The Mystery of the Holy Trinity

Trinity Sunday
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

If you ever listen to jazz music, you may be familiar with an artist named Mary Lou Williams. She was a pianist from New York: African-American, a nightclub performer and recording artist of the 1950s and ’60s. Williams was famous for her brilliant and soulful boogie-woogie and swing, and for smashing the gender and color barriers in the music business. She was also a convert to the Catholic faith.

When Williams was in her mid-40s, she began to feel a special calling from God in her life. She attended the Abyssinian Baptist Church for a while, but it didn’t feed her hunger. So her good friend, fellow jazz-musician Dizzy Gillespie, pointed her to the Catholic Church. She started to worship at Our Lady of Lourdes on 142nd Street in Harlem, and she fell in love with this parish community. It became her lasting spiritual home.

It was there at Our Lady of Lourdes that she met a very special Jesuit priest, Father Anthony Woods, S.J. During 1956 and 1957, Father Woods gave her instructions and showed Mary Lou how to draw together her musical life and her spiritual life. He often explained things in musical terms.

For example, Father Woods gave a wonderful explanation of the Holy Trinity, whose feast day we celebrate today. He taught this way:

“How does a piano produce musical sounds? There are three things involved: first, the mind with its musical sense tells us what to do. Second, the fingers strike the keys. And third, the wire strings inside the piano make the sound.

“The mind doesn’t make the sound, and the fingers don’t make the sound, but these both work together with the strings which do make the sound. All three work together, although the special work of the wire strings is to generate the sound. The Holy Trinity works something like that.”

Once of the first prayers that we learn as Catholics is the very simple Sign of the Cross. We touch the fingertips of our right hand to our forehead, chest, left shoulder and right shoulder as we pray: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” This holy gesture reminds us that there are three Persons in one God—and that the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ, died on a cross for all of us.

Going a step further, the illustration of the piano helps to begin to understand how the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity work together. What one Person of the Trinity does, they all do together. Each has a special work.

We often say that the First Person of the Trinity—God the Father—is the “Creator.” But it’s equally true that the Son and the Holy Spirit also took part in the creation of all things. You can hear the plural form in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis when God says (v. 26): “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.”

In the same way, you often hear it said that the Second Person of the Trinity—God the Son—is called the “Redeemer.” Yet it’s also true that the Father and the Spirit were united with him. Because they are God, the Father and the Holy Spirit are everywhere, especially in the God-Man Jesus, even though they didn’t take on human flesh the way he did.

And finally, the Third Person of the Trinity—God the Holy Spirit—is often known as the “Sanctifier,” since it’s his work to make human beings holy. Of course, the Father and the Son also take part in this enterprise. There is a loving, working relationship among all three Persons of the Trinity.

Jesus once preached: “I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me” (Jn 8:16). The Scriptures also proclaim that the Holy Spirit is with him, too. Luke’s gospel tells us: “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan” (Lk 4:1) after his baptism.

In our second reading today, Paul speaks for the first time the words that we frequently hear at the beginning of mass: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Cor. 13:14). What a perfect prayer to celebrate the Most Holy Trinity!

In just a little while, we will stand and together profess our faith. We’ll say: “We believe in the Father… maker of heaven and earth. We believe in Jesus Christ… who suffered… died… rose… will come to judge. We believe in the Holy Spirit… the giver of life.”

It goes without saying that the Blessed Trinity is a profound mystery. We’ll never completely understand it. But even so, we do believe and trust in the Holy Three. We should turn to them with love, during this mass and always. We should keep in mind that they’re looking over all of us in their divine Providence… that they love us more than any of us can imagine… and that they want to give us joy and peace. All they ask in return is that we put ourselves in their loving hands.

In the ancient words of the Creed of St. Athanasius: Glory be to you, equal Trinity, one Godhead, both before all time, now and for ever.

And in the words we all know so well: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.