Saint Augustine, one of the greatest intellectual saints spent many years trying to understand the mystery of God. One day he was walking along the beach he saw a little boy digging a hole in the sand with a seashell. He asked the boy what he was going to do with the hole. He was going to put all the water of the ocean into the hole. St. Augustine said that you will never do that, the little boy answered I’ll do it before you understand the meaning of the Blessed Trinity. St. Augustine then then understood what his own problem was. He was trying to understand the great mystery of God with an imperfect limited human mind. I remember visiting a confirmation class and asked the children if we want to find out something about God what do we do, Google it.  When I Googled the Holy Trinity, I got 1,860,000 results, so I opted for a more conventional approach. Many of you have heard Brendan Grace’s confirmation tape – Bottler preparing for confirmation. What is the Blessed Trinity? Three divine persons in the One God. I don’t understand the Bishop said. You’re not supposed to, it’s a mystery. Trying to make sense of this mystery is very difficult and hard to grasp. The Three persons in the Holy Trinity are three distinct persons but they are so wrapped in one another that they are perfectly one. The relationships in the Holy Trinity are the model for our relationships as Christians. We too must relate to each other as a community of love, unity, and harmony. Pope Francis spoke recently about the prevalence of virtual masses, and he stressed while these are very good during these difficult times, that this is not the church, the church is a community of people who come together. This is why we missed mass so much and its great to be able to get back out as a community to share together. A secondary school religion teacher was talking to her students about the Trinity. After her presentation she gave her class a writing assignment on this question: Which person of the Trinity do you relate to best now in your life? These are some of the answers of the students. One boy wrote: My father and I have a zero relationship. I need a father right now, and since I can’t turn to my own dad, I turn to my Father in heaven. I sometimes talk to him about my problems, the way I would like to talk to my dad about them. A girl wrote: My brother lives with my father, and I live with my mother. Ever since my parents’ divorce two years ago, we hardly ever see each other anymore. I never thought I’d miss my brother, but I do. So now I’ve kind of adopted Jesus as a brother. Finally, another boy wrote: Just recently I began praying to the Holy Spirit. I’m going to university next year, and I have no idea what I want to take up. I hope the Holy Spirit will enlighten me. Anyway, I’m praying to him for guidance.  There is a beautiful Russian icon of the Blessed Trinity painted by a monk, Rublev. It depicts the three Divine Persons sitting at a table. A dish of food lies on the table. But the thing that immediately strikes you is the fact that at the front of the table there is a vacant place. The vacant place is meant to convey openness, hospitality and welcome towards the stranger and outsider. The vacant place is meant for you and for me. It signifies God’s invitation to us to share in the life of the Trinity. He has already given us a place at the banquet of earthly life. But he wants us to have place at the banquet of eternal life too. Only at God’s table can we find the nourishment our hearts are hungering for. Our response can only be one of trust in God and love towards one another. What St. Paul said to the Corinthians, is meant also for us: ‘Help one another. Be united; live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you.’