Trinity Sunday

Feast of the Blessed Trinity

May 30, 2021

Matthew 28: 16-20

I begin with the words of Jesus which he speaks to His Disciples as He prepares to leave them:

“All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make Disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the end of the age.”

Although we are familiar with these words on a daily basis since all our prayers begin with the words: “in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”, during these weeks of Eastertide we have heard in the Gospel readings that Jesus tells his followers many times that His Father has been teaching him all this time. “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you… now remain in my love”. Jesus explains that this gift of the Father’s love will be given to them and to us. In this way we begin to see that Jesus wants to bring the joy of this love shared by the Father and Himself will be given to us. Listen again to the words, “I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last”.

As Jesus prepares to leave this world, He shows the disciples and us that this constant union with the His Father is the only way which will help His followers to bear the message of Jesus to the world. His final and most significant message is in these words: “I and the Father are ONE. The one who sees me sees the Father”. The message now develops as Jesus gives his reason for his departure”, and then his assurance that he will send the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity! Jesus says, “the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. I shall not abandon you as orphans … the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I have said to you.” These references to the Mystery of the Trinity show us the very essence of God. We are given through this Mystery the strength to continue their message: to believe in each other as images of God, to try to spread the message of Love and Joy. We have the strength coming to us all the time from our Triune God. We cannot fail if we fix our gaze on these Three.

St Aelred Of Rivaulx explains beautifully: “Here we are You and I. I know between us Christ is the Third. O dear gift of friendship speak no ill of it rather praise its maker and model – the Blessed Three in One.

Matthew 28: 16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
The Gospel of the Lord

Meet Sister Mary Cluderay, SNDdeN

Sister Mary was born in Leeds in 1930, the seventh child in a family of eight. The other children were all boys! She was a pupil in Notre Dame High School, Leeds from 1944-1948. She entered the Congregation on September 24th 1948 and made her First Vows in April 1951. In September she became a two Year Student in Our Lady’s College Mount Pleasant Liverpool and continued her studies for an additional three years in Liverpool University where she gained a B.A honours in General Studies. Her subjects were English, French, History and Latin. Subsequently she taught as an assistant Teacher in Notre Dame Schools in Northampton, Worth and Battersea. She became Head Teacher of Notre Dame High School, Norwich in 1968 and she retired in 1995. For a period of 6 years she worked with the National Health Department for Mental Health in Norwich. She then served as the Moderator in the Parbold Community.