What is the Holy Trinity?
Catechism Meditation:
The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of Christian life. God alone can make it known to us by revealing himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. ―No. 261
REFLECTION. In the Catholic Faith, the Holy Trinity is the term used to denote that God, Who is one unique being, exists as Three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, distinct from one another. The actual term “Trinity” is first found around 180 AD as Theophilus of Antioch speaks of “the Trinity of God, His Word and His Wisdom.”
The Trinity is an essential truth of what Catholics believe. Throughout Scripture, the Three Persons are most often referred to separately. For example, Jesus refers to His relationship with His Father in the St. Matthew’s Gospel: “Everything has been given over to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son but the Father, and no one knows the Father but the Son — and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him.” Jesus, God the Son, later promises to send the Holy Spirit. After His resurrection, the Son of God tells His disciples, “…Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
St. John expresses the oneness of the work of the Father and the Son: “For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.” He goes on to explain all the works that the Father shares with the Son and expresses their unity: “The Father and I are one.” In regards to the Holy Spirit, Jesus says: “When He comes, however, being the Spirit of Truth, He will guide you to all Truth. He will not speak on His own, but will speak only what He hears.”
The Trinity — the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit — are one and yet, Three distinct Persons. “The Son is begotten of the Father and yet is not the Father is not the Son.” The Holy Spirit is distinct from the Father and the Son and yet has their divine nature. In the Gospels, Jesus teaches us that there is one God in Three Persons: God as Father, God as Son and God as Holy Spirit. Hence, the Holy Trinity.
PRAYER. O Father, we come before You in humble reverence, praising the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We seek the light of Your wisdom, the strength of Your grace, and the comfort of Your presence. Unite us in love and purpose, that we may reflect Your glory in all we do. Amen.
Timeless Wisdom Quote:
“As the three angles of the triangle do not make three triangles, but one, so there are three persons or three relationships in God, but only one God.” ― Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen