THE  MOST  HOLY TRINITY "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son" ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Blessed be God the Father and his only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit: for he has shown that he loves us. Introduction The Solemnity of the most Holy Trinity leads us to celebrate the central and total mystery of our faith and life. Today we are called to open our hearts to God’s infinite mystery of His love and mercy, and worship His majesty and mystery. The mystery of the most holy Trinity is God’s love overflowing into the creation and the redemption of humankind. The readings focus on the graciousness of God which we know as mercy and saving love. PENITENTIAL RITE To experience the love and gracious-ness of God, we are called to forget ourselves and share everything with others like the Person of the Trinity. Hence let us ask ourselves: how self-forgetting, self-sacrificing, self-giving am I in my attitudes and in my behaviour? (Pause) Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord, Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. Opening Prayer Let us pray. Father, you sent your Word to bring us truth and your Spirit to make us holy. Through them we come to know the mystery of your life. Help us to worship you, one God in three persons, by proclaiming and living our faith in you. Grant this… FIRST READING (God reveals himself to Moses as a merciful and gracious God, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.) A reading from the Book of Exodus (34:4-6, 8-9) Moses rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone. And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” And Moses made haste to bow his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, “If now I have found favour in thy sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us, although it is a stiff-necked people and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thy inheritance.” This is the Word of the Lord PSALM     (Dan 3) Response: To you glory and praise for evermore. You are blest, Lord God of our fathers. To you glory and praise for evermore. Blest your glorious name. To you glory and praise for evermore. You are blest in the temple of your glory. To you glory and praise for evermore. You are blest on the throne of your kingdom. To you glory and praise for evermore. You are blest who gaze into the depths. To you glory and praise for evermore. You are blest in the firmament of heaven. To you glory and praise for evermore. SECOND READING (Paul while giving his final greetings, invokes the blessings of the three Persons of the Trinity with their unique blessings pertaining to each them.) A reading from the Second Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (13:11-13) Brethren, mend your ways, heed my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION (Rev 1:8) Alleluia, alleluia! Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, the God who is, and who was, and who is to come. Alleluia! GOSPEL (Jesus reveals to Nicodemus the mystery of the love relationship between the Father and the Son and God’s self-sacrificing love relationship with humankind.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John (3:16-18) Jesus said to Nicodemus: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” This is the Gospel of the Lord (Homily) I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Dear sisters and brothers, our Triune God has created us in His image and likeness to live and know God’s life, love and mercy. Let us pray that we may truly experience the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit as we pray for our needs. Response: Lord, hear our prayer. 1. We pray for the leaders of the Church that they may be blessed with divine wisdom, and fullness of the Spirit to lead God’s people to deep faith in the persons of the Trinity. 2. We pray for all the believers that they may grow in their love towards each another, to give and share themselves generously without counting the cost the persons of the Holy Trinity. 3. We pray for the Church that she may be healed of all divisions and disunity among the churches and choose to live the model of Trinitarian unity, love and self-giving. 4. We pray that all people may reject all false gods in their profession and practice and come to understand and worship the true God who loves them and saves them. Cel: Heavenly Father, as we celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity, you open our eyes to the marvellous mystery of your love and mercy. Help us to love others as You love us. Give us the strength to proclaim your love and mercy to all. We ask this… Prayer over the gifts Lord our God, make these gifts holy, and through them make us a perfect offering to you. We ask this… PREFACE (43) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. We joyfully proclaim our faith in the mystery of your Godhead. You have revealed your glory as the glory also of your Son and of the Holy Spirit: three Persons equal in majesty, undivided in splendour, yet one Lord, one God, ever to be adored in your everlasting glory. And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise: All: Holy, hoy, holy… Communion Antiphon You are the sons of God, so God has given you the Spirit of his Son to form your hearts and make you cry out: Abba, Father. Prayer after communion Lord God, we worship you, a Trinity of Persons, one eternal God. May our faith and the sacrament we receive bring us health of mind and body. We ask this… LITURGY AND LIFE If there is one thing we all throb to experience in our lives, it is the love that is most reliable, the love that is not withdrawn when misfortunes strike us, the love that can look beyond our frailties and foibles because it sets no limit to its forgiveness. Though our whole being aspires for it, none of us has ever experienced the fullness of this boundless and authentic love. We might have felt glimpses of it when we look at our own experiences of love in our families and communities. The central mystery of God is his everlasting love and fidelity. With our tainted and tattered approaches to love in this world, it is very difficult to conceive the constant and unfailing love of God in our lives except through his grace. God is someone to whom we can approach, on whom we can depend on at any situation. The Israelites rejected God and his offer of a new covenant when the Ten Commandments were given, instead they worshipped a golden calf and engaged themselves in all pagan practices. Today’s first reading speaks of a second meeting of Moses with God on Mount Sinai. Moses climbed the mountain to meet God speak to Him about the people’s rejection of God and their refusal of his new covenant. The reception Moses received at the mountain was not that of an angry God fuming against the sins of Israelites, but of a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” In the gospel story we have a cautious and wary Nicodemus approaching Jesus in the night since he had some admiration for Jesus. But this member of the Great Council did not want to risk his future career by openly supporting the prophet from Galilee. He wanted to convey his love for Jesus under the cover of darkness and secrecy. Jesus’ answer to the tip-toed Nicodemus was a clear explanation of what love for someone truly meant. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” God’s relationship with us is rooted in his selfless and self-sacrificing love. It is not based on fear, suspicion and secrecy. It is God’s radical love that gives all of us our true dignity and new identity not as mere creatures but as children of God. The three persons of the Blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveal this fullness of God’s love for their action in the world and for the world. They also reveal their personal love to each one of us by their working in our personal lives. We are drawn to experience something of this love when we are loved abundantly by our dear ones. We draw others to experience this love when we love others with a God-like love: a love without conditions and judgements, a love that is patient and kind, and a love that is not conceited or rude… (1 Cor. 13:4-7). It is only in an atmosphere of authentic love in our families that we let our children know the God we believe in. It is only in a relationship of love and self-giving that we let others know the God we love and worship. The celebration of the Holy Trinity is the celebration of God’s love for us and the celebration of our love for God and for one another.   May 2008               READINGS OF THE WEEK             (Psalter Week 2) 19 Mon (W) Jas 3:13-18; Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15; Mk 9:14-29 20 Tue (W) Jas 4:1-10; Ps 55:7-8, 9-10a, 10b-11a, 23; Mk 9:30-37 21 Wed (W) Jas 4:1-17; Ps 49:2-3, 6-7, 8-10, 11; Mk 9:38-40 22 Thu (W) Jas 5:1-6; Ps 49:14-15ab, 15cd-16, 17-18, 19-20; Mk 9:41-50 23 Fri (W) Jas 5:9-12; Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 11-12; Mk 10:1-12 24 Sat (W) Jas 5:13-20; Ps 141:1-2, 3 and 8; Mk 10:13-16