Today is the Feast of the Holy Trinity. There are several themes from which I can easily focus my homily: Trinity is a relationship, Trinity is a community, Trinity is love.
I thought that in my parish, where there are many young people and children, I needed to explain the basic notion of God as Trinity. I could not recall an anecdote to explain this part of our faith. So I used the image of the coffee that I had this morning.
I asked the people at mass if they know what is 3-in-1 coffee. Except the children, almost everyone answered yes. Here’s how I explained:
With the 3-in-1 coffee, you know that there are three ingredients: coffee, milk, and sugar. You can differentiate one from the other, each one distinct taste, color, and texture from the other.
Once you pour your 3-in-1 sachet into a cup of hot water, the three becomes one color, taste and texture. Each sip is a full experience of each of the three as ONE – each one complementing, and enchancing the whole.
The same can be said of the Holy Trinity. The Trinity is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each with its own nature and mission. The Father is the creator, source of life and love. The Son is the redeemer and points the way, the truth, and life. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us, inspires us, interprets the Word of God for us in our times, and leads us to the Father.
Our experience of the divine is always an experience of God as one. Each experience, like a sip of a good coffee, is an experience of one God as Father who creates and loves, as Son who redeems, and as Spirit that sanctifies.
I am sharing these thoughts knowing that the image I used might have watered down the doctrine of the Trinity. For this I beg pardon. But as always, it is difficult to explain the Trinity. Our thoughts and images will always fall short in explaining the mystery of God. - Fr. Totet, SJ
I thought that in my parish, where there are many young people and children, I needed to explain the basic notion of God as Trinity. I could not recall an anecdote to explain this part of our faith. So I used the image of the coffee that I had this morning.
I asked the people at mass if they know what is 3-in-1 coffee. Except the children, almost everyone answered yes. Here’s how I explained:
With the 3-in-1 coffee, you know that there are three ingredients: coffee, milk, and sugar. You can differentiate one from the other, each one distinct taste, color, and texture from the other.
Once you pour your 3-in-1 sachet into a cup of hot water, the three becomes one color, taste and texture. Each sip is a full experience of each of the three as ONE – each one complementing, and enchancing the whole.
The same can be said of the Holy Trinity. The Trinity is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each with its own nature and mission. The Father is the creator, source of life and love. The Son is the redeemer and points the way, the truth, and life. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us, inspires us, interprets the Word of God for us in our times, and leads us to the Father.
Our experience of the divine is always an experience of God as one. Each experience, like a sip of a good coffee, is an experience of one God as Father who creates and loves, as Son who redeems, and as Spirit that sanctifies.
I am sharing these thoughts knowing that the image I used might have watered down the doctrine of the Trinity. For this I beg pardon. But as always, it is difficult to explain the Trinity. Our thoughts and images will always fall short in explaining the mystery of God. - Fr. Totet, SJ
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