sunday 07 June 2020
The Most Holy Trinity
Solemnity
St Colman of Dromore
White
Entrance Antiphon
Blest be God the Father, and the Only Begotten Son of God, and also the Holy Spirit, for he has shown us his merciful love.
Collect
God our Father, who by sending into the world the Word of truth and the Spirit of sanctification made known to the human race your wondrous mystery, grant us, we pray, that in professing the true faith, we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory and adore your Unity, powerful in majesty. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Exodus 34:4-6,8-9
With the two tablets of stone in his hands, Moses went up the mountain of Sinai in the early morning as the Lord had commanded him. And the Lord descended in the form of a cloud, and Moses stood with him there. He called on the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger rich in kindness and faithfulness.’ And Moses bowed down to the ground at once and worshipped. ‘If I have indeed won your favour, Lord,’ he said ‘let my Lord come with us, I beg. True, they are a headstrong people, but forgive us our faults and our sins, and adopt us as your heritage.’
Daniel 3:52-55
- You are blest, Lord God of our fathers.
R/ To you glory and praise for evermore.
- Blest your glorious holy name.
R/ To you glory and praise for evermore.
- You are blest in the temple of your glory.
R/ To you glory and praise for evermore.
- You are blest on the throne of your kingdom.
R/ To you glory and praise for evermore.
- You are blest who gaze into the depths.
R/ To you glory and praise for evermore.
- You are blest in the firmament of heaven.
R/ To you glory and praise for evermore.
Second reading: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Brothers, we wish you happiness; try to grow perfect; help one another. Be united; live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with the holy kiss. All the saints send you greetings. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Gospel Acclamation: Rv 1:8
Alleluia, alleluia! Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; the God who is, who was, and who is to come. Alleluia!
Gospel: John 3:16-18
Jesus said to Nicodemus: ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved. No one who believes in him will be condemned; but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already, because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Sanctify by the invocation of your name, we pray, O Lord our God, this oblation of our service, and by it make of us an eternal offering to you. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Gal 4: 6
Since you are children of God, God has sent into your hearts the Spirit of his Son, the Spirit who cries out: Abba, Father.
Prayer after Communion
May receiving this Sacrament, O Lord our God, bring us health of body and soul, as we confess your eternal holy Trinity and undivided Unity. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity portrays God’s communion with humanity through Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit. We believe as Christians that God intervenes in our lives and has been involved in a special way in human history. He was present through the Old Testament from creation right through the prophets, but in the fullness of time, he came to us through his Son, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. We read today that “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son…” This extravagant love was shown by his incarnation and saw its fulfilment in his passion, death and resurrection, which bought for us our salvation. In this same chapter, we will read about the encounter with Nicodemus who came to Jesus by night and wanted to know more about this great teacher and learned of salvation through repentance and the need to be reborn. This could be shocking for the Pharisees who knew about repentance but still held on to the conception that they belonged to God through birthright as descendants of Abraham. Even in the First reading, Moses recognizes this need for repentance which goes all the way back to the Book of Exodus as he says, “True, they are a headstrong people, but forgive us our faults and our sins, and adopt us as your heritage.” We are baptised in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit but then there is a need for continuous spiritual renewal in our lives.