The Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity
Corrado Giaquinto, ‘The Blessed Trinity and the Sacred Heart of Jesus,’ 1754 (photo: Public domain / Wikimedia Commons)
Sunday, June 15, is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Mass readings: Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalm 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15.
On the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, we do well to remember that we are pondering a mystery that cannot fit in our minds. Perhaps we do best to begin by quoting the Catechism, which says:
The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three Persons: [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit]. … The divine Persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God, whole and entire (Catechism, 253).
So, there is one God, and each of the three Persons of the Trinity possesses the one divine nature fully. The Father is God; He is not one-third of God. Likewise, the Son, Jesus, is God; He is not one-third of God. And the Holy Spirit is God, not merely one-third of God.
Scripture also presents images of the Trinity:
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness …” (Genesis 1:26).
God speaks of himself in the plural using “us” and “our.” Some claim that this is just an instance of the “royal we.” Perhaps, but I see an image of the Trinity.
And the Lord appeared to [Abram] by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent… He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him… (Genesis 18:1-5).
The Lord (singular) appears to Abram, yet Abram sees three men (some have said that this is just God and two angels, but many think it hints of the Trinity).
Having come down in a cloud, the Lord stood with Moses there and proclaimed his Name, “Lord.”… The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity” (Exodus 34:5).
When God announces his name, he does so in a threefold way: Lord! … The Lord, the Lord. There is an implicit threefold introduction or announcement of God. Is it a coincidence or is it significant? You decide.
Jesus says, “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30), and “To have seen me is to have seen the Father” (John 14:9).
And, have you ever noticed that in the baptismal formula, Jesus uses “poor” grammar? He says, “Baptize them in the name [not names] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). God is one (name) and God is three (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
We who are made in the image and likeness of God ought to experience something of the mystery of the Trinity within us, and, sure enough, we do. We are all distinct individuals. I am not you; you are not I. Yet it is also true that we are made for communion. We humans cannot exist apart from one another. We depend on our parents, through whom God made us; but even beyond that, we need one another. There is no such thing as a self-made man or woman. We are individuals, but we are social. We are one, but we are linked to many. We do not possess the kind of unity that God does, but the “three-oneness” of God echoes in us. We are one, yet we are many.
So, as we extol the great mystery of the Trinity, we look not merely outward and upward to understand, but also inward to discover that mystery at work in us, who are made in the image and likeness of God.
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