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May 26, 2024I am happy to be among you for my second pastoral visit. This is an important moment first of all for me as a Bishop, because I have the opportunity to meet you, the people of God. There can be no shepherd without the flock, so also there is no bishop without the people. And the bishop is a humble sign of Jesus, the good shepherd. But it is also important for the faithful to be able to meet and pray together with the bishop to be confirmed in the Catholic faith as a sign of the unity of the Church.
Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Holy Trinity which indicates the fundamental mystery of our Christian faith: We believe in the Trinity - one God, in the perfect unity of the three divine persons.
How many times do we use this very familiar expression? We begin every prayer by making the sign of the cross and pronouncing the name of the Father, of the son and of the Holy Spirit. We are all baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself in today's Gospel sends his disciples to baptize in the name of the Holy Trinity. Even when we approach the sacrament of confession, the priest absolves our sins in the name of the Holy Trinity: “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. Therefore, the Trinity expresses the face of God as revealed to us by Jesus Christ.
The readings we have heard remind us of the unity of God. God is only one. The first reading we heard from the book of Deuteronomy states this forcefully. The Lord is God and there is no other. This faith contrasts with every form of pagan and idolatrous religion that worships different deities. In ancient times, every person experienced a profound fear of the different gods who could also be very unpredictable and vengeful. For this reason, sacrifices and prayers were offered to keep the various deities happy that would in return give people prosperity and fertility. The revelation of true God as unique compared to these deities, frees us from the tyranny of being slaves to these different deities. God is only one, he is unique.
Furthermore, Jesus reveals to us that the face of God is triune, it is a mystery of infinite communion and profound love between the three divine persons. The unity of God expresses the union of those he loves, the infinite and eternal love between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
But how did we know the mystery of God as a Trinity of love? The history of salvation has revealed this face of God to us. God the Creator Father sent his son, the redeemer, into the world for our salvation. The Holy Spirit, which is the love between the Father and Son, is sent by Jesus on the Church and on the world to sanctify our lives and to make us participants in the divine life right now.
But how can we participate in divine life? Jesus, sent by the Father, made us participants in his sonship. Therefore, we participate in the life of the Holy Trinity by becoming sons and daughters in the only Son of God. Jesus makes us participate intimately in his relationship with the Father. This is why Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans tells us that through the gift of the Holy Spirit we can address God by calling him "Father".
Dear faithful, today we also celebrate the first World Day of Children, desired and organized by Pope Francis. Our children are a beautiful gift from God. Children are a sign of hope. We must always thank God for the gift of children. Let us pray that they may grow up serene and in peace. We pray for children who find themselves in zones of war and suffering. May they find love and protection in the family and in the world. Children are a sign of newness: for this reason, the Pope chose the theme for this year from the book of the Revelation: “Behold I make all things new”. Let us allow our children to open our lives to the eternal youth of the Spirit and renew our hearts.
Furthermore, celebrating World Day of Children means remembering that even adults must never stop having the heart of children, of the sons and daughters. Even when you become a father or a mother, you must never stop being children, because we always remain children of God.
Finally, we return again to the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. From this fundamental mystery of our faith, we also learn to be the Church of Jesus. The Church must be an image of the Trinity where there is unity but also the difference of the variety of people. We too, in the Church, are called to be children of God; to be always united and yet value the differences. In our Church we can experience this mystery profoundly; We are very different in culture, nation, language and rite. However, we are all baptized: one Faith, one Baptism and one Spirit. For this reason, we too can experience the differences in the unity of the Church of Jesus. For children all this is easier because they have a simple heart. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we too can, in the image of the most Holy Trinity, be united and different at the same time, to the praise and glory of God.
To Mary, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, we entrust all children and our community.
