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The Holy Trinity: The Answer to the Who
“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Those are the words spoken at every baptism. And with those words, we enter the faith, as members of God’s family and participants in His plan of salvation.
For many of us, baptized as infants, the words spilled over us and rolled away, like the Blessed Oil and the Holy Water that was poured on our heads. The momentous occasion becomes just a footnote.
Only in time, and if we can listen to and heed the call back home, like the prodigal sons and daughters we are, do the words said by a priest long ago resonate in our minds and hearts.
Although we know the words have a profound significance, our human desire to answer the questions of what and how, and the inability to reach a definite and tangible conclusion, pose an ongoing challenge to our faith.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses this directly, and the keyword is “mystery“.
“The Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God Himself.”
“The mystery of one God in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The revealed truth of the Holy Trinity is at the very root of the Church’s living faith as expressed in the Creed.”
“The mystery of the Trinity in itself is inaccessible to the human mind and is the object of faith only.”
(CCC 232, 234, 237, 249, 253-256)
We must get comfortable with mystery. We must embrace the wonder and the possibility of mystery.
In this materialistic world, belief in the fundamental mystery of our faith, i.e., the Holy Trinity, is ever more difficult, but even more significant as a personal act of humility and surrender.
The Father
“God, the first Person of the Blessed Trinity.”
“The Creator. The origin of all things.”
“The eternal Father in his relationship to his only Son.”
(CCC 240, 242)
The Son
“The second Person of the Blessed Trinity.”
“The eternal Son of God.”
“The Word incarnate.”
“Jesus ‘God saves’ in Hebrew. The Son of God became man to achieve our salvation; he is the unique savior of humanity.”
(CCC 241, 430)
The Holy Spirit
“The third divine Person of the Blessed Trinity.”
“The personal love of Father and Son for each other.”
“The advocate, the spirit of truth. At work with the Father and the Son from the beginning to the completion of the divine plan for our salvation.”
“And so we see the Holy Spirit, the principal author of Sacred Scripture.”
(CCC 304, 685)
What, How, Why, and Who?
While science is concerned with the questions of What and How, as people of faith, we should ponder the questions of Who and Why.
It’s the Who and Why of creation and continual sustenance of life that we find most fascinating. Meditating on those questions is part of our ongoing journey of conversion.
We are not looking for definite answers, because we humbly acknowledge they linger beyond the reach of our human mind. We are open to mystery, complexity, simplicity, and awe.
The Holy Trinity answers the question of Who as only God could, and in the process gives us the fullness of His truth, the fullness of His presence, and the fullness of His love.
If you like to ponder these subjects, join us as we tend and grow these humble mustard seeds. We hope you’ll be inspired to sow your own. Come back weekly, or follow the blog on FB, IG, and X.
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