Father, Son and Holy Spirit
June 7, 2020
We make the sign of the cross throughout our celebrations of Sacraments. We also sign ourselves before and after private prayer. We are very accustomed to the mantra of “Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.” For each of us, it began when we were Baptized. We were Baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A cross was traced on our foreheads claiming us for God, as well as a sign of being claimed by Him. What an awesome gift from God. For me, one of the prayers that is very special is the great Doxology. In every Eucharistic Prayer we use at the celebration of the Eucharist, we conclude with what is known as the Doxology, “through Him and with Him and In Him, O God, Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is Yours forever and ever.” This powerful acclamation allows us to give the glory to the Trinity. While Jesus is present on the altar, while His body and blood have now graced our presence by the saving act of love, we give praise to the Trinity. It is on that acclamation that the community then responds “Amen”, yes we believe. We are not only believing in the bread becoming the Body of Jesus and the wine becoming the Blood of Jesus we are lifting our very beings to the power of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
This gift is to give us strength to walk forward in these present times. We are to acknowledge that all power, all glory is to belong to God and we are to live as servants of this proclamation. This is so crucial that the Doxology is the conclusion of every Eucharistic Prayer. The power of God is to lead us and we are to embrace the reality that God is offering Himself, Father, Son and Holy Spirit to us to give us strength on our journey and in our being.
This weekend, we are to be drawn into the powerful mystery of a loving God who comes to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God equal in majesty. May we begin by acknowledging it is only though Him, with Him and in Him that we exist.
Father John J. Ouper