Happy Holy Trinity Sunday! Pope Leo XIVth First Encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas!"
Happy Holy Trinity Sunday!
Pope Leo XIVth First Encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas!"
Pope Leo XIV released the first encyclical on May 25, 2026, “Magnifica Humanitas.” It is the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum (on Capital and Labor). On the 135th anniversary of “Rerum Novarum” (on capital and labor) by Pope Leo XIIth, Pope Leo XIV explores human dignity, the use of technology, job insecurity, invading privacy, and so on. In other words, this explains what authentic humanity looks like. He begins the introduction “Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together...In Jesus Christ, this humanity in its grandeur becomes the Way, the Truth, and the Life, opening the path for each of us to grow toward fullness(1).” He says, “As Pope Francis warned, we must realistically ask ourselves who holds this power today and how they use it: “It must also be recognized that nuclear energy, biotechnology, information technology, knowledge of our own DNA, and many other abilities which we have acquired… have given those with the knowledge, and especially the economic resources to use them, an impressive dominance over the whole of humanity and the entire world (5).” He continues, “Technology has the power to heal, connect, educate and protect our common home; but it can also divide, exclude and generate new forms of injustice... In practice, however, technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it (9).” Pope Leo XIV identifies many concerns and says, “When efficiency becomes the ultimate measure of value, human beings are tempted to see themselves as a project to be optimized rather than as persons called to relationship and communion (112)." The encyclical is not asking us to reject AI, but it invites us to discern how to develop and use AI and, therefore, to use it prudently to amplify humanity.
The Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the Holy Trinity. The title “Holy Trinity” describes God’s nature, and the first reading is the fullest proclamation of God’s nature in the Old Testament. In the first reading, Exodus 34:5 says, "Having come down in a cloud, the LORD stood with Moses there and proclaimed his name, 'LORD." Cloud is the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the LORD is the name of Jesus. In the Gospel, John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” In 2 Corinthians 13:13, St. Paul gives a beautiful greeting or blessing prayer that proclaims the Holy Trinity. St. Paul encourages them to live in peace and love, asks them to greet each other with a holy kiss, and closes with these words: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”
A simple definition of the Holy Trinity is One God subsists in three persons. At the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20), Jesus speaks to his disciples about the mission. Jesus says, “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.” We read in Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”
In the Gospel of Luke 1:26-38, God the Father sent the angel Gabriel to Mary and told her the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would conceive in her womb and bear a son, whom she would name Jesus. Luke 3:21-22, when Jesus, the Son, was baptized, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit came down like a dove, and the voice of the Father came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you, I am well pleased.” In the Gospel of John 15:26, at the Last Supper discourse, Jesus says, “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.”
If we look at the Book of Genesis 1:1-3, God created heaven and earth by uttering the Word and Spirit of God, moving the face of the waters. Gospel of John 1:1-5 says, " The Word was in the beginning, the Word was God, and all things came through him.
Throughout the Bible, we can find the image of the Holy Trinity. It is ultimately a deep mystery because we can't fully comprehend how three can be one. St. Patrick uses the shamrock to explain the doctrine of the Holy Trinity to his flocks in Ireland. Each of the leaves represents one of the three persons, but it was still only one shamrock. Trinity is a community of self-giving love; an intimate relationship. We are created in His image to love as the Holy Trinity loves. A family is a simple form of community; it grows into a church, various organizations, and a wider community. We are invited to live in a community of love. Our families become truly Christian when we live in a relationship of love with God and with others. We can call God our Father, Son Jesus, “Emmanuel,” and Holy Spirit, “strength in our weakness.”