Practicing the Trinitarian Love!

Sunday, June 15, 2025

The Solemnity of the Holy Trinity!

Prov 8:22-31; Rom 5:1-5; Jn 16:12-15

The solemnity of the Holy Trinity invites us to practice Trinitarian Love. 

The readings of the day unpack the diverse dimensions of the Trinitarian love. 

The first reading from the Book of Proverbs shows wisdom speaking as a woman. In a way, the text pays tribute to wisdom by pointing to its origin from God. We understand the value of wisdom as it existed from the very beginning of beginnings. While God possessed wisdom prior to the creation, it is something that stems from His very character. As such, we find wisdom personified to emphasize God’s wisdom in creating the world. We draw two key insights from the text for the feast of the Holy Trinity. At first, while not explicitly Trinitarian, the passage has been interpreted as containing a veiled reference to Christ, the eternal Logos, through whom all things were made (Jn 1:3 & Col 1:15-17). Hence, here Wisdom refers to the second person of the Trinity. Secondly, the creative activity of God is Trinitarian. In that sense, the creative act of God is not some solitary but a relational act. If God’s (Father) creative activity refers to Christ (Word), the Holy Spirit is recognized as playing an important role in the creation narrative (Gen 1:2). Thus, we find the first reading referring to and celebrating the Trinitarian presence at the Creation. 

In the second reading, St. Paul makes some important claims on the Trinitarian presence and love through simple but theologically rich sentences. He refers to our peace with God through Jesus Christ. He wants us to remember that this access to God comes through our faith. And we have love poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. The nearness of God, the reconciliation through Jesus on the cross, and the indwelling love of the Holy Spirit together symbolize the love that we have received from the Trinitarian God. Thus, the Trinity is the reason that we understand the salvific love of God.

The Gospel text becomes an excellent example of the Trinitarian relationship. The Holy Spirit will not be a separate divine voice but one who speaks what He receives from the Father and the Son. As such, this passage emphasizes the divine unity and mutual indwelling that Jesus often highlights in John’s Gospel. The emphasis on the Trinitarian relationship becomes an example to the Christian community of love, unity, and understanding that should characterize the relationship among the disciples. 

While the readings throw light on the Trinitarian love and relationship, how do we understand the practical implications of such love for our lives? 

In this regard, the feast of the Holy Trinity invites us to ponder over some wonderful insights. 

1. God Is Wisdom: The Trinitarian wisdom that is found in the created order makes us shiver and surrender. This creational wisdom of God reveals itself in human ingenuity. In a way, human brilliance and creativity make it evident that humans were created Imago Dei. The giftedness that humans are privileged with points back to the Wisdom of God, the Creator. Hence, the greatness we marvel at owes its gratitude to God. 

2. God Is Love: The feast of the Trinity invites us to understand God’s self-communication to be social, relational, and therefore love. God gave Himself in creation. He left His imprints in us so that we now find ourselves in His image and likeness. Christ was sent by him in love and he proved his love for us on the cross. The Spirit of God guides us along, being the one who accompanies us in love, and for love. Thus, the Trinitarian sociality serves as a yardstick for us to understand that our Christian identity would be false if our lives were shattered by division and disunity. God, who revealed Himself as love, invites us to live the same. 

3. God Is Communion: The God who revealed Himself as a communion of three persons invites us to practice such oneness as a mark of Christian life. Hence, if we want to practice the Trinitarian communion, then the Christian community should make sure that each person is respected and loved for his/her uniqueness, inclusivity is the norm of our lives, and unity is the identity of the faith community. In other words, the Holy Trinity offers the blueprint for Christian life, showing us a pattern of life that we all need to embrace. 

Let us pray that we may celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity with its call to practice Trinitarian love. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar