'Trifecta' of Blessings

 The Most Holy Trinity
~~~ Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~
~~~Romans 8:14-17 ~~~ Matthew 28:16-20 ~~~

Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
to God who is, who was, and who is to come.

In horse racing there is a type of bet called a trifecta.
For this bet you must correctly pick the first three winners.
Not only must the winners be selected,
but they must be in the correct order.

God gave us the three persons...
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
There is no need consider any other gods.
There is no need to bet on the top three.

Our doctrine teaches that the Trinity
is the description of God...
three persons in one.
Belief in the Trinity is the very root of the Catholic faith.
We profess it each time we pray the Creed.
We Baptize in the name of the Father,
 the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

We begin most of our prayers
by marking ourselves with the sign of the cross
calling to mind the three persons. 

I am with you always, until the end of the age.

God chose us to be his heirs.
We are his adopted sons and daughters.
His love for us far surpasses that of any physical parent.
He promises to be with always...
in the good times and in the bad times.
His love for us endures until the end of age.

God brought us into this world and he will be the one
 who takes us back to himself.

My prayer is that when the final breath comes;
we may come to a deeper understanding of exactly what
these words have meant and mean.

Belief in the Trinity...
“The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery
 of Christian faith and life” (CCC 234)

There is only One God.
He sends us a 'trifecta' of Blessings.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

If we could understand our triune God,
Saint Augustine says...he would not be God. 

Every day our blessings come in triplets.
If one does not get to you there are two more chances.
Be Ready to Receive them.

~~~ Peace~~~

The Triple Crown of Christian Life

~~~ 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 ~~~ Psalm 112 ~~~ Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 ~~~

 

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving...

the trifecta of the Christian life.

Prayer acknowledging that there is a God who cares and listens to us.

Fasting a means to become better focused on listening to the voice of God.

Almsgiving a generous way to give from our personal abundance.

 

These three have been valued throughout all times across varied cultures.

 

The readings today spotlight almsgiving.

There is even a touch of what we might consider cliché verbiage...

God loves a cheerful giver.

 

I had a close relative who was very generous with his money,

 but there were always strings attached.

I will give you this; if you promise to do such and such.

Somehow these little strings placed a damper over the gift.

It sometimes made me wonder if it really was a gift...or just bribery in disguise.

At times I felt like I did not want to accept the gift

because of the accompanying stipulations.

 

I think God has a very different idea when it comes to our almsgiving.

He instead ties it to farming.

Gift giving is like planting seeds which will bear fruit in the future.

One does not sow a seed only if it will produce the most perfect fruit.

Instead we sow many seeds knowing that some will not bear fruit...

some will never even take root, but still they are planted.

 

God is able to make every grace abundant for you...

 

Jesus gives us direct guidelines on these three pillars of a holy life.

 

Almsgiving...

But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

Prayer...

But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door,
and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

Fasting...

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to others to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

 

These three actions have one very obvious thing in common;

they should all take place in secret.

We are not to broadcast what we are doing.

 

Drawing attention to ourselves for what we are doing detracts

from the purpose God had in mind.

 

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are best undertaken in privacy.

There is no benefit from boasting about how much you have given to the poor.

There is no benefit in proclaiming your denial through fasting.

There is no benefit is broadcasting how much time you spend in prayer each day.

 

If we are blessed with riches then they should

cause us to give thanks for the generosity of God.  

All that we have has come to us through Our Lord Jesus Christ...

from whom all good things come.

 

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving...the triple crown of Christian life.

Each one holds its unique blessings.