THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY This week we return to the liturgical season of Ordinary Time. This Sunday and next Sunday, however, are designated as solemnities, special days that call our attention to the central mysteries of our faith. Today, on the first Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. A special feast in honour of the Most Holy Trinity was celebrated by the Benedictines in France prior to the year 1000. Pope Alexander II (d. 1073) denied a request that this celebration be extended to the Universal Church, arguing that every liturgical celebration honours the Most Holy Trinity. More than one hundred fifty years later, 1334, however, Pope John XXII (d. 1334) finally chose to add this special feast to the calendar of the Church. The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity provides us with an opportunity to look back on the Paschal Triduum and Easter Seasons to reflect on the work of salvation celebrated in these holy days in the light of the mystery of the Trinity. The liturgical readings for this solemnity contain a rich treasure of proclamation and adoration, inviting us to declare: “Glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: to God who is, who was, and who is to come” (Alleluia verse). Henri Nouwen in Sabbatical Journey once said, “I tried to explain the mystery of the Trinity by saying that all human relationships are reflections of the relationships within God. God is the Lover, the Beloved, and the Love that binds us in unity. God invites us to be part of that inner movement of love so that we can truly become sons and daughters of the Father, sisters and brothers of the Son, and spouses of the Holy Spirit. Thus, all our human relationships can be lived in God, and as witness to God’s divine presence in our lives.” Let us rejoice today in this great feast of the Godhead.