The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. In his three years of public ministry, Jesus had made many personal references to his Father, and to the future coming of the Holy Spirit. However, in today’s gospel—the last verses of the gospel of Matthew—Jesus explicitly presents the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (a plural list of three), as one in name (not names): “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Why does Jesus make such a strong connection between our salvation, via Baptism, and the Trinity, and why is this so important to us as Christians?
The power of the Holy Trinity in Baptism. Baptism unleashes a virtually limitless outpouring of the power of the Holy Spirit in the soul (indeed, the entire Trinity dwells in our soul at Baptism) including:
- a change to the soul itself—an indelible spiritual mark that no sin can erase, 2)
- the forgiveness of Original and personal sin,
- the infusion of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity into our souls, which become the working material for our spiritual growth, and
- a new birth of water and the Spirit—without which no one “can enter the kingdom of God.”
Being “born anew” (or born from above, or born again) in Baptism makes one:
- “a new creature,”
- an adopted son/ daughter of God,
- a “partaker of the divine nature” (2 Cor 5:17, 2 Pet 2:4, Gal 4:5-7),
- a member of Christ and co-heir with him (1 Cor 6:15, 12:27; Rom 8:17), and
- a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:13).
In Baptism, the Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized person sanctifying grace—the grace of justification—which does 3 things for us: 1)
- enables us to believe in God, hope in him, and love him (through the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity),
- gives us the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and
- allows us to grow in goodness through the moral virtues.
Baptism also:
- incorporates us into the Church, the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13),
- gives us a share in the common priesthood of all believers (1 Pet 2:9), and
- is the bond of unity among Christians.
Thus, a Christian’s entire supernatural life has its roots in Baptism, the sacrament that weds the Holy Trinity to our soul… THIS is why Jesus makes such a strong connection between our salvation, via Baptism, and the Holy Trinity. Praise the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
Peace in Christ,
Father Jim (Bors)
