Introit

 

Kyrie

 

Gloria

 

Collect

God our Father, who by sending into the world
the Word of truth and the Spirit of sanctification
made known to the human race your wondrous mystery,
grant us, we pray, that in professing the true faith,
we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory
and adore your Unity, powerful in majesty.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Reading Prv 8:22-31

Thus says the wisdom of God: 22 “The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago. 23 Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 “Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth— 26 when he had not yet made earth and fields, or the world’s first bits of soil. 27 “When he established the heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 29 when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, 31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race.”

Responsorial Psalm 8:4-5,6-7,8-9

 

R.  O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

Second Reading Rom 5:1-5

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Alleluia Cf. Rv. 1:8

 

Gospel Jn 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples: 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

Catena Nova

Can anyone comprehend the almighty Trinity? Everyone talks about it - but is it really the Trinity of which they talk? Rare indeed is the person who understands the subject of his discourse, when he speaks of that. People argue and wrangle over it, yet no one sees that vision unless he is at peace. I wish they would turn their attention to the triad they have within themselves. It is, to be sure, a triad far distant from the Trinity, but I propose it as a topic on which they may exercise their minds, by way of experiment and in order to make clear to themselves how great the difference is. The triad I mean is being, knowledge and will. I am, and I know, and I will. Knowingly and willingly I exist; I know that I am and that I will; I will to be and to know. Let anyone with the wit to see it observe how in these three there is one inseparable life: there is one life, one mind and one essence. How inseparable they are in their distinctness! Yet distinction there is. Everyone has himself readily available for inspection; let each, then, scrutinize himself, and see what he can find, and tell me. (St. Augustine of Hippo)

Trinity!! Higher than any being, any divinity, any goodness! Guide of Christians in the wisdom of heaven! Leads us up beyond unknowing and light, up to the farthest, highest peak of mystic scripture, where the mysteries of God's Word lie simple, absolute and unchangeable in the brilliant darkness of a hidden silence. Amid the deepest shadow they pour overwhelming light on what is most manifest. Amid the wholly unsensed and unseen they completely fill our sightless minds with treasures beyond all beauty. (Pseudo-Dionysius)

Now you say, "How shall I proceed to think of God as he is in himself?" To this I can only reply, "I do not know." With this question you bring me into the very darkness and cloud of unknowing that I want you to enter. A man may know completely and ponder thoroughly every created thing and its works, yes, and God’s works, too, but not God himself. Thought cannot comprehend God. And so, I prefer to abandon all I can know, choosing rather to love him whom I cannot know. Though we cannot know him we can love him. By love he may be touched and embraced, never by thought. Of course, we do well at times to ponder God’s majesty or kindness for the insight these meditations may bring. But in the real contemplative work you must set all this aside and cover it over with a cloud of forgetting. Then let your loving desire, gracious and devout, step bravely and joyfully beyond it and reach out to pierce the darkness above. (The Cloud of Unknowing)

The deep wisdom of the Trinity is our Mother, in whom we are enclosed. And the high goodness of the Trinity is our Lord, and in him we are enclosed and he in us. We are enclosed in the Father, and we are enclosed in the Son, and we are enclosed in the Holy Spirit. And the Father is enclosed in us, the Son is enclosed in us, and the Holy Spirit is enclosed in us, almighty, all wisdom and all goodness, one God, one Lord.  (Bl. Julian of Norwich) 

Our great God is ready to remove the scales from the eyes of the soul so that she can see and understand something of the blessing he is granting her. He does this in a strange and inexplicable way. The soul enters the innermost chamber through a transcendental vision of the three divine Persons, which imparts to her a particular representation of truth. At first, an incredible clarity descends on the soul like a luminous cloud, setting her spirit on fire and illuminating each of the three aspects of God individually. At the same time, through a wondrous kind of knowledge, she apprehends the truth that all three divine Persons are one substance and one power and one knowing and one God alone.  The soul realizes then that what the rest of us know by faith, you might say, she understands by sight. But this is not a seeing with the eyes of the body or even the eyes of the soul. It isn’t a visual revelation. Here, all three Persons communicate themselves to the soul. They speak to her, explaining things, like what Christ meant in the gospels when he said that he and the Father and the Holy Spirit come to dwell inside the soul who loves God and honors his ways. (St. Teresa of Avila)

Our faith proceeds from the Father, who is God as the first beginning and blessed ending. The creed doesn’t begin with a profession of faith in the One God, for this was taken for granted, but with a profession of faith in this one God as the Father of an Only Son, who is our Lord and bore the earthly name of Jesus and is also the Christ anointed of the Spirit, who is equally the God of my faith. The resurrection of the body will establish all this conclusively. We will rise again because through Christ the Holy Spirit has brought the divine life of the Spirit to earth. The Spirit has brought spiritual life to the community which, for that very reason, is called the Holy Church. The Church is to be the earthly reflection of what the Spirit is in God. The Church is our native country where we are safe. There our sanctification is accomplished through Christ until the glorious resurrection of our spiritualized being. The Church, then, is the mystic circle where the end joins the beginning. It leads us to our original source, the Father, who sent his Son to bring his children home. In the Church we see the image of the Spirit who unites Father and Son, and us, in mutual love. (Karl Rahner)

Knowing the Trinity is being involved in this circling movement: drawn by the Son towards the Father, drawn into the Father’s breathing out of the Spirit so that the Sons’ life may be again made real in the world. It is where contemplation and action become inseparable. (Rowan Williams)

Homily

But this picture of science was always an illusion.  It had some plausibility when science was at an earlier stage of development and was dealing with phenomena that lie closer to everyday experience.  In the last century, however, science (especially physics) has penetrated far beyond the world of everyday experience and consequently far beyond the reach of human imagination.  As it has done so, it has encountered its own paradoxes and mysteries….

Theology encountered such issues long before science did, for it deals with the deepest realities of existence and ultimately with God Himself, who infinitely exceeds human comprehension.  But even though natural science deals with realities of a lower order, it should not be surprising that, as it has explored further and further upon what Newton called the “great ocean of truth” and has been led into deeper and deeper waters, it should have come to feel more keenly the limitations of human imagination.  ("God, Science, and the Limits of Human Imagination; https://catholicscientists.org/articles/god-science-and-the-limits-of-human-imagination/; April 1, 2025)

     And so on this feast day that takes us deeper and deeper into those waters where we find the great ocean of truth embodied in the Nicene Creed we are about to profess,  a full dose of humility is in order.  For all human attempts to grasp the mystery of God as well as Nature must bow before paradox and mystery lest we forget the limitations both science and religion face in their respective endeavors.  And never more so when we invoke the Holy Mystery of Mysteries, God Who is both One and Three.  + In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Nicene Creed

 

Intercessions  (cf. Joe Milner; Sunday Web Site)

For the Church: that we may experience the length, breadth, and depth of God’s love that has been poured out into our hearts so that we may be transformed and fully live as children of God.

For a greater desire for truth: that we continually seek the truth so that we may see God in all things and be aware that we are always in God’s presence.

For all who need conversion: that God’s generous love will help those trapped by crime to seek a new way, those who hold others in servitude to free them, and help those who have abused others to change their behavior.

For renewal of our relationships: that the life and love of the Trinity will inspire us as we grow in our relationships and learn to share our lives and enrich the lives of those to whom we are committed more fully.

For leaders of religion, government, and communities: that the Spirit will inspire them with ways to resolve the issues of injustice, firearms, and immigration so that all may live in peace and safety.

For the gift of peace, especially in Gaza and Ukraine: that God will bring an end to the violence, give leaders a new understanding of the dignity of each life, and deepen the desire for peace in their hearts.

For all who have been touched by violence, that God will give eternal life to all who have died by violence recently and console those who are grieving their passing.

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 rightly through your Son, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. (ICEL; 1998)

Offertory Antiphon

Offertory Hymn (Words: Samuel Longfellow, 1864. Music: Orlando Gibbons, 1623) 

 

Holy Spirit, Truth divine, dawn upon this soul of mine. Voice of God, and inward Light, wake my spirit, clear my sight. 

Holy Spirit, Love divine, glow within this heart of mine. Kindle every high desire, purify me with your fire. 

Holy Spirit, Power divine, fill and nerve this will of mine. Boldly may I always live, bravely serve and gladly give. 

Holy Spirit, Peace divine, still this restless heart of mine. Speak to calm this tossing sea, grant me your tranquility. 

Holy Spirit, Joy divine, gladden now this heart of mine. In the desert ways I sing, spring, O living Water, spring.

Communion Antiphon

 

Closing Hymn  Text: Horatius Bonar (1861)

 

O love of God, how strong and true! Eternal, and yet ever new; Uncomprehended and unbought, Beyond all knowledge and all thought.

O love of God, how deep and great! Far deeper than man's deepest hate; Self fed, self kindled, like the light, Changeless, eternal, infinite.

O heavenly love, how precious still, In days of weariness and ill, In nights of pain and helplessness, To heal, to comfort, and to bless!

O wide embracing, wondrous love! We read you [thee] in the sky above, We read you [thee] in the earth below, In seas that swell, and streams that flow.

We read you [thee] best in Him who came To bear for us the cross of shame; Sent by the Father from on high, Our life to live, our death to die.

We read your [thy] power to bless and save, E'en in the darkness of the grave; Still more in resurrection light, We read the fullness of your [thy] might.

O love of God, our shield and stay Through all the perils of our way! Eternal love, in thee we rest Forever safe, forever blest.

We will exalt you, God and King, and we will ever praise your name; We will extol you ev'ry day, and evermore your praise proclaim.