Reflection for 31 May 2026: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
“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” (John 3:16).
Dear Marian Helpers and Members of our Marian Family,
When I spent the summer at our Marian house in Avellaneda, Argentina, a few years ago, I remember Fr. Sebastian Genoni, MIC, preaching to the children of our parish there on the Trinity. At the beginning of his homily, he had a few questions for them.
“Is the Father God?”
“Yes” was their reply.
“How about the Son?”
“Of course,” they said.
“And how about the Holy Spirit?”
“Absolutely!”
So, he asked, how many gods are there?
“Three” they shouted.
“No!” Fr. Sebastian said. “There is only one God … in three persons.”
The mystery of the Trinity is an aspect of our faith that is beyond human reason. How can there be three persons in one God? Why is that the case? We can do lots of theological musings but ultimately, it’s a question of faith. God has revealed to us the truth of who He is and we just have to accept it…even if sometimes it leaves us scratching our heads in confusion and wonder.
And part of this wonder is that the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, live within us and Their divine love burns in our hearts and, hopefully, in our lives. God gives us Himself so that we can be filled with love, live in love, return that love to Him, and give it to one another. He desires that all of us be saved and live with Him forever, and so He gives us the greatest gift, Himself, so that His desire and our goal of eternal life can be accomplished.
We hear about and recite this truth of who God is and why the Father sent His Son and the Spirit into the world whenever we say the Creed, either the Apostle’s Creed or the Nicene Creed, which is the one usually said at Mass on Sundays. As we do so, we proclaim publicly that this is the faith of the Church and our own personal belief as well.
As we recite the Creed together today during Mass, listen carefully to the words that are said. They’re not just words…they are what we believe, they are words that describe the truth of who the Trinity is (and isn’t.)
If you have the time, I invite you to watch the talk below by Fr. Chris Alar, MIC (my Provincial Superior and boss, as it were), on the Trinity which explains why we believe, what we believe, and what that means for us, the Church and our spiritual lives.
And don’t worry if it’s all a little bit too academic for you. While understanding it all is important, what’s more important is that we believe what the Church teaches, which is nothing more than what God has told us Himself.
May God bless you now and always!
Fr Alex Pumphrey, MIC
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Contact Father Alex at info@divinemercy.org.uk
Please send us your prayer intentions! (click here). We will place them at the foot of our altar in the Divine Mercy Apostolate’s Chapel here in West Ealing, London and will remember them in our daily Chaplets of Divine Mercy.
