During the Angelus prayer on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Pope Francis emphasized the love of God that surrounds us completely, comparing it to an embrace. The Pope recalled that we can remember this love by making the simple gesture of the sign of the cross, which we trace on our bodies to remember how much God has loved us by giving his life for us. In doing so, we remind ourselves that his love envelops us completely, in every direction, like an embrace that never leaves us.
The Pope highlighted Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus, who recognized Jesus as a divine teacher and went to speak with him in secret. Jesus spoke to him about the need to be reborn to enter the Kingdom of God and revealed the mystery that God so loved humanity that he sent his Son into the world.
The Pope emphasized that the image of a Father and Son allows us to think of God as a family gathered at a table, sharing life. This image of a family in communion reflects the reality of God. The Holy Spirit, infused into our hearts by the Father through Jesus, makes us experience God’s presence in a close and compassionate way. The Pope compared this experience to Jesus’ invitation to Nicodemus to sit at the table with God and share his love.
The gesture of the sign of the cross helps us to remember God’s love and commits us to witness to this love, creating communion in his name. The Pope challenged everyone to reflect on whether we truly witness to God’s love in our communities and whether we are capable of loving and welcoming everyone as brothers and sisters. He also urged us to ask ourselves whether our communities reflect a welcoming and family-like atmosphere or whether we are more like reserved places or an office where only a select few enter.