Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Gospel
07 June 2009
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Mt 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.”
***

By EC Plan VI

Imagine being a transfer student from a far place, being a new resident in a town, or having to work in a new company with a group of people whom you know get together quite well. You are a newbie and thus, it is often hard to initiate contact, until someone from their group says, “Hi!”

Being a shy exchange student in a college in Singapore is quite difficult, especially since the people I know are in different classes. I sometimes sit in my classes lonely and silent. Fortunately, some instances provide contact between people. Group projects and homework broke the ice, allowing me to be able to interact with my classmates and soon enough, my Malaysian friends have invited me to see their country, and my Cambodian friend and I are having lunch together.

Just this Easter Sunday, 16 Catechumens were baptized into the Church in the church of St. Francis. In the Philippines, it would not be commonplace to have an adult baptism, as most of us were baptized when we were young. And as we grow up, many, not excluding me, have been taking our faith for granted. But as we were lighting up our candles this last Easter vigil, as water is poured onto their heads, nothing is more touching to remember that we are part of on big family – and that we are actually choosing to live out our faith. It is one’s decision to choose to become part of a big family and respond to this wonderful invitation, just as it was a decision for me to choose to be really friendly with my groupmates instead of just working with them and do away with them after, just as it must be a choice for a new resident to get to know his neighbors and not be the taciturn neighbor. Now it is our decision how to live out the life of a family member.

EC Plan VI is a merit scholar from the Ateneo de Manila University. He is currently an exchange student with Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. He is a consistent Dean’s Lister and Executive Vice President of one of the organizations in the Ateneo.