Missing the Point… and Finding It

Reflection for Trinity Sunday by Fr. Earl Valdez

Photo from Notre Dame de Paris

This weekend, Filipino communities in Rome, like parish communities in the Philippines, will be celebrating the end of the Flores de Mayo in honor of the Virgin Mary. And following our tradition, the celebration ends with the Santacruzan, which has a quite unusual connection with Marian devotion. 

This procession features young ladies (sometimes with young male escorts) dressed in elegant gowns to represent the different Marian titles; however, the procession is headed by the representation of Queen Helena (Reyna Elena) and the young prince Constantine (usually a much younger boy, and believe it or not, I was a Principe Constantino many many years ago), who, according to legend, found the True Cross in Jerusalem, the relics of which are enshrined, among others, in the Basilica of the Holy Cross, near the Lateran Basilica. 

Lito Balagtas, “Santacruzan”Photo from Mutual Art

But as with most religious festivities in the Philippines, we often got things wrong, or rather, misguided. More than the solemnity of the procession as Marian in character, which should have prayer and devotion at the center, most of us are preoccupied with the elegance of the gowns, the intricate details of the procession arcs that would be carried around by volunteers, and the formal wear of the escorts. Though we recognize ourselves as a people who express our devotion through beauty, we end up extracting beauty out of the devotion and fail to appreciate the true spirit of the celebration. 

I think this is something that we as a Church should continually reflect on, especially during big celebrations. But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that for this year, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, a way for us to remind ourselves in a special way that our faith is in One True God, in Three Divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

L. Girardin, “Trinity” (1478) | Photo from the Cleveland Museum of Art

And yes, at the heart of our faith also lies a point which we often miss. 

We most often define the identity of the Triune God through the terms that surround it: One Divinity, Three Persons. To the non-believer (or to the Non-Trinitarian believer), we try to explain how “one plus one plus one” still equate to “The One.” We use the history of the different images of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to insist that we believe in just One God, but has three Persons, and when we try to distinguish one from another, we encounter this fundamental difficulty of explaining how He is not like any “person,” referring to us human persons who certainly exist only with one sense of identity. 

Do not get me wrong. Our articulations of the Trinity are as crucial and important as our own way of understanding our faith. But sometimes, we miss the whole background and foundation from which these terms have meaning: God’s Revelation as Love. And as such, we can only understand it if we look at the whole history and development of God’s relationship with humanity, starting from creation, all the way to our redemption, and even to the fullness of time. 

Yet, that is only a description of love, words that are remnants of the experience of loving and being loved. The Trinity can be truly understood in these very experiences through which we feel loved and led to love others as well. The words of our creed only make sense when we come to appreciate the love of God made manifest in our lives, in His presence that accompanies us in difficulties and challenges, His accompaniment in times of crises. Moreover, we can only communicate this doctrine in our own gestures of love and mercy, in our compassion for each other, in our attempts to realize the dream of a better world. 

A. Robins, “Jesus Healing” (2020)Photo from Plough

And most importantly, we experience and understand the truth of the doctrine of the Trinity, when we relive and make present in our lives the self-giving love that Christ has on the Cross. We make it real precisely when we make love real, especially to the lost, the poor, the marginalized, the outcast, and the disenfranchised. These are the people who could teach us more about what it means for God to be real, in their existence that demands us to answer: “But where is this Triune God you speak of?” 

After all, this question has been answered best by none other than the One who shows Himself as the God of Love: Our Lord who spread His arms on the Cross and called everyone back to the Father, guided by the Holy Spirit on their path. 

May we not miss the elegance of eloquence, and return to the true point of our faith.

Photo from The Pillar