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Sunday, June 15, 2025
Hello folks,
The Lord be with you all!
This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (aka Trinity Sunday). The word Trinity itself points to the unity of one God in three Persons. These three persons share one divine nature. Occasionally people mistake “God” to only refer to God the Father. However, Jesus is not just the “Son of God,” but is also God. Likewise the Holy Spirit (formerly also known as the Holy Ghost) is also God. The inseparability of the Trinity points to the deep union into which we are also called.
Last week we celebrated the descent of the Holy Spirit on Our Lady and the Apostles at Pentecost: the Holy Spirit being a person Who is the bond of love between the Father and the Son, and Who now brings us into that same love. This Sunday also happens to be Father’s Day in the secular world. Perhaps jumping off that secular feast, we can show some extra appreciation for God our Father, from whom comes all fatherhood in Heaven and on earth. There is no special feast dedicated just to the Father, in the way there is to the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and many dedicated to Christ throughout the year. So, while acknowledging the unity of the Trinity, perhaps we can thank God the Father especially today for His paternal care for us!
On this Father’s Day, we obviously thank God for the gift of fatherhood, and hopefully take an opportunity to thank our own fathers for their love and sacrifice for us. However, while all fatherhood comes from God the Father, most fathers are not perfect like our Heavenly Father. For those children carrying wounds from difficult relationships with their father, or fathers carrying wounds from difficult relationships with their children (not to mention spousal problems), let us pray for genuine healing and reconciliation.
This Thursday is another secular holiday: Juneteenth, commemorating the order on June 19, 1865, for the final enforcement in Texas of Lincoln’s (1863) Emancipation Proclamation. Saint Paul tells us that “for freedom, Christ set us free.” This freedom is linked to our shared human dignity that comes from all of us being made in the image and likeness of God. Though we continue to struggle for freedom from slavery to sin, we can acknowledge and give thanks for the secular freedom from slavery that we enjoy here. Even to this day, there are forms of slavery that exist around the world and even illegally in our own nation. Pray that we use our freedom well, and help those who don’t have it.
God bless,
Father Maher
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