June 4 – The Most Holy Trinity

Growing up in the 90’s, one of my favorite TV shows (maybe because of the suspenseful music) was “Unsolved Mysteries”.  The show, as the name states, reenacted ongoing mysteries from the past.  Occasionally, throughout the years of the show, you might be lucky to get “an update” where they would reveal an answer to a former mystery. 

As a math guy and an engineer, I have to say, I don’t like mysteries.  I was always taught to solve the unknown.  Even to this day, people will come with me with problems, and my automatic instinct is to calculate the precise solution.  My mindset: answers are good, mysteries are bad.

But then, how do I deal with the ‘mysteries’ of our faith.  For example, this weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity: God is three persons, yet one God.  Is this a mystery I can solve?  The answer is clearly no… but then, are some mysteries therefore good?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes! Some mysteries are not meant to be completely solved, but rather entered into!  We can see this in other areas of our lives too. For instance, what person in your life can you completely explain or define? Can you ever really solve another person? No. There is always more to be discovered in an other—even our very own hearts are a mystery to us!  This isn’t a bad thing, but an opportunity. It’s what makes love, marriage, family, and friends a beautiful adventure that can captivate us for a lifetime! If we’re willing to enter into the mystery, to engage the mystery of the other with love and respect, then these relationships can continue to unfold as an ever more beautiful mystery!

So, unlike the 90’s show might have us believe, some mysteries are meant to be left unsolved—not because they’re nonsensical, but because their depths could never truly be exhausted. God revealed himself as love: as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We need not fret if we cannot fully grasp how it is possible to have 3 divine persons and only one God. Instead we can concern ourselves with the question, “How is my relationship going with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit?” It’s the mystery of our relationship with love himself, and the mystery at the heart of heaven.

Father Michael