Question submitted was..."What exactly is the Trinity?" While a liturgist at heart, here is a lesson on the subject.
I will continue to post on the subject in the days to come.
Trinity:
In Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is one being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a mutual indwelling of three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Trinity in Scripture
· Matthew 28:19: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"
· 2 Corinthians 13:14: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you."
In Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is one being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a mutual indwelling of three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Trinity in Scripture
· Matthew 28:19: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"
· 2 Corinthians 13:14: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you."
The Baptism of Jesus
“The Spirit of God descended like a dove… And a voice from heaven saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased…’” Matthew 3:16-17 (also Mark 1:10–11; Luke 3:22; John 1:32)
· 1 John 5:7–8: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one."
· Luke 1:35: "The angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.' "
· Hebrews 9:14: "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!"
Catechism of the Catholic Church
234 The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith". The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men "and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin".
237 The Trinity is a mystery of faith in the strict sense, one of the "mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless they are revealed by God". To be sure, God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation and in his Revelation throughout the Old Testament. But his inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel's faith before the Incarnation of God's Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
253 The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the "consubstantial Trinity". The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: "The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God." In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), "Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature."
1266 The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification:- enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him through the theological virtues;- giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit;- allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues.Thus the whole organism of the Christian's supernatural life has its roots in Baptism.
One God, Three Persons
While the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are of one and same God, the mission of each person of the Trinity is very specific: Father is the Creator, responsible for creation of all that is seen and unseen. Son is the Redeemer through his mission here on earth and his life, passion, death, and resurrection. Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier, the one who sustains in holiness the Father’s creation.
“The Spirit of God descended like a dove… And a voice from heaven saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased…’” Matthew 3:16-17 (also Mark 1:10–11; Luke 3:22; John 1:32)
· 1 John 5:7–8: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one."
· Luke 1:35: "The angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.' "
· Hebrews 9:14: "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!"
Catechism of the Catholic Church
234 The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith". The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men "and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin".
237 The Trinity is a mystery of faith in the strict sense, one of the "mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless they are revealed by God". To be sure, God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation and in his Revelation throughout the Old Testament. But his inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel's faith before the Incarnation of God's Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
253 The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the "consubstantial Trinity". The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: "The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God." In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), "Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature."
1266 The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification:- enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him through the theological virtues;- giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit;- allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues.Thus the whole organism of the Christian's supernatural life has its roots in Baptism.
One God, Three Persons
While the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are of one and same God, the mission of each person of the Trinity is very specific: Father is the Creator, responsible for creation of all that is seen and unseen. Son is the Redeemer through his mission here on earth and his life, passion, death, and resurrection. Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier, the one who sustains in holiness the Father’s creation.
The Presence of the Trinity in the life of a Christian
The Trinity first manifests in the life of a Christian in the Sacrament of Baptism.
Faithful participation of the Sacraments maintains within us the presence of the Trinity.
In Baptism we are first introduced to the Trinity. In Confirmation the fullness of the Spirit is opened up for the spiritual benefit of the believer. Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Jesus, sustains within us the presence of God and allows us to become more like Christ so that we too may continue to build up the kingdom of God.
Prayer to the Trinity
Let us Pray God, we praise you:
Father all-powerful,
Christ Lord and Savior,
Spirit of Love.
You reveal yourself in the depths of our being,
drawing us to share in your life and your love.
One God, three Persons,
be near to the people formed in your image,
close to the world your love brings to life.
We ask you this,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God,
true and living, forever and ever. Amen.
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