Trinity Sunday, Cycle C

General Intercessions

Celebrant: As we worship the Holy Trinity, let us present our needs before the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Deacon/Lector:

That the one God in three persons may bring about unity and harmony among the many nations of the world, we pray to the Lord...

That the Church may ever more effectively proclaim Christ, who leads all to the Father in the Holy Spirit, we pray to the Lord...

That the union of life in the Trinity may bring us into deeper union with those society tends to reject or ignore, we pray to the Lord…

That the poor, the sick, and all who suffer may be filled with the life of the Trinity and experience the loving presence of God's people, we pray to the Lord...

That all who have died may share the life of the Trinity forever, we pray to the Lord...

Celebrant:

Father,
we praise you for revealing to us
the mystery of your inner life.
As you hear our prayers,
may we grow in faithfulness to you at all times.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Bulletin Insert

Praise the Holy Trinity

Some truths, like the very existence of God, can be known by human reason alone. Other truths, like the fact that God is One in Three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – can only be known if God reveals them to us. We could never conclude on our own that God is a Trinity. Today’s Feast is not only an opportunity for thanking God for telling us more about himself. It is an occasion to take courage as we strive for deeper unity within the human family. God reveals himself to us in order to make us more like himself – not just as individuals, but as families, nations, and an international community. We grow in unity as we give ourselves away to one another, just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit give themselves to each other completely.

Homily Suggestions

The readings today, of course, present again the truth that God is One in Three Persons. Preaching pro-life on the Feast of the Holy Trinity leads us to comment on the reality of “communio". Seen in a unique way in the Trinity, this is a reality lived on a human level as well. It is first of all a gift, and secondly a task, consisting of a total self-giving to one another. The unity of families, nations, and the world depend on it. As the bulletin insert above indicates, this is a key reason for today’s Feast.

A particular application is in the matter of abortion. There are no two human beings closer than a mother and her unborn child. Abortion disrupts, denies, and distorts the union of these two persons, and in doing so, further destroys family and societal unity. Most marriages break up after an abortion, and the woman often experiences an inability to bond with future children or even enter into future relationships with men. Her ability to trust and to make life decisions is impaired by abortion.

Standing for life and protecting the unborn means fostering the “communio" we see, in its ultimate form, in the Trinity. Life is preserved precisely when it is given away in self-sacrificing love.