This weekend we celebrate a glorious celebration, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. This is an opportunity for us to simply give praise to our majestic, perfect Creator, who is One with the Savior and the Holy Spirit, an infinite relationship of Divine Love. It is impossible to put into words the mystery of the most blessed Trinity, one God in three Divine Persons. We try our best to explain, with our limited human language, how our God can be both one nature and three persons. However, perhaps the best way to ponder the mystery is through our sacred music.
This weekend, we will be singing two musical arrangements of the “Te Deum,” which is a “fourth century Latin hymn of praise” (OCP). The first is at offertory-- “Hymn of Praise” by Dan Schutte, who composed the well-known “Glory and Praise to Our God,” another Te Deum of sorts. The first three verses focus on each person of the Trinity, praising the beauty and wonder of each. The final verse uses interesting yet appropriate poetry, describing the infinite relationship of Love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as an “eternal dance of Trinity,” a beautiful metaphor for something so difficult to put into words, and yet we know that “dance” will never end. God’s glory reigns forever. The other “Te Deum” is one we usually sing following the reposition of the Blessed Sacrament-- “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.” In addition to the familiar words of praising God, present in the Blessed Sacrament, we will also focus on the third verse: “Holy Father, Holy Son, Holy Spirit, Three we name thee; while in essence only One, undivided God we claim thee...” Again, the poetry of the text is so moving and so appropriate. When we truly sing these words, meaning what we say, we cannot help but be struck by the awesomeness of God and the fact that this amazing God loves us!
When you come to Mass this weekend, be sure to reflect on the words of all the hymns that are sung and sing them with heartfelt praise. This weekend is an opportunity to truly praise God for being our Creator, Savior, and Advocate. We spend much time asking God for our many needs, and hopefully, begging for mercy, but do we remember to give God our praise? -Karen Stolz, Faith Formation Director, cantor, oboist