Reflection for the 7th Sunday of Easter: Let Them Be One

As the Seventh Sunday of Easter approaches, Catholics around the world prepare to delve into the profound spiritual themes presented in the liturgy for Year B. This day offers a moment of reflection on the readings that speak to the heart of Christian faith and the journey towards unity with God.

The first reading from Acts 1:15-17, 20A, 20C-26, presents the narrative of the Apostles choosing Matthias to replace Judas, emphasizing the importance of apostolic witness and continuity in the Church's mission. It is a reminder of the Church's resilience and the unbroken line of witness that stretches back to the very beginnings of the Christian faith.

The Responsorial Psalm, Psalm 103, is a poetic expression of praise, acknowledging God's mercy and the vastness of His love. It is a call to remember the kindnesses of the Lord, who rules over all from His throne in heaven.

The second reading from 1 John 4:11-16 invites the faithful to reflect on the profound love of God and the call to love one another deeply. This mutual love confirms God's presence among us and perfects His love through our actions. It is a powerful message that challenges believers to live out the commandment of love in tangible ways.

The Gospel reading from John 17:11B-19 is particularly moving, as it recounts Jesus' prayer for His disciples. He prays not for their removal from the world but for their protection from evil. Jesus asks for their sanctification and unity, mirroring the unity between Him and the Father. This passage invites the faithful to consider their own place in the world and their commitment to living out the Gospel values.

The themes for this Sunday revolve around leadership, divine love, and Jesus' prayer for His disciples. They call for a commitment to reject evil and live lives of service, to be united with God in love, and to be consecrated to the Good News.

In reflection, the Seventh Sunday of Easter invites the faithful to ponder their relationship with God and their role in the world. It is a time to ask oneself: How does my life reflect my belonging to God? How do I embody the love that God has for me in my interactions with others? And how do I contribute to the unity and sanctification that Jesus prayed for?

The greatest scandal in Christianity may be the sex abuse scandal perpetuated by Catholics, Protestants and Eastern Non-Catholic Christians, however, in reality the biggest scandal is disunity. Yes, sex abuse is evil and sinful. It is a crime, but in context to today's Gospel we must concede that the greatest scandal is disuinty. Jesus wanted His followers to be ONE. To be sanctified in Truth. Unfortunately we do not see this today. Since the Great Schism and Protestant Reformation, there have been huge divides in Christianity that are inexcusable.  We have many rites in the Eastern Church who refuse to be united to Peter or the Papacy. They argue against the Holy Spirit proceding the Father and the Son and other details of doctrine that have been established since the first century. Then we have the numerous Protestant sects and denonminations each claiming to be the "One True Church" presenting different and contradicting doctrines. In many instances, they subtract main doctrines and Scripture in order to push their propaganda. 

This is not what Jesus Christ the Lord who is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit wanted.  He wanted unity!  One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism as Scripture says!  Because of this disunity we have seen a rise in secularism and other idealogies that defy reason. How can Christianity be true if it is divide? How can we trust a faith that has different groups with different views and interpretations of the Bible?  How can we believe groups that claim to be Christian why demoting Christ into "a god," editing John 1:1 to say Jesus is "a god" and that Jesus is Michael the archangel?  Jesus is the Truth. The Church is ONE body. She cannot be different bodies attached to each other.  We must work hard to be united again. The Eastern Christians who broke from Rome must reevaluate history, particular Church history and see that the Pope has always been Peter and the Vicar of Christ.  They must study theology deeply and see that the teachings of the Roman Church have never changed and are consistent since the first century.  Protestants must learn history and see that a rogue priest named Martin Luther fathered their divorce from the Catholic Church. They must learn that their sects were founded by European White men and that their views contradict the Bible and what Christians taught and believed since the first century.  

As we approach this sacred time, let us embrace the messages of the readings and carry them into our daily lives, striving to live in the image of the love and unity that Christ has shown us. May this reflection serve as a guide for personal meditation and communal worship, leading to a deeper understanding and a stronger commitment to our faith journey.

The Holy Trinity - Three in One

 Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. We remind ourselves of this important truth of the faith that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

There are NOT 3 gods, but rather 3 persons who are ONE God or one essence.  For centuries the brightest minds, both within and without the Church have tried to fully comprehend and explain this, but they could not.

God cannot be understood completely by mortals.  Human beings are limited to space, time, and matter and can only understand things within the laws and experiences of each.

What human being has experienced infinity in order to define it?  What human being has experienced being all benevolent, all omnipotent, all sapient, and all-knowing?  There is none.   Human beings are finite creatures with finite minds.

It is important to understand that the Father is not the Son nor the Son the Father.  Moreover, the Father and Son are not the Holy Spirit and vice versa.  Each is distinct Divine persons who are of the same singular Divine substance or essence.

Think of it in this way:  One of western psychology's pioneers and also an atheist, Sigmund Freud believed that human beings have the Super Ego, Ego, and Id which comprises their psyche. Each is distinct but is of one person.  Moreover, human beings have a reason, conscience, and self-awareness.  Each is distinct but is of one person. The same with God, but with the difference that each (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) are distinct persons, not attributes of personality as in the aforementioned examples.

There are some sects today that deny the Holy Trinity such as, Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons.  Jehovah's Witnesses even went as far as to altering the Gospel of John 1:1 to read ".. the Word was A god..." which was done to support their idea that Jesus is some sort of a lower god or demi-god.  In Genesis 1:26, God says, "Let US make man in OUR image, to be like US."  The words "US" and "OUR" signify a plurality of persons.  God describes Himself as a community of persons.

It sounds confusing, but this shows the awesomeness of God.  God will never be completely understood by any creature.  If any creature understands God completely, then God would not be God. He would be a thing in nature that can be understood.

There is a story about Augustine of Hippo who is a Catholic saint and bishop. He is a well-known philosopher and a celebrated champion of Christian thought. 

Anyhow, one day he was trying to figure out God - in particular the idea of Father Son Holy Spirit as one God - he thought and thought and thought wondering how can God be 3 persons in one - how can God be God. Well, while sleeping he had a dream that he was by the shore. He saw a small child digging a hole in the sand. Once dug, the child took a shell and went to the ocean and took water. He brought it back and poured it into the hole. The child then ran back and repeated the same action. Augustine smiled and went to the child and asked the child, "what are you trying to do?" the child answered, "I am trying to put the ocean in this hole." Augustine smiled again thinking the child said something cute. Augustine replied to the child, "The ocean is vast and immense, there is no way you can put it all into this small hole." The child looked at him smiling and replied, "neither can you put all of God in your mind." At that Augustine woke and realized that no one can truly grasp God. It would be like putting the ocean into a small hole dug in the sand on a beach.  This child is said to have been Augustine's guardian angel.

Today's readings introduce the three Divine Persons.  The first person of the Blessed Trinity or The Father is introduced in the first reading. In the first reading, Moses is telling the people of the one true God YHWH (Exodus 8:10, Deuteronomy 4:39,2 Samuel 7:22, 1 Chronicles 17:20). He begins to ask the people if they recall anything so great to ever happen before and if they have ever known of a people who heard the voice of God or any god speaking from fire or venturing out to rescue them from another nation by using tests, signs, wonders, and war.  He, of course, is referring to the events of the Exodus (Exodus 13:21-22, Exodus chapters 7-20). Moses was reminding the people then and us today of this one true God. Mankind has formulated all kinds of designations and descriptions for deities trying to define the One God; however, these deities never spoke to them nor went out to rescue them from powerful nations. While these people had the right idea that a Supreme Being exists, they got the name and descriptions wrong.  Only one God has done what Moses described, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, etc (Exodus 3:6, Acts 3:13).   Moreover, some atheists and skeptics claim the story of Exodus is fiction. However, we have evidence such as the text "Ipuwer Papyrus" which describes the ten plagues that fell over Egypt which Moses reminded us of in today's readings.  God is indeed an awesome God. He is faithful and our Father (Deuteronomy 7:9, 1 Corinthians 1:9, Isaiah 64:8, Matthew 6:9).

In the responsorial Psalm, we read of the greatness of God.  His word is upright and trustworthy. God is not a liar (Numbers 23:19, Romans 3:4).  He is fair and just (2 Thessalonians 1:6). The word of God is what brings things to existence (Genesis 1:3).  This "logos" keeps our universe in existence (Hebrews 11:3, Colossians 1:17). We as His children must wait on God and trust in Him for He is our help and our shield (Psalm 91).  His Spirit gives us life, protects us, and guides us as we read in the second reading.

The second reading focuses on the third person of the Blessed Trinity whose coming we celebrated last Sunday on Pentecost. This Spirit reminds us that we are sons of God, not slaves (Galatians 3:26). We are able to call God "Abba, Father!"  We are united with the Blessed Trinity in the Spirit, not to be God, but to be sons and daughters of God (1 John 3:2).  This Spirit is our guide and our courage who gives us gifts that allow us to grow in the Holy Trinity and be witnesses to this union of love to the world (John 16:13, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, Ephesians 4:7-13, Romans 12:3-8).

Finally, in the Gospel, we read of Jesus' last words to the disciples before the Ascension.  He reminds them that all power in heaven and earth was given to Him because He is the Word of God (John 1:1).  Jesus instructs them to go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Here we read Jesus dictate to His disciples the persons who constitute God. This is a truth that can never change because it comes from Christ who is the Truth (John 14:6).  God is One in three Divine distinct Persons.  Some atheists tweet around this meme of Christ praying at the Garden of Gethsemane and next to it they write that Christ is praying to Himself and asking Himself to spare Himself from what He is about to go through.  This, of course, shows the ignorance of many atheists who do not understand the Holy Trinity, among many other things.  Our job is not to try to understand this, but to trust this triune God who created us and loves us so much that the second person of this Trinity came, took on flesh, suffered, and died for all of us (John 3:16).  We must trust this God who rescues us from oppression as He did in the Exodus and who sends us His Holy Spirit to remind us of what Christ taught and guide us.  Again, no one can truly understand the Holy Trinity using man's knowledge (1 Corinthians 2:16, Romans 11:34).  We can understand the Holy Trinity with love because God is love (1 John 4:8).  As Catholics, we must go out and evangelize reminding the world of the One God in three Divine Persons.   

God is always with us even in these trying times with the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.  It may seem like God abandon us or just simply does not care, but that is not so.  He has been with us since day one and will continue to be with us until the end when the good are weeded from the bad and those who rejected Him will get their wish of existing without feeling connected to God for eternity.        

Readings: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity | USCCB
Please help me expand this work, donate at gofundme.com/sacerdotus

Glory be to the Father,

And to the Son,

And to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be forever. Amen  

The Holy Trinity - 3 in One

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. We remind ourselves of this important truth of the faith that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.


There are NOT 3 gods, but rather 3 persons who are ONE God or one essence.  For centuries the brightest minds, both within and without the Church have tried to fully comprehend and explain this, but they could not.


God cannot be understood completely by mortals.  Human beings are limited to space, time and matter and can only understand things within the laws and experiences of each.



What human being has experienced infinity in order to define it?  What human being has experienced being all benevolent, all omnipotent, all sapient and all knowing?  There is none.   Human beings are finite creatures with finite minds.

It is important to understand that the Father is not the Son nor the Son the Father.  Moreover, the Father and Son are not the Holy Spirit and vice versa.  Each are distinct Divine persons who are of the same singular Divine substance or essence.


Think of it in this way:  One of western psychology's pioneers and also an atheist, Sigmund Freud believed that human beings have the Super Ego, Ego, and Id which comprises their psyche. Each is distinct but are of one person.  Moreover, human beings have reason, conscience, and self-awareness.  Each are distinct but are of one person. The same with God, but with the difference that each (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) are distinct persons, not attributes of personality as in the aforementioned examples.


There are some sects today who deny the Holy Trinity such as, Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons.  Jehovah's Witnesses even went as far as to altering the Gospel of John 1:1 to read ".. the Word was A god..." which was done to support their idea that Jesus is some sort of a lower god or demi-god.  In Genesis 1:26, God says, "Let US make man in OUR image, to be like US."  The words "US" and "OUR" signify plurality of persons.  God describes Himself as a community of persons.


It sounds confusing, but this shows the awesomeness of God.  God will never be completely understood by any creature.  If any creature understands God completely, then God would not be God. He would be a thing in nature that can be understood.

There is a story about Augustine of Hippo who is a Catholic saint and bishop. He is a well-known philosopher and a celebrated champion of Christian thought. 

Anyhow, one day he was trying to figure out God - in particular the idea of Father Son Holy Spirit as one God - he thought and thought and thought wondering how can God be 3 persons in one - how can God be God. Well, while sleeping he had a dream that he was by the shore. He saw a small child digging a hole in the sand. Once dug, the child took a shell and went to the ocean and took water. He brought it back and poured it into the hole. The child then ran back and repeated the same action. Augustine smiled and went to the child and asked the child, "what are you trying to do?" the child answered, "I am trying to put the ocean in this hole." Augustine smiled again thinking the child said something cute. Augustine replied to the child, "The ocean is vast and immense, there is no way you can put it all into this small hole." The child looked at him smiling and replied, "neither can you put all of God in your mind." At that Augustine woke and realized that no one can truly grasp God. It would be like putting the ocean into a small hole dug in the sand on a beach.  This child is said to have been Augustine's guardian angel.

Today's readings introduce the three Divine Persons.  The first person of the Blessed Trinity or The Father is introduced in the first reading. In the first reading, Moses is telling the people of the one true God YHWH (Exodus 8:10, Deuteronomy 4:39,2 Samuel 7:22, 1 Chronicles 17:20). He begins to ask the people if they recall anything so great to ever happen before and if they have ever known of a people who heard the voice of God or any god speaking from fire or venturing out to rescue them from another nation by using tests, signs, wonders and war.  He, of course, is referring to the events of the Exodus (Exodus 13:21-22, Exodus chapters 7-20). Moses was reminding the people then and us today of this one true God. Mankind has formulated all kinds of designations and descriptions for deities trying to define the One God; however, these deities never spoke to them nor went out to rescue them from powerful nations. While these people had the right idea that a Supreme Being exists, they got the name and descriptions wrong.  Only one God has done what Moses described, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses etc (Exodus 3:6, Acts 3:13).   Moreover, some atheists and skeptics claim the story of Exodus is fiction. However, we have evidence such as the text "Ipuwer Papyrus" which describes the ten plagues that fell over Egypt which Moses reminded us in today's readings.  God is indeed an awesome God. He is faithful and our Father (Deuteronomy 7:9, 1 Corinthians 1:9, Isaiah 64:8, Matthew 6:9).

In the responsorial Psalm, we read of the greatness of God.  His word is upright and trustworthy. God is not a liar (Numbers 23:19, Romans 3:4).  He is fair and just (2 Thessalonians 1:6). The word of God is what brings things to existence (Genesis 1:3).  This "logos" keeps our universe in existence (Hebrews 11:3, Colossians 1:17). We as His children must wait on God and trust in Him for He is our help and our shield (Psalm 91).  His Spirit gives us life, protects us and guides us as we read in the second reading.

The second reading focuses on the third person of the Blessed Trinity whose coming we celebrated last Sunday on Pentecost. This Spirit reminds us that we are sons of God, not slaves (Galatians 3:26). We are able to call God "Abba, Father!"  We are united with the Blessed Trinity in the Spirit, not to be God, but to be sons and daughters of God (1 John 3:2).  This Spirit is our guide and our courage who gives us gifts that allow us to grow in the Holy Trinity and be witnesses to this union of love to the world (John 16:13, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, Ephesians 4:7-13, Romans 12:3-8).


Finally in the Gospel, we read of Jesus' last words to the disciples before the Ascension.  He reminds them that all power in heaven and earth were given to Him because He is the Word of God (John 1:1).  Jesus instructs them to go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Here we read Jesus dictate to His disciples the persons who constitute God. This is a truth that can never change because it comes from Christ who is the Truth (John 14:6).  God is One in three Divine distinct Persons.  Some atheists tweet around this meme of Christ praying at the Garden of Gethsemane and next to it they write that Christ is praying to Himself and asking Himself to spare Himself from what He is about to go through.  This, of course, shows the ignorance of many atheists who do not understand the Holy Trinity, among many other things.  Our job is not to try to understand this, but to trust this triune God who created us and loves us so much that the second person of this Trinity came, took on flesh, suffered and died for all of us (John 3:16).  We must trust this God who rescues us from oppression as He did in the Exodus and who sends us His Holy Spirit to remind us of what Christ taught and guide us.  Again, no one can truly understand the Holy Trinity using man's knowledge (1 Corinthians 2:16, Romans 11:34).  We can understand the Holy Trinity with love because God is love (1 John 4:8).  As Catholics, we must go out and evangelize reminding the world of the One God in three Divine Persons.        

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/053115.cfm
Please help me expand this work, donate at gofundme.com/sacerdotus

Glory be to the Father,

And to the Son,

And to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be forever. Amen