JUNE 7, 2020 -A TRINITY OF "GRACE, LOVE AND COMMUNION" "The GRACE of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the LOVE of God, and the COMMUNION of the Holy Spirit be with you all!”Do these words sound familiar? We hear them at the beginning of every Mass. This is the way the celebrant greets the congregation, they come from the ending of St Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians (13:13). They are one of the clearest Trinitarian prayers in the New Testament. Not surprisingly, we hear them in this weekend’s Second Reading as we celebrate the SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. As we continue to face challenges in our country (pandemic of coronavirus, economic recession with major losses of jobs, continuing attacks on the Christian values of marriage and sanctity of life, and since last week social tensions/protests prompted by a tragic death recorded on video in Minneapolis), we need God's help and much prayer to maintain Peace, Love and Unity. We need a spiritual renewal and more than ever, the GRACE of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the LOVE of GOD the Father, and the COMMUNION/ FELLOWSHIP of the Holy Spirit. GOD IS LOVE, "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life." (John 3:16) GRACE is a transforming gift we receive freely especially from the sacraments instituted by Jesus, including BAPTISM, CONFIRMATION, MARRIAGE, RECONCILIATION and EUCHARIST. We need to have thegreatest DESIRE to receive God's Grace and to CONVERT!The Holy Trinity is a MYSTERY: ONE GOD, THREE PERSONS. As humble human beings, we cannot comprehend the Mystery of a triune God, but we can feel the presence of His Love and be transformed by His Grace. The triune God is a Trinity of Love: an eternal exchange of Love between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is that immense love between the Father and the Son. Only the God of Love can reduce our fear of the coronavirus (death of loved ones, or our own death) and of future economic uncertainties (loss of jobs, loss of income). Only the God of Love can keep our country UNITED: one country under ONE GOD. Only the God of Love can transform our FEAR of losing control over our lives (because of actions by others) into our LOVE of the others(spouse, children, neighbor,co-worker). Fear is the opposite of Love. Since our Baptism, the triune God is within us and we are in Him. However, our sins (pride, lust, addictions, love of power and prestige, self-centeredness) separate us from Him. We cannot change the world, but we can change one person at a time, beginning with ourselves and then our families.God has not abandoned us; we have abandoned Him. The challenge for each one of us is to "die to ourselves and let Christ live in us.” The challenge is to recognize we are totally dependent on God. The challenge is toaccept our own sufferings in communion with Christ’s suffering on the cross to save us and to give us eternal life. The CROSS is the way of Salvation; O God,help me to accept my crosses! O God, help me to love the other as you love me! Help me to see Jesus in others.Let us pray that as we continue to re-open our church (five Masses this coming weekend: Vigil 5 pm, Sunday 8 am, 10 am, noon, and Spanish 7 pm), God will continue to protect all our parishioners and will bring us Peace, Love and Unity in the EUCHARIST, the center of our Christian life. Let us thank God for the Joy we had to celebrate the Eucharist together at our 10 am Mass on Pentecost last week.Let us thank God for the Trinity of "Grace, Love and Communion."One in Christ,Father Alain