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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said to the eleven disciples,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

baptising them

in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

and teaching them

to obey everything that I have commanded you.

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And remember,

I am with you always,

to the end of the age.”

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– Matthew 28:18-20 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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In these last three verses of Matthew’s gospel

Jesus, significantly, proclaims the Trinity to His disciples.

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The Master addresses His disciples with a majesty proper to God:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

In other words, omnipotence,

which is an attribute belonging exclusively to God,

belongs to the Him.

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Jesus confirms that the authority He is giving His disciples, derives from His own divine authority,

and He affirms that He and the Father and the Holy Spirit are one.

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The Son and the Holy Spirit are equal with the Father

– a mighty God, an omnipresent and helping Saviour,

with us always, without exception, to the end of the world.

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As Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa explains,

“Jesus has gone to heaven but without leaving earth.

He has only disappeared from our field of vision.

Indeed in the Gospel He himself assures us: “I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

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PRAYER…

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In the name of the Father,

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

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Almighty Father,

You have revealed Your glory

as the glory also of Your Son

and the glory of the Holy Spirit:

three Persons equal in majesty,

undivided in splendour,

yet one Lord, one God,

ever to be adored in everlasting glory.(*)

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O Holy Trinity, Most Divine,

I pray that my life will be one of communion, sharing and love

– imitating and reflecting You.

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For this I pray with all my heart.

In the name of the Father,

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

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