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A Spiritual Communion
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Most Holy Trinity
Please join us in this prayer which unites us to Christ and to each other at Saint Hubert.
Opening Our Heart to God
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Lord, I know you are with me, always. You are One, yet reveal yourself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus, help me prepare to enter into this time of prayer as I acknowledge my sins and seek to begin again.- Lord, have mercy.
- Christ, have mercy.
- Lord, have mercy.
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth, peace to people of good will!
Opening Prayer
Father, you sent your Word to bring us truth
and your Spirit to make us holy.
Through them we come to know the mystery of your life.
Help us to worship you, one God in three Persons,
by proclaiming and living our faith in you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Word of God: The Words of Life
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060423.cfm
First Reading: Exodus 34:4B-6, 8-9
We hear about the moment the Lord revealed himself to Moses on Mount Sinai. God reveals that he is gracious, merciful, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.
Responsorial: Daniel 3
Glory and Praise Forever!
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Paul encourages us with some very timely and needed words of wisdom.
Gospel: John 3:16-18
We hear one of John’s most beloved passages about why God the Father sent his Son into the world.
A Reflection by Fr. Mike
In the pages of the Old Testament, there was a real fear that if anyone would see the face of God, it would be too much to take in. It would literally take their life away. In fact, in the Book of Exodus, God told Moses “You cannot see my face and live.” But then, in the same breath we have today’s first reading, which is a chapter later, which seems to show the complete opposite. The LORD stood in Moses’ presence and the LORD announced his name.
If you look in the bible for this passage, you’ll notice that the name LORD is in all capitals. That’s significant. The LORD’s name is so holy that out of respect we don’t say it casually or even write it. So we use substitutes so that we can talk about God. God’s true name isn’t “God” and isn’t “Lord”, it is “I Am Who Am”—in Hebrew YHWH, which has no vowels and so when we say it aloud it sounds as if we’re breathing.
God’s true name reveals that he is simply other than anything we’ll ever know or truly understand. He is the breath of life and ground of what it means to exist and to be. And yet our God who, as Bishop Barron would say, is “otherly other” and infinite, is after intimacy and closeness with all of us created in his own image and likeness.
So, the proper disposition is to keep the tension of the relationship--knowing God is God, which is why we kneel whenever we’re in his divine presence, and knowing God can be an “intimate friend” as God was to Moses. The LORD came to Moses in the fullness of his greatness, who we come to know as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That day, Moses experienced a kind of communion. And Moses didn’t die, but very much lived. When we know and respect God’s greatness, God will find ways to reveal his presence in intimate ways.
And that’s why over time God began to reveal who he is: as a Trinity; as a “Communion of Persons” as Pope John Paul II would say--a Communion of Persons who allows us to see him. Because in truly seeing God and knowing we are in his presence will change us. We no longer live as we once did, but in truly seeing God alive in our life, we can and will begin to live in a different way. We die to ourselves to begin to live again, which is what happens in our baptism. We live to make God’s ways our own.
And so, God the Father sent us God the Son into our world. Jesus Christ shows us that God does have a face that is as human as our own. For those of you who were able to see the Shroud of Turin exhibit here after Easter, one of the exciting things we experienced was being able to see a hint of Jesus’ human face—the face of God the Son—captured perhaps on the shroud at the very moment of his resurrection when he opened the way to heaven. If that is Jesus’ face, we could actually see a glimpse of it.
God the Father and God the Son then sent us God the Holy Spirit to express God’s movement in our lives. An experience of God’s presence is possible. God the Holy Spirit reveals God’s presence to us. And so, it’s through the Holy Spirit, that the real presence of Jesus comes to us in the Eucharist we share. It’s the face of God revealed in a very different way than we’d ever expect. It’s the bread of life that is life giving and life changing. We come to communion to take in God’s presence. And every single time we do, we become God the Son’s most intimate friend. At one point in human history, Moses experienced a real communion of being in God’s presence. But today, all those who come to communion experience it, too.
The Holy Spirit is what allows us not just to experience who God is—merciful, kind, and faithful—but to bring those qualities out in how we live with one another since we’re all created in God's likeness and we’re able to hold the divine presence within us. In the reading from Paul, Paul encourages us to build up our relationships so that we can experience the love and peace God gives: reconcile with people, encourage one another, form consensus and understanding, because that’s how we can find the peace Jesus longs to give us.
So, the Trinity is a communion of three persons who work together to help us see how God can truly be present in our life and in our world—a God who is active, moving, and with us. It’s no wonder the Church Fathers called the Trinity a Divine Dance—Father, Son and Spirit moving in synch together, intimately connected, dancing without stopping, inviting us to join the dance with them. We can experience the dance—their presence—and it helps us to know we’re alive.
Consider sharing some of your own perspectives or spend some time in personal reflection. Have you had a meaningful encounter with one or more Persons of the Trinity? Have you entered into the Divine Dance? What’s it like?
All I Believe
As an alternative to the Nicene Creed, the Church also encourages Catholics around the world to profess the most ancient creed of our faith, The Apostle’s Creed.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son Our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father almighty;
from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body
and life everlasting.
Amen
The Prayers of the Faithful
Good and gracious God, in union with my brothers and sisters at St. Hubert, we bring our prayers to you.- For the Church, that all of us realize the gift of God’s Son in our lives so we might not perish, but have eternal life, we pray to the Lord.
- For recently elected officials in our area, that they find ways to encourage one another, peacefully come to consensus, and work for the common good of all, we pray to the Lord.
- For those planning summer vacations, that they and their families travel safely, enjoy meaningful relaxation, or adventure, and recognize the good things God has provided for them, we pray to the Lord.
- For our new Associate Pastor Fr. Matt Jamesson, that he finds SS. Matthew and Hubert to be a wonderful community of faith where he will fulfill his mission as a priest of Jesus Christ, we pray to the Lord.
- For the sick and injured, for those affected by abuse and violence, for those in our parish and our families who have chronic illness or in recovery from a procedure, may they find hope in the good news of the risen Christ, including: Pedro Pena, Tim Mallers, Audrey Palmer, Joan Jarzemsky, and for your intentions, we pray to the Lord.
- For those who have died, that the Lord’s glad tidings be their everlasting joy, including: Gerry Tully, Michael Prusha, Daniel Sipiora, Christine Cabrera, Feliza Aganad, Marlene Wenderski, Mike Gaeta, Bonnie Hindenburg, Phyllis Bassett, Virginia Cieslak, and for those you would like to remember, we pray to the Lord.
- For the needs of those listed in our Book of Prayer Intentions, for your needs, and for those for whom we are offering Masses for this weekend: Gerard Dempsey, Frank Durante, Rosemary Voncina, Cecilia Kauffmann, Richard Vaughn, Ruth Howle, Gregory Reinert, Gerald Pheiffer, and our St. Hubert Parishioners, we pray to the Lord.
A Spiritual Offering
During the Mass, we bring up gifts of bread and wine and thank God for them, because he gave them to us. Those gifts are then returned to us. God gives himself to us through Jesus Christ. What do you offer to God today of yourself, that can be returned as a gift to others? Who would you like to remember or offer this time of prayer for?
Longing for Communion
As we contemplate our desire to have Jesus Christ in our life, we prepare our hearts—knowing the angels and the saints are in communion with the One we long to be with. Let us lift up our hearts to the Lord.
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, Holy Father, almighty and eternal God.
For what you have revealed to us of your glory
we believe equally of your Son
and of the Holy Spirit,
so that, in the confessing of the true and eternal Godhead,
you might be adored in what is proper to each Person:
their unity in substance and their equality in majesty.
For this is praised by Angels and Archangels,
Cherubim, too, and Seraphim,
who never cease to cry out to you each day,
as with one voice they acclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
The Prayer that Unites Us
United with my brothers and sisters at St. Hubert and with Catholics around the world, with one voice we pray the prayer Jesus teaches us to pray together.
Our Father, who art in heaven…
A Time for Peace
Lord, Jesus Christ,
You said to your apostles, “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you”.
Please graciously grant peace to all of us,
to those in our family
and to everyone in our parish.
Allow us to be of one mind and heart.
Allow us to be an instrument of your peace.
(If praying with others, offer a sign of peace to one another.)
A Time for Spiritual Communion
As we long for the Eucharist, we long to be with Christ and share in his life. Let us spend some moments now in prayer uniting our life to the life of Jesus Christ. (You may even want to look upon a crucifix or hold it, or look upon an image or statue of Jesus Christ.)
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament.
I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there,
and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
An Act of Praise
I praise you, Father all-powerful,
I praise you, Divine Son, our Lord and Savior,
I praise you, Spirit of Love and Consolation.
One God, three Persons, Triune Unity,
be near to me in the temple of my soul.
Draw me to share in your life and love.
In your kindness
Grant to me and to my family
the riches of your mercy
and a share in your blessing,
that we may come to the glory of your Kingdom
and rejoice in loving you for all eternity.
Amen.
Pastoral Note:
For those who may want to experience a more contemplative form of prayer, allow the Holy Spirit to pray within you. One way is to center ourselves by being conscious of our own breathing. Slowly breathe in. As you hold your breath for a second or two, picture Jesus Christ or even his name in your mind. Then slowly breathe out. You can repeat this type of spiritual exercise until you are ready to close in prayer. This can be done as easily with children as with adults. It can be very comforting, peaceful and a way to find communion with God by feeling His presence.
A Closing Prayer
Good and Gracious Lord,
You allow us to experience your presence through
Your unity in three Persons.
As we seek this spiritual communion
and desire Your presence —
Father, Son and Holy Spirit—
we pray, that You will protect us in these uncertain times,
give us the hope we need day by day,
strengthen our desire to help one another,
and keep our St. Hubert Parish community close to You.
We long to be together to worship You
at your altar of praise.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Going Forth
Thank you, Lord, for this time we have shared.
I know you are with me—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Send me as an instrument
of your love and peace.
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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