31 May 2026 #celebrateoutloud

Our Easter season is officially over. Now we kick off ordinary time with a lovely little holy day called The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. While pondering how best to define a “solemnity”, I did what everyone else does: I googled it. And stumbled upon a Catholic website that had the best explanation for the difference between feasts, memorials, and solemnities… and how/why to celebrate them in our daily lives.

Here’s the opening (and fascinating) line: “The Church, in her wisdom, not only commemorates the great mysteries of the faith but distributes them throughout the year in a liturgical calendar. This structure is not arbitrary; it reflects the history of salvation and helps us enter into a spiritual rhythm that draws us closer to God.”

The questions I must ask: Does your family celebration of the feasts, memorials, and solemnities in your weekly life give you a spiritual rhythm that draws you closer to God? Does the Church calendar claim priority in your activity schedule… or does something else?

Attending Sunday Mass each week, as lovely and beautiful as it is, does not fully constitute living out the faith of your life-rhythm. Mass is the source and summit of the faith, to be sure! But it’s there to equip you with the graces and wisdom to live out the faith the other six days of the week. The Jewish people – including Jesus – looked different than the rest of the world because they lived their faith out loud; they celebrated their many feast days in Jerusalem, wore clothing that separated them from their conquering entities, kept the 10 Commandments and the 613 Deuteronomistic (kosher) laws in their hearts and daily actions. Jesus’ Jewish faith was visible to everyone (Roman or pagan) around him.

Is your Catholic faith visible to everyone (social or professional) around you?

Solemnities are the highest-ranking liturgical celebrations in our Church calendar. Today’s Solemnity celebrates the central Truth that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit share one single perfect nature and act together with one will… through different actions and movements in the created world. Three persons, one Godhead… Now there’s a mystery to ponder and a concept worth celebrating with joy and exuberance!

So. How might one joyfully incorporate today’s Solemnity into daily life, outside of the celebration of Holy Eucharist? How can you “look different” to Hastings today? Well…. You can spend more a little more time in prayer pondering the Trinity and their visible works in your life. Maybe take an outside rosary walk and pray the Glorious mysteries. You could invite friends over for a special dinner to reminisce about the times ‘God showed up’ in your life, whether it be in the form of a Fatherly rescue, a Sonship turn of events, or a Holy Spirit moment. Or decide to create a ‘family prayer/thanksgiving corner’ in your home. Perhaps you could practice a work of charity as a sign of gratitude for this great Trinitarian gift. The possibilities are as endlessly creative as our Trinitarian God is timeless. #celebrateoutloud