As Catholics, we believe that the mystery of the Trinity (that God is one God in three Persons) is at the very center of our faith and of life itself. We celebrate Trinity Sunday every year just after Pentecost and the end of the Easter season. Such a lofty mystery, however, can seem pretty abstract sometimes. How do we celebrate Trinity Sunday, aside from going to Mass? As we rapidly approach this important feast day, here are 10 great ways to celebrate Trinity Sunday in your home!
Note: This post contains an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. This supports our family and we appreciate your understanding.
1. Pray the Athanasian Creed on Trinity Sunday
St. Athanasius was a bishop of the early Church at a time when heresy was running rampant. He fought zealously to preserve the true understanding of the Holy Trinity. The Athanasian Creed is a prayer that was deeply influenced by his teachings, if not written by Athanasius himself. It is accepted as a legitimate creed by the Catholic Church.
Take some time to pray this creed with your family! It is rather long, but it is well worth spending time on. It describes the wondrous nature of the Trinity in great detail. What a wonderful way to remind ourselves of the beauty and depth of this mystery!
The Athanasian Creed
Whoever wills to be in a state of salvation, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith, which except everyone shall have kept whole and undefiled without doubt he will perish eternally.
Now the catholic faith is that we worship One God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is One, the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal.
Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit; the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated; the Father infinite, the Son infinite, and the Holy Spirit infinite; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet not three eternals but one eternal, as also not three infinites, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one infinite. So, likewise, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty; and yet not three almighties but one almighty.
So the Father is God, the Son God, and the Holy Spirit God; and yet not three Gods but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord; and yet not three Lords but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by Christian truth to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be both God and Lord; so are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say, there be three Gods or three Lords.
The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created but begotten. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and the Son, not made nor created nor begotten but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers, one Son, not three Sons, and one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And in this Trinity there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less, but the whole three Persons are coeternal together and coequal.
So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the trinity in Unity and the Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped. He therefore who wills to be in a state of salvation, let him think thus of the Trinity.
But it is necessary to eternal salvation that he also believe faithfully the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. The right faith therefore is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man.
He is God of the substance of the Father begotten before the worlds, and He is man of the substance of His mother born in the world; perfect God, perfect man subsisting of a reasoning soul and human flesh; equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, inferior to the Father as touching His Manhood.
Who although He be God and Man, yet He is not two but one Christ; one however not by conversion of the Godhead in the flesh, but by taking of the Manhood in God; one altogether not by confusion of substance but by unity of Person. For as the reasoning soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ.
Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life eternal, and they who indeed have done evil into eternal fire.
This is the catholic faith, which except a man shall have believed faithfully and firmly he cannot be in a state of salvation.
2. Read St. Patrick’s Summer
This book is a wonderful read-aloud for the whole family! A couple of English farm children are preparing to receive their First Communions, but they are having a difficult time understanding the mysteries of their Faith. Their tutor prays for divine assistance, and heavenly visitors come to call! A very fun read, “St. Patrick’s Summer” does a fantastic job of describing deep spiritual truths at a child’s level. You can find the book here!
3. Decorate with 3s for Trinity Sunday
Obviously, the number 3 is significant when it comes to the Holy Trinity. You can use this to add a trinitarian theme to your decor! Hang up three-sided pennants or balloons in groups of three. Make triangular coasters or placemats for the table, or cone-shaped party hats to wear.
4. Sing Hymns in Honor of the Trinity
There are some wonderful hymns that specifically honor and praise the Holy Trinity. Examples include “Holy, Holy, Holy”, “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”, “All Hail, Adored Trinity”, and “I Bind Unto Myself Today”. Other hymns often end with an invocation of the Trinity, even if their main focus is on another topic. Spend an hour with family and friends around the piano and sing praises to our triune God!
5. Celebrate Trinity Sunday with Your Family
Pope Francis has said that “the triune God is a communion of love, and the family is its living reflection.” Other popes have stated the same truth in similar terms. This being the case, what better way to celebrate Trinity Sunday than with your family? Spend the day living in intentional love together!
6. Look for Trinitarian Patterns in the Everyday
St. Augustine says that all of creation is imprinted with the image of its Triune Creator. Throughout his works, he gives examples in both the physical and spiritual realms where a three-fold pattern can be found. From water being one substance with three states (solid, liquid, and gas) to a triangle being one shape with three sides, reminders of the Most Holy Trinity are everywhere! Go on a treasure hunt and find some yourself!
7. Wear Gold on Trinity Sunday
The color gold has long been used to symbolize the Holy Trinity. Wear some golden clothing or jewelry to celebrate the day!
8. Meditate on John 15
There are many beautiful verses in the 15th chapter of John’s gospel. Some speak of the relationships of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Others describe the relationship each of the three divine Persons have with us. It is a wonderful passage about the nature of love, and well worth meditating on.
9. Pray the Fatima Angel’s Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity
An angel taught this prayer to three shepherd children at Fatima:
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly. I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended. And, through the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of sinners. Amen.
10. Eat Trinitarian Foods
There’s always a way to celebrate the threeness-and-oneness of the Trinity in food somehow, right? Try making a tres leches cake or a triple chocolate dessert. Bake cloverleaf rolls (three balls of dough baked as one) or cook tricolor pasta. Or get creative and invent your own trinitarian food!
Leave a Reply