2 Jun 2012

3rd June 2012 - Trinity Sunday

On this weeks programme we are joined by Fr Michael Liston to discuss and reflect on the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, our regular reflection on the Sunday gospel, some local notices, saints of the week and other liturgical odds and ends.

This weeks programme podcast is available here.

Trinity Sunday

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Rublev's Icon of the Trinity

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord

Trinity Sunday, officially "The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity," is one of the few feasts of the Christian Year that celebrates a reality and doctrine rather than an event or person. On Trinity Sunday we remember and honor the eternal God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Trinity Sunday is celebrated the Sunday after Pentecost, and lasts only one day, which is symbolic of the unity of the Trinity. The Eastern Churches have no tradition of Trinity Sunday, arguing that they celebrate the Trinity every Sunday. Westerners do as well, although they set aside a special feast day for the purpose.

The feast day of the Blessed Trinity is a summary of all the feast days we have had since Christmas up to and including Lent, Easter and the Pentecost. In some ways it is all summarised in the feast day of the Blessed Trinity. Fr Micháel takes us through a wonderful reflection on the meaning of our relationship with the Trinity and how we are welcomed into the love of the Trinity which is open to each one of us. Each of us are called into their family; not forced but invited in with an extraordinary freedom to say no but also to be able to say yes joyfully.

Fr Michael's reflection is extracted from the rest of the programme and is available here.

Other information on Trinity Sunday available HERE. AN explanation of the Rublev Icon is available HERE.

  
Gospel - Matthew 28: 16-20 

This week we return to the synoptic gospels after a couple of weeks of John throughout Eastertide. We are presented with Matthews account of the last appearance of Jesus to the disciples after the Resurrection which takes place in Galilee. The disciples have (finally) listened to the message of the women from Easter Sunday and gone back to where it all began. Circles within circles. They have returned to the beginning and Jesus sends them out again, telling them to baptise all nations in the name of the Trinity. He presents them with an extraordinary commission given to battered, weak human beings who had revealed all their weaknesses publicly to themselves and to each other. We are called to baptise the world, to plunge  the world into the intensity of the love of the Holy Trinity.

It is a gospel which can give us hope in the times where we can be conflicted about issues with faith and our church. In this weeks gospel, we see the hesitancy of the apostles - the very men who Jesus was choosing to be his witnesses throughout the world and yet some still hesitated! At the same time he tells us and them that they will not be alone, that we are not alone, that he will remain with us until the end of time.

The gospel also reminds us of the need to be learned in the ways of our faith. A disciple is a learner, we need to be learners ourselves, after all we cannot carry the message of Jesus to "all nations"if we are ignorant of the message. It is not sufficient to learn your basic faith story until you are eleven or twelve in school and then assume that that amount of knowledge will carry you through an adult life. We must allow our hearts to be stretched to be able to share in the love of God.



Other reflections on this weeks gospel:
Liturgical Odds and Ends

Psalter - Week 1, week 9 of Ordinary time

Saints of the Week

June 4th - per the Irish calendar - St Charles Lwanga and Companions (The Ugandan Martyrs).
June 5th - St Boniface
June 6th - St Jarleth of Tuam
June 7th - St Colman
June 8th - St William of York
June 9th - St Colmcille (Abbot, missionary, secondary patron of Ireland)

Novena to the Sacred Heart

Nightly at 8pm, 7th to 15th June 2012, Robertstown Church. Quiet time before the Blessed Sacrament each night 9.00pm - 10pm. The Novena will include Corpus Christi Procession (Saturday 9th June); Mass in Robertstown Cemetery (Sunday 10th June 10.30am); Blessing of the Sick (Tuesday 12th June 2012).
Speakers during the Novena:

Fr Fonsie Cullinan PP Rathkeale
Sr Clare Slattery Mercy sister, DBI team Limerick
Fr Terry Loughran PP Cappagh
Fr Denis Mullane PP Coolcappa/Kilcolman
Fr Noel Kirwin - Director Limerick Diocesan Pastoral Centre
Fr Frank O'Connor - Chaplain to Secondary Schools in the Diocese
Ms Noreen Lynch - Pastoral Co-ordinator, Limerick Diocesan Pastoral Centre
Fr John Guiney SJ.

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