In a recent issue of our Diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Voice,
there was a letter from a man who, in his letter, quoted a reader of
the magazine “Homiletic and Pastoral Review.” And he quoted this man
as saying that he read that magazine to get the Church teaching that
he never got from any homily. He lists the teaching that he didn’t
get, teaching on divorce, abortion, annulments, contraception,
natural family planning, cohabitation, etc. etc. Well, I will assume
that a reader of the ”Homiletic and Pastoral Review” would know that
the decree on the liturgy from the Second Vatican Council requires
that Sunday homilies be based on the Scripture readings of the day,
particularly on the gospels. And the gospels have nothing whatever to
say about abortion or contraception or natural family planning or
many other of the hot-button issues of today. But they do have a lot
to say about justice, about caring for the underpriviliged,
forgiveness, and loving one another. And I will further assume that
such a reader of that prestigious magazine would have in his
possession the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which deals with all
of these subjects in great detail and with great scholarship, much
more than I think any homilist could do. But the saddest sentence of
all in that quotation was the final one. “I have been told about love
until I can’t stand it!” Can you believe that? Can’t stand being told
about the basic command of our Christian faith, love God and love one
another, can’t stand being told about God that Scripture defines and
tells us “God IS love.” Can’t stand being told about the Holy Trinity
whose very essence is love. It’s just unbelievable that any Christian
would utter those words.

Well, today is the feast of the Holy Trinity, and in the gospel
today, Jesus does speak about the Father and Himself and the Holy
Spirit. And St. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, talks about the
fact that the love of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit who is given to us. And so, with apologies to no one, I am
going to speak about love! I am going to speak about God. I am going
to speak about the Holy Trinity, and I’ll try to do that without
using a shamrock.

From all eternity, the being that we call God knew itself
intimately, loved what it saw of itself and, being totally unselfish,
you might say became a mirror-image of self, the Son. And the mutual
love between these two beings is so intense that it is in itself a
distinct person. And so, we have one God and three divine persons
that we traditionally call Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We use human
terms to speak about a being that really defies human definition. We
say, with the Scriptures, that God is love. We call The Trinity a
mystery. But it is no more mystery than love itself is. Who can give
a rational reason for love? Who can explain it? Not me. But we all
know what it is, even though the English language limps in trying to
describe it. The ancient Greek language was much richer and more
helpful because it used different words to describe different kinds
of love: “EROS” meaning passionate love, with sensual desire and
longing, “PHYLLIA” meaning a strong bond of friendship, loyalty to
family, to friends, to community, and “AGAPE,” the word most commonly
used in the New Testament, self-sacrificing love, giving of oneself
totally to everyone, both friend and foe. It’s used to describe the
relationship of Jesus with his disciples. It is used in the
expression “God is love” and “Love your neighbor,” “Love one another
as I have loved you,” all using the same word, agape.

Now, since the very essence of God, the very essence of the Trinity,
is love, then every kind of love, every expression of love, must
surely flow from the Trinity. Eros, passionate, sensual love, a love
that is creative and life-giving, a love that is sacramental in
marriage precisely because it mirrors the love of God for us , surely
such a love must find its origin and inspiration in the Trinity whose
mutual love is creative, life-giving, constant and everlasting.
Phyllia, deep-rooted friendship, the willingness of one human being
to risk life, indeed to give life for another, exemplified best by
Jesus Christ himself, the Second Person of the Trinity who gave
himself totally for us and who said, “I no longer call you servants.
I call you friends.” phyllia.... Agape, the total unselfish love
expressed by God. The love of God is poured forth in our hearts by
the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. And that love is manifested
in our love and our concern for others, even those that we do not
know personally. And right now, as I look around this church, I see
agape. I see a gathering of people, many unknown to each other, but
bound together by one faith, one baptism, one Lord. I see a community
that is creative and redemptive, filled with the gifts of the Holy
Spirit and willing to share those gifts with others, even with people
that you really do not know. In other words, I see Trinity. I see
Father, Son and Holy Spirit present in this gathering. I see people
who are not tired of loving and who are not tired of being told about
love. May that continue and grow through the grace of the Holy
Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.