Trinity Sunday

When we hear the word "mystery," I think that many of us think of something like a crime - something out of Sherlock Holmes or Law & Order, where we try to understand all of the parts, every cause and effect, and explain it.

Then you have the mysteries of science: why do certain things act the way they do? What is it all made of? How can we explain why things are the way they are?

But what about the mystery of love between a husband and a wife?
Or the bond between a parent and a child?
Why does the ocean or a starry sky or a mountain capture our attention and draw us out of ourselves?

Those are mysteries that can't be explained away - you can't take them apart and understand why they exist. They are mysteries that aren't meant to be solved, but, rather, embraced.

The mysteries of love, of truth, goodness, and beauty, are meant to be explored - we dive deeper into them everyday and, yet, they're still beyond our understanding. That's the way it's meant to be.

The Trinity, what we celebrate today on Trinity Sunday, is one of those mysteries. It's something that's been gradually revealed to us, something great and holy men and women have prayed and written about ... but it's something we'll never fully comprehend. It's beyond us.

So you may think, "Well, Father, why do we even bother talking about it? Why celebrate this feast every year when we will never understand it?"

It's for the same reason that we say "I love you" to our loved ones over and over again; the same reason why we come back to our favorite songs or stare at a great painting - truth, goodness, and beauty deserve contemplation.

We celebrate this feast after Easter every year because it's something we need to dwell on, something we need to contemplate. We won't understand it all at once, but if we spend time with it, it's truth will gradually change us.

That truth, that God is three persons, is amazing. God is a relationship, God is the very act of love itself, and that is the fundamental reality of the universe.

When the Beatles sang, "All you need is love," they were absolutely right, whether they knew it or not. God is the love between the Father and the Son, poured out as the Holy Spirit - and that is the most basic fact of all existence.

This Sunday is also sometimes, jokingly, called by priests, "Heresy Sunday." That's because, when you're talking about something so mysterious and so far beyond our understanding, it's very easy to make a mistake.

So let's not dwell on theological definitions of the Trinity. Those are important, but what's most important is encountering the Triune God, coming to know Him and love Him.

We may not be able to define or explain the Trinity, but we can come to know God. The Father reveals Himself in the Word, the Son. The Son came to earth and revealed the Father to us. When Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit was sent to us so that we can know Him and the Father in the very depths of our hearts.

The Trinity is a mystery, not meant to be solved, but to be embraced, lived, and, ultimately, loved.