Mass | May 31, 2026 | Most Holy Trinity

Devotional

Day 1: Water Wheels and the Unceasing Flow of Divine Love

The Trinity moves like an ancient water wheel – three buckets endlessly pouring love into one another and into creation. Saint Bonaventure’s image reveals God not as static deity but as dynamic relationship. The Father’s love fills the Son, the Son’s obedience returns to the Father, and the Spirit’s power circulates this grace outward. Like water sustaining a mill, this divine motion fuels our capacity to love. When human hearts resist this flow, relationships dry up like cracked riverbeds. Yet the wheel keeps turning, inviting us to realign with its rhythm. [22:53]

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
(John 1:14, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you sensed the "current" of God’s love pulling you this week? What obstacles might be blocking its flow through you?

Day 2: When the Wheel Stops Turning

A water wheel jams when buckets break or debris clogs its mechanism. So too our spiritual lives stall when we neglect the Spirit’s presence. The Israelites’ golden calf incident shows how easily we replace God’s living presence with lifeless idols. Self-reliance, bitterness, or apathy can freeze the Trinity’s movement in us. Paul’s call to “greet with a holy kiss” becomes impossible when our inner wheels rust. [23:52]

"Do not quench the Spirit. Hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil."
(1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, ESV)

Reflection: What subtle “debris” – hurry, resentment, or self-sufficiency – might be hindering the Spirit’s movement in your relationships?

Day 3: Hot Chocolate Moments of Encouragement

Encouragement works like the sweet steam rising from a childhood cup of cocoa – small gestures that warm cold places. The pastor’s sister’s bear-and-bees text became sacramental, a momentary alignment with the Trinity’s affirming love. Such kindnesses oil the community’s gears. Paul’s charge to “encourage one another” gets lived out through texts shared, halls named, and choirs sustained across generations. [25:42]

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
(1 Thessalonians 5:11, ESV)

Reflection: Whose simple act of encouragement still warms you? What ordinary gesture could become someone’s “hot chocolate moment” today?

Day 4: The Weight of Legacy in Rotating Buckets

Father Marty’s funeral revealed how saints become counterweights on history’s water wheel. His fourteen years of pastoring still lift the community’s buckets. Schauldetter Hall stands as a stone testament to love’s lasting torque. The archbishop’s longing to be “buried from Saint Edward’s” confesses every believer’s hope – that our lives might help turn the wheel long after we’re gone. [27:35]

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
(Galatians 6:9, ESV)

Reflection: What eternal “weight” are your daily acts creating? How might today’s ordinary work become tomorrow’s hallowed space?

Day 5: Greasing the Gears with Holy Kisses

The “holy kiss” Paul commands is more than cultural custom – it’s the practical theology of well-oiled machinery. Deacon Rod’s seamless assistance during the funeral showed kisses become actions that keep communal wheels turning. Like bees pollinating blossoms, these holy exchanges – a text, a hall, a choir’s chord – distribute grace’s pollen. The Trinity’s great wheel turns through our small, grease-smudged acts of love. [25:19]

"Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings."
(Romans 16:16, ESV)

Reflection: What gritty, unglamorous act of service today could become your “holy kiss” to the Body of Christ?

Sermon Summary

Saint Bonaventure’s water wheel sets the picture: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit moving in a living circle, three buckets filling and pouring, the love of God spilling out into the world. The Father appears like the hand that reaches down through the clouds, the Son like the lamb of sacrifice who takes away the sins of the world, and the Spirit like the dove and the flame that rest on the apostles. But the water wheel shows more than symbols. The wheel shows motion. Love does not sit in a pool. Love runs.

The Gospel lets that motion be felt as the Father sends the Son and the Son does the Father’s will. Yet the text as heard leaves an ache for the missing line: without the Holy Spirit, the wheel just does not quite turn. Where the Spirit’s fellowship is not received, love remains an intention and not a power.

Moses exposes the danger. Israel turns aside, raises a golden calf, and the tablets shatter at Sinai. A heart that slips out of the Spirit’s flow turns in on itself, gets impatient, grows selfish, forgets the Lord. That is what happens when the wheel is stalled.

Paul hands the remedy. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit make a people who encourage one another, live at peace, and greet with a holy kiss. The holy kiss is not flair; it is the touch of communion that says, God’s love has reached this body and now this body reaches back.

Encouragement then takes on flesh. A simple text with a little bear and buzzing bees becomes a warm nudge of grace. The Mass of Christian burial for Father Marty becomes a river of shared love: a pastor poured out over years, a community singing strong, a choir gathered with care, a deacon stepping in so others can breathe, an archbishop strengthened by the sight. Such moments show the wheel turning in a parish, gifts pouring into other lives, burdens shouldered, hope rekindled, even a light-hearted line about one day being buried from the same church set inside a communion that stretches across generations.

The call lands plain. Be people of encouragement. Work at peace. Support one another in the work the Lord gives. Let the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit keep the wheel moving this week so that unity has a sound and a feel and the love of God does not stop with being talked about but is poured out.

Key Takeaways

1. The Trinity keeps love in motion. Saint Bonaventure’s water wheel refuses to let the Trinity sit still. Father, Son, and Spirit give and receive in a living circle, and that movement becomes the pattern for the Church’s life. When love flows, grace does not pool in one bucket but fills and pours. The image invites a life that receives to give again. [22:53]
2. The Spirit completes the Father’s sending. The Gospel’s rhythm of Father sending and Son obeying needs the Spirit’s fellowship to land in human hearts. Without the Spirit, the wheel stalls and love remains a good idea that never turns into power. The Spirit takes what Christ has done and makes it present, shared, and strong. [23:52]
3. Idolatry grows when communion thins. Israel’s golden calf shows what happens when hearts slip out of God’s flow and grasp for something they can control. When communion with God is neglected, substitutes rush in, and even good desires harden into idols. The smashed tablets warn that drifting from the Spirit’s life breaks what is most precious. [24:23]
4. Encouragement bears the Spirit’s imprint. Paul’s charge to encourage, live in peace, and greet with a holy kiss makes communion tangible. Encouragement is not flattery; it is participation in the Spirit’s fellowship that steadies weary souls. A holy touch, a faithful word, and shared peace become the ordinary places where God’s love is felt. [25:01]
5. Ordinary service becomes sacred overflow. A text, a choir offered with care, a deacon’s quiet help, an archbishop’s strengthening word all look small until seen as water from the wheel. These acts carry the weight of divine love because they ride the Trinity’s current. In such service, a parish learns the feel of unity. [26:31]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[20:31] - Childhood water wheel memory
[21:37] - Bonaventure’s water wheel for Trinity
[22:29] - Hand, Lamb, and Dove
[22:53] - Buckets pouring the Father’s love
[23:18] - Father sending, Son obeying
[23:52] - Without the Spirit, wheel stalls
[24:23] - Israel’s golden calf warning
[25:01] - Paul’s blessing and holy kiss
[25:42] - A small text, big lift
[25:56] - Remembering Father Marty’s witness
[26:31] - Choir, deacons, and shared strength
[27:35] - A light word about burial
[28:21] - Be people of encouragement and peace
[28:39] - Ponder the Trinity’s wheel this week

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
2 Corinthians 13:11-14 (ESV)
Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Observation questions

In the water wheel metaphor, what three "buckets" represent the Trinity, and how does their movement reflect God’s love? [22:53]
What happened when Moses saw the Israelites worshiping the golden calf, and what does this reveal about the danger of drifting from God? [24:23]
According to Paul’s instructions in 2 Corinthians 13:11-14, what specific actions does he urge believers to practice in community?

Interpretation questions

Why might the sermon emphasize that the Holy Spirit is necessary to keep the "wheel turning," even though the Gospel focuses on the Father sending the Son? What happens when the Spirit’s role is neglected? [23:52]
The golden calf incident shows Israel’s impatience and idolatry. How does neglecting communion with God lead people to create substitutes for Him, even today?
Paul connects "greeting with a holy kiss" to the fellowship of the Spirit. How do tangible acts of love (like encouragement or peacemaking) make God’s presence felt in ordinary life? [25:01]

Application questions

The water wheel image shows love as active, not stagnant. What is one practical way you can "pour out" God’s love this week instead of letting it "pool" in your own life?
Israel’s golden calf arose from impatience and self-reliance. Where do you feel tempted to take control instead of trusting God’s timing? What might a "modern-day golden calf" look like in your life?
Paul urges believers to "comfort one another" and "live in peace." Who in your life needs encouragement right now, and how could you intentionally strengthen them this week? [25:42]
The sermon mentions small acts (a text, a choir’s effort) as part of the Trinity’s flow. What ordinary task or relationship in your life could you reframe as sacred service to others?
The Holy Spirit’s fellowship helps love become power, not just intention. What habit or practice could help you rely more on the Spirit’s guidance rather than your own efforts?

Sermon Clips

40s

#HolySpiritNeeded

“And if we look at our readings today, especially the gospel reading, you can almost feel that sense of movement of that water wheel we hear of God the father sending us his son. So you begin to feel that that movement and the son doing the will of the father. But we're missing in the gospel that connection with the holy spirit. And without that holy spirit, the wheel just doesn't quite turn.”

32s

#LoveInMotion

“But saint Bonaventure saw the father, son, and holy spirit a water wheel. The love of God, the father, and the son, and the holy spirit on a constant movement. They saw that he saw those three buckets being filled with the love of God being poured out onto the world and onto all of us. Filling us with the spirit and the love of God. What a great image.”

53s

#SymbolsOfTheTrinity

“And, when we think of the trinity, of course, there is the image of God the father. Oftentimes, a hand is kind of that hand that reaches down, you know, to earth through the clouds. So, that's that image of God the father. And then there's another image that's often used, the son of God, the lamb of sacrifice who takes away the sins of the world. So we have the image of a lamb. And then last week of course, we heard the story of the coming of Pentecost and there we have the image of a dove or flames of of the spirit coming down upon the apostles.”

33s

#LittleEncouragements

“That sense of love and connectedness, of passion, of helping and encouraging. All of us need encouragement. To think of ways in which you have experienced that encouragement just this last week. I remember, very specifically my my sister who had sent me a text this last week and it was an image of a little bear with bees buzzing around it. She said, I'm just thinking of you and I thought, wow. How neat.”

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Mass | May 31, 2026 | Most Holy Trinity

Devotional

Day 1: Water Wheels and the Unceasing Flow of Divine Love

Day 2: When the Wheel Stops Turning

Day 3: Hot Chocolate Moments of Encouragement

Day 4: The Weight of Legacy in Rotating Buckets

Day 5: Greasing the Gears with Holy Kisses

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Mass | May 31, 2026 | Most Holy Trinity

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