COLLECT: “GOD OUR FATHER, WHO BY SENDING INTO THE WORLD THE WORD OF TRUTH AND THE SPIRIT OF SANCTIFICATION MADE KNOWN TO THE HUMAN RACE YOUR WONDROUS MYSTERY, GRANT US, WE PRAY, THAT IN PROFESSING THE TRUE FAITH, WE MAY ACKNOWLEDGE THE TRINITY OF ETERNAL GLORY AND ADORE YOUR UNITY, POWERFUL IN MYSTERY. THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOUR SON, WHO LIVES AND REIGNS WITH YOU IN THE UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, GOD, FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
Ex 34:4-6,8-9; Ps Dan 3:52-56; 2Cor 13:11-13; Jn 3:16-18
“LORD, HELP ME BELIEVE IN THE FAITH I PROFESS, PUT IT INTO PRACTICE AND BE SAVED”.
Meaning Of The Solemnity:
The Christian Doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity defines God as Three Divine Persons in the Godhead, or “Hypostases”: The Father, The Son (Jesus Christ), and The Holy Spirit: One God in Three Persons. The Three Persons are distinct, yet are one “substance, essence or nature”-each is God (Note: not that each is a god), entire. They are distinct persons from one another in their relations of origin:
- The Father who generates
- The Son who is begotten
- And the Holy Spirit who proceeds
The above is what our basic Catholic Catechism teaches us: that there are three Persons in one God, namely, “The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit.” They are equal in substance, essence and nature.
This doctrine is indeed a mystery, and it is beyond human comprehension or understanding, yet it forms the basis and foundation of the Catholic Faith and Creed. This is very clear in the Apostles’ Creed where the three times “I believe” (“We believe” in the Nicene Creed) are used, directly to refer to the Three Persons in One God. “I believe in God the Father… I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord… I believe in the Holy Spirit…”
St. Augustine tried with all his intelligence and knowledge to understand this mystery but never succeeded. He gave up his effort to understand this doctrine when one day he encountered and conversed with a child at the seashore.
This doctrine is one of the areas that some non-Christians or non-Catholics use to disturb the faith of Catholics, and even sometimes, succeed in swaying some Catholics away from the Catholic Faith. Catholics have been wrongly accused several times, of worshipping “three gods” – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is a deliberate and calculated endeavour to destroy the Catholic faith as well as to distort Catholic doctrines and teachings. Catholics do not worship three gods, but one and only one God. The only One God has manifested himself to humanity in diverse ways.
Notice that when Catholics make the Sign of the Cross, they say: In the NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN. They do not say: In the “NAMES OF THE FATHER,……..”
Examples are always limited or limping but we can use the book which has its individual pages and each page contains unique content. All these pages and their unique contents make up the book. When you remove a page from the book, it will not be a complete book. Similarly, a single page of that book is not the whole book. A second example is a family unit, comprising all the members of the family, making up the whole family. Without a member(s), the family is incomplete, but one individual member is also not the whole family.
One thing we should know and always be aware of is that when it comes to matters of faith, doctrine and dogmas, one cannot use empirical facts or evidence to convince the one who does not share in one’s faith or creed. Therefore, though one can reason for one’s belief, no amount of argument with a person who does not share in one’s creed can suffice for it, as one cannot at this level prove with empirical evidence and beyond any reasonable doubt, what one believes in.
I like to make a quick note here that faith is the means by which we receive the things we hope for but have not yet seen or received. In other words, faith operates in the realm of the invisible concerning those things we hope to see. Therefore, when the thing (invisible substance) we hope for in faith is revealed or manifested to us, then, faith has accomplished its work or role and has now become obsolete. “When the actuality comes into view, then the image (faith) vanishes.” (Hobart E. Freeman, Faith, p.4)
However, having said all the above about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, and the fact that we can never understand Him with our limited and imperfect minds, the categories of activities or work which each of the Three Persons engaged in, toward our salvation, may help us understand and comprehend the Trinity to a certain extent.
i) God the Father created: The Father is attributed all that we understand by generation, creation, and maintenance. He is the Creator.
ii) God the Son (Jesus Christ) is the Saviour and Redeemer: The Son is attributed all works of redemption and reconciliation.
iii) God the Holy Spirit sanctifies and consoles: The Holy Spirit is attributed all works of inspiration, sanctification and consolation.
As we are made in the image and likeness of the Trinity, the life of the Trinity must in some way be reflected in the pattern of our lives. We reflect the life, image and likeness of the Father in everything we do, to awaken and cherish new life, to fashion, mould, and develop our physical environment. Parenting, designing and building, growing crops, shaping and tending the landscape, fashioning all kinds of things for use and pleasure, all arts and crafts, etc are a demonstration of the life, image and likeness of the Father.
Secondly, we reflect the image and likeness of the Son in all human works of compassion, healing (physical, emotional or psychological), reconciliation, service, forgiveness, and making amends. Lastly, the image and likeness of the Holy Spirit is reflected in us in every positive idea and inspiration, however slight and humble, in every advance in knowledge and wisdom, in every flash of imagination, and in every movement of the heart to do anything honourable, true and praiseworthy. When we are not able to reflect these things in our lives, then we fail to live the image and likeness of the Trinity.
I wish to make a quick note that even though each of the Three Persons is associated with a particular role in our salvation, none of them does his work independently of the others. They are always together and are united in their activities. For instance, at creation, in which the Father was prominent at work, we are told that the spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Gen 1:2). We are also told that God used his Spoken Word to create all things. In other words, everything in this world and in the universe came to be as a result of God’s commanding Word (Gen 1:3-2:4a).
This is an indication that the Son and the Spirit were with the Father at creation. Similarly, when the Son was prominent at work, both the Father and the Spirit were with Him. The voice at His Baptism (Mt 3:17), and at the Transfiguration (Mt 17:5), and the spirit on his head like a dove. Several times Jesus went into prayer to consult both the Father and the Spirit. Likewise, the Holy Spirit never does anything on His own. “…when he comes, the Spirit of Truth, he ….will not speak on his own but what he hears” (Jn 15:26ff).
There is a lot we can learn from the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. This feast is a family feast because, the Holy Trinity is a family: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They were united and are still united in whatever they are doing for us. They co-operate with each other to accomplish their work. The virtue of obedience is clearly demonstrated in this feast, particularly by the Son and the Holy Spirit. An aspect of delegation is also demonstrated especially by the Father and the Son to the Holy Spirit and by the Father to the Son. There was communication, together with consultation among them. “Let us make man in our own image.” Other virtues worthy of emulation are: Trust, Love, Unity, Openness, etc.
Is it possible for families, offices/departments, political parties, societies/associations, etc to learn something from the Holy Trinity? The relationships among the three Persons in the Trinity are models for peace, harmony, and love which should characterise our community life with each other. Disharmony, discord, and wars among people arise when humanity wanders away from God. We pray to avoid or at least minimise these. Happy Trinity Sunday and stay blessed.
WE MEDITATE TODAY, SUNDAY, ON THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES: ‘THE RESURRECTION, THE ASCENSION, THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE ASSUMPTION, AND THE CORRONATION’. (WE PRAY FAITH, HOPE, LOVE OF GOD, GRACE OF A HAPPY DEATH AND TRUST IN MARY’S INTERCESSION) “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen”.
PRAYER: “MAY RECEIVING THIS SACRAMENT, O LORD OUR GOD, BRING US HEALTH OF BODY AND SOUL, AS WE CONFESS YOUR ETERNAL HOLY TRINITY AND UNDIVIDED UNITY. THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN.”
Rev. Fr. Aloysius Kpiebaya, Catholic Diocese of Wa, UW/R, Ghana. (00233) 0207867239/0545462863. Email: aloybaya20@yahoo.com.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!