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Administrivia
• Facilities
• Food?
• Open Forum / Ask Questions / Participate
• Disclaimer – Not A Theologian
– Utilized Several Resources
– Difficult Subject
• Maybe I Bit Off More Than I Could Chew
• Introductions?
Contemplative Opening Prayer
The Gospel Story This Past Weekend Was About The Rich Man & Lazarus, The Poor Man He Ignored. They Both Die & The Rich Man Ends Up In The Netherworld & The Poor Man Is Free. And It Should Make One Contemplate: - What Poor Part Of Me Am I Ignoring, Refusing To Feed? - What Wounded Part Of Me Am I Holding Back, Not Bringing It To Jesus, Not Asking For Healing? - What Poverty Am I Hiding From Even Myself?
Lord, I Know I Need You. I Know I Ignore What I Do Not Want To See About Myself, The Poor Me. The Hungry Me.
Help Me To Bring My Sins & Wounds & Burdens & Lay Them At Your Feet. Lord, Please Help Me Be Free.
Amen!
Let’s Get Started!
Go, Therefore, And Make Disciples Of All Nations, Baptizing Them In The Name Of The Father, And Of The Son, And Of The Holy Spirit, Teaching Them To Observe All
That I Have Commanded You. And Behold, I Am With You Always,
Until The End Of The Age.” (Matt 28: 19-20)
What Is It?
• Holy Trinity Is: – Central Mystery of Christian Faith
– Truth From Which All Other Truths Proceed
– One Divine Being Existing In Three Persons
• Father
• Son
• Holy Spirit
– Not Easy To Understand
The Mystery Of God
• God Is Beyond All His Creation & Cannot Be Completely Comprehended – He Is Transcendent
• Not An Impersonal “Force”
• Three Divine Persons – Three “”Who”
– One Divine Nature, (That Is One “What”)
The Mystery Of God, (2)
• Since Divinity Is Indivisible, There Is One God, Not Three Gods
• Without God’s Direct Revelation Of The Trinity, This Central Mystery Of The Faith Is Unknowable
Mystery
• In Theology: Trinity Said To Be A Mystery – First Vatican Council:
• Mystery Is A Truth Which We Are Not Merely Incapable Of Discovering Apart From Divine Revelation, But Which, Even When Revealed, Remains "Hidden By The Veil Of Faith & Enveloped, So To Speak, By A Kind Of Darkness”
• It Does Not Contradict Reason, But Goes Beyond It
• Even Though The Mystery Of The Trinity May Be Rational & Coherent, It Cannot Fully Be Grasped By Our Understanding
• Central Mystery of Our Faith
Scripture
• Trinity Is Not Formally Defined Or Explained In Scripture, However: – Christians Have Always Seen The Trinity Taught Implicitly In
Several Biblical Passages
Gen. 1:26 Gen. 16:7-13 Ex. 3:2-14 Ps. 2:7 Ps. 110 Prov. 8 Wis. 7-8 Isa. 11:2 Ezk. 11:5
Matt. 28:19 Luke 3:22 John 8:58 John 10:33 2 Cor. 13:14 Eph, 4:4-6 Php. 2:1-2 Php. 2:9-11 1 John 5:7
Dogma
• Defined Many Times Throughout Our History – Apostles Creed, (The Didache), c. 70 AD
• Baptized “In The Name Of The Father, And Of The Son, And Of The
Holy Spirit.”
– Nicene Creed, Council Of Nicaea, 325 AD
• (Which We Recite Each Time We Go To Mass)
• Definition Meant As Explaining The Equality Of The Father With The Son
• States That The Son Is “The Only Son Of God, Eternally Begotten Of The Father, God From God, Light From Light, True God From True God, Begotten, Not Made, Consubstantial With The Father.”
Dogma, (2)
• More History – Nicene Creed Restated, Council Of Constantinople, 381 AD
– Further Defined Councils Of Toledo, 5th – 7th Centuries
• Aimed At Defining The Orthodox Faith Against The Arians, Who Denied The Equality Of The Father With The Son
Dogma, (3)
• And Some More History – Creed Of St. Athanasius, Quicumque Vult
• Most Common Formulation Of Trinitarian Faith Used In Middle Ages
“And The Catholic Faith Is This: That We Worship One God In Trinity, And Trinity In Unity; Neither Confounding The Persons; Nor Dividing The Essence. For There Is One Person Of The Father; Another Of The Son; And Another Of The Holy Ghost. But The Godhead Of The Father, Of The Son, And Of The Holy Ghost, Is All One; The Glory Equal, The Majesty Coeternal. Such As The Father Is; Such Is The Son; And Such Is The Holy Ghost. The Father Uncreated; The Son Uncreated; And The Holy Ghost Uncreated. The Father Unlimited; The Son Unlimited; And The Holy Ghost Unlimited. The Father Eternal; The Son Eternal; And The Holy Ghost Eternal. And Yet They Are Not Three Eternals; But One Eternal. As Also There Are Not Three Uncreated; Nor Three Infinites, But One Uncreated; And One Infinite.“
Dogma, (4)
• Modern Era – Standard Formulation Of The Trinity Throughout The Ages
– Second Vatican Council, 1962-65
“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.”
(CCC 234)
A Little Simpler
• Nature & Person – “Nature” Corresponds To The Questions: “What Is It?”
– “Person” Answers The Question: “Who Is It?”
– In The World, Everything Has A Nature, (That Is, It Is Something)
– Though Only Rational Creatures Also Have Personhood
Nature: What Are You? I Am A Human Being
Person: Who Are You? I Am Steve
– Close Relationship
• Steve Is A Human Being But, To Be A Human Being Is Not The
Same As Being Steve
A Little Simpler, (2)
• Relate This To The Trinity – Nature Of God, (What “He” Is), Is Divinity, (Divine Nature … God)
• God’s Nature Is God, Or As “He” Said To Moses: “I Am That I Am”
– Who God Is Corresponds To The Question Of Personhood
• He Is Three Divine Persons: The Father, The Son, & The Holy Spirit
Nature: What Is God? God Is God; Possessing A Singe
Divine Nature
Person: Who Is God? God Is The Father, The Son, & The Holy Spirit
– God As Three Persons Who Share One Divine Nature
• Which Is The Classical Example Of Trinity
A Little Simpler, (3)
• Real Question: How Can One Being Consist Of Three Persons & Each Person Be God, Whole & Entire? – Humans: Three Persons Can Certainly Share One Nature
• Peter, Paul, & Mary Are Three Persons Sharing A Common Human Nature, But Are Three Distinct Beings
• No One Person Possessing The Entirety Of Human Nature In Oneself
– God: Three Divine Persons Possess One Common Nature But Remain One Being & Each Person Themselves Possesses The Fullness Of The Divine Nature
• This Is The True Mystery Of Trinitarian Life – The Persons Of The Trinity Do Not “Share” The Divine Nature; But
Each Person Is God, Whole & Entire
A Little Simpler, (4)
• Our Catechism Teaches:
“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.”
(CCC 253)
Breaking It Down
• The Father, The First Person Of The Blessed Trinity: The Creator – The Father Is An Uncreated “Being” Who Created All Things
From Nothing
• He Is The First Cause
– He Is A Loving Father Who Continually Cares For His People
• Drawing Them To Himself In Mercy
Breaking It Down, (2)
• The Son, The Second Person Of The Blessed Trinity: The Redeemer – In His Perfect Knowledge Of Himself, The Father Begot His One
Word, The Son, The Second Person Of The Blessed Trinity
– The Son Is Not Created By The Father, But Begotten; He Is The Uncreated Image Of The Father
– The Son Is Completely Divine & Coequal With The Father, & Nothing Was Made Without Him
– He Became Jesus Christ, Taking On A Complete Human Nature While Remaining Completely Divine
– His Sacrifice Of His Passion & Death Are The Fullest Sign Of The Total Self-Giving Nature Of Gods’ Love
Breaking It Down, (3)
• The Holy Spirit, The Third Person Of The Blessed Trinity: The Sanctifier – For All Eternity, The Father Has Poured Out His Love To The Son,
& For All Eternity, The Son Has Poured Out His Love To The Father
• The Bond Of Love Between The Father & The Son Is The Holy Spirit
– The Holy Spirit Is Not Created By The Father & The Son, But Proceeds From Them As An Uncreated Person
• The Holy Spirit Is A Divine Person
– The Holy Spirit Is Completely Divine & Coequal With The Father & The Son
– The Holy Spirit Is The Spirit Of God That Moved Over The Waters At Creation
• He Brings About A New Creation In Each Soul Through The Grace Of
The Sacraments Of The Church
Breaking It Down, (4)
• God Is Love – The Three Persons Live In A Perfect Communion Of Self-Giving
Love
• They Are A Family
• God Is A Communion Of Persons
– God’s Nature Determines His Actions
• That Is, Who God Is Determines What God Does
– God’s Actions Are Completely Good & Everything He Does Is From Love
– God, In His Love For Us, Acts In Our Lives
• He Is Near Us At All Times, (He Is Immanent), Yet Remains Distinct
Breaking It Down, (5)
• Each Of The Three Persons Has A Work, Or Role – Every Work Of God, Including The Work Of Salvation, Is The
Common Work Of The Three Persons
– The Common Work Is Attributed To Each Divine Person According To His Specific Role In The Father’s Plan For Us
Contemplate This:
Every Mystery Of The Faith Flows From & Is Connected
To The Mystery Of The Blessed Trinity
We Were Created For Love; We Live To Respond To & Grow In That Love; We Die To Self So That
We May Be Resurrected To Enter That Love Forever At The End Of Our Earthly Life
Analogies
• Are Sometimes Used To Help In Understanding This Mystery – Three Leaf Glover, Egg, Mother/Daughter/Wife
– Got To Be Careful: “…Between Creator And Creature There Can Be Noted No Similarity So Great That A Greater Dissimilarity Cannot Be Seen Between Them.” (Constitutions Of Lateran IV, 2)
– Ultimately, Because God Is Utterly Unique, Any Analogy We Invent To Describe Him Will Fall Far Short Of His Reality
– Thus, Humility Is Always Needed When Speaking Of The Trinity, For We Speak Of The Very Life And Being Of God Himself
Bottom-Line
Father Is God!
Son Is God!
Holy Spirit Is God!
The Father Is Not The Son Or Holy Spirit,
The Son Is Not The Father Or The Holy Spirit,
& The Holy Spirit Isn't The Father Or The Son
They Are Separate Persons Yet They Are
United Like A Community
Summary
• Lots Of Info Out There
• When I’m Confused: Now A Week Later His Disciples Were Again Inside And
Thomas Was With Them. Jesus Came, Although The Doors Were Locked, And Stood In Their Midst And Said, “Peace
Be With You.” Then He Said To Thomas, “Put Your Finger Here And See My Hands, And Bring Your Hand And Put It Into My Side, And Do Not Be Unbelieving, But Believe.” Thomas Answered And Said To Him, “My Lord And My God!” Jesus Said To Him, “Have You Come To Believe
Because You Have Seen Me? Blessed Are Those Who Have Not Seen And Have Believed.”
(John 20: 26-29)
Questions
Comments
Curiosities
???
Still Got Questions?
Suggest Getting With One Of The Deacons For Additional Info
References
• Catechist’s Manual, Lesson Plans, The Blessed Trinity
• Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
• http://www.mediafire.com/view/?bn33j0z0eua3lyc
• http://www.dioceseoflacrosse.com/rcia/Files/Updated%20materials%202012/The%20Blessed%20Trinity%20combined.pdf
• http://www.catholic-prayer-life.com/Daily-Reflections.html
• The New American Bible
• Interview With Heidi Schaefer
Closing Prayer
The Glory Be, (The Doxology)
Glory Be To The Father, The Son, And The Holy Spirit;
As It Was In The Beginning, Is Now, And Ever Shall Be,
World Without End. Amen!
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