There are many practices that we Catholics have which we do so often, we can easily forget their meaning. One of these practices is the way that we begin and end our prayers. We hardly think about it, but we begin all our prayers by invoking the Trinity and signing our bodies with the sign of God’s eternal love for us, the Sign of the Cross. Whether those prayers are the Mass, the central prayers of the church, or simply grace before dinner, we always begin with, “In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” In Church, we make the sign of the cross, even before we enter our pews. The Mass concludes with the people being blessed in the name of the Trinity. So, the first reflection we make when we invoke the Trinity is that we believe in that Person of the Holy Trinity who created us and loves us, the Father. We make the sign of the cross as an affirmation that we have been saved by the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the One who was crucified for us. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. Perhaps we use that term Savior too freely. Perhaps it has lost its meaning for us. When we say, “He frees us from sin,” we mean that he frees us from the misery that makes existence intolerable. With Jesus Christ, there is no situation in life that cannot lead us to his Peace, Presence and Happiness. He became one of us, Christmas. He died for us, Good Friday. He conquered death and restored eternal life for us, Easter. He ascended to the Father, but His Spirit and the Spirit of the Father, the Holy Spirit, was given to us on Pentecost and remains the Life Principal of the Church as well as the spiritual drive within each of us. We each have the Presence and Power of God within us. We can make God Present to others. This is the Third Person of the Trinity. And so we begin our prayers in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So, the sign of the cross is an affirmation of our faith. It is a declaration of whom we are: people God loves, forgives and empowers. When we recognize that God forgives us, we realize that His Love is infinitely greater than our sins. We need to stop beating ourselves up and let His forgiveness into our lives. So many people in the world, so many of us, give up on life because we have given up on ourselves. When that happens we get into a downward cycle. We continue to do things that lead to spiritual disaster because we think God will not forgive us. Jesus Christ is our Savior, He saves us from ourselves. He forgives us. He calls us to spread the Good News, the Gospel to others.  Today, he challenges us to let all know that if they are committed to God, He will forgive them also. God gives us the Power to lead others to Christ. Every one of us has a unique ability to reflect God’s love in the world. Every one of us is capable of instilling the seed of God’s love in others. We are people who are loved, forgiven and empowered. We find our meaning in life in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit • AE

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Fr. Agustin Schedule for the solemnity of The Most Holy Trinity Pentecost (2022)

Saturday June 11, 2022

11.00 a.m. Sacrament of Baptism for Gwendolyn Eliza Mims

1.00 p.m. Marriage preparations sessions.

4.00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessional)

5.00 p.m. (English Mass @ Main Church)

Sunday June 12, 2022

7.30 a.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)

10.00 a.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)

12.00 p.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)

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Solemnidad de la Santisima Trinidad (2022)

Vivimos tiempos de confusión religiosa. En muchos, todo está bastante mezclado: Cristo, los sacramentos, Dios, la resurrección, el Papa, la Virgen. Sin embargo, no todo es igual ni tiene la misma importancia. Debemos entender dónde está lo esencial de la fe para vivirla de manera unificada y sencilla. Y es que una religión complicada y confusa no puede despertar gozo en el creyente.  «Creo en Dios Padre, creador del cielo y de la tierra». No estoy solo ni vivo olvidado. Dios es mi Padre, Él es mi origen y mi destino. Él me creó sólo por amor; él me espera con corazón de Padre. No sólo a mí, sino a todos los hombres y mujeres que son mis hermanos. Su nombre es hoy olvidado, negado y hasta despreciado. Yo mismo lo olvido con frecuencia. Pero Él es mi única esperanza, lo mejor que tengo. Aunque dude de muchas cosas, no quiero perder mi fe en este Dios Padre, pues intuyo que habría perdido lo esencial. «Creo en Jesucristo, su único Hijo». Sé que Jesús fue un hombre extraordinario, pero en él se encierra algo más. No es sólo un modelo a imitar, o un maestro a seguir. Es el Hijo de Dios enviado por el Padre. En él descubro el rostro de Dios y también su corazón. Sé cuántas cosas se escriben y se dicen hoy de Jesús. Para mí, nunca será un hombre más. En sus palabras escucho la voz de Dios, en sus gestos intuyo su amor. En él le siento a Dios cercano, humano, amigo. Aunque olvide otras cosas, no quiero olvidar a Jesucristo. ¿Quién podría ocupar su vacío y ofrecerme la luz y la esperanza que de él recibo? «Creo en el Espíritu Santo, Señor y dador de vida». Creo en su presencia viva en mí y en todos los hombres y mujeres. Sé que es dador de vida porque pone en mí amor, luz, fortaleza y creatividad. Pero su mayor regalo es saber que ese misterio de Dios que, a veces, me parece tan lejano e insondable, está en el fondo de mi ser. Conozco mi superficialidad, pero no quiero vivir sólo desde fuera, ignorando lo mejor que hay dentro de mí. Hoy es la fiesta de la Trinidad, y a pesar de mi mediocridad y mi poca fe, quiero vivir y morir «en el nombre del Padre y del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo». Quisiera recordarlo cada vez que trazo sobre mi la señal de la cruz • AE

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