FEATURE: More than COVID, an ‘Anti-

Trinitarian’ Mentality Is Destroying

Humanity, Suggests Cardinal Bo on Feast of
Holy Trinity
FABC President Prays This Feast of Holy Trinity Brings
Healing to a Planet Wounded by COVID & Racial Injustice
JUNE 05, 2020 14:12DEBORAH CASTELLANO LUBOVSPIRITUALITY AND PRAYER

“It is not the COVID  that is destroying humanity. It is the anti-Trinitarian

tendency that has infected the family, country and the world.”
Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, Myanmar, expressed this in his June 7, 2020
message provided to ZENIT English for the Feast of the Holy Trinity, which
contains a profound analysis of the Trinity in a contemporary context.

The President of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) prayed

that amid the difficulties facing humanity especially at this time, that we let
the power of the Trinity touch us all.

Speaking on the Trinity, Cardinal Bo prayed the “blessings of the Trinity, the
Father, Son and the  Holy Spirit fill every corner of your house and bring joy,
peace and good health to all.”

Recognizing that this blessing unites us with the past, present and future, he
observed that we celebrate with joy,  God the Father the Creator, the Son, the
savior and liberator and the Holy Spirit, the counsellor and consoler.”

“Let this feast of Trinity,” he hopes, come as a healing power of a planet

wounded by COVID and racial injustice.”

Today, he says, we gather to celebrate this trinitarian experience: God is  –

God for us the creator : the Father;  God with Us: ( Emmanuel) the Son; God
Within Us : ( Temple of the Holy Spirit)  the Holy Spirit.”

The Archbishop of Yangon reminded we are created by God the Father, We

were saved by Christ the Son and we are led into holiness through the Holy
Spirit.

“In short,” he says, “Trinity is God’s love in action.”

“Trinitarian experience is not an exotic one.  It is embedded in each one of us. 

Life is a multi layered experience.  But it does not destroy our  uniqueness as
a   person with a clear identity. We, as individuals, are made of three distinct
attributes : body, soul and mind.”

These three, he noted, produce  the unity of the person who I am.
To a world battling the coronavirus pandemic, he encourages faithful to not
lose hope.

On this feast day, he encourages all faithful to turn away from the theological
and philosophical abstracts and turn towards how the exemplary life of Trinity
can guide us in our lives.

“As we look around seeing so many families lie wounded, our country remains
wounded and the world is at war with itself.  It is not the COVID  that is
destroying humanity,” he suggests, saying: “It is the anti Trinitarian tendency
that has infected the family, country and the world.”

Myanmar is emerging from decades of military rule after Aung San Suu Kyi’s
National League for Democracy party won the 2015 elections and has taken
office.

The Muslim minority in Myanmar of the Rohingyas is considered by the UN to

be one of the most persecuted. According to data from the Arakan Project, a
humanitarian organization defending Rohingyas rights, since 2010, some
100,000 members of the minority have fled Burma (Myanmar) by sea.
Violence between radical Buddhists and Rohingyas has left, since 2012, more
than 200 dead and 140,000 displaced.

Here is Cardinal Bo’s message:

***

TRINITY SUNDAY

Sermon Preached By Cardinal Charles Maung Bo., SDB

St Mary’s Cathedral, Yangon, Myanmar.

7th  June 2020

Happy Feast of the Holy Trinity.

 This marvelous  feast comes this year at the juncture of humanity’s  prayer
for peace and healing.  May the Power of Trinity touch each one of you.

May the Blessings of the Trinity, the Father, Son and the  Holy Spirit fill every
corner of your house and bring joy, peace and good health to all.    This
blessing unites us with the past, present and future.  We celebrate with joy, 
God the Father the Creator, the Son, the savior and liberator and the Holy
Spirit, the counsellor and consoler.  Let this feast of Trinity come as a healing
power of a planet wounded by COVID and racial injustice.  God be praised.

The experience and concept of Trinity is an enriching faith experience, yet it

could be challenging.    Not only for ordinary people, but even to  theological
giants like St Augustine.

Many of us are familiar with   the old story of St. Augustine walking along the
beach one day, taking a break from writing his treatise on the Trinity, whose
Solemnity we celebrate today.

The great scholar just couldn’t get his mind around this great mystery.  The
story goes that he saw a little boy digging a hole in the sand, and then running
to the ocean, filling up his hands with the seawater, running back to the hole
and emptying the water into the hole.

Augustine watched as the child went back and forth several times. Finally he
said to the boy, “What are you doing?”  The boy said, “Trying to fill that hole
with the ocean.” And Augustine said, “You’ll never fit the ocean in that hole.”

And the boy said, “Neither will you be able to fit the Trinity into your mind.”

Yes.  Trinity is neither  a concept,  nor a theological jugglery.  Trinity is a

relationship, Trinity is a deep  and moving experience.  Trinity is God’s Love in
action. Trinity is about living in community, for community, as expressed in 
the Trinitarian  concept of God as a Community. Trinity is union of three
persons with humanity.  Tri means three and  “nity” refers to Unity.   Three
Persons in United in one Godhead.

Today we gather to celebrate this trinitarian experience.

  God is  – God for us the creator :  the Father,
 God with Us  : ( Emmanuel) the Son,
 God Within Us : ( temple of the holy Spirit)  the  Holy Spirit.

         We are created by God the Father, We were saved by Christ the Son and
we are led into holiness through the Holy Spirit.  In short, Trinity is God’s love
in action.

Trinitarian experience is not an exotic one.  It is embedded in  each one of us. 

Life is a multi layered experience.  But it does not destroy our  uniqueness as
a   person with a clear identity. We, as individuals, are made of three distinct
attributes : body, soul and mind.  These three produce  the unity of the person
who I am.

Even in ordinary life,  some of us are fathers or mothers to our children, at the
same time we are sons and daughters to our parents and we are friends to
someone.  The experience may be different at every level; but each one of us
is unique and shares the attributes of being a father or mother, son or
daughter or friend.   Even our existence is multidimensional : we  belong to
various ethnic groups, Kachin, Karen etc., but we are also Christians and we
are also citizens of this nation.

What lessons do we derive from the experience of Trinity in our families?

The experience of Trinity is intense in the family.   In many ways every family
is Trinitarian : sharing, loving, belonging and caring.   The father of the family in
many ways reflects the sharing nature of God the Father, creating a  joyful
family,  the mother reflects the love of the trinity by her selfless service to her
family and the children reflect the caring nature of the trinity by their care and
concern for all.

The concept of Trinitarian God has been healing human history.  Monotheistic
God experience was polluted by man’s violent nature.   It presents a God who
is violent, vengeful, intolerant of diversity, tribalistic and  a heartless legalistic
bulldozer .  This concept of God is root of many historical conflicts.
But the first pages of the Bible opens up with the presence of God the creator
and  the Holy Spirit hovering over the creation.  Jesus is expressed as God’s
promise of a messiah in The Old testament :

         “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be
with               child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.  (Is 7:14).

         The New Testament affirmed this beautiful concept of Triune God in
Jesus’ baptism event when the three persons of Trinity made their presence
pronounced amidst the graphic splendor.

         As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the
heavens           were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and resting on           Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is My         beloved
Son,               in whom I am   well pleased.  ( Mathew 3:17).

         Our faith in Trinity releases our minds from vengeful parochialism. 
Trinity shows the immense richness of Unity in Diversity.

         Catholic church understands this unity in diversity well.  The very word
Catholic refers to a mentality : That is the  universal fraternity of men and
women of all races and greed.  We are different by race, color, language and
nationalities.  But our faith unites us. But Catholics understand with Paul the
Trinitarian unity in diversity reached through Jesus :

         There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male
and                 female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  ( Gal 3: 28).

         This oneness in Christ is  our Sunday gathering.  Our Communion service
on every Sunday is a  reflection of the community concept of  Trinitarian  Unity
as exalted by Paul.

         Trinity is not an abstract concept.  Trinity is a relationship with a living,

loving and liberating God.   The Feast of Trinity comes at a time, when trials
and tribulations confront a wounded world.  The family, the country and the
world can  learn from the Trinity how to live in a nurturing life empowered by  a
sense of sharing community.
         The Trinitarian understanding of God is  very empowering and liberating :
He is a God who lives in community.  There is no power.  It is love shared
among three persons of the Trinity.  If God  can live in   harmonious 
community,  humanity  can solve its problem through a sense of community
and common good.

         The Bible  defines the  three persons succinctly :

 God  the Father showed unconditional love  He was not hesitant to

sacrifice his own Son :  “ God so loved the world, that he gave his only 
son, not to condemn but to redeem.”    (John 3: 16)
 God the Son showed  Sacrificial Love –  Greater love has no one than
this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.    (John 15:13)
 God the Holy Spirit  who empowers our  growth through his gifts : (I Cor
12: 8-10)

1. Trinity is love, trinity is sacrifice, trinity is our energy for development.

2. Trinity is the unity in harmony, unity in sharing, unity in mutual
enrichment.
3. Trinity is the inspiration and Road map for our life in family, in our country
and in our world.

         On this great feast day, we turn away from the theological and
philosophical abstracts and turn towards  how  the exemplary life of Trinity
can guide us in our lives.

As we look around many   families lie wounded,  our country  remains

wounded and the world is at war with itself.   It is not the COVID  that is
destroying humanity.  It is the anti Trinitarian tendency  that has infected the
family, country and the world.

1. Let us take the family.  What is the message of the Trinity?

The trinity of the family is the father, mother and children.

What are the Trinitarian traits of a family :

 1. The unconditional love of the father for his family, his wife and children
2. The self sacrificial love of the mother to nurture the family
3. The ethical development of the children based on faith

What are the obstacles  to Trinitarian  spirit  of Unity  in the family life?

1. Lack of a sense of family : Lack of love of the father,  arrogant and

violent control by the father, lack of forgiveness, abusive relationships
with the wife and children, refusal to share in harmony,  domestic
violence  against the wife and children.
2. Lack of sacrificial love from the mother,  egoistic conflicts with the
husband and children,  lack of give and take,  relationship based on
business, refusal to lead the family in faith.
3. Lack of gratitude from children: Children increasingly using their
parents and abandoning them,  lack of respect to the parents.  Wasting 
God given talents and times.

Families need to be healed by Trinitarian gifts of love, sacrifice and hard work.

2.  Secondly the Trinity has great lessons for our country Myanmar.

What is the message of Trinity to our country?  What is the message to the
Three major stakeholders in this country : The military, the government and
the people of this nation?

         This country has been bleeding for six decades with war, conflict and
displacement.   The Trinity has blessed this country with so many gifts.   The
three major actors : The Military, the government and the people of Myanmar
need to  strengthen the Trinitarian traits of Unity and sharing. This country
needs to reflect the Trinitarian  attributes of  equitable  and harmonious living
and Unity.  We are created for Unity, and call our nation, the Union of
Myanmar.

The Trinitarian Presence in Myanmar

1. The Father’s love expressed through creation of this nation as  a jewel

on the earth with so many gifts:  God  the Father has partial love for the
 people of Myanmar.  He has given so many treasures above the ground
and below the ground, so that all of us can live in prosperity and unity. 
Really this nation is the Garden of Eden and God’s command to this
nation is “ Go and Together prosper in unity”.
2. We are a great nation of various tribes and creeds.  135 tribes and a
colorful nation of rich cultures. .   Myanmar is God’s   flower park of
scintillating diversity of people and nationalities.  Unity in Diversity, 
Dignity in Diversity.  We are a graceful people.  Jesus prays for our
nations  “That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in
you, that they also may be in us.’  (John 17:21)
3. A nation of gifted youngsters,  a nation so young that 60 percent of its
people are below the age of 40 and energetic.  A nation blessed with
great human resource, a nation of great promise.   The parable of the
talents ( Mt 25)  indicates that  more than our Jade and gold and all the
natural resources, Myanmar’s greatest asset is our people.  Equal
opportunities to all will bring Unity in this nation.  Ours is a nation of
promise of prosperity.  That  Trinitarian hope unites us all.

But God who blessed us  so much seemed to have forgotten to bless us with
peace.  There are major obstacles to the Trinitarian Road Map of Unity, Peace
and Prosperity.

         Ours is a wounded nation.  Slowly it is healing itself.  Wars, displacement

and unsafe migration and dangerous diseases have wounded us as a people
and nation.  On this great feast of Trinity, we offer our Golden land to the
protection of  God’s great love, Christ’s salvific love and the nurturing
protection of the Holy Spirit.     We pray that the following obstacles to
Trinitarian blessing to this nation be melted by the intervention of Trinity

1. Divisions and lack of sharing.  God the Father’s great  blessings of the
natural resources are a great source of conflict.   Internal wars, deaths
and displacement has anguished our motherland.   Lack of equitable
sharing and looting of resources in total violation of the unity and sharing
principle of Trinity has only brought tears and shatteredness to sons and
daughters of this great nation.
 2. Selfishness and avarice of those who had power in the past :  This nation
was once the richest nation in South East Asia.  God’s blessings of
nature and human resource was envy of all nations.  Sadly in the past
this nation fell into the hands of men of avarice.  To this men of small
mind is the sad credit of turning one of the richest countries in Asia into
one of the poorest.  Poverty is an offence against God’s blessings on this
nation.  We pray our present rulers bring peace and prosperity.
3. Religions  silence over narratives of hatred :   This golden land has been
wounded by venomous narratives of hatred propagated by malicious
men in the name of religion.   Unity and diversity is a Trinitarian trait of
great show of sharing and love and concern.   These traits were nullified
by a handful of men who unleashed religious and ethnic hate speech
provoking international outrage.

May the Trinity which blessed our nation with treasures  bless us with the
treasure of unity and peace.

3. What is the message Trinity to the Global World?

We are not an Island.  We live in a world which struggles hard to bring the
Trinitarian sense of sharing and unity.   This  world is a wounded planet.  It
urgently needs three  measures to heal and save this planet.

Trinitarian traits that  are urgently needed for the  the world.

1. Justice :  Based on the Biblical discourses on Justice  Pope Francis has

constantly urged that the humanity which is fragmented by poverty and
ecological disasters need to forge a unity through economic and
ecological justice, especially for the poor countries. The recent events in
US points out racial Justice is an urgent need.  COVID  proved that a virus
can bring to knees the mighty empire when unity is absent among the
countries.
2. An Economy at the service of humanity :   Universal prosperity is a
possible destiny for the human race.  This can be achieved through  a
recasting of economy that is at the service of all human race, not an
economy that enslaves the poor and the vulnerable.
 3. A return to the Spiritual Traditions :  The tyranny of relativism, as
indicated by Pope Benedict  has wrought havoc to human civilization. 
This has resulted in commodification of the sacred dignity of human
beings.  Human dignity is the heart of  Trinitarian concept of humanity.  
When  humanity was diluted, God sent his only son to save it.  Drinking
from the spiritual resources will make the world a community  of
universal brotherhood.

The major obstacles to a Trinitarian World

1. A world anguished by ceaseless wars  and displacement :   Nearly 65

million people on this earth are refugees or displaced in this God created
world.  Wars and War machines have nullified the great salvific work of
the Trinity.
2. A world that created a huge percentage of disinherited Majority:  The
world today is owned by ten corporations and less than 400 individuals
making the majority of people  to intergenerational poverty and suffering.
3. Division of humanity in the name of religions and Race:  Religions  are a
double edged sword. They are for enhancing humanity to higher plain of
mutual love and seeing God in each other.   Humanity is broken into
pieces still based on racial and other discrimination.

         To most of the western countries, especially America, the feast of Trinity
is comes at a painful times. Can these rich and powerful countries regain
their  cultures through the Trinitarian traits of equality, sharing and non
discrimination?  The killing of the African American man Floyd has once again
exposed inhumanity of racism. President Bush observes that “America’s
greatest challenge has long been to unite people of very different
backgrounds into a single nation of justice and opportunity.” The answer is
“living up to American ideals—to the fundamental truth that all human beings
are created equal and endowed by God with certain rights.”

Yes, the world stands in need of Trinitarian solutions.  If God can live in
community and harmony,  human beings can also do likewise. Happy feast.  In
the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit – Amen.

[Text of Message was given by Cardinal Bo to ZENIT’s Deborah Lubov ]

 

JUNE 05, 2020 14:12SPIRITUALITY AND PRAYER

Source: https://zenit.org/articles/feature-more-than-covid-an-anti-trinitarian-mentality-is-destroying-
humanity-suggests-cardinal-bo-on-feast-of-holy-trinity/