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Homily – Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (C) W Homily – Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (C) w. Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation for Adultsi Most Reverend José H. Gomez Archbishop of Los Angeles Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels May 26, 2013 My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, In this great feast of Holy Trinity Sunday, we celebrate the central mystery of our Christian faith and our Christian life. So this is a beautiful day for us to also be celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation with our brothers and sisters here around this altar. Confirmation is the sacrament of Christian living. It is the Sacrament that deepens our relationship with the Holy Trinity as disciples of Jesus Christ. So as we pray for our candidates for Confirmation this morning, let us all renew our devotion to the Holy Trinity. Trinity Sunday, every year, gives us a chance to meditate on the mystery of God’s love — first, the love of God in the heart of the Trinity; the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But we also have the opportunity today to reflect on the great love that God has for each one of us. We can reflect on the Blessed Trinity’s plan for our salvation. God’s love for each one of us. So in the first reading, from the Book of Proverbs, we hear about how the Blessed Trinity brought the whole world into being — the heavens and the earth and the human race. We hear the beautiful story of how he created everything out of love. Including each one of us. The Blessed Trinity finds delight in the human race, the first reading tells us. That means each one of us. We are a part of God’s plan, my dear brothers and sisters. The Trinity has chosen us before creation — to be holy. That’s what St. Paul is talking about in today’s second reading. Jesus comes to show us our Father in Heaven and he gives us the Spirit, who is the love of the Father and the Son. And Jesus pours out the love of God from his heart to our heart — through his Holy Spirit. Page 2 of 3 These words of St. Paul have a special meaning for you, my dear brothers and sisters, receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation today. Because, in the Sacrament of Confirmation, as you well know, you receive the gifts of his Holy Spirit. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit that are going to give you God’s love in a very specific way. That you can make the right decisions in life. Wisdom and understanding, good judgment and courage, each one of those gifts is going to help you to become disciples of Jesus Christ and to feel, in a special way, God’s love for you. But these words are also for all of us. Jesus says in the Gospel today — that the Father has given everything to him. And he promises us that the Holy Spirit will guide us to all truth. It’s so beautiful to consider that. It’s so beautiful to just think and meditate on the fact that God is our Father. That Jesus is our close and intimate friend who loves us with a great love. That the Holy Spirit is our Consoler and Counselor, that he is here to guide us in our lives. God really loves us, in a very special way. In a very powerful way. And he shows that love in many ways, especially with Jesus coming to Earth. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity who comes to Earth and is equal to us in except in sin. And he gives his life on the Cross, because he really loves us, that we can have salvation and redemption. So today as we reflect on the beautiful mystery of the Trinity, let us ask for the grace to grow in our friendship with each of the three divine Persons of the Trinity. We need to grow as children of the Father. We need to grow as brothers and sisters of Jesus. And we need to open ourselves to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. My brothers and sisters, God really wants to be with us. The challenge that we all have, as we know, is to accept him in our lives and especially to look for him in our daily life. We’re all so busy, have so many things to do, so many responsibilities — in our families, at work, in society — that sometimes it seems that there is not, at least not enough, time for God in our lives. So today, let us once again make the resolution to be in the presence of God in an ordinary, normal way. It’s not that we have to do something special. Wherever we are: at home, at work, at school, in the busy freeways of Los Angeles — we spend a lot of time driving out there on the freeways, don’t we — let’s try to be in the presence of God every single second of our lives. So, our goal should be to achieve a living and active presence of God based on the sense of our divine filiation — the fact that we are children of God. And because we are children of God, he also gives us a mission, a purpose in this world. He wants us to go out into the world to talk to people about him — about God the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And to let them know that they can have a personal relationship with him. And they should be aware of his presence in their lives. Page 3 of 3 Confirmation is the sacrament of Christian mission. Today, you will receive the special strength of the Holy Spirit — to strengthen you for your mission in his Church. And all of us, my dear brothers and sisters, we are called to be true witnesses to Christ in word and in action.ii Especially now, we meet so many people that are not aware of God’s love for them, and God’s presence for them in their daily life. So many people it seems that they are running away from God. And we, each one of us have the beautiful treasure of knowing that God loves each one of us with a infinite beautiful love. So it is really a beautiful mission that we have: to bring God to our people and our people to God. So on this beautiful day as we prepare to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation, let us pray for the grace to deepen our awareness of the Blessed Trinity’s loving presence within our souls. And let us pray for the help of our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of the Angels. Mary was the first person in whom the Trinity came to dwell. So let us ask her, Mary, Mother of God, and our Mother, to help us to grow in our devotion to the Holy Trinity, so that we love God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Spirit. Amen. i Readings: Prov. 8:22–31; Ps. 8:4–9; Rom. 5:1–5; John 16:12–15. ii Catechism, 1303, 2044. .
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