Jesus: it shows us what He does, now as then. Jesus revealed the Glory that the Son from always had, before the foundation of the world. Here it speaks of the future glorification of the Son in his brothers and sisters, through the Spirit who will make them live like Him. In fact, Jesus says: "I have given them the glory that You have given me", so that "the Love with which You loved me may be in them and so that I may be in them". The Paraclete will glorify the Son in us by taking what is His, His communion with the Father, communicating it to us. The Son is One with the Father (10:30): He has the same life and the same Glory, the same Love and the same will of saving the world. The Spirit transmits all this to us, introducing us into the mystery of the Trinity, Love between Father and Son, that is poured out on every creature.This is essentially His work, which glorifies the Son in His brothers and sisters, until God be Everything in everyone. In this way we enter more and more into His ineffable relationship of Son with the Father, and we ourselves becoming children. Then our flesh, like His, will be exegesis of the invisible God. This is the glorification of the Son that the Spirit of Truth will conduct ahead in history, because of the fact that "Jesus is now going away" to the Father. His absence from us becomes His presence in us and, through us, in the whole world. Jesus' journey is like the rising of the sun that will achieve its full splendour, the rising of the spring that will fecundate the earth, the beginning of the Kingdom that will embrace everyone. Our existence as disciples therefore has an eschatological, definitive value: it is already now eternal life, because we live as children and as brothers... In fact, the Church testifies to the world that her authentic truth is the love from which she comes and towards which she goes. Our life in the Spirit is an affective union, but also an effective union, with Jesus: With and like Him we carry ahead the process of salvation for all. In this way we realize our return to the Father, which takes place day after day in the sign of love for our brothers and sisters.
GLORY to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ! Wonderful to the possibility of accompanying a Priest who raises to the Father in the Holy Mass, with His Son the Praise in the Spirit !
FIRST READING
RispondiEliminaProverbs 8:22-31
Thus says the wisdom of God:
"The LORD possessed me, the beginning of his ways,
the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago;
from of old I was poured forth,
at the first, before the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no fountains or springs of water;
before the mountains were settled into place,
before the hills, I was brought forth;
while as yet the earth and fields were not made,
nor the first clods of the world.
"When the Lord established the heavens I was there,
when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;
when he made firm the skies above,
when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth;
when he set for the sea its limit,
so that the waters should not transgress his command;
then was I beside him as his craftsman,
and I was his delight day by day,
playing before him all the while,
playing on the surface of his earth;
and I found delight in the human race."
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Domine, Dominus noster, quam admirabile est nomen tuum in universa terra!
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and stars that you set in place--
What are humans that you are mindful of them,
mere mortals that you care for them?
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
Yet you have made them little less than a god,
crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them rule over the works of your hands,
put all things at their feet:
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
All sheep and oxen,
even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
SECOND READING Romans 5:1-5
Brothers and sisters:
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
to this grace in which we stand,
and we boast in hope of the glory of God.
Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions,
knowing that affliction produces endurance,
and endurance, proven character,
and proven character, hope,
and hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
ALLELUIA Cf. Rev. 1:8
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, Deo qui est, et qui erat, et qui venturus est.
Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
to God who is, who was, and who is to come.
GOSPEL John 16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you."
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaANGELUS, 12 June 2022
Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno and blessed Sunday!
Today is the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, and in the Gospel of the celebration Jesus presents to us the other two divine Persons, the Father and the Holy Spirit. He says of the Spirit: “He will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come”. And then, regarding the Father, he says: “All that the Father has is mine” (Jn 16:14-15). We notice that the Holy Spirit speaks, but not of himself: he announces Jesus and reveals the Father. And we also notice that the Father, who possesses everything because he is the origin of all things, gives to the Son everything he possesses: he keeps nothing for himself and he gives himself fully to the Son. That is, the Holy Spirit speaks not of himself; he speaks about Jesus, he speaks about others. And the Father does not give himself, he gives the Son. It is open generosity, one open to the other.
And now let us look at ourselves, at what we talk about and what we possess. When we speak, we always want others to say something good about us, and often, we only speak about ourselves and what we do. How often! “I have done this and that…”, “I had this problem…”. We always speak like this. How different this is from the Holy Spirit, who speaks by announcing others, and the Father the Son! And how jealous we are of what we possess. How hard it is for us to share what we possess with others, even with those who lack the basic necessities! It is easy to talk about it, but difficult to practice.
This is why celebrating the Most Holy Trinity is not so much a theological exercise, but a revolution in our way of life. God, in whom each Person lives for the other in a continual relationship, in continual rapport, not for himself, provokes us to live with others and for others. Open. Today we can ask ourselves if our life reflects the God we believe in: do I, who profess faith in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, truly believe that I need others in order to live, that I need to give myself to others, that I need to serve others? Do I affirm this in words or do I affirm it with my life?
The Triune God, dear brothers and sisters, must be manifested in this way — with deeds rather than words. God, who is the author of life, is transmitted not so much through books as through witness of life. He who, as the evangelist John writes, “is love” (1 Jn 4:16), reveals himself through love. Let us think about the good, generous, gentle people we have met; recalling their way of thinking and acting, we can have a small reflection of God-Love. And what does it mean to love? Not only to wish them well and to be good to them, but first and foremost, at the root, to welcome, to be open to others, to make room for others, to give space to others. This is what it means to love, at the root.
To understand this better, let us think of the names of the divine Persons, which we pronounce every time we make the sign of the cross: each name contains the presence of the other. The Father, for example, would not be such without the Son; likewise, the Son cannot be considered alone, but always as the Son of the Father. And the Holy Spirit, in turn, is the Spirit of the Father and the Son. In short, the Trinity teaches us that one can never be without the other. We are not islands; we are in the world to live in God’s image: open, in need of others and in need of helping others. And so, let us ask ourselves this last question: in everyday life, am I too a reflection of the Trinity? The sign of the cross I make every day — the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit — is that sign of the cross we make every day a gesture for its own sake, or does it inspire my way of speaking, of encountering, of responding, of judging, of forgiving?
May Our Lady, daughter of the Father, mother of the Son and spouse of the Spirit, help us to welcome and bear witness in life to the mystery of God-Love.
...---->And now I would like to address the people and authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. Dear friends, with great regret, due to problems with my leg, I have had to postpone my visit to your countries, planned for the first days of July. I truly feel great regret for having had to postpone this trip, which means so much to me. I apologize for this. Let us pray together that, with the help of God and medical treatment, I will be able to be with you as soon as possible. Let us be hopeful!
EliminaToday is the World Day against Child Labour. Let us all work to eliminate this scourge, so that no child is deprived of his or her fundamental rights and forced or coerced to work. The exploitation of children for work is a dramatic reality that affects us all!
The thought of the people of Ukraine, afflicted by war, remains vivid in my heart. May the passage of time not temper our pain and concern for that suffering population. Please, let us not grow accustomed to this tragic reality! Let us always keep it in our hearts. Let us pray and strive for peace.
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
RispondiEliminaBENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 30 May 2010
After the Easter Season that ended last Sunday with Pentecost, the Liturgy has returned to "Ordinary Time". This does not mean, however, that Christians must be less any committed: indeed, having entered divine life through the sacraments, we are called daily to be open to the action of divine Grace, to progress in love of God and of neighbour.
This Sunday of the Most Holy Trinity, in a certain sense sums up God's revelation which was brought about through the Paschal Mysteries: Christ's death and Resurrection, his Ascension to the right hand of the Father and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The human mind and language are inadequate to explain the relationship that exists between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; yet the Fathers of the Church sought to illustrate the mystery of the Triune God by living it with deep faith in their own lives.
The divine Trinity takes up his abode in us on the day of our Baptism: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". Every time we sign ourselves with the sign of the Cross we remember God's name in which we were baptized. With regard to the sign of the Cross a theologian, Romano Guardini, remarked: "We do it before praying so that... we may put ourselves spiritually in order; focus thoughts, heart and will on God; after praying, so that what God has given us may remain within us.... It embraces the whole being, body and soul... and everything is consecrated in the name of the Triune God" (Lo spirito della liturgia).
The sign of the Cross and the name of the living God therefore contain the proclamation that generates faith and inspires prayer. And just as in the Gospel Jesus promises the Apostles that: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (Jn 16: 13), so it happens in the Sunday Liturgy, from week to week, when priests dispense the bread of the Word and of the Eucharist. The Holy Curé d'Ars also reminded his faithful of this. "Who welcomed your soul", he asked, "at the beginning of your life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest, always the priest".
Let us make our own the prayer of St Hilary of Poitiers: "Keep uncontaminated this upright faith that is in me and, until my last breath, grant me likewise this voice of my conscience, that I may be ever faithful to what I professed in my regeneration when I was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (De Trinitate, XII). Invoking the Blessed Virgin Mary, the first creature to be fully inhabited by the Blessed Trinity, let us ask her protection and help to make good progress on our earthly pilgrimage.
APOSTOLIC PILGRIMAGE OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II TO BERN
RispondiEliminaHOMILY Solemnity of the Holy Trinity
Sunday, 6 June 2004
1. "Blessed be God the Father and his Only-Begotten Son and the Holy Spirit: for he has shown that he loves us"
On this first Sunday after Pentecost, the Church invites us to celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity. We do so, dear brothers and sisters, in a superb setting of snowy peaks and green valleys covered with an abundance of flowers and fruits and numerous lakes and springs that make your Land beautiful. Our meditation is guided by the first reading which brings us to contemplate divine Wisdom: "When [God] established the heavens... when he made firm the skies above..., when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit... when he marked out the foundations of the earth..." (Prov 8: 27-29).
Yet, we should not only turn our gaze toward creation, "the work of God's hands; it should be especially attentive to the people around us. I greet you with affection, dear brothers and sisters of this marvellous region in the heart of Europe. I would like to shake hands with each one of you to greet you personally and say to you: "The Lord is with you and he loves you!"...
Dear young friends, may you know that the Pope loves you, that he accompanies you in his daily prayers, that he is counting on your collaboration to proclaim the Gospel and encourages you to advance confidently on the path of Christian life.
2. "We joyfully proclaim our faith... You have revealed your glory", we will say in the Preface. Our Eucharistic Assembly is a witness and proclamation of the glory of the Most High and of his active presence in history. Sustained by the Spirit, whom the Father sent to us through the Son, "we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope" (Rom 5: 3-4).
I ask the Lord to be a witness of hope among you, a witness of that hope that "does not disappoint" because it is founded on God's love, "poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rom 5: 5). Today, the world is especially in need of this: a supplement of hope!
3. "You are one Lord, one God" . The three Persons, equal and separate, are one God. Their real distinction does not divide the unity of their divine nature.
Christ proposed this immensely deep communion to us, his disciples, as a model: "that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (Jn 17: 21). The celebration of the mystery of the Blessed Trinity is a strong appeal for the commitment to unity. It is an appeal that involves everyone, Pastors and faithful alike, and impels all to a renewed consciousness of their personal responsibility in the Church, the Bride of Christ. How is it possible, in the face of these words of Christ, not to feel the goad of ecumenism? I reaffirm also on this occasion the desire to advance on the path to full communion with all believers, albeit difficult, yet full of joy.
It is certain, however, that a strong contribution to the ecumenical cause derives from the commitment of Catholics to living inner unity. In the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, I stressed the need "to make the Church the home and the school of communion " (n. 43), keeping the eyes of the heart fixed "on the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the face of the brothers and sisters around us" . In this way we foster that "spirituality of communion" which, departing from the places where people and Christians are formed, reaches the parishes, associations and movements. A local Church in which the spirituality of communion flourishes will be able to purify herself constantly from the "toxins" of selfishness that give rise to jealousy, diffidence, manias for self-affirmation and harmful contrasts.
----> 4. May calling to mind these risks inspire in us a spontaneous prayer to the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised to send to us: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (Jn 16: 13).
EliminaWhat is the truth? One day Jesus said: "I am the way, and the truth and the life" (Jn 14: 6). Thus, the correct formulation of the question is not "what is the truth?", but "who is the truth?".
It is this question too that men and women of the third millennium are asking themselves. Dear brothers and sisters, we cannot be silent with the answer because we know it! The truth is Jesus Christ, who came into the world to reveal to us and give to us the Father's love. We are called to witness to this truth with words and especially with life!
5. Dear friends, the Church is mission! Today she also needs "prophets" who can reawaken in the communities faith in the revealing Word of God, who is rich in mercy (cf. Eph 2: 4). The time has come for preparing young generations of apostles who are not afraid to proclaim the Gospel. It is essential for every baptized person to pass from a faith of habit to a mature faith that is expressed in clear, convinced and courageous personal choices.
Only such a faith, celebrated and shared in the liturgy and in fraternal charity, can nourish and fortify the community of the Lord's disciples and build it up into a missionary Church, free from false fears because she is certain of the Father's love.
6. "The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit" (Rom 5: 5). It is not our merit; it is a free gift. Despite the burden of our sins, God has loved us and has redeemed us in the Blood of Christ. His grace has healed us in our inner depths.
Therefore, we can exclaim with the Psalmist: "How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!". How great it is in me, in others, in every human being!
This is the true source of the greatness of man, this is the root of his indestructible dignity. The image of God is mirrored in every human being. This is the deepest truth about man that can never be ignored or violated. In short, every violation by man turns out to be a violation against his Creator, who loves him with the love of a Father.
FAUSTI - The going away of Jesus creates a vortex that also overwhelms us behind Him.
RispondiEliminaThe time between His departure and His return is the history of our life in the Spirit, history that is both church history and world history.
The Spirit is like the light that dispels the darkness, shows to the world its deception and reveals to the disciples what they have not yet understood.
The Spirit will make us understand the "unspoken" of what Jesus said to us, will make His presence actual in history, speaking here and now of what He said at that time. The whole of history is the fulfillment of the revelation of the Son, in the light of love that increases knowledge and knowledge that grows in love.
The Word, the principle of all things, has a specific weight superior to any reality.
Only after the cross, where we see and welcome His love, do we understand what Jesus said and we are able to bear the weight of His Words.
If the Gospel narrates Jesus to us, the Spirit of love is like the light that makes us perceive and live Him.
It is true that the flesh of Jesus showed us His glory. But this is never totally understood, it will always be more and more understandable, infinitely, because it is infinite.
It is a dynamic truth, a journey of understanding and endless love.
When the " to say " of Jesus has ceased, the " to speak " of the Spirit in us will continue, That will make His Words present to us.
The Word that became flesh revealed everything to us.
The Spirit repeats the Word to us and announces it again, giving us light and to interpret and live it in our concrete situation.
The Spirit of Truth will make us understand the mystery of the Son in history: This is the Spirit of prophecy, who makes us read what happens in the light of "He who comes".
What happened to Him happens and will happen to every disciple, in every place and time.
Our prophecy is an actualizing remembrance of Jesus: it shows us what He does, now as then.
Jesus revealed the Glory that the Son from always had, before the foundation of the world.
Here it speaks of the future glorification of the Son in his brothers and sisters, through the Spirit who will make them live like Him.
In fact, Jesus says: "I have given them the glory that You have given me", so that "the Love with which You loved me may be in them and so that I may be in them".
The Paraclete will glorify the Son in us by taking what is His, His communion with the Father, communicating it to us.
The Son is One with the Father (10:30): He has the same life and the same Glory, the same Love and the same will of saving the world.
The Spirit transmits all this to us, introducing us into the mystery of the Trinity, Love between Father and Son, that is poured out on every creature.This is essentially His work, which glorifies the Son in His brothers and sisters, until God be Everything in everyone. In this way we enter more and more into His ineffable relationship of Son with the Father, and we ourselves becoming children.
Then our flesh, like His, will be exegesis of the invisible God.
This is the glorification of the Son that the Spirit of Truth will conduct ahead in history, because of the fact that "Jesus is now going away" to the Father.
His absence from us becomes His presence in us and, through us, in the whole world.
Jesus' journey is like the rising of the sun that will achieve its full splendour, the rising of the spring that will fecundate the earth, the beginning of the Kingdom that will embrace everyone.
Our existence as disciples therefore has an eschatological, definitive value: it is already now eternal life, because we live as children and as brothers...
In fact, the Church testifies to the world that her authentic truth is the love from which she comes and towards which she goes.
Our life in the Spirit is an affective union, but also an effective union, with Jesus:
With and like Him we carry ahead the process of salvation for all.
In this way we realize our return to the Father, which takes place day after day in the sign of love for our brothers and sisters.
GLORY to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ! Wonderful to the possibility of accompanying a Priest who raises to the Father in the Holy Mass, with His Son the Praise in the Spirit !
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