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Contemplating today's Gospel

Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (C)
View 1st Reading and Psalm
1st Reading (Prov 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: 8
R/. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you set in place, —What is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him?

You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet.

All sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
2nd Reading (Rom 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.
Versicle before the Gospel (Cf. Rev 1,8): Alleluia. Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to God who is, who was, and who is to come. Alleluia.
Gospel text (Jn 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.”

“When he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth”

Cardinal Jorge MEJÍA Archivist and Librarian of Holy Roman Church (Città del Vaticano, Vatican)

Today, we celebrate the solemnity of the mystery at the center of our faith, from where everything originates and to where everything returns: The mystery of the unity of God, and at the same time, his subsistence in three equal and yet, different Persons. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, unity in communion and communion in unity. In this great day, we must realize that this great mystery is ever present in our lives: from the very Sacrament of our Baptism —which we have received in the name of the Holy Trinity— to our participation in the mystery of the Eucharist, which is made for the glory of the Father, by his Son Jesus Christ, thanks to the Holy Spirit. And it is also the sign by which we Christians recognize one another: the sign of the Cross, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

The mission of the Son, Jesus Christ, consists in the revelation of his Father, of whom He is the perfect image, and in the gift of the Spirit, which has also been revealed by the Son. Today, the proclaimed evangelic reading shows us: the Son receives everything from the Father in perfect unity: “Everything that the Father has is mine”; and the Spirit receives all that the Spirit is from the Father and the Son: “for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you” (Jn 16:15). And in another part of this same chapter: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me” (Jn 15:26).

From all that, let us learn the great and comforting truth: the Holy Trinity, far from being distant and aloof, comes to us, dwells within us, and transforms us in its interlocutors. And by this, through the Spirit, we are guided into the whole truth (cf. Jn 16:13). The incomparable “Christian dignity”, about which St. Leo the Great at times speaks, is this: to keep God's mystery within us and, thus, to celebrate here on Earth our own Heavenly “citizenship” (cf. Phil 3:20) –our abiding in the Holy Trinity's bosom.

Thoughts on Today's Gospel

  • “Oh! Abyss, oh! Eternal Godhead, oh! Sea Profound! what more could You give me than Yourself.” (Saint Catherine of Siena)

    • “The liturgy invites us to praise God not merely for the wonders that he has worked, but for who he is; for the beauty and goodness of his being.” (Benedict XVI)

  • “(...) The Holy Spirit is sent to the apostles and to the Church both by the Father in the name of the Son, and by the Son in person, once he had returned to the Father (cf. Jn 14:26). The sending of the person of the Spirit after Jesus' glorification reveals in its fullness the mystery of the Holy Trinity.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nº 244)

December 28th
Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

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December 27th
Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist

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December 26th
Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr

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