Trinity Sunday---Liturgical Cycle C

Lectionary Readings

Homily
I’m certain that all of us have seen the “smiley emblem”: that round yellow face with two dots for eyes, a big semi-circle smile, with the logo “Have a nice day.” It is of course a symbol of the shining sun, inviting us to the warmth of a new, happy day.

Actually, we could think of the sun as having three smiling faces that smile down on us:

• one lights our way, allowing us to go and come, to labor and work the fields without artificial light

• another warms our planet, keeping the frigid, subhuman space-cold at bay, allowing us to live; and

• the third face sends out energy, rays of power to enliven our earth.

The first two we humans use to the hilt, but the third we are only beginning to realize. We know that it is the energy of the sun that makes the plants grow and produce the food that energizes our bodies, but we haven’t yet fully been able to capture that energy to power our machines or warm our homes. But scientists are getting ever closer. With the energy of oil beginning to run out, it is becoming more and more feasible to turn to the energy offered freely by the sun.

It is a lot like that with God. He could be considered as having three faces:

• one we call Father (since that is what Jesus taught us) and this face smiles the act of creating and keeping all things in existence (you and me and every bit of the environment around us);

• another is the face of the Son, whose smile takes flesh and becomes one of us, demonstrating on our own level how we can survive and live in peace, goodness, happiness;

• and the third face that smiles from God is the Spirit which energizes us into being images of God Himself, putting God’s life in our frail selves.

And so we might think of God as we think of the sun, as a great, loving friend having three faces.

We humans use the first two to the hilt, but the third, like the energy of the sun, we have yet to realize in its fullness. But we are getting better at it. This age has been termed a second Pentecost and not without reason.

The Pentecostal movement, sometimes referred to as the Charismatic Renewal, began in the early Sixties and was largely emotional with too little bible foundation. But this is changing in the 1980’s and 90’s to a Scripture-based spirituality, and flowing out from that is an enormous potential for energy. Here in our own parish church, we have been steadily moving along these lines.

The Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday scripture study and RCIA prayer group are but one example.

Another is the deliberate way I have been preaching over these past eleven years – constantly pounding away at bringing the Catholic bible tradition into our daily lives.

Another is our prayer together, morning and evening.

As the bulletin remarks today, visitors really note the difference when they experience our Sunday liturgy. These are all first steps at capturing the energy of the Spirit, like the first steps in capturing solar energy.

It is this energy which will make disciples for Christ – giving a baptism of the Spirit in God’s Holy Name, thus to carry out God’s plan for humankind, knowing that the Lord God will be with us until the end of time.

Veni Sancte Spiritus,
Et emitte coelitus
Lucis tuæ radium.

Veni pater pauperum,
Veni, dator munerum,
Veni lumen cordium.

Consolator optime,
Dulcis hospes animae
Dulce refrigerium.

In labore requies,
In æstu temperies,
In fletu solatium.

O lux beatissima,
Reple cordis intima
Tuorum fidelium

Sine tuo numine,
Nihil est in homine
Nihil est innoxium.

Lava quod est sordidum,
Riga goud est aridum,
Sana quod est saucium.

Flecte quod est rigidum,
Fove quod est frigidum,
Rege guod est devium.

Da tuis fidelibus,
In te confidentibus;
Sacrum septenarium.

Da virtutis meritum,
Da salutis exitum,
Da perenne gaudium.
Amen. Alleluia.


--Fr. Pat

Excerpt from "A Catholic's Companion: Liturgical Cycle C" (c)2000 C. Patrick Creed
Published by Watchmaker Press. Maggie Hettinger, editor