St. Augustine of Hippo had to grapple with the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. How can the three Divine persons be in one God? As he tried to look for answers to this query, he encountered a child on a seashore digging a small hole. What are you doing he asked the child. The child answered him: "I will transfer the whole ocean into this small hole." St. Augustine said in reply: "That's impossible or preposterous."

The child said to him, the human intelligence is like this small hole which cannot contain the whole mystery of the Holy Trinity. Thus, the Holy Trinity is a mystery that we must try to live....It is a communion of persons who love each other, whose unconditional love overflows in humanity. As John 3:16 aptly and beautifully describes it: "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." This is the whole Bible described in one awesome verse.

Many people doubt the love of God. God's love is manifested and expressed concretely in creation. Just reflect on God's creation, its beauty and splendor; or think about the beauty of a human body. God's imprint is there. It is likewise expressed when He revealed Himself to a particular people in history, the people of Israel. And in the fullness of time, He became one of us in flesh through Christ’s Incarnation. God's act of giving His son, and Christ's emptying Himself are concrete manifestations of God's love. And Jesus' paramount expression of love happened through his passion, death, resurrection and glorification, and when he gave the Holy Spirit to the believing community, which is a sign of His constant presence in the Church.

If God has expressed His profound love to us, how do we love Him in return? We love Him by first believing in His Son, Jesus Christ. "To believe" in the Gospel of John means to accept that Jesus is our Savior, Lord and God. We who believe in Jesus ought to go to Him as often as we can, not only times of need, but to really establish a personal relationship with Him. It furthermore implies that we should listen to His words with understanding. To follow His teachings and examples. And most of all, to remain in Him, and He remains in us, which is the apex of discipleship.

We love God by not hurting Him due to our sins. Remember that it was because of our sins that Jesus was crucified. To remain in our sins is to rebel against God. It is sheer arrogance and pride. However, when we humble ourselves before God and express our compunction and contrition, God's loving heart melts by forgiving our sins. However, we have to resolve not to do the same sins again. That's complete conversion and repentance.

We love God by loving our neighbors in concrete ways, beginning with our husband, wife, children, neighbors, co-workers and including our enemies. Jesus says: "There is no greater love than this, than to lay down one's life for one's friends." (Jn 15:13)

We love God by keeping all His commandments and loving our neighbors the way Jesus loves us. He says: "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Live on in my love. You will live in my love if you keep my commandments, even as I kept my Father's commandments and live in his love." (Jn 15:9-10)

We love God by loving ourselves. Self-love is not selfishness. It is essentially taking care of one's whole being, like keeping oneself healthy and not abusing oneself with alcohol or drugs. Exercising and dieting. Having a massage once in a while. Going for a vacation to relax or having time to commune with God on a retreat. Maintaining a healthy relationship with people and work. Most of all, having a positive and optimistic outlook in life. And being able to laugh because "laughter is still the best medicine."

My prayer for this Trinity Sunday is coming from our founder, St. Arnold Janssen: "May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief banish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. May the Holy Triune God live in the hearts of all people."

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