posted 6/6/20
This Sunday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The truth that God exists is something that one can reasonably deduce through the exercise of one’s natural intellectual gifts. The inner life of God as a Communion of Three Divine Persons, however, is something that we know only through divine revelation. Our imaginations are not much help in contemplating the Trinity, since it surpasses our power to conceive the truth that there is One God and that in the one God there are three Divine Persons – Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. In fact, when we try to work it out visually, we always make a mistake to some degree because of our natural limitations. Each of the Three Persons is God and all of them are God, and they are truly One God. It is an exercise in futility to attempt to perfectly comprehend the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. Thus, we do better to rest in this greatest of mysteries which, please God, we will spend eternity contemplating and praising with the all the angels and saints.
Since the 4th century, the Church has prayed a hymn called the Te Deum on its most important feasts. It gets its name from the first line of the prayer: “You are God.” It is the basis of the well-known hymn: “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.” I share the Te Deum with you below, that you might pray it on this great solemnity, and express the joy of worshipping the Lord – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are God: we praise you;
You are God: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:
Father, of majesty unbounded,
Your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
And the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
The eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
You did not spurn the Virgin’s womb.
You overcame the sting of death,
And opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come, and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
Bought with the price of your own blood,
And bring us with your saints
To glory everlasting.
The Parish of St. Cecilia-St. Gabriel 