Many people today have a great interest in their family ancestry. They want to trace their lineage and know the places from which they came. They are curious to discover if any of their past relatives were famous or made some significant contribution to society or were known for special talents or skills.

 

Information about where we come from and from whom we come can help us to understand ourselves.

 

For example, if a person comes from a long line of musicians, it would not be surprising if that person has an interest in music.

 

If someone was born into a family where the past three generations had relatives who worked for the city fire department, it would not be unexpected to find that individual considering a career in firefighting.

 

This Sunday, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, we celebrate a feast that tells us about our “Divine Ancestor.” It tells us that the God who created us is a Trinity of Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In other words, the One God is a community of persons. God is a “Divine Relationship.”

 

That Divine Relationship is recalled each time a person is baptized “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” each time Catholics make the Sign of the Cross, and each time a priest calls down God’s blessing upon us.

 

Saint Paul reminds us of that relationship in our Second Reading (2 Corinthians 13:11-13) where he says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”

 

We were brought to life by that Divine Relationship that is God and invited to be part of it. That is why the Son of God came among us. As Jesus tells us in Sunday’s Gospel (John 3:16-18), “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” And what is eternal life, but an everlasting relationship with God.

 

That everlasting relationship begins in this life through the Church. In the Church, we come to know God the Father who claims us as his children, God the Son who redeems us and on the cross shows us the depth of God’s love, and God the Holy Spirit who opens our minds to truth and inspires us to live in communion with God and with one another.

 

Unfortunately, today many Christians have forgotten the One to whom they are related and have abandoned the faith that was passed on to them by their families.

 

This Sunday, the Church celebrates the Divine Relationship of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit that is part of our ancestry. If we truly appreciate our connection to the Trinity, we will better understand God, better understand ourselves as children of God, and better live our lives! 

 

© 2023 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski