With you always

Holy Trinity

Today and next Sunday are special days which direct 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. This feast is an invitation for us to think about our belief in the Triune God. One God in three persons. The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is a mystery of faith which we profess every time as we make the Sign of the Cross and when we say the Creed. The good thing about a mystery is there is always more that we can learn about it! Theologian Karl Rahner said “Mystery is not that which I cannot know, but that which I cannot exhaust.” 

The Gospel reading is taken from Matthew’s Gospel and although it is short, only 4 verses, it contains instructions which are as relevant to us today as they were for the eleven disciples who met Jesus on the mountaintop at Galilee as he had instructed them to. They see Jesus and fall down in worship although some hesitated at first. Jesus approaches them and commissions them to baptise and teach. It is the final commission of Jesus who tells the eleven to go out to all nations. Jesus’ mission is now handed onto the disciples who are to go out and baptise and teach throughout the world in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and Jesus also gives them courage by saying, “Know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.” With these words Matthew ends his Gospel. 

This promise of Jesus being with us always is a promise which strengthens our daily lives, it is a wonderful thought. In today’s reading Jesus confirms that there are three Persons in one God and just like the disciples we as baptised Christians are sent out to evangelise and be witnesses of Christ. The essence of being a Christian is knowing God and although we can never fully understand the divine mystery, through the Trinity, we can have what C. S. Lewis in his book “Mere Christianity” calls a threefold knowledge of Him. Even though God is always greater than my knowledge of Him, I can know God through what he has shown us about himself. I can know God in three different ways, I can experience God in three different ways and I can love in three different ways. When we realise the wonder of this threefold knowing and loving then the Trinity is not a dry, unreachable dogma but it is the heart and essence of our belief. God wants us today to get excited about the mystery of being Three-in-One.

A reading from the Gospel of Matthew (28: 16-20)

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

  1. Read the Gospel story so that you are familiar with it.
  2. Reflect on what the Gospel story is saying to you. Which points would you highlight and why?
  3. We can with the help of the Holy Spirit try to understand the mystery of the Trinity better. St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians (Eph 3: 14-20) gave a prayer to the believers at Ephesus. Look up and pray this prayer this week to help you understand better.
  4. Our God is a God of relationships, and a God whom we experience in our daily lives. Every time we make the Sign of the Cross and say the words “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” we are proclaiming to others that we are baptised Christians. 
  5. Together with your family find the right time to read this Gospel. The environment helps, so before you start, prepare;
    i. The Bible reading from St Matthew (28: 16-20)
    ii. A candle
    iii. Cover the table with a white cloth
    vi. A computer/laptop with the reading and clips
  6. Go through the steps with your children (2 age groups are being suggested)
  7. Feel free to adapt to your situation
  8. Be creative 😊
  9. Go to the Prayer Corner section to continue praying as a family

When Jesus was alive on earth he sent out an invitation it was to “come and follow me.” This invitation is addressed to everyone who wishes to come and Jesus asked his disciples to deliver his invitation all over the world. Jesus also asks us to tell others about this special invitation.

  • Jesus sent out an invitation to all the people He met
  • Jesus told us to go everywhere and tell others about His love for them
  • Coloured craft card
  • Colours and pencil
  • Scissors and glue stick
  • Invitation template    
TemplateDownload

One day after he rose from the dead and just before he went up to Heaven Jesus spoke to his disciples on a mountain. Jesus sent the disciples out to deliver his message of love, he wanted them to baptise other people in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and to deliver the message to as many people as possible.

Have you ever had a party? Maybe it was your birthday and you invited your friends to celebrate with you. The first thing you need to do is to send out invitations to all the people you wish to have present at your party. One way of sending them is through the Post Office, once you put a letter in the mailbox it is the job of the postman to deliver it as long as it has a stamp on it. Another way of inviting your friends is to give them the invitation yourself! 

Jesus gave us an invitation to follow Him and His teachings, everyone is invited and it is up to us if we decide to accept His invitation. His invitation is addressed to “whoever wishes to come.” Because we are baptised, Jesus has chosen us to deliver this invitation to other people as well. Jesus told us to go everywhere and tell everyone about His love for them, about how He died on the cross for our sins and how He rose again and went up to Heaven and we are invited to join Him there. This is a wonderful invitation from Jesus, would you like to accept His invitation?

If your answer is “yes” then you can do as Jesus asked and tell others about Jesus’ love so they can follow too. If you would like to invite others you can print out the invites and write the names of your family and friends on them. Cut out the envelope from coloured card and glue on the invite, and fold it to form an envelope and write the name of the person whom you are giving it to on the outside. Now they are all ready to deliver! 

Whilst you are preparing your invites you can listen to the song I’m Following Jesus.

Sign of the Cross

Father in Heaven, we thank you for your love for us. We thank you for Jesus who came so that we might have eternal life. We thank you for the Holy Spirit who is our comforter and guide. Help us to be faithful in telling others about your love for them. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

Jesus teaches us in today’s Gospel that God is not just one Person, but three Persons in one God. The three Persons in God are God the Father, God the Son who is Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit. We call this The Blessed Trinity and we remember this every time we make the Sign of the Cross.

  • Jesus revealed that God is love, not as one Person but as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, these are the Persons of the Holy Trinity
  • Through baptism we share in the life of the Blessed Trinity
  • Instructions and ingredients to make pretzels 
  • Permission from an adult 
InstructionsDownload

As Christians, the cross of Jesus is very important to us. In fact, before we pray we make the Sign of the Cross and say the words “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This in fact is a prayer itself. Every time we do this, we acknowledge the Blessed Trinity by saying that as Christians we believe in the existence of One God in three Persons. It is also called a mystery of faith and we can never fully understand it or else we would be God ourselves!

Today’s Gospel reading is from Matthew, in fact they are the very last verses of his Gospel and through it Jesus tells the disciples to go and spread his word to all the world. The disciples are to baptise “in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.” This reminds us of our own Baptism which was the first time that we were marked with the Sign of the Cross. When we were baptised, the Priest starts by tracing the Sign of the Cross on our forehead and then asks our parents and our godparents to do the same on our forehead it is to welcome us into the Christian community. The priest also speaks the name of the Trinity when he pours the water on our head three times saying, “I baptise you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus instructed the disciples to teach people about His love and to baptise in the name of the Trinity, this is exactly what the Priest is doing at our Baptism and these signs remind us that through our Baptism, we share in the life of the Blessed Trinity.

Have you ever eaten a pretzel? Do you know what it is? Tradition says that an Italian monk around 610 A.D, presented his students with treats of twisted, baked bread dough in the shape of crossed arms. At that time, crossing your arms was a sign of prayer. In time the pretzel’s three holes came to represent the Holy Trinity. If you would like to make pretzels follow this link (insert doc). 

You can also listen to the Trinity Song.

Sign of the Cross.

Dear Father, we thank you and we praise you. We have been given the task of making disciples of all nations. Help us to be faithful in sharing your love, teaching the goodness of Jesus the Son, and the friendship of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

1. According to today's Gospel, the disciples went to a place and climbed a mountain as Jesus commanded them. What was the name of the place they went to?

Correct! Wrong!

2. When Jesus saw his disciples, he told them that something had been given to him. What was this?

Correct! Wrong!

3. In whose name should the disciples baptize, as Jesus commanded them?

Correct! Wrong!

4. At the end of his speech to the disciples, Jesus promised them that he ...

Correct! Wrong!

How to use this space

God speaks to us in many ways, including through the Sunday Scripture readings. Here you will find useful background and activities to better understand the upcoming Sunday's Scripture readings, helping you to connect the Scripture to daily life in a meaningful way.