God is one. But within God, in God's own inner life, there are three persons in relationship: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each possess the fullness of divine life simultaneously, without depriving the others. This vision of God as a divine community or family of persons changes everything for us. God is no static divinity living off in isolation. In Baptism, we are immersed, soaked, flooded with this communal divine life.
Here is my prayer for today's Feast of the Holy Trinity. The first line of the verse brings forward a word to describe the inner life of the one God who lives in a unity of persons. The second line identifies something (even light-hearted) that we know comes in threes. The third line picks up the theme of three-ness and calls upon the relational God to bless, protect and transform some aspect of our weary world.
The relationship of the Holy Trinity
of the three-petaled flower,
of the three-lobed leaf,
be over our climate changing planet
in need of the rescue
only we can offer —
when hearts are converted to the
treasuring of life.
The harmony of the Holy Trinity
of red, white and blue,
be over this nation,
harming,
even killing itself
with hatred,
addiction,
weaponization
and suspicious fear.
The company of the Holy Trinity
of the a-b-c to x-y-z
be over our successes and failures.
giving insight and energy
to begin again,
and yet again.
The household of the Holy Trinity
of breakfast, lunch and dinner
be over our world,
hungry with drought
and subsequent famine,
where food resources are stolen,
where divides between richest and poorest widen
and children remain unfed.
The community of the Holy Trinity
of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place,
be over the nations
of consuming privilege
and those who have nothing —
barely the scraps.
The society of the Holy Trinity
of solid, liquid, gas
the three states of matter
be over the human family
in all its variety
races, colors and kinds,
genders and life-paths.
May we learn to love one another.
The fellowship of the Holy Trinity
of left, right, center
be over us,
sorely divided —
tricked by media talking heads
who sow division,
suspicion and
fear.
The friendship of the Holy Trinity
of positive, negative, neutral
be over our minds
freeing us from compassion-less thinking —
blessing us with the expansive mind of Christ
which leaves no one excluded,
un-loved.
The intimacy of the Holy Trinity
of morning, noon and night
be over this new day
in whatever comes my way —
delighting me,
testing me,
inviting me.
The family of the Holy Trinity
of red, blue and yellow
the primary colors for mixing,
be over our families in their complexity,
their variety,
their struggling.
The circle of the Holy Trinity
of red, blue and green,
the primary colors of light
be over the church
wherever it is threatened by darkness —
from within,
from without,
where love has yet to triumph.
