We have a tradition of beginning formal prayer by making what's called the sign of the cross and invoking the Holy Trinity: "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". It's the same invocation made over each of us when we were first marked with the sign of the cross at our baptism, the power of the Holy Spirit making us Christ-people, children of God the Father.

In today's solemn festival of the Holy Trinity, we celebrate God as not merely a force or power, but the intensely personal being who is, at one and the same time, creator and our Father, risen saviour Jesus the Christ whom this Father sent to us, and Holy Spirit who is the love-power of Father and Son, moving and inspiring us, empowering and strengthening. But, as the famous old book The Imitation of Christ says, it's more important to be pleasing to the Trinity than to be able to understand its theology.

Our limited minds can never grasp the mystery of God or understand His thoughts and His ways, but our hearts can recognise His presence and action in our lives. We can be filled with God's love which overflows all our limitations, a love empowered by the Spirit, which makes us able to call God "Father", and recognise the face of Christ in other people. It's this love and how we share it with others that makes us pleasing to the Triune God.