What is true is that belief in the Trinity was the cornerstone of St. Patrick’s faith. And it should be the cornerstone of our faith because the Trinity is the very heart of our religion. In Matthew 28: 18-20, Jesus commissions the disciples saying: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” St. Patrick heard these words, took them to heart, and became one of the greatest missionaries of all time.
Jesus calls us to share in this mission too. The message we are to deliver is in today’s gospel from John 3:16: “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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” St. Patrick did not convert the Irish people with a shamrock; he converted them with the message of God’s astounding love.
The essence of God is Love. In the Trinity we find perfect love. The Father tells us about Jesus, "This is my Son, the Beloved" (Matthew 3:17). And the Son tells us, “anyone who has seen me has seen the Father ... Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (Jn 14:9). And this love between Father and Son is the Holy Spirit. In John 15:26 Jesus tells his disciples and he tells us that the Holy Spirit is our “Advocate” whom Jesus sent to us from the Father, “the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.” God is an eternal exchange of love. Three Persons bounded into a unity by love.
How can we make disciples of all nations? We can make disciples of people by demonstrating God’s love in all that we do. St. Francis of Assisi said “preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” Mothers and fathers demonstrate God’s love in the day-in, day-out love of raising a family. We demonstrate God’s love by being kind to people we encounter every day in the supermarket, at the gas station and when we are driving. We demonstrate God’s love through our volunteer work and in our jobs. By giving love, we participate in the Trinity. God invites us to be a part of the divine love and, we can. Because we are made in God’s image.
O God,
your name is veiled in mystery,
yet we dare to call you Father;
your Son was begotten before all ages,
yet is born among us in time;
your Holy Spirit fills the whole creation,
yet is poured forth now into our hearts.
Because you have made us and loved us
and called us by name,
draw us more deeply into your divine life,
that we may glorify you through your Son,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God forever and ever.
AMEN.
