“Tri” a little tenderness

“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

How many times have you uttered those words in your life? If you are a prayerful person, then it would probably be a lot because it's how we start almost every prayer we say. And you may not even give much thought to it other than simply, well, the way you begin a prayer. Yes, we say those words every time we start a prayer, and usually a more formal prayer, like the Lord’s Prayer or Hail Mary for example, and it is even how each Mass begins.
However, what strikes me as odd is the fact that usually we don’t even think of that as ‘a part of the prayer’ but merely an introduction, or a declaration of what you are preparing to do. Those words can sometimes lose their meaning if you don’t actually think about what is behind those words and what they truly mean.

Many people are unaware that these words we open a prayer with even have a name. It is called The Trinitarian Formula, which is a Greek phrase referring to the Holy Trinity. While many people have used many different examples and references to help us understand the Trinity, for the most part and I think for most people the Triniyt remains somewhat of a mystery. To be honest, that's OK, as long as you accept the Trinity as something that you believe in. That's where our faith comes in, right? Even if you don't fully understand the Trinity, this reference to the The Trinitarian Formula is that it is also a direct reference to Matthew 28:19, which tells us “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”, meaning that we are doing something in His name. 

There are some key issues here that I would like to point out here for you to think about. When you say the words “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” it means you are praying in the name of not just one person, but three; the Father, our king and our redeemer, the Son; the one who came down from Heaven in order to redeem us from our sins and the Holy Spirit; the one who remains with us to be our guide on our daily path to our salvation.

This means that whenever I begin praying with a Trinitarian belief, I’m not just saying some simple words that begin a prayer. No, I'm doing something far more that that. What I’m doing is making a covenant with God and that He not only hears my prayer, but that prayer will also be answered according to my needs and His will. It means that I’m also saying that I believe those words to be true. For example, when I say a Hail Mary, I am committing to the fact that Mary, our Blessed Mother, means everything to me and that I believe that all of the words in that prayer to be true. And, by beginning the Hail Mary with “In the name of the father…” I am inviting her to not just listen to the words I say, but to pray those words along with me. Think of it as an invitation. Just imagine for a minute, that you are sitting on your couch, saying a Hail Mary. But instead of imagining her standing in front of you, listening to you pray, imagine that she’s sitting right next to you, saying the words with you because you invited her to do so. How powerful is that?

Something else to think about is that the Trinitarian Formula is also a blessing, a very powerful blessing which you give to yourself. Think about the conclusion of Mass when the Priest says to the congregation, “May almighty God bless you in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” He is not only giving you a blessing, but when you make the sign of the cross along with him, you are receiving a Trinitarian blessing and carry with you the power of the Holy Trinity in the hope that you will spread the word of God and do his work, and be a disciple in his name.

Lastly, below is a visual that I came up with a while back that relates to this whole thing  that might make you smile. If you ever played sports you might relate. Maybe at some point you had a coach who would draw plays out on a board. The image below is something I call the “Catholic Playbook”. After all, we're all on the same team, right? 

Alright team, now go out there and get in the game.