After many hours of prayer,
reflection and writing, St. Augustine decided to take a break. While walking along the seashore, he was fascinated
to see what appeared to be a little boy who carried a pail with which he would
run to the sea fill his pail, splash the water on the sand and run back and do
the same. Ceaselessly this process
continued! Finally, the great theologian and saint stopped the child and
inquired why he was doing this? “I want
to empty the entire ocean with my pail!” responded the child. Augustine
replied, “That is impossible!”
Thereupon the child said,” It is much easier for me to empty the vast
ocean into the sand with my pail than for you to comprehend the Mystery of the
Most Blessed Trinity!”
In that time St. Augustine was in the
process of writing one of the greatest theological treatises on the Most
Blessed Trinity in the history of the Church, which took him several years “De
Trinitate”.
The nature of a theological mystery
is that it does not contradict reason but it transcends reason. The essential message of this short anecdote
is that true followers of Jesus should make a concerted effort to study, learn,
assimilate and live out our faith.
However we will never be able to comprehend completely the essence of
the Mystery of God, and especially the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity. Nonetheless, the Doctor of the Church St
Anselm asserts: “Faith seeks understanding”.
Therefore, in a very humble and simple way we will offer a few ideas on
this great Mystery of our faith—THE MOST BLESSED TRINITY.
MONOTHEISTIC TRINITARIAN
INCARNATIONAL RELIGION—CATHOLICISM!
Seems to be big words but not overly difficult to explain.
MONOTHEISM. Moslems, Jews, Protestants, Orthodox and
Catholics all have this common bond—monotheism, meaning we all believe that
there is one God, not many gods which would be Polytheism.
TRINTIARIAN--- means one God, but
three separate and distinct Persons.
INCARNATION—means that one of the
Persons, the Second Person, Jesus Christ, took on flesh—became Incarnate—and
became man.
THE MOST BLESSED TRINITY
The belief states there indeed is
only one God, but there are three separate, distinct, Persons in the Trinity.
The Father is the first Person in the
Blessed Trinity, who we call the “Creator” and manifests infinite power. Jesus had a tender and intimate relationship with
the Father whom He called “Abba”—meaning, in very endearing terms, “Daddy!”
The Son is the second Person of the
Blessed Trinity. His name is JESUS. In
Jesus are two natures: Divine and Human.
This means that Jesus is both God and man. The union of these two
natures took place in the moment of the Annunciation/Incarnation when the
Blessed Virgin Mary gave her consent to God through the mediation of the
Archangel Gabriel. When Mary gave her
“Fiat”, saying: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord be it done to me
according to your word”, in that moment the Incarnation took place. Jesus
descended from heaven and entered into the womb of Mary. In the words of the
Gospel of St. John we contemplate with awe: “And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us.” Theologians call this
union of the Divine with the Human the “Hypostatic union”. We honor this reality on March 25th,
Christmas day, January 1 and the whole of the Christmas season--- the
Incarnation and birth of Jesus, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
Finally, the third Person of the Most
Blessed Trinity is the Holy Spirit. Many sublime names are given to the Holy
Spirit: The Sanctifier, the Counselor, the Consoler, the Finger of God, the
Breath of God, the Sweet Guest of the
soul and the Paraclete.
The three Persons of the Blessed
Trinity are always united and at work together. In other words there is no
divorce or separation or division among the Three Persons of the Blessed
Trinity. There exists always, unity,
harmony and love!
The Trinity is family and of course
the most perfect of all families. How, you might ask? A true family bonds in
unity and love. In the Trinity the
Father loves the Son and eternally generates the Son; the Son, in turn loves the
Father eternally. Finally the Holy Spirit
is actually the bond of love between the Father and the Son. For that reason the mellifluous Doctor, St.
Bernard, poetically calls the Holy Spirit the mutually kiss/embrace between the
Father and the Son!
All families should strive to model
their lives on the pattern of the Most Blessed Trinity. Families are called to love, to live out the
last and greatest commandment of Jesus that He left at the Last Supper: “Love
one another as I have loved you.” St. Paul states that love is the bond of
perfection. Furthermore authentic love
must be manifested by unity. Despite the
greatest talents that family members may have, if they are divided among
themselves, then that family is weak.
How true the saying, “The chain is only as strong as the weakest link on
that chain.” The Blessed Trinity teaches
us from all eternity the sublime value of love and the fortifying value of
unity. Armies, athletes, choirs,
communities, families that have been assailed by a spirit of divisiveness will
not stand nor gain victory!
If it were not for Divine Revelation,
meaning Jesus revealing the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity and the church
clarifying, teaching, explaining and expounding upon the Mystery of the Trinity,
we would never have come to an awareness of such a sublime and wonderful
mystery!
To the saints we give honor through
the cult of “Dulia”. To the Blessed Virgin Mary we pay the highest honor and
veneration through the cult of “Hyperdulia”. However, to the Trinity, one God
and three distinct and separate Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit, we attribute the cult of “Latria”—meaning we praise and adore the
Trinity. With these words may we praise the Blessed Trinity: “Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning is
now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.
