The Holy Trinity is perhaps the greatest mystery of our Christian faith. It is, in a very real sense, the remarkable mystery of God's own identity. How do we wrap our limited, human minds around such an incredible and expansive concept we are unlikely to understand until we receive its full revelation in heaven?
Our generous God has given us ways to live the Trinity so that we grow in our understanding. As Catholics we can come to know the Trinity in prayer and by the way we live. How do our lives reflect and represent the Most Blessed Trinity?
Our Creator is a Triune God, and because we are His creations, there is His likeness in us. To know ourselves and our souls more deeply and authentically is to know that part of us where He dwells. To know Him more deeply is to know ourselves and our souls more authentically.
We belong to a Trinitarian God, and the mission of the Church is inherently Trinitarian. We were made for love, and the Trinity is perfect love. When our love is perfected, we will be united with Him. To know the Trinity is to begin to know God, dwelling within us, and working in the world.
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As members of the Body of Christ, we are called to go out - to draw others into the heart of God, proclaiming Him by the way we live.
Every day, we encounter the presence of the Most Blessed Trinity. We also activate that presence by representing it to others. In this way, it becomes a reality in the world.
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Beginning at our Beginning: God The Father
Creation was the handiwork of God the Father, who then created man and woman in his own image and likeness. Though He spoke us into being out of love and desire, He does not need us. He is the Creator of the Universe, the All-Powerful Alpha and Omega. Yet He desired us to participate in His Trinitarian life for all eternity.
This outpouring of His love was the beginning of our relationship with the Heavenly Father, whose gifts and generosity are without measure. Then sin entered the world, through our first parents, Adam and Eve.
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The beauty and harmony of our original relationship with God was destroyed. The original plan for mankind was disrupted. The sin of our first parents fractured all harmony in every relationship: our relationships with God, our understanding of ourselves, and our relations with one another.
Original Sin underlies all other sins of humanity, for it was the deprivation of our original holiness that opened the portal to evil. Because our natural powers of knowing and loving are wounded, it is difficult for us to know the truth and to fully believe and embrace it.
This dark inheritance left us enduring suffering, death, and disordered appetites that continued to alienate us - from God, our true selves as He created us, and each other.
Our separation from God the Father, the First Person of the Holy Trinity, led to spiritual death, since He is the source of all good and all life. So He sent His only Son into the world to become flesh - to become one of us, in order to redeem us and repair our union.
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Meeting Us in Our Brokenness: God The Son
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16
In order to restore the relationships we shattered, and reestablish our communion with God, He came down, in the form of the Son. He ministered to the sinful children of God. He preached the new kingdom of love, mercy, justice, and reconciliation that leads to peace in Christ.
Because Original Sin had so weakened our ability to live God's commandments, or even Christ's command that we love one another, the only way to reestablish our relationship with Him was His Son's own sacrifice. God the Son reinstituted our communion by dying to save us.
Sustaining Us With His Gifts: God The Holy Spirit
The death of Jesus restored our status as adopted sons and daughters of the Father, but left to our own devices, our sinful inclinations were too difficult to overcome. So God the Son ascended to Heaven in order to send God the Holy Spirit, who gives us what we need to continue living in communion.
In the Holy Spirit, who is Teacher, Comforter, Counselor, and more, we have intimate access to the power and love of God the Father and God the Son. We receive from the Spirit what we need to continue living faithfully, aspiring for holiness, and growing the kingdom of God.
The Spirit descended upon Christ's followers after the Ascension, established the Church, equipped the disciples for their ministry and called them to go forth to spread the Faith.
They traveled to all the corners of the known world, baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit so our Trinitarian God could dwell within the soul of each of His children. The Holy Spirit confers this indwelling upon the baptized.
In Baptism, we share in the redemptive act of the Passion and Resurrection. We are cleansed of Original Sin, and we receive the gifts and fruits we need to further strengthen us against sin and death. Brought into the full embrace of Faith, we become His holy people. God comes to dwell within us - in His Trinitarian identity. Our soul becomes His home.
Living the Legacy
Just as God the Father sent God the Son into the world to save mankind, and He in turn sent the Holy Spirit, once we are baptized, the Trinity dwelling within us beckons us to participate in this same mission. To go out into the world, to reconcile others to Him.
The Spirit who bestowed upon us the original gifts at Baptism seals in us those same gifts at Confirmation. Both sacraments place an indelible mark upon our souls. This outpouring of the Gifts of the Spirit strengthens our own personal gifts, which God calls us to use as we participate in His kingdom.
As we mature spiritually and seek a life of virtue dedicated to the Holy Trinity, our gifts mature. As we pray and receive the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, His presence within us is renewed and strengthened. Graces and fruits flow into our souls, out into the world.
In this way, we work toward our own perfection and union with Him, while drawing others into the Holy Trinity. Through us, the mission of our Triune God and His Church comes to fruition. Through Him, we seek our union, here on earth and in heaven.
Trinitarian & Eucharistic Love
Our Lord's Trinitarian love for mankind is made manifest in the Mass. There, the Three Divine Persons act together in the Holy Sacrifice. By the will of God the Father, and in cooperation with God the Holy Spirit, God the Son offers Himself. There, in the Eucharist, our relationship becomes tangible.
As our Trinitarian God gives Himself in the Eucharist, His life as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit heals, bestows grace, empowers, and strengthens us. In the Holy Eucharist, our Trinitarian life is not abstract. It is really and truly present for us to taste and see.
The Trinity is renewed and strengthened in us whenever we receive communion. The Eucharist is another indwelling of the Son in us. We are restored so we can continue living our Trinitarian lives, and participating in His plan for salvation, in a world often hostile to what we believe.
Oh, Most Holy Trinity
The Blessed Trinity is the foundation of our Christian faith and the basis of our relationship to God and the Church. It is a mystery hidden in God, quite literally, as He comes to dwell in the hearts of believers, and gives Himself to us.
God gives us the Scriptures, the Liturgy, and the sacraments to help us live a Trinitarian life, and our souls can seek Him through prayer as we grow in virtue. We reach Him by purifying our love. God's grace is always sufficient. What is insufficient is our love and our determination.
So he continues to give Himself to us, One God in Three Persons. He steps in to transform us, little by little, as we cooperate with His grace, so our souls might prepare for His kingdom in heaven as we advance His Kingdom on earth. The radiance of the life of the Trinity is meant to be the soul's life.
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