If you are a child of the ’80s or ’90s, you’ve probably seen the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Remember that movie? Ferris Bueller is this high school kid, he plays hooky, and he spends all day doing all these outrageous, fun things.
There’s a scene where he walks into this very fancy restaurant in Chicago. Of course, he and his friends don’t have a reservation, so they go to the doorman who’s checking the reservations, and he steps aside for a moment. So, Ferris Bueller looks at all the names on the list and finds a party for three—he’s with his friend Cameron and his girlfriend. He looks for a party of three, and the doorman comes back to him and says, “Do you have a reservation?” Does anybody remember who Ferris Bueller said he was? Abe Froman. Man, you guys are great! Who was Abe Froman? The Sausage King of Chicago.
He says, “You’re Abe Froman? The Sausage King of Chicago?” But Ferris is using the name to get into somewhere. And that’s what’s funny. We make a reservation somewhere, we make it under a name, and then we gain access through that name.
That’s what I’d like to talk about as we reflect on this wonderful revelation that God has given to us of the Trinity.
Jesus, and the gift that he gave, the final thing that he said to his disciples is this: “Go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” This reveals to us a couple things that are very profound.
First of all, he doesn’t say in the names. Jesus says, “In the name”, singular. Why does he say “In the name”? One God. We believe in one God and three persons, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Now I want to reflect on the most powerful prayer that we have as Catholics. Does anyone know what it is? The Sign of the Cross. Every time we come into church we remember our Baptism. The most powerful sacramental that we have is blessing ourselves with Holy Water. Every time we come into Mass, hopefully we dip our fingers into this font and we make the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. It’s a very powerful prayer. But sometimes you go like this (demonstrates), and just sign ourselves really quick. Yet it is the most powerful prayer that we have because when we are invoking the Trinity, when we are acclaiming that name, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has given us special access to the Trinity. When we call upon the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we enter into that communion. We’re given a seat at the table. We’re given this privileged access to God. And that’s what Jesus wants us to have.
We begin every Mass this way, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We begin every time we pray with the Sign of the Cross. And yet, I know this happens to me and maybe it happens to you as well. It sometimes happens in restaurants. (Speaking rapidly) Okay, we’ve got to pray. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. But this is the most powerful prayer that we do. I think that, when we make the Sign of the Cross, we need to be aware of that being a prayer. Not only being a prayer, but the most powerful prayer to enter into the light of the Trinity. To become one with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus commissioned the disciples to baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, he is saying, “I want everyone to experience this communion. And in this light of the Trinity that we are drawn into, we become one with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It’s actually very amazing and very powerful.
If you’ll bear with me for just for a moment, I want to walk us through
making the Sign of the Cross. As we do that, to do so reverently. I want you to feel and pray that we can be united with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You’ll notice, too, that there is some movement that comes with the Sign of the Cross.
We begin with the forehead. We say, “In the name of the Father.” Why do we start with the forehead? From the very beginning of the early church, they always started by signing someone who they would be bringing into the faith.
We continue to do this in baptism today. I don’t know if you remember, you probably don’t remember your own baptism but maybe your children or your grandchildren. At the beginning of the Rite of Baptism, the priest or deacon signs the child on the forehead and then invites the parents and the godparents to do the same. You silently come forward and make the Sign of the Cross on their forehead, because you are claiming that child for Christ.
Then, as we go from the head to our chest, it’s like when Jesus came and took on human flesh. He descended from heaven—from the Father—and took on human flesh so that he could be one with us. As we move our hand from our head to our chest, we are reminded of the Incarnation.
And then, and this is the part that I think is very profound, we say, “and of the Holy Spirit,” and we touch each of our left and right shoulders. In that moment we are reminded of the unity, that we become one with the Trinity, but also that we become one with all of the baptized, with his Church on earth.
So together, and do it slowly, make the sign of the cross together.
Raise your hand to your forehead and say, “In the name of the Father.” Close your eyes and feel your hand touching your forehead. In the Hebrew scriptures the name of God was never spoken, and Jesus now gives us his permission, his commandment, to say his name. We are beloved sons and daughters.
Feel your hand on your chest or your breast and say, “And the Son.” I want you to feel your hand there completely united with Jesus, who gave his life for you. We hear in the gospel today that, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.” Think about the wounds of Christ. He was wounded not only on his hands and his feet but also in his side, and he poured out his body and his blood for us. We receive that gift. The second reading today and the entrance to Mass, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He pours his grace into our hearts.
Now cross yourself on your shoulders, “And of the Holy Spirit.” As you do so, feeling your hand go across your chest completely enveloped by the Holy Spirit, drawn into this mystery of the Trinity. After Jesus commissioned his disciples to baptize all nations “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” he then said, “I am with you always.”
If you ever struggle believing that God is with you, invoke the Trinity—the holy name of God—and make the sign of the cross, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
