May 26th 2024.  Feast of the Holy Trinity

GOSPEL Matthew 28:16-20

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Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL Matthew 28:16-20

The eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

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SUMMARY

The Christian message is not about what we are OBLIGED to do. Rather it is a message about the amazing potentiality we have been given, the things we CAN do if we accept God’s invitation.

After the period of Easter we enter Ordinary Time via the door of the Feast of the Trinity. The first reading speaks of the joy of the people that comes from the fact that they have experienced the power of God and heard his voice. This is how it is with all of us. Christians are enabled to speak about the Lord not because of something they have understood, but because of what they have experienced. In one way or another, each one of us has heard a word that has entered our hearts, illuminated us and consoled us, prompted us to be reconciled and to walk in the way of discipleship. God is not a philosophical speculation, but an experience. In the great commission of Jesus in today’s Gospel, there are three commands (make disciples, baptize them, teach them). Two of these commands involve initiation, in other words, personal experience. The Greek word “baptize” means full immersion, to be immersed in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit. This is not an intellectual adherence to God, but a complete immersion in God, following him as our Master. The disciples were not called to found a religion, a system of ethical principles or rituals. Rather, their task was to establish a deep and intimate bond between the believer and God. Perhaps in the Church we have done catechism in an academic way, when what is really needed is that children experience life immersed in the love of God. This is what it is to know the Trinity: to live everything in the light of the merciful pardon of God the Father, the salvation of Jesus Christ his Son and the consolation of the Holy Spirit. The Feast of the Trinity is not the feast of abstract theology but the feast of experience! We must not perpetuate an image of Christianity based on obligation. It is not that we must love, it is the case, rather, than we can love. It is not that we must do good and holy acts, it is the case that we can do good and holy acts. The emphasis must always be on the grace-filled invitation. We can live the very life of God. Our understanding of the Trinity derives from the fact that it is something that touches on our existence in a complete way.

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