The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

The meaning of the celebration

+ A special feast in honor of the Most Holy Trinity was celebrated by the Benedictines in France prior to the year 1000.

+ Pope Alexander II (d. 1073) denied a request that this celebration be extended to the Universal Church, arguing that every liturgical celebration honors the Most Holy Trinity. More than one hundred fifty years later, 1334, however, Pope John XXII (d. 1334) finally chose to add this special feast to the calendar of the Church.

+ Celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity provides the faithful with an opportunity to look back on the Paschal Triduum and Easter Seasons to reflect on the work of salvation remembered in this holy days in the light of the mystery of the Trinity.

+ The liturgical readings for this solemnity (in each of the three cycles presented in the Lectionary) contain a rich treasure of proclamation and adoration, inviting us to declare: “Glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: to God who is, who was, and who is to come” (Alleluia verse).

For prayer and reflection

“The mystery of the Trinity also speaks to us of ourselves, of our relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In fact, through baptism, the Holy Spirit has placed us in the heart and the very life of God, who is a communion of love. God is a “family” of three Persons who love each other so much as to form a single whole.”—Pope Francis

Spiritual bonus

On this day, the Church also celebrates the memory of Saint Joan of Arc, the “Maid of Orleans.” An unlikely saint and soldier, the teenaged Joan help restore King Charles II to the throne of France and bring an end to the Hundred Years War. Condemned as a heretic in a highly politicized show trial, she was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431. Her innocence was posthumously declared in 1456 and she was canonized in 1920. Today, she is honored as a patron saint of France and of soldiers.

Vocations

For women:

The Sisters of the Most Holy Trinity: http://www.srstrinity.com

Discalced Carmelite Nuns of the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity: www.carmelnuns.com

Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity: www.msbt.org

Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity: www.solt.net

Sisters Oblates of the Blessed Trinity: www.oblatestotheblessedtrinity.org

For men:

The Priests and Brothers of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity (The Trinitarians): www.trinitarians.org

Maronite Monks of Most Holy Trinity Monastery: www.MaroniteMonks.org

The Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity: https://missionaryservantvocations.org/

Prayer

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.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.