WORD ALIVE FR. BEL SAN LUIS, SVD Once a pious woman who was bringing a bunch of novena-booklets to church met the parish priest. He asked, “Who is your favorite saint?” “Of course, I like the Blessed Virgin Mary best! But I also like her sister!” “Her sister? Who is she?” asked the priest. “Of course, Santa Trinidad, Father.” The Virgin Mary has no sister and the amusing story only shows how difficult it is to understand the doctrine of the Holy Trinity (‘Santa Trinidad,’ in Spanish). * * * St. Patrick, a missionary to Ireland, used as analogy the shamrock leaf. It has three leaflets but only one stem. Others use the example of water, which can exist in three different forms: Ice, liquid, and steam but they’re one and the same water. All of these attempt to illustrate the Holy Trinity — one God but Three Persons. * * * Why should we Christians believe in one God who is three Persons but are all distinct of divine nature? We believe this because Jesus Christ himself revealed it to us when he came to our world. The Lord said: “The Father and I are one.” “I will send to you the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth.” Before ascending to Heaven, Jesus said: “Go into the whole world; teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit” (Mk 16:15). * * * However, the Holy Trinity is not completely beyond comprehension. Through Jesus, God the Father revealed his main attribute which is love. Jesus said, “As the Father loves me so I love you.” The Scripture declares: "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son" (Jn 3,16). Moreover, love is the bond that unites the Trinitarian family of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. * * * If there’s ever a more appropriate place where the love of the Holy Trinity can be reflected, it is in the family. The family becomes a “little Holy Trinity” when family members show love, caring and respect for one another. Once a husband was in a joking mood with his wife. He was looking intensely at their antiquated marriage certificate. The serious wife was peeved, saying, “Why are you scrutinizing our marriage certificate for a long time already.” The husband smiled and said, “I’m just trying to find if there’s an expiration date!” The serious wife became all the more angry and started to fight. “Why, you want to divorce me, huh?” And that led to a full-blown warfare. That story illustrates that a simple matter can easily ignite a spouse’s feeling, especially when she lacks a sense of humor. * * * Family members can make mistakes, hence, there’s the constant need of forgiveness and reconciliation. As a writer puts it: “Marriage is the institution of two forgivers.” * * * Aside from the family, let’s pray that the Church, the world’s Holy Family, may fulfill the mandate of Christ to preach the Gospel to all nations and may the Church leaders, missionaries, and lay members mirror the love and the unity of the Holy Trinity by the way they live. * * * Help seminarians and sick indigents. A certain Ms. Anna Marie Babasa wrote: “Even though I am a single parent the Lord has blessed me tremendously. It’s been proven time and again that if you share your blessings with those who are in need, the Lord will bless you all the more.” * * * May I appeal to others to share, too, by donating an amount for the “poorest of the poor” we’re helping, or sponsor a seminarian's schooling for one school year. For inquiry, e-mail me at: [email protected].