Homily — Trinity Sunday, Year C (2004)

Fr. Timothy W. Castor

There is a story told about St. Augustine, who is perhaps the greatest Father and Doctor of the Church. One day he was walking along a beach contemplating the Most Holy Trinity and trying to understand this central mystery of our Faith. The more he meditated upon this mystery, the more difficult it became to fathom its depths. As he walked along, he came upon a young boy who was pouring water into a hole which he had dug in the sand. The holy bishop stopped to observe the boy as he would run to the sea, scoop up a shell full of water, run back to the hole and pour it in. Over and over again he repeated this process. Finally, Augustine asked the boy what he was doing, and the lad explained, "I’m trying to put the ocean into this hole." At once, St. Augustine realized that, in his attempts to understand the Trinity, he was trying to fit the infinite and incomprehensible God into the limited confines of the human mind.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the doctrine of the Trinity as "the central mystery of Christian faith and life... the mystery of God in himself... the source of all the other mysteries of the faith [and] the light that enlightens them." And yet, this is a mystery beyond our comprehension. To profess our faith in one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit does not violate human reason—but certainly it transcends reason.

As you know, our Mass lectionary follows a three-year cycle. The readings chosen for this particular feast in each of the three years seem to focus on one of the three persons of the Holy Trinity and his relation to the other persons. Thus, Year A focuses on the Father, Year B, on the Son, and Year C—this year—focuses on the Holy Spirit.

The first reading from the book of Proverbs are words spoken by Divine Wisdom. The Church has always interpreted this voice of wisdom in the Old Testament as being the voice of the Holy Spirit. As he speaks, we understand that he has always been present with the Father from before time began until now. The second reading, from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, identifies the Holy Spirit with the love of God. And certainly the Holy Spirit is the love which emanates from the Father and the Son. That same love fills the hearts of Christ’s faithful people—it is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which enables us to love God and our neighbor with the same love with which he loves us.

Today’s Gospel is an excerpt from Jesus’ teaching on the Holy Spirit which he promises to send upon the apostles after his ascension into heaven. He tells his apostles (and us) that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and will guide us into all truth. He will speak only what he hears from the Father and the Son because he is not a different God, he is one member of the Godhead—one God in three divine Persons—and so what he speaks is the message of God the Father. "He will glorify me," Jesus says, "because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you." From this we learn that the Holy Spirit is in perfect union with the Son, glorifying the Son by passing along to God’s people what belongs to the Son. But he is in perfect union with the Father as well: "Everything that the Father has is mine;" Jesus continues, "for this reason I told you that he [the Holy Spirit] will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

Before we leave this passage of the Gospel, let’s consider a little more closely the claims that it contains. There are three major claims concerning the Holy Spirit: 1) "he will guide you into all truth." 2) "he will glorify me." 3) "he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

First, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. What is "all truth"? There are so-called "Bible Christians" who believe that all truth is contained in Sacred Scripture. Is this a reasonable claim? Certainly, the Catholic Church regards the Holy Bible with great reverence and honor. It is the inspired written word of God, and it is all true. But to say that all the truth which God wants us to know can be condensed between two leather covers does not seem possible, and is not even consistent with teachings contained in the Bible itself. For example, St. John, at the conclusion of his Gospel, writes this: "There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written." St. Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians says "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter." The Catholic Church believes that general revelation closed with the death of the apostles. But that this revelation has come down to us in two forms: in the inspired writings of Scripture, and by oral tradition—by word of mouth. These two channels of revelation can never contradict one another. And the reason why there is not just one channel of revelation (namely, the Bible) is because the Holy Spirit is alive and active in the Church, and the Church herself is living organism—the body of Christ. When something is put into writing, it has the appearance of being firm and immovable. And yet this is only an illusion. A written document takes on a life of its own depending upon who interprets it and who teaches it. This is why it is necessary for the truth of the faith to be contained also in oral teachings which are preserved intact by the living operation of the Holy Spirit. While the Scriptures themselves provide a kind of touchstone by which to measure and understand oral tradition. In other words, what God has given us in written and oral revelation is a divine system of checks and balances. In this way, we can always be certain that the Holy Spirit is guiding his Church into all truth.

The second major claim in today’s Gospel is that the Holy Spirit will glorify Christ. On one level, this is simply a function of the perfect unity which exists between the Persons of the Holy Trinity. But it is also an excellent measure by which to determine whether any particular teaching is true or false. Sometimes people ask me, "What you think of this book or that teacher?" A good response to that question would be, "What does this book or that teacher think of Christ?" In other words, when you read a popular book or listen to well-known speaker, do their words bring glory and honor to Christ, or do they leave you with a sense of dis-ease—a sense that perhaps the truth and glory of Christ are not present? If Christ is not glorified, then the spirit behind that teaching is certainly not the Holy Spirit.

The third and final claim which Jesus makes concerning the Holy Spirit is that he will take from what belongs to Christ and give it to us. Jesus said at the beginning of today’s Gospel, "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now." Yet he wants to endow his Church with the fullness of truth and grace—the fullness that is found in his own sacred humanity which, when it is given to the Church, will elevate it and unite it to his divine nature. Therefore, he gives us his Holy Spirit, sent from the Father through the Son. And this Holy Spirit becomes the soul of the Church—he is the one who preserves the Church from error and he is the operative principle behind her Sacraments and all of the means of grace. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the priest transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, he who humbled himself to share in our humanity, enables us to share in his divinity.

In a word, just as the Holy Spirit is the binding force of the Most Blessed Trinity, so he is the binding force within the Church—uniting the people of God to the Father and the Son, and uniting them one to another. As we celebrate the Holy Trinity today, we give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has called us to share in his divine nature by the will of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.

© 2004, The Rev. Timothy W. Castor