“In
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Most
of us were taught by our first catechists, our parents, how to sign ourselves.
I always love to see parents picking up their little ones, dipping their little
fingers in the holy water font and tracing the cross, forming a habit that they
will take with them into eternity. We do well to begin each day invoking the
trinity with the sign of the cross, signing ourselves before getting out of bed—hopefully,
even before checking our iphones. Most
of our formal prayer, as Catholics, begins invoking the trinity with the sign
of the cross. We are absolved, we are confirmed, we are anointed, and we will
be buried with that sign of the cross.
We
invoke the Trinity in moments of danger and difficulty and penitence. Sometimes
we even find baseball players making the sign of the cross as they come up to
home plate. Whenever I go to restaurants I look around to see if people are
making the sign of the cross before they eat.
At funerals and weddings you can often tell who the non-Catholics are by
who makes the sign of the cross or not.
And this makes sense because the sign of the cross signifies an
IDENTITY! You know if someone is
Catholic if they begin their prayer “in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit”.
The
sign of the cross professes the two most important doctrines of our Faith.
The
first doctrine is of course the Doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity, which we
celebrate in a special way this Trinity Sunday. God is a Trinity of Divine
Persons—the Divine Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are consubstantial, coeternal,
coequal, distinct, yet united.
The
catechism says, “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of
the Christian faith and life. It is the
mystery of God in himself. It is
therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that
enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the
‘hierarchy of the truths of faith’.”
This
doctrine, our belief that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit because he has
revealed Himself to be so, is the line of demarcation. To deny it is to be
outside the Christian fold. It’s what separates us from the Jews and Muslims
and the rest of the religions of the world.
The
second doctrine expressed in the sign of the cross flows from the first: by the
cross we are saved. Every time we sign
ourselves with the cross, we confess our faith that by the cross, the incarnate
Son, the second person of the Trinity, won for us eternal life.
Trinity
and Cross. It’s no accident that these two ideas converge in the Church’s most
fundamental prayer, the sign of the cross: for the cross is an image in time of
the Trinity’s eternal love. The love poured out on the cross is the most
powerful sign of the love of God in himself and his love for us. The Son is so
full of love for us and the Father that he is willing to embrace unfathomable
suffering and death for us.
So
when we make the sign of the cross, we call to mind the love that conquers all
sin—the love of God that is more powerful that evil and death, the love which
is the cause of our salvation.
When
we stand before the judgment seat of Almighty God, our passports won’t help us,
any academic degrees aren’t going to any good, any stock portfolios, our check
book, driver’s license, our proof of American citizenship or lack thereof
aren’t going to do us a bit of good.
What
IS of vital importance in this life unto eternity is our Faith—claiming the
mercy of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through the cross of Christ.
Just
as we make the sign of the Cross each time we pray, in order to direct our
prayer to the one true God, may this Trinity Sunday, help direct our lives. The
true God is not a creature of our own making, a product of our imaginations.
God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we bow our lives to his majesty, we
surrender our wills to His Divine Will, to his commandments, and plead his
mercy.
Everything
we do is meant to be directed to the Holy Trinity, done to honor the Holy
Trinity, out of love for the Holy Trinity.
So,
we should invoke the Trinity many times every day: when we wake, when we take
our breakfast, when we get in a vehicle, when we start our work, our chores,
and our studies, when we exercise, when we are meeting friends, especially if
we have a tendency to gossip. We should invoke the Trinity with the sign of the
cross when we hear an ambulance, when we hear someone blaspheme. Parents before
disciplining your children, take a breath, make the sign of the cross, invoke
the Trinity who is the font of love, for all disobedient children.
When
you enter a hospital, a nursing home, a funeral home, or the home of someone
who is suffering, invoke the Trinity. When you receive good news, invoke the
Trinity in thanksgiving. When you receive bad news, invoke the Trinity for
strength. When passing or entering a cemetery, pray for the dead in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
The
point is this: the Christian life is not meant to be lived only with the occasional
remembrance of the Trinity and the power of the cross. No, we have been
baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The
Holy Trinity is not meant to be a distant doctrine, but the very atmosphere of
our life
May
our faith, hope, and love of the Triune God keep us from all sin, protect us
from all evil, be the source for us of mercy, and may all of our actions, all
of our choices, all our decisions, all of our sacrifices be done for the glory
of the Triune God and salvation of souls.
Begin
each day, end each day, and every endeavor worth doing, “In the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
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