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Year A: Trinity Sunday Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13 St Paul’s letters to the Corinthians close with the words that have become familiar as the words of the “Grace”. This is one of the first “Tinitarian” prayers - prayers speaking of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Celtic tradition took this on and there are many prayers of blessing which call upon the Trinity to bless - indeed to be a part of the daily life of the people. Their lives were precarious and they knew their total dependence on God - and for them, it was natural to keep God at the centre of it all. For many Catholic, the most familiar “Trinitarian” prayer is the Sign of the Cross. We may begin our day - or our prayer time by making this sign on our bodies, our right hand touching forehead - midriff - left shoulder - right shoulder - praying “in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We make a sign of the cross on our own bodies to remind ourselves that we are called to take up our cross each day and folow Jesus. We are also reminding ourselves of the love the Tinity bears for us. This is the love of the Father and Creator who called us into being. This is the love of the Son who suffered the agony of death so that humanity might live. This is the love of the Spirit which flows from the lives of the Father and the Son - the Spirit who lives within us and guides us in the way of all truth. We cannot do anything to deserve such love - only receive it with gratitude. We can pray the Sign of the Cross - and the Grace - aware that we are loved - and protected by the Trinity we invoke. We can then live our lives in the image of that God of love and peace as St Paul suggests - in unity and and mutual care: in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ - the love of God - and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. What does it mean for me?
Text © 2007 Wellspring | Gospel | First Reading | Second Reading | | Weekly Wellsprings | |
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