The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say about the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity: “It is the mystery of God in Himself. It is, therefore, the source of all the other mysteries of our faith, the light that enlightens them” (CCC#234).
This means that we must seriously contemplate the Holy Trinity if we are going to be authentic images of God in our world. Our faith in the Triune God greatly impacts our character, and the way that we think, act, and react to all things and persons.
There are four essential things that we learn about our humanity and human relationships from the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
Firstly, we are all equal in dignity. The divine persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – all have the same substance and are equal in majesty while remaining distinct persons. They are not interchangeable in any way.
This shows us that, having been created male and female in the image of God, male and female are also equal in dignity but not the same. They have inherent and unchangeable differences that make it impossible to interchange them. This illusion is sadly evident in the transgender hoax of our times.
Because we have equal dignity, we do not use others for our own personal ends. Thus, we cannot claim to be so pained and troubled by the victims of gun violence while ignoring the cries of the many unborn infants slaughtered in their mother’s wombs in the name of abortion. Many want to ban guns but are undisturbed by the murder of the unborn. We ignore the innocent unborn only because we fail to recognize the equal dignity of all human life.
In addition, Holy Trinity means that God is a communion of persons, an eternal love of a God who is both love and always loving. Because God is always loving, the divine persons are always present to each other and to all His creatures.
This implies that we are to be present and attentive to God and to others. We are to live in His presence all the time, worshipping Him, praying to Him, seeking His will and greater glory, and allowing Him to care for us and to provide for all our needs, “What is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for Him?”(Ps 8:4-5) We are also to be present to the needs of others and relate well with them. We are not to isolate ourselves from others in any way.
Thirdly, we are also to be people of truth. Because God is always loving, He is always speaking truth to us and He never lies to us or deceives us in any way. Jesus, “the way, the truth and the life,” (Jn 14:6) also promised us the Spirit to guide us deeper in the truth, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when He comes, the Spirit of truth, He will guide you to all truth” (Jn 16:12-13). We are not to make up our own truths but to journey ever deeper in the revealed truths under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Are we listening to His truth and letting this truth guide us in all our actions and relationships or are we deceiving ourselves into fabricating our own convenient truths? As sure as the divine nature does not change, our human nature does not change too, and the truths that govern our nature are not changeable. Because we are called to communion with the Triune God, the trajectory of truth has already been fixed by God, and His Spirit alone is the one who guides us along this path of deepening truth.
There are no true loving relationships unless we believe, speak, and live according to the truth. We have the universal call to holiness because the trice-holy God is calling us to communion with Him and He has given us in Jesus Christ the “truth and grace” (Jn 1:17) that we need to seek for this holiness. Our faith in the Holy Trinity thus demands constant repentance from the sins and lies to search for truth that sets us free.
Lastly, we are to be people who sacrifice for the good of others. Because God is always loving, He is always acting in our lives for our own good. He freely offers to us a participation in what truly belongs to Him, “Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason, I told you that He (Holy Spirit) will take from what is mine and declare it to you” (Jn 16:15).
We must be willing and ready to sacrifice something to bring the greatest good – eternal life – to others. If God will surely act for our good because He is always loving, how ready are we to surrender to Him and seek His glory in all things? How completely do we trust in Him and His plans for us all the time? We must patiently and confidently wait for Him to act in our lives so that we cooperate with His eternal plan to bring all into communion with Him.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us never lose our faith in the Holy Trinity, that God is love and God is always loving. Nothing in this life has the power to transform our character more than this living faith in the Triune God. We are brought into communion with the triune God only because “the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” By possessing this love, God even uses our afflictions in this life to teach us endurance and to form in us a “proven character” and a “hope that does not disappoint” (Rom 5:1-5). We lack hope when we have a character that is not grounded in the love of the Triune God.
Each Eucharist is a moment of deep communion with God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – in Christ Jesus. Each Mass is where God is always present, speaking, and acting in our lives and in the world because He never stops loving. May we too never stop believing in the Triune God so that He can form in us a proven character, a character that brings us into an unshakable hope.
Glory to Jesus! Honor to Mary!
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