How to celebrate Trinity Sunday at home

Here you have the prayers, readings, and everything else you need to celebrate with God’s Word.

In order to worthily sanctify Trinity Sunday,
Aleteia proposes this celebration of the Word of God at home.

In collaboration with Magnificat magazine

Instructions:

• This celebration requires the presence of at least two people.
• If you’re alone, you can simply read this celebration, united in your heart and spirit with the Church.You can also watch the Mass on television.
• Choose the most convenient time, from Saturday evening (the vigil of Sunday) to Sunday evening.
• This celebration is particularly suitable for use with family. In order to respect quarantine measures, you should refrain from inviting others from outside your household. If anyone in your house is ill, make sure they remain in isolation to ensure that all safety guidelines are strictly followed.
• Set up the needed number of chairs in front of a prayer corner, respecting an appropriate distance of at least a yard between each.
• Take the time to renew a little the prayer corner’s decorations: images, candles, real or artificial flowers, drawings by your children, garlands, etc.
• A simple cross or crucifix must always be visible in the background.
• Designate a person to lead the prayer.
• The leader will also direct the preparation of the celebration, during which he or she will mark the length of the periods of silence.
• Designate readers for the readings.
• During the preparation of the celebration: you can prepare petitions for the Prayers of the Faithful or Universal Prayer (in case that is not possible, a standard list of petitions is provided here for use during the course of the celebration). You may also prepare suitable hymns.

TRINITY SUNDAY

Celebration of the Word

“Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
to God who is, who was, and who is to come.”

The leader of the celebration reads:

Brothers and sisters,
The Catechism teaches that
“by sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time,
God has revealed his innermost secret:
God himself is an eternal exchange
of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
and he has destined us to share in that exchange”(221).

“The complete Trinity dwells in us” (M.-M. Philipon).
By worshiping the Trinity
we realize the full truth of ourselves.
“In the communion of grace with the Trinity,
man’s ‘living area’ is broadened and
raised up to the supernatural level of divine life.
Man lives in God and by God” (Saint John Paul II).

After three minutes of silence, all rise and make the Sign of the Cross, saying:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The leader continues:

To prepare ourselves to receive God’s Word
and in order for it to heal us,
we recognize ourselves as sinners.

The penitential rite follows. For example:

Have mercy on us, O Lord.
For we have sinned against you.
Show us, O Lord, your mercy.
And grant us your salvation.

May Almighty God have mercy on us;
forgive us our sins,
And bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

The following is said or sung:

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Gloria is then said or sung:

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you, we bless you,
we adore you, we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory.
Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
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.

Glória in excélsis Deo
et in terra pax homínibus bonae voluntátis.
Laudámus te, benedícimus te,
adoramus te, glorificámus te,
gratias agimus tibi propter magnam glóriam tuam,
Dómine Deus, Rex cæléstis, Deus Pater omnípotens.
Dómine Fili Unigénite, Jesu Christe,
Dómine Deus, Agnus Dei, Fílius Patris,
qui tollis peccáta mundi, miserére nobis;
qui tollis peccáta mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad déxteram Patris, miserére nobis.
Quóniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dóminus,
tu solus Altíssimus, Jesu Christe,
cum Sancto + Spíritu : in glória Dei Patris.
Amen.

PRAYER

The leader says the opening prayer:

Blest be God the Father,
and the Only Begotten Son of God,
and also the Holy Spirit,
for he has shown us his merciful love. Amen.

All sit down.

FIRST READING (Exodus 34:4B-6, 8-9)

A reading from the book of Exodus

Early in the morning Moses went up Mount Sinai
as the LORD had commanded him,
taking along the two stone tablets.

Having come down in a cloud, the LORD stood with Moses there
and proclaimed his name, “LORD.”
Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
“The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.”
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.
Then he said, “If I find favor with you, O Lord,
do come along in our company.
This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins,
and receive us as your own.”

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

PSALM(Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56)

R/ Glory and praise for ever!

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.R/

Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.R/

Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. R/

Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. R/

SECOND READING (2 Corinthians 13:11-13)

Brothers and sisters, rejoice.
Mend your ways, encourage one another,
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 holy ones greet you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

All rise.

GOSPEL(John 3:16-18)

Alleluia. Alleluia.
Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
to God who is, who was, and who is to come.
Alleluia.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

At the end of the Gospel, all sing or say again the joy of the Resurrection:

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

All are seated, and the leader repeats slowly,
as if it were a far-off echo:

“Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
to God who is, who was, and who is to come.”

All observe three minutes of silence for silent personal meditation.

PROFESSION OF FAITH

All then stand to profess the faith of the Church
saying the Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come 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 life everlasting. Amen.

UNIVERSAL PRAYER

All remain standing for the prayers of the faithful, as prepared ahead of time. The following intercessions may be used instead, separating the intentions with an intervening moment of silence.
The leader of the prayer says:

God has revealed the truth of who he is: an eternal exchange of love—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and he has destined us to share in that exchange. Filled with joy we now pray:

All say the refrain:

R/ Lord, hear our prayer.

• That the preaching and teaching of the Church will bless all with the desire to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity. R/
• That through the justice of earthly rulers all will come to know God’s authority and majesty. R/
• For our parish community: that our unity in the faith and as children of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will never diminish. R/
• For those who live without faith: that the love of the Blessed Trinity will awaken their minds and give hope to their hearts. R/
• For those who struggle with depression, addiction, loneliness, or mental illness: that they will experience the consolation of knowing they are loved by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit R/
• For the grace this week to live each moment consciously united to God in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. R/
• For an end to the coronavirus pandemic, for God’s mercy on all who are suffering and dying, and for strength and protection on all healthcare workers dedicated to fighting it. R/

The people present may add, in turn, their own intentions. At the end of each of them, all repeat the refrain together:

R/ Lord, hear our prayer.

The leader introduces the Lord’s Prayer:

United in the Spirit and in the communion of the Church,
we dare to pray as the Lord Jesus himself
taught us:

All say or sing the Our Father:

Our Father…
Continuing immediately with:
For the kingdom…

Then the leader invites those present to share a sign of peace:

We have just joined our voices
with that of the Lord Jesus to pray to the Father.
We are sons and daughters in the Son.

In the love that unites us with one another,
renewed by the word of God,
we can exchange a gesture of peace,
a sign of the communion
we receive from the Lord.

All then exchange a greeting of peace from a distance: for example, by bowing deeply towards each other in turn; or, as a family, by blowing each other a kiss. Then all sit down.

SPIRITUAL COMMUNION

The leader says:

When we cannot receive sacramental communion for lack of a Mass, Pope Francis urges us to practice spiritual communion, also called “communion of desire.”

The Council of Trent reminds us that this “consists in an ardent desire to feed on the Heavenly Bread, with a living faith that acts through charity and that makes us participants in the fruits and graces of the Sacrament.” The value of our spiritual communion depends therefore on our faith in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist as a source of life, love and unity, and our desire to receive Communion in spite of our inability to do so.

With that in mind, I now invite you to bow your head, to close your eyes and recollect yourselves.

Silence

Deep in our hearts,
may a burning desire arise within us to unite ourselves with Jesus,
in sacramental communion,
and then to bring His love to life into our lives,
loving others as He loved us.

All remain in silence for 5 minutes for a
heart-to-heart conversation with Jesus Christ.

You may optionally stand and say or sing a beautiful Alleluia once more:

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

All remain standing, turning to face the Cross of Christ. With hands joined in prayer, the prayer leader, in the name of all, says the prayer of blessing:

FINAL BLESSING

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. Amen.

All together, each with hands joined in prayer:

And may the blessing of almighty God,
come down on us and remain with us for ever. Amen.

All make the Sign of the Cross.

Then parents may trace the Sign of the Cross on their children’s foreheads.

To conclude the celebration, the participants may sing the Salve Regina,
or some other joyful, well-known Marian hymn.

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
Hail our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
to you we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn, then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us;
and after this, our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

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Aleteia will continue to propose occasional guides for celebrations of the Word at home. This way, in your home, you can continue to keep Sunday holy, despite the circumstances, for the glory of God and the salvation of the world.

To continue to sanctify this day, it would be good to reconnect with the venerable tradition of Vespers by celebrating as a family, towards the end of the afternoon, the office of the Liturgy
of the Hours. Alternatively, you can pray today’s Evening Prayer, which can be found here. 

You can also find other resources for free on the Magnificat website.