SOLEMNITY ON THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

Brothers and sisters, we gather on this 1^st Sunday after Pentecost and many of you probably don’t realize that this Sunday is a liturgical return to Ordinary Time. O/T as we know, is the liturgical season where we are given this sacred opportunity to walk alongside Jesus in his daily ministry and the Church’s own way to invite us to grow in our faith.

Today, this invitation is deepened because we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. And it is not a coincidence that the celebration begins this Sunday as we begin our faith journey anew.

Perhaps the most beautiful image from the Greek Fathers, notably St. John of Damascus is the image of The Divine Dance (Perichoresis in Greek, the word which shares roots with the word "choreography") to describe the inner life of God.

The Image: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are caught up in an eternal, perfect, dynamic dance of mutual love and surrender.

The Father is the lead dancer, who loves the Son eternally.

the Son the follower, who receives and returns that love.

the Holy Spirit is the Dance itself, who unites the dancers in the living bond of love.

They move so perfectly in sync that they are completely one, yet each "player" retains their distinct identity.

The Lesson: God is not a static monument or a lonely monarch. God is a dynamic, ever young and ever in joyful relationship of love that is constantly in motion. And this is what is beautiful of what we celebrate today. The reality that we were made to enter this communion with God, we are invited to join the dance.

The CCC tells us that when God communicates, he does not just communicate information – he communicates his very self to us. This Sunday, the Church invites us not simply to explain God, but to stand in awe before Him. Because Trinity is not a puzzle to solve. It is the deepest truth about reality itself, that:

God is love.

God is relationship.

God is communion.

 

In the next 24 weeks this O/T, as we see Jesus move from village to village, hear him speak in parables, watch him heal and how he calls ordinary people to follow him, we will realize that this God who communicates himself does not talk to us as mathematician, nor as a businessman, most especially, not as politician.

It is true that when we hear Jesus speaks about a shepherd leaving the 99 sheep in search of the one missing sheep - does not make any business sense. But this is the same to that of a father or a mother – pouring all their time, resources and attention to that one child who is terminally sick but does not mean that the other children are not important.  

Because this God’s own revelation of himself to us only makes sense when we understand who Trinity is and of which we are all have been made in his image: love - communion – relationship.

In today’s Gospel from John, perhaps the most popular verse in all of New Testament, if not of all the Scriptures, Jesus tells Nicodemus:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

For lack of human words and ways to express this beautiful reality: the Trinity breaks the eternal dance to enter time and space, to bring back what was lost. And this move is deliberate, planned from the time of the fall:

The Trinity moves toward sinners.

Toward the wounded.

Toward the fearful.

Toward those quietly carrying shame.

And maybe that is important for some of us to hear today. Because many people secretly live with fear of God. We imagine God disappointed or angry, and waiting to punish. But when God reveals Himself to Moses in today’s First Reading from Book of Exodus, He says:

“The Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

 

That is who God is. That is who Trinity is. This is why the next time we hear the story of the Prodigal Son will make sense. That we can understand why the father who have lost his son kept watch until his return.  

And Jesus came not simply to tell us about the Father, but to bring us home to Him. And perhaps that is why the human heart aches so deeply for love, for belonging, for communion. Because we were created in the image of a relational God.

Now we understand that the loneliness of our world is not merely psychological - it is spiritual. Humanity suffers whenever it forgets that we are made for communion with God and with one another.

You know, recently I listened to a reflection by Fr. Donald Calloway about what happens to the soul immediately after death. He reflected on those first moments after we leave this world. And while the Church does not describe every detail scientifically, Catholic teaching is clear: the soul stands before Christ.

And what struck me deeply was this: the first face we encounter after death is not darkness. It is Jesus. Imagine that. The first reality after our final breath is not emptiness, not annihilation, not nothingness. But an encounter.

And in that moment, everything becomes clear. No more masks. No more pretending. The illusions of this world fall away, the illusion that it is my body therefore it is my choice, the illusion that I am entitled to almost anything and we finally see our life in the light of God’s truth and love - that we are not god, we are not in control, that we are dust.

And suddenly Trinity Sunday becomes very personal.

Because eternal life is not merely living forever somewhere. Eternal life is entering fully into the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Heaven is the Trinity. Heaven is finally being home.

Brothers and sisters, one day every one of us will take our final breath. One day, others will gather around our casket. One day, all the noise of this world will fade.

 

And in that moment, only love will remain.

So today, as we celebrate, let this also be a gentle invitation for all of us. Trinity Sunday invites us to learn how to live inside divine communion while we still live. This invitation to live in divine communion we first received in our own baptism.

From the very beginning of our Christian life, we were drawn into divine communion. The Father adopted us. The Son redeemed us. The Holy Spirit was poured into our hearts.

At Baptism, the priest poured water over us and spoke the words:

“I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

The Trinity was not simply explained to us. The Trinity claimed us. Sometimes we forget who we are.  We begin defining ourselves by our failures, our wounds, our regrets, our fears. Some people spend years carrying hidden shame. Others quietly believe they are too far gone for God.

But Trinity Sunday reminds us:

Our identity is not that we are sinners alone.
Our deepest identity is that we are the beloved sons and daughters of God.

Maybe some of us were baptized long ago, but somewhere along the way, we drifted. Life happened. Faith became routine… or maybe even forgotten. We became busy surviving, busy working, busy carrying burdens. And slowly the fire faded.

Today is a chance to remember. To remember that we were once carried to the font, we were claimed, we were called beloved. And that identity has never been taken away.

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity – we celebrate a love that will never fade.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

JEREMIAH ENZO GAYOS

Baptism Homily

Apr. 25, 2026 @ St. Mary's Cathedral 

My dear family, brothers and sisters,

Today, we are not just gathered for a beautiful family celebration. We are standing on holy ground. Because what is about to happen in the waters of Baptism is nothing less than a miracle of grace.

When we look at Jeremian and very children present here today, we see innocence, possibility, a future waiting to unfold. But today, God sees something even deeper. He sees His beloved. He sees a son or daughter marked for eternity.

Because in Baptism, something invisible but very real takes place. God claims this child.

You know, in our world today, identity is something people spend years trying to figure out. “Who am I? Where do I belong?” But today, before Jeremian can even ask those questions, God answers it.

“You are mine.”

That is the first and most important truth of Baptism.

This is not just a naming ceremony. This is not just a tradition we inherited. This is a divine encounter.

Through water and the Holy Spirit, Jeremiah is washed, not just physically, but spiritually. The Church teaches us that even the wound of original sin is healed here. And what takes its place? Grace. God’s very life.

Imagine that. God is not waiting for a child to grow up to love Him. God is already pouring His love into every child being baptized at that moment.

And so today, heaven rejoices.

But my dear friends, Baptism is not just a moment, it is a beginning.

It’s like lighting a candle. We will that that symbol today. A flame will be given, representing the light of Christ. But a flame is meant to be protected, nurtured, and allowed to grow.

And this is where we all come in for the Mom and Dad… Lolos and Lolas… Ninongs and Ninangs… family and community.

You are not just witnesses today. You are guardians of this child’s faith.

Jeremiah will not remember this day. But we will. And more importantly, our lives will become the memory of God for Jeremiah.

The way we pray.
The way we forgive.
The way we love.
The way we trust God in difficult moments.

That is how Jeremiah will first encounter Jesus.

You see, faith is not taught first by words, it is caught by the heart.

And so the real question is not just, “Will Jeremiah, and our children grow in faith?”
The deeper question is, “Will we live a faith worth catching?”

Because one day, our children will ask, maybe not in words but in life: “Is God real?”

And the first answer they will see… is you.

So today, as we celebrate, let this also be a gentle invitation for all of us.

Maybe some of us were baptized long ago, but somewhere along the way, we drifted. Life happened. Faith became routine… or maybe even forgotten.

Today is a chance to remember.

To remember that we, too, were once carried to the font.
We, too, were claimed.
We, too, were called beloved.

And that identity has never been taken away.

My dear family, today God will plant a seed in Jeremiah’s soul. A seed of divine life. It will grow but it needs sunlight. It needs water. It needs care.

Let us be that environment.

Let us be a family where prayer is not strange… where love is not withheld… where forgiveness is not delayed… where Jesus is not just spoken about but lived.

And to my dear grandchild…JEREMIAH…..

You may not understand this now. But one day, you will come to know that before you ever reached out to God….. He already held you close.

Before you ever spoke His name….. He already called you His own.

And today, in the quiet mystery of water and Spirit, He has written your name… in His heart.

And that, my dear friends, is a love that will never fade.

Amen.

The Emmaus Road

Homily for 3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A
St. Albert the Great Parish, 18 Apr. 5PM Mass and 19 Apr. 5PM Mass
St. Patrick’s Parish, 19 Apr. 9AM & 11AM Masses

My dear brothers and sisters,

There is a walk that many of us know by heart.

It is that quiet drive home from the hospital, when the words “there is nothing more we can do” are still echoing in your chest. It is that silence in the house when a chair is suddenly empty, and everything feels… different. Heavier. Slower.

That is the road to Emmaus.

In the Gospel, Cleopas and his companion are not just taking a walk. They are walking away. Away from Jerusalem. Away from hope. Away from the place where everything they believed seemed to fall apart.

And the Gospel says their eyes were downcast.

If we are honest, some of us came today with that same look. That same heaviness. Because we have our own “we had hoped” moments.

We had hoped the marriage would last.
We had hoped the treatment would work.
We had hoped the children would remain close to the faith.

“We had hoped…”

And when those hopes are shattered, the road becomes long. Dusty. Lonely.

But here is the beautiful surprise of our faith.

Jesus comes.

Not with noise. Not with spectacle. Not to correct them or shame them. He simply draws near. He walks beside them. He becomes a companion on the road.

And then He asks a question.

“What are you discussing as you walk along?”

My brothers and sisters, this is the heart of our life with the Lord. Before He speaks, He listens. Before He teaches, He receives. He allows them to pour out everything—the confusion, the disappointment, even the hidden anger.

This is what happens every time we come to the Eucharist. This is not just a ritual we perform. This is an encounter. The Lord meets us exactly where we are—in the mess, in the questions, in the pain we sometimes do not even know how to name.

And then, gently, patiently, He begins to open the Scriptures.

He begins to re-tell their story.

He takes their broken Friday and slowly reveals the hidden light of Sunday. He shows them that even suffering, even death, is not outside of God’s plan—but somehow, mysteriously, can become the very place where love is revealed most deeply.

And something begins to happen inside them.

“Were not our hearts burning within us…”

Ah, brothers and sisters—that burning heart—that is the sign of the Risen Lord at work in us.

But the story does not end there.

They arrive at the village. It is getting dark. And they say something very simple, very human:

“Stay with us.”

And Jesus accepts.

They sit at table. An ordinary moment. Nothing dramatic. No altar, no choir, no incense. Just a table. Bread. Hunger. Presence.

And then—

He takes the bread.
He blesses it.
He breaks it.
He gives it.

And their eyes are opened.

They recognize Him.

And He vanishes from their sight.

Why? Because from that moment on, He will no longer be recognized just by sight—but through a life transformed. Through hearts that burn. Through people who become what they receive.

They don’t even finish their meal. They run back. Back to Jerusalem. Back to the very place they were trying to escape.

Because once you encounter the Risen Christ, you cannot go back to the old way of living. You are sent.

And this is where the Gospel meets us today—in a very real, very concrete way.

Who are the people in our lives walking that Emmaus road right now?

Who is carrying the weight of a terminal diagnosis?
Who is sitting at a bedside, exhausted, afraid, not knowing what tomorrow holds?
Who feels abandoned, forgotten, or overwhelmed by the slow approach of death?

My dear friends, today – Jesus is teaching us that our faith is never just personal, it is always relational. It is always incarnational. But only becomes real when we become the presence of Jesus for others.

This is why the work of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops through the Horizons of Hope is such a gift to the Church.

Because it reminds us: caring for the sick and the dying is not just a medical task, it is a sacred ministry.

A ministry of presence.

Sometimes we think, “I don’t know what to say.”
But the Gospel shows us—it is not about having the right words.

It is about walking with.

It is about listening.

It is about staying.

Like Jesus on the road… like Jesus at the table.

We are called not to look away from suffering, but to enter into it with love. Not to rush people through their pain, but to accompany them with dignity. Not to abandon them in their final journey, but to walk them home.

This is what it means to be a Church of hope.

And so today, the Lord sends us.

The Mass is ending—but the mission is just beginning.

“Ite, missa est.”
Go. You are sent.

Sent to the hospital rooms.
Sent to the nursing homes.
Sent to the quiet houses where grief sits at the table.

Sent to be that “stranger on the road” who listens.
Who stays.
Who breaks bread.
Who carries hope.

My dear brothers and sisters, if your heart has burned even a little today, do not ignore it. That is the Lord stirring something within you.

Let that fire lead you.

Because somewhere, someone is walking the road to Emmaus—and they are waiting, perhaps without even knowing it, for you to walk beside them.

The workshop is on the four Saturdays of May starting on May 2^nd, not here but in St. Gerard Parish. We begin with Mass as 5PM, dinner and fellowship at 6PM and the workshop from 7pm to 9pm. These details are in the bulletin and in the poster behind. You can take your phone with you after Mass and scan the QR code for registratioh.

The Lord is truly risen.

And He is alive… in you.

Amen.