Trinity

Dear friends,

This Sunday we celebrate the mystery of the Trinity – of one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As this rather irreverent video demonstrates, it is easier to get the Trinity wrong rather than to get it right – but, at Mass this Sunday, I hope to have a go at unpacking the meaning of the mystery!

On Saturday evening, those attending the 6pm Vigil Mass will have the pleasure of welcoming Fr David Green, parish priest of St Anselm, Hatch End – who is kindly covering this Mass in my absence. Please note also that there will therefore be no public Evening Prayer this coming Saturday. Likewise, while I am away next week on the joint parish pilgrimage to Walsingham, please pay careful attention to the schedule of Masses and Offices as listed on the pew sheet, as these will be different from normal: in particular, please note that there will be noMass on Friday morning next week, 9 June. We are similarly grateful to Fr Mike, and to Fr Leslie Drake, for covering the other Masses in my absence.

(Incidentally, one spare place on the Walsingham pilgrimage next week has just become available: contact me ASAP if you would like to take advantage of this last-minute opportunity!)

The doctrine of the Trinity confuses us because it seems to confound basic arithmetic: the three Persons of the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – nevertheless add up not to three Gods, but to one God. It is as if 1 + 1 + 1 = … 1?! However, this arithmetical puzzle can perhaps be solved if we change not the numbers involved, but the operations: instead of adding, let us try multiplying. 1 x 1 x 1 = … 1! Here we have both fidelity to the doctrine, and compliance with mathematical rules. The three Persons of the Trinity “multiply” one another because they glorify one another: they magnify one another – and the symbol for magnification is “x“. God is in Himself a community of glory – and in this way He models for us the sort of community we too should be.

Tickets will be available again this Sunday for our forthcoming Parish Barbecue, on Saturday 15 July: please purchase these from Gloria, who will also happily receive offers of sides, salads and desserts for the barbecue – as also kind offers of buffet refreshments for the meeting of the Deanery Synod at St Mary’s on Tuesday, 4 July. Please also sign up in church for the parish outing to Hampton Court Palace on Sunday, 9 July.

Please also find attached an invitation to the Patronal Festival celebrations at St Peter, Bushey Heath on Saturday, 1 July, as well as the latest newsletter from Action by Christians against Torture (ACAT) (Harrow).