Holy, Holy, Holy!

If there is one song that is sure to be sung throughout the world on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, it is “Holy, Holy, Holy.”  The words of this hymn were written by Reginald Heber (1783-1826), the Anglican Bishop of Calcutta, to be used on this Solemnity.  The tune was written by John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876) and is called NICAEA, named for the Council of Nicaea, the Church’s first ecumenical council.  It was at that council that the Doctrine of the Trinity began to take shape. 

The hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” refers to a part of the Eucharistic Prayer that is normally sung and begins with the line “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts… ”  This part of the Mass, called the Sanctus in Latin, echoes two scripture passages, one from the prophet Isaiah and one from the Book of Revelation:

In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple.  Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they hovered.  One cried out to the other:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!”

Isaiah 6:1-3

The four living creatures, each of them with six wings, were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.” 

Revelation 4:8

Both of these passages portray a vision of heavenly worship.  When we sing the Sanctus, we too participate in this heavenly worship, as the priest’s introduction asserts:  “And so, with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominions, and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven, we sing the hymn of your glory, as without end we acclaim:  Holy, Holy Holy…”

We participate in the heavenly worship of God by virtue of our baptism.  We are baptized in the name of the Trinity, and are therefore given a share in the life of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  In return, we are called to share that divine life with others, as today’s Gospel testifies: 

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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age. 

Matthew 28:19-20