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From
Trinity
to Mission – For love!
Sunday of the Most Holy
Trinity
Year B -
Sunday 07.06.2009
Deuteronomy
4:32-34,39-40
Psalm 32
Romans 8:14-17
Matthew 28:16-20
Reflections
Love pervades and
animates the
life of God and of man. Here, for once, mathematics doesn’t work: 1+1+1
= 1.
Because our God, one in three, is Love. And love
is sharing, it
is a unity that embraces all. In the words s of Benedict XVI, “Charity,
from
the heart of God, through the heart of Jesus Christ,
pours out
through His Spirit upon the world, as a love that renews everything. These are
words to ponder on.
 Catechisms tend to
declare, simply
or simplistically, that “God is One alone in three Persons”. This says
it all,
but the all still has to be understood, taken in, welcomed with love
and adored
in contemplation. The subject has central importance in the area of
mission,
too. Then again, there is a facile inclination to declare the all
peoples –
even non-Christian – know that God exists, so that even pagans believe
in God.
This shared truth – albeit with differences and reservations – is the
basis
that makes dialogue between religions possible, particularly between
Christians
and peoples of other beliefs. On the basis of a God who is one
and common
to everyone, it is possible to put together an understanding among
nations,
with a view to joint action for peace, in
defence of human rights, or so as
to carry out development projects… But this is only part of the
evangelising
action of the Church. Indeed, She offers the world a message
with a new
content and objectives with a much wider range.
For a Catholic it is not enough to
base oneself on a single God, and even less for a missionary, aware of
the
extraordinary revelation received through Jesus Christ; a revelation
that
embraces the whole mystery of a God who is Unity and Trinity. The
God of
Christians is unique, but not solitary. The Gospel that a
missionary
takes to the world, besides strengthening and perfecting the
understanding of
monotheism, opens the way to the immense and surprising mystery of God
who is a communion of Persons.
«To penetrate the
mystery of God, Moslems have the Koran, from which they
discover
the 99 names of Allah, while the hundredth cannot be spoken, since the
human
being cannot understand God totally. The Jews/Hebrews
discover
God through the events of their salvation history, meditated on,
re-written and
re-read over and over again for centuries until, much later, it is
consigned to
the Holy Scriptures. For Christians, the book leads to
the
discovery of God is Jesus Christ himself. He is ‘the book opened
by the
blows of the spear’, he is the Son who, from the Cross reveals
that God
is Father, and the gift of Love, Life, Spirit» (F. Armellini).
Indeed, the God
revealed by Jesus is above all God-Love (cf. Jn.3:16;
1Jn.:4:8)
He is a single God, but relational, in a communion of Persons. A God
who gives
himself for the life of the human family (*)
In non-Christian religions, the
god tends to be remote, living in his own world; hence, he has to be
propitiated
by religious practices and sacrifices of all kinds. But the God of the
Bible
reveals himself to us especially as a God who is merciful and
full of
pity – “rich in mercy” (Eph.2:4); a God who is a friend and
protector,
who loves to be in contact, a God who is close, is present (1st. Readidng) and actively
alongside his
people with signs and wonders (v.34). He is not a god who is
envious or
a rival of humankind, but a God
who wants everyone to be happy – “you and your
children” (v.34). Even more: He is a God who calls us to himself, makes
us his
children and heirs, involves us in his plan, giving us his Spirit (2nd.
Reading, v.16-17).
This is
the true face
of God that all peoples (Gospel) have the right and the need to
know
from the missionaries, according to the command of Jesus: “Go,
make
disciples, baptize, teach… (vv.19-20).
Hence the
Council
states: “The Church on earth is by its very nature missionary since,
according
to the plan of the Father, it has its origin in the mission of
the Son
and the Holy Spirit” (Ad Gentes 2). The gift of
the Triune
God is for all the peoples: something new that can enrich all
cultures,
a treasure that Christians have the right and the duty to share with
everyone. Out of
love! For this
mission, Jesus committed himself to be the Emmanuel:
“Look, I am
with you always to the end of time” (v.20). He walks alongside each one
along
the roads of the earth. With this certainty, the Church calls on us to
pray that
we may become proclaimers of the Salvation offered to all nations” (see
Collect)
The
Pope’sWords
(*)
«The
mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central
mystery of 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. ‘The whole history of salvation is
identical with
the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father,
Son and
Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men "and reconciles and unites with
himself those who turn away from sin’».
From the
Catechism of
the Catholic Church, n. 234
Sui passi
dei
Missionari
- 8/6: Bl.
James
Berthieu (1838-1896), a French Jesuit priest who was a missionary for
over 20
years in Madagascar. He
was martyred at Ambiatibé.
- 8/6: Bl.
Maria Teresa Chiramel Mankidiyan (1876-1926), a Carmelite nun from
Kerala
(India), foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family, dedicated to the
youth
and the needy.
- 9/6: Bl.
Giuseppe
de Anchieta (1534-1597), a Jesuit priest, born in the Canaries, who was
a
missionary in Brazil and found the city of São Paulo.
- 11/6: St. Barnabas, Apostle, one
of the first converts in Jerusalem, who was a missionary in Antioch and
evangelised in Cyprus. A
close friend and collaborator of St. Paul.
- 11/6: Bl. Ignazio Maloyan (1869-1915), Bishop of Mardine
of the Armenians and Martyr. He was tortured and
killed by the Turks at the beginning
of the massacres of Armenians.
- 12/6: St. Gaspare Bertoni
(Verona 1777-1853), founder of the missionary order of the Stigmatines.
- 12/6: Bl. Mercedes May of Jesus
Molina (1828-1883), an Ecuadorian nun and missionary among the Indios
called
‘jibaros’ She was a foundress, and died at Riobamba in Ecuador.
- 12/6: Global Anti-Child Labour Day, instituted by UNO in
2002.
- 13/6: St. Anthony of Padua
(1195-1231), a Franciscan priest from Portugal; a very effective
preacher and
Doctor of the Church.
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A cura di: P.
Romeo Ballan
– Missionari Comboniani (Verona)
Sito
Web: www.euntes.net
“Parola per la Missione”
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