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Bishop's Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

June 15, 2025

(Jacob Lund / Shutterstock.com)

Homily of the Most Reverend Larry Silva, Bishop of Honolulu
[Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa, Honolulu]

Children, happy Fathers Day to you!  Yes, happy Fathers Day to you because, after all, if it were not for children there would be no fathers, right?  Mothers, happy Fathers Day to you as well, because -- you guessed it -- without mothers there would be no fathers! And, of course, a very happy Fathers Day to all our fathers!  You are much appreciated in all you do.

Did you notice I mentioned the three kinds of persons who are needed to make all of these people what they are?  And, I think, this helps us to reflect on the beauty of today’s feast, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.  The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the primordial community of love, because, even though they are three distinct persons, they are one God.  St. John tells us that “God is love,” and it is the very nature of love to be in relationship with others.

Sometimes we need to be reminded that every human being who ever existed is made in the image and likeness of God. We were made that way from the very beginning of time, and we will always bear the image and likeness of God.  Our problem is that we forget this fact, and think we need to create our own image.

As we thank God for our fathers in a special way today, we know how much we appreciate them for all the love they pour out upon us, for all they have taught us – and yes, even for the loving discipline they bless us with, even if we don’t consider it a blessing at the time. We owe so much to these men who give their lives for us, and we thank God for them today and every day.

None of us, however, is so naïve to think that fathers are perfect.  We know they are not. They have their faults. They can be unloving at times, some, unfortunately abandoning or abusing their children.  These fathers have forgotten the community of love, the Blessed Trinity, in whose image and likeness they were created.  Why they are blinded to this reality can be a variety of reasons, but if they truly understood that they are sons of the God who is love, they would be much more loving.

Of course, we can say the same for any of us!  We live in a world full of conflicts.  Our families, which are meant to be the first and most intimate school of love, are often filled with tensions.  We might celebrate our national identity when, for example, an American is elected as Pope for the first time in history, but we also know our national identity is fractured by different political parties and different ideologies.  It is not that we are different or have different perspectives that is the problem, but rather our unwillingness to respect others who are different. Then, of course, there is the world scene, where Muslims and Christians, Israelis and Palestinians, Russians and Ukrainians, often consider themselves enemies and make life very miserable for each other in persecutions and wars. We have all forgotten that at our core, we are built to love one another, because the image and likeness of the God who is Love has been stamped on each one of us.

Perhaps we celebrate Fathers Day as a reminder about what we should be grateful for every day of our lives, the love that we share with these men who gave us life and help sustain us in its best form.  And perhaps this is why we celebrate this Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, to remind ourselves that our very essence is to be a community of love, because that is the way we were made.

Yes, the Holy Trinity is a mystery to be pondered, and for centuries theologians and all faithful have tried to understand this puzzling realize of three distinct persons being one God. But perhaps we will make much more progress in our understanding if we simply remember that all of us were made in the image and likeness of this primordial community of love, so that we can be part of a much more loving world.