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The Time After Pentecost
the grave of sin; we look forward with longing to our final redemption and to our eventual
resurrection to the eternal life which has been promised to us. The perfect redemption which
we await will be accomplished in the “day of Christ,” the day on which He will return with
power and majesty to judge both the living and the dead. We plunge into the battle between
the spirit and the flesh, between the new man and the old man, between the kingdom of
God and the kingdom of sin. The strength required for this battle will be furnished by the
Eucharist. “I live, and you shall live” ( Jn 14:19).
Trinity Sunday
The Mass
The first Sunday after Pentecost is dominated by the feast of the Holy Trinity. Ever since the
beginning of the ecclesiastical year, the liturgy has kept us conscious of the great mystery of
our redemption, the mystery of God’s love and mercy. Today the Church turns gratefully to
contemplate the great mystery on which our redemption depends. The source and the final end
of all the graces she has received, of all the mysteries she has celebrated during the past year, is
the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
Today the Church lifts her heart, overflowing with love, in a grateful Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui
Sancto. Thus she sings in memory of the mystery and the blessings of Christmas, Easter, and
Pentecost; and in the Introit of the Mass these words bear aloft to the very throne of the Holy
Trinity her joy and her gratitude: “Blessed be the Holy Trinity and undivided unity; we will give
glory to Him because He hath shown His mercy to us.” Today the Kyrie may be understood to
mean: “Graciously accept our thanks, O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” Our gratitude is further
expressed in the Gloria and in the Epistle, especially by the significant words with which the
Epistle ends: “For of Him and by Him and in Him are all things; to Him be glory forever.” The
same sentiment is repeated in the Gradual and in the Alleluia verse. The mystery of the Holy
Trinity is the subject of the Gospel also. That mystery we shall never fully understand, — one
God in three persons — yet we believe it firmly and express that belief in the Credo: “I believe.”
At the Offertory we sing: “Blessed be God the Father and the only-begotten Son of God, and
also the Holy Spirit; because He hath shown His mercy to us.” The Holy Trinity is revealed
to us in a tangible manner in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, through which the work of our
redemption is repeated and grace is imparted to us. God manifests His grace to us by placing
Christ in our hands as our offering, so that together with Christ we become a gift pleasing to
the Divinity. With Christ and in Christ we are able to approach the very throne of the Holy
Trinity. There, since we are the brothers of Christ, we may address the Father as His children:
“Our Father, . . . hallowed be Thy name. . . . Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our
trespasses, . . . [and] deliver us from evil.” But the remission of our sins is not enough. In the
offering of Holy Communion the Father gives us as our daily bread the most Holy Eucharist,
the most tangible expression and the surest guarantee of His love and His mercy. For this reason
we sing the beautiful Communion hymn: “We bless the God of heaven, and before all living
we will praise Him; because He hath shown His mercy to us.” Then we pray that “the reception
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