Praise Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Visit this week’s Scripture readings at: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052216.cfm
Venturing out for a walk on a beautiful spring morning, my heart swelled at the sight of lilacs, pink tulips, trees laced with spring green buds while wispy clouds floated across the clear blue sky. My soul could not be contained, and sang, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him, all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”
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When encountering beauty so stunning, love so pure or truth so profound, one’s heart bows in silence or lifts in praise of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This Sunday, we celebrate Holy Trinity Sunday, a mystery foundational to our faith. Everything that is, has been and ever will be, has been poured forth from the wisdom of God. Everything—the foundation of the earth—the establishment of the heavens—the entire human race—came to be and is held together through the mystery of the Trinity. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
We are wise to open each day with a doxology, a hymn of praise glorifying God. Spanish cellist and composer Pablo Casals reflected deeply on the importance of doxology: “Each day I am reborn. Each day I must begin again. … I go to the piano and I play two preludes and fugues of Bach. … It is a benediction on the house. … It fills me with the wonder of eternity, with the incredible miracle of God.” When my mind is cluttered or my heart burdened, I need only raise my eyes to the morning sky and praise Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Immediately, God’s love pours forth and I begin anew.
At mealtime, bedtime and before leaving for school or play, we bless our children (now grandchildren) in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit as a reminder of their baptism—the day on which they became sharers in the divine life. On that special day, they each became adopted children of God—“a delight to the Father.” Each time we enter church we bless ourselves with baptismal water to remember our true worth. As young people dip their fingers into the saving font, they remember, “I belong to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”.
We were created to give God glory and are nearest to our true selves when praising Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As parents, grandparents, we name grace in the domestic church by leading our children in praise each day, by blessing them in the Sign of the Cross, and by reminding them of their beautiful, true and eternal worth through the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We name grace by bringing our children to worship the Triune God, font of all wisdom and truth.
The mystery of the Trinity can never be fully understood nor adequately explained, but only experienced through the grace of Jesus Christ. Each day, the eucharistic community gives glory to God by praying the powerful 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, for ever and ever.” Each morning and evening, the church lifts our hearts in praise: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!” Now, that’s good news!
How do you praise God each day? When do you bless your children/grandchildren?
Naming Grace in the Domestic Church reflects on the Sunday readings through the lens of a parent/grandparent, aiding parents in their vital task as “first preachers” of the Good News in the home.
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