Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity 2010
Papa Benedict XVI's words at the Angelus:
St Peter's Square, Sunday 30 May 2010 - in Croatian, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese & Spanish
"Dear Brothers and Sisters, After the Easter Season that ended last Sunday with Pentecost, the Liturgy has returned to "Ordinary Time". This does not mean, however, that Christians must be any less committed: indeed, having entered divine life through the Sacraments, we are daily called to be open to the action of divine Grace, to progress in love of God and of neighbour. This Sunday of the Most Holy Trinity, in a certain sense, sums up God's revelation which was brought about through the Paschal Mysteries: Christ's death and Resurrection, his Ascension to the right hand of the Father and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The human mind and language are inadequate to explain the relationship that exists between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; yet the Fathers of the Church sought to illustrate the mystery of the Triune God by living it with deep faith in their own lives.
The divine Trinity takes up his abode in us on the day of our Baptism: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". Every time we sign ourselves with the sign of the Cross we remember God's name in which we were baptized. With regard to the sign of the Cross a theologian, Romano Guardini, remarked: "We do it before praying so that... we may put ourselves spiritually in order; focus thoughts, heart and will on God; after praying, so that what God has given us may remain within us.... It embraces the whole being, body and soul... and everything is consecrated in the name of the Triune God."
The sign of the Cross and the name of the living God therefore contain the proclamation that generates faith and inspires prayer. And just as in the Gospel Jesus promises the Apostles that: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (Jn 16: 13), so it happens in the Sunday Liturgy, from week to week, when priests dispense the bread of the Word and of the Eucharist. The Holy Curé d'Ars also reminded his faithful of this. "Who welcomed your soul", he asked, "at the beginning of your life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest, always the priest" (Letter inaugurating the Year for Priests).
Dear friends, let us make our own the prayer of St Hilary of Poitiers: "Keep uncontaminated this upright faith that is in me and, until my last breath, grant me likewise this voice of my conscience, that I may be ever faithful to what I professed in my regeneration when I was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Invoking the Blessed Virgin Mary, the first creature to be fully inhabited by the Blessed Trinity, let us ask her protection and help to make good progress on our earthly pilgrimage."
After the Angelus:
"The Beatification of Maria Pierina De Micheli was celebrated this morning in the Basilica of St Mary Major, Rome. She was a religious of the Institute of the Daughters of the Immaculate Conception of Buenos Aires. Giuseppina - this was her baptismal name - was born in Milan in 1890 to a deeply religious family in which several vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life blossomed. At the age of 23, she too took this path, dedicating herself enthusiastically to the service of education in both Argentina and Italy. The Lord endowed her with an extraordinary devotion to his Holy Face which always sustained her in trials and in illness. She died in 1945 and her remains were laid to rest at the "Spirito Santo" Institute in Rome.
Je salue cordialement les pèlerins francophones! La Solennité de la Sainte Trinité nous rappelle que Dieu est Amour et qu’il nous appelle à une vie de communion avec Lui et entre nous. Puisse la Vierge Marie vous aider à contempler le mystère de la grandeur et de la beauté de notre Dieu et à reconnaître sa présence dans le prochain. Je recommande aussi à votre prière la Visite Apostolique que j’effectuerai très prochainement à Chypre. Bon dimanche à tous!
On this Trinity Sunday, I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Angelus. This week I am making an Apostolic Journey to Cyprus, to meet and pray with the Catholic and Orthodox faithful there and to consign the Instrumentum Laboris for the upcoming Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Middle East. I ask for your prayers for the peace and prosperity of all the people of Cyprus, as well as for the preparations for the Special Assembly. Upon each of you and your loved ones at home, I invoke the blessings of the most holy Trinity.
Gerne heiße ich am heutigen Dreifaltigkeitssonntag alle Pilger und Gäste aus den Ländern deutscher Sprache willkommen. Der Kern unseres christlichen Glaubens ist das Geheimnis der heiligsten Dreifaltigkeit. Gott offenbart sich als Vater, Sohn und Heiliger Geist, der alles erschaffen hat, erlöst und heiligt. Durch die Taufe auf den Namen des dreieinigen Gottes erhalten wir Anteil am Leben der göttlichen Dreifaltigkeit. Wir wollen dieser Gemeinschaft mit Gott stets treu bleiben und mithelfen, sein Reich der Gerechtigkeit, der Liebe und des Friedens aufzubauen. Von Herzen segne ich euch alle.
Saludo cordialmente a los peregrinos de lengua española que participan en esta oración mariana, en particular a los fieles de la Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, de Cieza. En la solemnidad de la Santísima Trinidad, os invito a bendecir, alabar y glorificar a Dios Padre, a su Hijo unigénito y al Espíritu Santo, por el inefable misterio de vida y comunión entre las Tres Personas Divinas, de única naturaleza e iguales en su dignidad. Que María Santísima sostenga y acompañe con su intercesión a la Iglesia, que vive para invocar el Santo Nombre de Dios, uno y trino. Feliz Domingo.
Pozdrawiam serdecznie Polaków. Szczególną modlitwą ogarniam wszystkich powodzian. Nasze trudne sprawy zawierzamy dzisiaj Trójcy Świętej. Niech Maryja, nasza Orędowniczka pomoże nam odczytać zamysły Bożej Opatrzności. Pamiętajmy słowa z Księgi Hioba: „Dobro przyjęliśmy z ręki Boga. Czemu zła przyjąć nie możemy?” (Hi 2,10). Wszystko jest objęte Bożym planem zbawienia. Niech Bóg w Trójcy Świętej umocni was i wam błogosławi.
Infine, rivolgo con affetto il mio saluto ai pellegrini di lingua italiana. In particolare al folto gruppo venuto da Pordenone per onorare la memoria del Cardinale Celso Costantini, del quale è stato presentato due giorni fa a Roma il volume del Diario, dal titolo Ai margini della guerra (1938-1947). Questa pubblicazione è di grande interesse storico. Il Cardinale Costantini, molto legato al Papa Pio XII, la scrisse quando era Segretario della Congregazione di Propaganda Fide. Il suo Diario testimonia l’immensa opera compiuta dalla Santa Sede in quegli anni drammatici per favorire la pace e soccorrere tutti i bisognosi. Saluto, inoltre, il Movimento dell’Amore Familiare che ha promosso alcuni incontri sulle radici cristiane della famiglia e della società, i fedeli provenienti da Sardagna di Trento, quelli di Lallio insieme con i loro amici tedeschi di Schöngeising, la Fondazione “Gigi Ghirotti” per i malati di tumore, l’Associazione Carabinieri da Firenze, i gruppi di ragazzi che hanno ricevuto la Cresima e le varie scolaresche. A tutti auguro una buona domenica."