Sunday, June 4, 2023 – The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
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June 3, 2023Sunday, June 4, 2023 – The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Matthew 28: 18-20 Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Right before His Ascension into heaven, Our Lord gave the apostles the mandate recorded in Matthew 28:18-20. These solemn words remain forever true. The apostles were entrusted with the mission to make disciples, baptize, and teach with the authority of the Lord. This mandate, first given to the apostles, continues in our own time. The bishops, who are the successors of the apostles, and the Holy Father, who is the successor of St. Peter, the first pope, are commanded by the Lord to teach, govern, and sanctify in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ until He returns at the end of the world. This authority is considered by the faithful as the Lord’s loving gift of Himself to us so that we may know and live the Faith in its fullness and with certitude.
In an address to the Italian bishops pope Benedict XVI described well the current situation in which we Catholics find ourselves. On May 24, 2012, the pope said: “It is a sign of the lessening of religious practice, visible in the participation in the Eucharistic liturgy and, even more so, in the Sacrament of Penance. So many of the baptized have lost their identity and membership: they do not know the essential contents of the faith or think they can cultivate it without ecclesial mediation.” Then the pope said: “man pretends to have an identity fulfilled simply in himself.”
Pope Benedict XVI lamented that “so many of the baptized have lost their identity and membership.” The entire Church is called upon to be renewed by the Most Holy Trinity through authentic teaching, discipline, and spirituality. There is no other way and no short cut. It is the Way of the Lord, which is tried and true. He is our first, last, best, and only hope. We are confident that He will remain with us always, as He promised.
Yours in the Most Blessed Trinity,
The Rev. Mark G. Mazza, Pastor
