For God so loved the world

The Most Holy Trinity – Year A

Collect

God our Father, who by sending into the world the Word of truth and the Spirit of sanctification made known to the human race your wondrous mystery, grant us, we pray, that in professing the true faith, we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory and adore your Unity, powerful in majesty. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Reading
Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9

The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God.

A reading from the Book of Exodus

Early in the morning Moses went up Mount Sinai
   as the LORD had commanded him,
   taking along the two stone tablets.

Having come down in a cloud, the LORD stood with Moses there
   and proclaimed his name, “LORD.”
Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
   “The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
   slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.”
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.
Then he said, “If I find favor with you, O Lord,
   do come along in our company.
This is indeed a stiff-necked people;
   yet pardon our wickedness and sins,
   and receive us as your own.”

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56

R. :

℟. (52b) Glory and praise for ever!

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
   praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
and blessed is your holy and glorious name,
   praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.

℟. Glory and praise for ever!

Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
   praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.

℟. Glory and praise for ever!

Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
   praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.

℟. Glory and praise for ever!

Blessed are you who look into the depths
   from your throne upon the cherubim,
   praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.

℟. Glory and praise for ever!

Second Reading
2 Cor 13:11-13

The grace of Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

A reading from the second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

Brothers and sisters, rejoice.
Mend your ways, encourage one another,
   agree with one another, live in peace,
   and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the holy ones greet you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
   and the love of God
   and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel
cf Rv 1:8

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
to God who is, who was, and who is to come.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Jn 3:16-18

God sent his Son that the world might be saved through him.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
   so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
   but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
   but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
   but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
   because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection

The Gospel that the Church presents to us for this Sunday contains the very essence of the feast we are celebrating, because it speaks to us about the love of God. Indeed, the Holy Trinity itself is a communion of love. Although we do not find the word “Trinity” in Scripture, we do find the revelation of God as Creator and loving Father, the Word made flesh who dwelt among us, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, whom we profess in the Creed as proceeding from the Father and the Son. Saint Augustine explains it in this way: the Father who loves, the beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit as the love that unites them.

Jesus emphasises that his Incarnation is the fruit of the love that God has for all humanity. In the Lord Jesus, God, who is love, drew near to us human beings. He loved us first and continues to love us, knocking at the door of our hearts so that we may welcome him into our lives. This immense saving love of God is revealed in the life and death of Jesus on the Cross for the salvation of the whole world. Salvation is open to all people, but in order to receive the grace of eternal life, we must have faith in the Lord Jesus. Faith is a gift from God which we receive through the Holy Spirit, who stirs our hearts and draws us closer to God. When we accept this gift, we receive the grace of salvation. Whoever does not believe in the Lord Jesus and in the redemption he has brought us, rejects the love of God and thus brings condemnation upon himself, because he continues to live in darkness, far from the source of life.

Every human person is called to love and to reveal the image of God within them. The readings and the feast we are celebrating today remind us that God is love, and the way we live bears witness to how we respond to this love. As Christians who profess our faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, how are we living with one another within the family, in the community, at the workplace, and among friends? Let us ask the Lord to grant us the grace to live in loving unity with one another and to become living witnesses to the presence of God in the world.

Prayer

I love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:1-2)

 

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