TMA 4 Module 2  – THE TRINITY: A MYSTERY

Introduction:

1.       The Jubilee Year 2000 is specially dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The Trinity is the central doctrine of the Catholic Church. It took the early Church 300 years to formulate this doctrine for which the final result is found in the Apostles Creed (short version) and the Nicene Creed (longer version).

2.       But what is the Trinity? And how did we come about this doctrine of the Trinity?

3.       Origin. The word “Trinity” came from the Greek “Trias” (used by Theophilus of Antioch AD 180). The Latin translation was “Trinitas” (which became popular in AD 260). It was from this Latin word that our present term “Trinity” is derived.

4.       Foundation. The concept of the Trinity was not yet explicitly revealed in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, it was Jesus Christ himself who revealed this fundamental truth to his disciples. This revelation, however, was gradual, step by step. Full revelation came later when after his resurrection, Jesus commanded his disciples to “go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19).

5.       Tradition. Since the earliest time the doctrine of the Trinity has been taught by the Church and professed by her members in various ways:

·        In the baptismal formula (“I baptize you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”) and in the prayer of consecration of the one baptized.

·        In the “Symbols of Faith,” the Creed used in catechesis (“I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth…”)

·        In the doxology (“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.”)

·        As ending in prayer (“We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.”)

·        In liturgical greetings (“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor 13:13)

6.       Church Doctrine. This doctrine states that IN ONE GOD THERE ARE THREE DIVINE PERSONS: THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT.

·        Another way of saying this is: There is ONE GOD, who is THREE EQUAL and DISTINCT PERSONS. They are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

·        The above doctrine consists of three assertions: (1) God is One, (2) in three distinct and (3) equal Persons.

7.       Some Aspects of this Mystery.

1.       God is One. In the Trinity we do not imagine the three divine persons are three Gods, nor three parts of the one God. Each Person is the WHOLE GOD. The divine Persons are RELATIONS which SUBSIST in the divine nature. The one God is Father, begetting the Son and breathing the Spirit; the same God is Son begotten of the Father and breathing the Spirit; the same God is Spirit as Breath of the Father and Son (CFC 1327).

2.       The three Divine Persons are DISTINCT. The Father is not the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Son is not the Father and the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is not the Son or the Father.

3.       The three Divine Persons are EQUAL. God the Father does not come first, then the Son, and then the Holy Spirit. All three divine Persons are equally eternal, with no beginning and no end (CCC 255).

8.       Some Aspects of the Trinity that have to be Developed in Catechesis

1.       Trinity is Unity. The Three Persons are truly distinct from one another but are always united is such a way so that the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Spirit, the Son wholly in the Father and wholly in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son. We tend to assign the work of creation to the Father, that of redemption to the Son, and the work of sanctification to the Holy Spirit. But the truth is that inseparable in what they are, the three divine persons are also inseparable in what they do.

2.       Trinity is Love. God is Love and Mutual Sharing. The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father. This union in love is the Holy Spirit. This Trinitarian love is a complete mutual exchange of life and love. The Father gives to the Son everything that he has except his being Father. The Son receives everything from the Father, and gives back to the Father everything that he has received from him, except his being Son, and in the process of this exchange, the Holy Spirit is breathed forth by the Father and the Son. (Note: In this process of sharing, there is an “I” but no “mine.” There is a “You” but no “yours.”

3.       Trinity is Community. God is one but not solitary. God is a community of Three Persons. Each person exists only in its relationship to the “other.” In the divine community there is perfect unity and sharing of the divine life and love.

4.       Trinity is Communion. The God manifested by Jesus Christ is a personal God and the communion of three persons; this means the essence of God is communion (koinonia), that is, the Trinity. God is Trinity, and the essence of God is Trinity-Communion (TMA ‘98, pp. 15, 17). The Trinity is a mystery of “personal Loving Communion” (FC 11)

·        Movement of God to humanity – Descending process. Everything comes from the Father, is accomplished by the Son, and reaches humanity through the Holy Spirit. God’s goodness comes down to us through Christ in the Holy Spirit

·        Movement of humanity to God – Ascending process. In the Spirit and through the Son we reach the Father. Through the Holy Spirit, we reach the Son and through the Son, we reach the Father.

·        At the beginning of our life and by the grace of baptism we are consecrated to the Blessed Trinity and share in the life of the Trinity. In our daily life we often make the sign of the cross to proclaim our faith in the Three Persons in one God. In death we are blessed in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

·        The whole Christian life is a communion with each of the divine persons, without separating them. Everyone who glorifies the Father does so through the Son in the Holy Spirit; everyone who follows Christ does so because the Father draws him and the Spirit moves him (CCC, 259).

·        In the Spirit – This expression means that God, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, places himself in communion with the human person and shares with him the eternal mutual love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thus, the Holy Spirit fills in the infinite distance which separates God from human beings.

·        In creating us, the three Divine Persons freely shared themselves, their own divine life of Love, with us. Moreover, we are raised from being “creatures” of God to being His sons and daughters. The Father adopts us as His children by sending His only begotten Son to become one of us, and the Holy Spirit to dwell within us as the inner source of divine life. This is what we properly mean by Grace (CFC 1330).

·        We Filipino Catholics, need to become more aware of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in our daily lives. This is an important step in maturing in our Christian Faith. We begin to appreciate the reality of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of the Father and the Risen Christ within us – the reality of Grace (CFC 1331).

·        In our first year of preparation (1997) for the Jubilee Year 2000, we contemplated on Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, our Savior and Redeemer. On the second year (1998) we reflected on the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life. And in 1999 we focused on God the Father, the Father of Mercy. Now comes year 2000 and the three Persons of the Holy Trinity should take on real meaning for us. Our reflection this year should lead us to a deeper, more personal appreciation of the Blessed Trinity in our lives as the loving God of our Salvation. (END)

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Last Updated: Tuesday, November 20, 2001 08:44:39 PM