Sunday Reflection: Weekend of 16 June 2019

Trinity Sunday | Year C

John 16:12-15

�I still have many things to say to you

but they would be too much for you now.

But when the Spirit of truth comes

he will lead you to the complete truth,

since he will not be speaking as from himself

but will say only what he has learnt;

and he will tell you of the things to come.

He will glorify me

since all he tells you

will be taken from what is mine.

Everything the Father has is mine;

that is why I said:

All he tells you will be taken from what is mine.�

Reflection

Jesus connects the Father, the Spirit and himself with his words �...since all he tells you

will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine...�. That which is his is also the Father�s and the Spirit�s.  This unity may not have been immediately evident to the disciples, but with reflection post-Pentecost (and even years later), John the gospel writer was able to see its significance.

The Trinity is a mystery, a cornerstone of our faith. Because it is a mystery we may not think too much about it, leaving it aside as something incomprehensible. However we may be thinking about the Trinity more than we realise during the course of our daily lives.  In any one day we may without thinking about it too deeply, address our prayer to the different Persons in the Trinity, depending upon the particular circumstances.

To balance our response to the three Persons, it can be fruitful to take time to think about the One, especially at this time of the year. St Augustine wrote a book called �On the Trinity�, which contained his reflections on the mystery. In a thought-provoking passage he shows how the Trinity is reflected in each one of us:

\"Though human mind is not of the same nature as God, yet the image of him, than whom nothing is better, is to be sought and found in that part of our nature than which nothing is better: namely, the mind. See how the mind remembers itself, understands itself and loves itself. When we see this, we see a trinity; not God, but the image of God. There is a kind of trinity apparent in memory, understanding and love or will. These three are not three �lives�, but a single life. They are not three minds but a single mind, not three essences but a single essence. We attribute memory to a subject, and similarly understanding and will (or love) belong to a subject; but life, mind and essence are themselves that subject. These three are one: a single life, a single mind, a single essence.\"