20260531 The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

(Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9 / 2 Cor 13:11-13 / Jn 3:16-18): May You Make Us One in Your Love  “Receive the holy Spirit.” (Jn 20:22) These are the words of blessing from last Sunday’s Gospel for the Solemnity of Pentecost. As the Lord ascended into heaven, He deeply imprinted upon us the Holy Spirit, whom He personally promised to send. Just as it was pleaded in Exodus 34:9, “If I find favor with you, Lord, please, Lord, come along in our company,” this reassures us that we, in our earthly weakness, are never alone. It nurtures the hope that at any moment, and in any place, we will move forward under the protection and loving guidance of God, who dwells within us as the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the Lord promised in John 16:13, “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” As we walk upon this earth, I trust that the Holy Spirit will help us savor the things of God rather than worldly pleasures that offer only fleeting satisfaction. I trust He will grant us the discernment to seek what is pleasing to God amidst the confusion of conflicting worldly values. I pray that He will enlighten our intellect and soul to deeply comprehend the truth of the Lord—which our human intellect alone can never fully reach—and guide us to pursue it to the very end without ever giving up. I am certain that He will grant us fortitude so we do not lose courage in times of hardship and heavy burdens; a stirring of love to truly know and revere the living God with all our hearts; and the humility to be ever mindful and reverent, lest we stray from His invitation of merciful love. All these graces come together only when we realize the unchanging essence that “God is love!” Yet, how unworthy are we, who can barely grasp a fraction of the truth with our shallow knowledge, to fully comprehend the Trinity, perfected as One in love? This is why so many have used analogies and struggled to provide theological proofs. In those moments, we should first seek the grace of faith within God, recalling the anecdote of the young boy on the beach who taught Bishop Augustine a powerful lesson. He showed him how prideful and erroneous it was to try to comprehend the vast truth of God with a small human brain, just as a child could never empty the entire ocean into a small hole in the sand. As Saint Anselm reminded us, “We do not know in order to believe, but we believe in order to know.” Knowledge does not perfect faith; rather, when the soul is filled with true humility and faith, our understanding naturally expands and deepens. Nevertheless, I wish to approach and accept the unity formed by the Three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—solely through its most central and essential dimension. For as 1 John 4:16 beautifully states, “God is love.” First of all, love never stands still. Love is not a stagnant noun, but always possesses the living dynamics of a verb. The more abundant love is, the more it overflows, never stopping until its fragrance completely permeates everything. Love knows no walls. Love opens the doors of wounds that once kept us closed off from one another; it touches the deepest recesses of the soul, inviting us into joy and allowing us to beautifully influence one another. And love is gentle and tender, flowing and blending into one another without any burden or obstacle. It operates on the same principle as drops of water: where 1+1 becomes 1, and n+n still becomes 1. A rigid stubbornness that clings only to one’s own ways keeps us isolated and unable to become one. However, a love that willingly melts itself to embrace others naturally blends together, sharing the same fragrance and form without ever pushing the other away. While entirely flowing, dissolving, and fusing into oneness, love also possesses a freedom that gladly safeguards the uniqueness of the other. It does not center on one’s own desires or selfishness; rather, it is a beautiful poverty of spirit that empties itself so the other may shine just as they are, allowing joy to spread. This is precisely the relationship among the Three Persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is a mystery where the essential uniqueness of God the Creator, Jesus the Savior, and the Holy Spirit the Sanctifier is distinct, yet their unity of love is never divided or separated. They are distinct but undivided; hence, while existing in Three Persons, we confess Him as the ‘One and Only God.’ How wonderful would it be if our relationships, the communities we form, and the daily lives we cultivate could be beautifully colored by this Trinitarian love? If only we could break free from the selfish prejudices and stubbornness of thinking our own values are always right, and instead embrace one another with deep patience, love, and God-like mercy. This is why 2 Corinthians 13:11 illuminates our hearts, saying: “Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.” And as John 3:17 declares, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” What love accomplishes is indeed an eternal blessing and the path of salvation, incomparable to anything else in this world. Now, what truly matters is that we do not relegate the holy love of the Triune God to a distant theological theory or an unattainable ideal; it must become our very way of life. When animosity and conflict arise, or when cracks form in our relationships due to complaints and judgments, I hope we can pause and look at where our souls are stepping through the merciful eyes of God. I hope we can humbly reflect on what kind of love we are moving toward and how we are nurturing our own souls and lives. Only when we are first filled with gratitude and bathed in the abundant love, forgiveness, and mercy we have received from God—and can extend His loving hand to one another—will we truly be filled with the blessing of true love that makes us one. On this blessed Solemnity, I pray that the lives of everyone gathered here may become a holy journey that resembles God and achieves true oneness. Amen.