June 19, 2011: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

A Homily by Fr. Fr Philip Heng, SJ at Church of St Ignatius – Singapore

During the week, I visited a family to bless their home; during my time there I observed how Mary, (not her real name), was very absorbed by her care and love for her first born son. Mary looked somewhat exhausted and when I remarked that she looked tired, she said, “Father, I have hardly slept for the past six weeks since my baby was born.” Mary went on to share how her son has to be fed every two hours during the night and then how he needs constant attention throughout the whole day. I could see that while Mary was so tired, she was at the same time filled with great joy and happiness that she is so blessed to have such a beautiful gift of her baby from God.

Then without any warning, her baby suddenly decided to give his mother a big “poo;” and when that happened Mary and everyone in the family had a good laugh and made a big joke out of it. Mary with great patience cleaned up the mess and with great love took her child away and after a short while brought him back fresh and clean, and begins to speak with even greater love and joy of her child. I could also see that the rest of the family too loves the child so much and has him as the centre of attention; more so when the baby is so adorable and beautiful.

I am sure many of you parents can relate very well to this story because it is a very human experience of what love is about. The whole story shows how much Mary loves her child and because of that she is able to go beyond her personal needs to provide for her child. While her sleepless nights and exhausting days are taking a toll on her, her daily selfless sacrifices remain meaningful and fulfilling because her love for her child is greater than all the pain and sacrifices that she has to go through.

This very human experience gives us a glimpse of our God in the Trinity. If human love of a mother can make us so selfless, God’s Love for us would be infinitely greater. Like Mary in our story who loves her child so much, God our Father, who created each of us out of Love, in an infinite way, loves us totally and unconditionally. The mystery of The Trinity is that God the Father, Son and Spirit together have each of us as the centre of their attention.

We are each God the Father’s most precious son and daughter. Like Mary, God’s Love for us, in an infinite way, is greater than the wrongs that we have done and the sins that we have committed. God is able to tolerate and forgive our sinful ways because regardless of our rejection of Him through our sins, He continues to forgive us unconditionally because ultimately we are each still His precious sons and daughters.

-Fr. Fr Philip Heng, SJ