Saturday, June 2, 2007
The Blessed Trinity
we will give glory to Him, because He hath shown His mercy to us.
O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is Thy name in all the earth!"
Tob 12:6, Ps 8:2
We have celebrated the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost last Sunday. Today, Holy Mother Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Trinity. The Trinity is the fundamental dogma of our Faith.
"This time is well chosen," says St. Rupert, "for, immediately after the descent of this Divine Spirit, began the preaching and belief and Baptism and confession in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."
At today's vigil Mass- which I served- at St. Joseph's, PM, Father Rector Michael Teo gave an illustrous homily on the the "Godhead" (Fr. Teo likes to refer to the Trinity as the Godhead three-in-one).
The Father, Son & Holy Sprit is the Trinity. To the non-believer, the concept of the Trinity may be polytheistic.
The word "trinity" is a term used to denote the Christian doctrine that God exists as a unity of three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is NOT POLYTHEISTIC. The Trinity is a strict monotheism; there exists in all the universe a single being known as God who is self-existent and unchangeable (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8). Therefore, it is important to note that the doctrine of the trinity is not polytheistic as some of its critics proclaim. Trinitarianism is MONOTHEISTIC by definition and those who claim it is polytheistic may demonstrate a lack of understanding of what it really is.
The Trinity:
- God is three persons
- Each person is divine
- There is only one God
Each- Father, Son, or Holy Spirit- is fully divine in nature, but each is not the totality of the Trinity. In other words, the Father is not the same person as the Son who is not the same person as the Holy Spirit who is not the same person as the Father. Each is divine, yet there are not three gods, but one God.
We can refer to the three different 'entities' of the Trinity as either: Person or Subsistence. The word "subsistence" means something that has a real existence. The word "person" denotes individuality and self awareness. (The latter has become a more common term to describe the Trinity.)
The Doctrine on the Trinity is difficult to grasp as the Trinity is a mystery that cannot be fathomed by the human intellect. The fact that it is a mystery is an argument for its truth.
Sacred Scripture is the self revelation of an infinite God. Therefore, we are bound to encounter concepts which are difficult to understand; especially when dealing with an incomprehensible God who exists in all places at all times.
"The Trinity cannot be understood by the human intellect, it is not a mathematical problem, even if it were, we could not solve it mathematically. The Trinity is a mystery. St. Thomas, one of the great Doctors of the Church tells us that 'we cannot walk around the mystery, we need to enter the mystery- enter into a relationship with God.' " Rev. Fr. Michael Teo, in his homily today.
Oremus:
O ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, Who has enabled Thy servants, in confessiong the true Faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of Majesty to adore Its Unity: we beseech Thee, that be steadfastness in the same Faith, we ever be defended against all adversity. Through our Lord. Amen.
In the Holy Trinity,
J-PDM
The Most Holy Trinity 2007
Labels: Apologetics, Catholic Belief, Quote, Spirituality, Trinity
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
The Athanasian Creed
Whoever wants to be saved should above all cling to the catholic faith.
Whoever does not guard it whole and inviolable will doubtless perish eternally.
Now this is the catholic faith: We worship one God in trinity and the Trinity in unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the divine being.
For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Spirit is still another.
But the deity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory, coeternal in majesty.
What the Father is, the Son is, and so is the Holy Spirit.
Uncreated is the Father; uncreated is the Son; uncreated is the Spirit.
The Father is infinite; the Son is infinite; the Holy Spirit is infinite.
Eternal is the Father; eternal is the Son; eternal is the Spirit:
And yet there are not three eternal beings, but one who is eternal;
as there are not three uncreated and unlimited beings, but one who is uncreated and unlimited.
Almighty is the Father; almighty is the Son; almighty is the Spirit:
And yet there are not three almighty beings, but one who is almighty.
Thus the Father is God; the Son is God; the Holy Spirit is God:
And yet there are not three gods, but one God.
Thus the Father is Lord; the Son is Lord; the Holy Spirit is Lord:
And yet there are not three lords, but one Lord.
As Christian truth compels us to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord, so catholic religion forbids us to say that there are three gods or lords.
The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten;
the Son was neither made nor created, but was alone begotten of the Father;
the Spirit was neither made nor created, but is proceeding from the Father and the Son.
Thus there is one Father, not three fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three spirits.
And in this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other;
but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the Trinity in unity and the one God in three persons.
Whoever wants to be saved should think thus about the Trinity.
It is necessary for eternal salvation that one also faithfully believe that our Lord Jesus Christ became flesh.
For this is the true faith that we believe and confess: That our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, is both God and man.
He is God, begotten before all worlds from the being of the Father, and he is man, born in the world from the being of his mother --
existing fully as God, and fully as man with a rational soul and a human body;
equal to the Father in divinity, subordinate to the Father in humanity.
Although he is God and man, he is not divided, but is one Christ.
He is united because God has taken humanity into himself; he does not transform deity into humanity.
He is completely one in the unity of his person, without confusing his natures.
For as the rational soul and body are one person, so the one Christ is God and man.
He suffered death for our salvation.
He descended into hell and rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
At his coming all people shall rise bodily to give an account of their own deeds.
Those who have done good will enter eternal life,
those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.
This is the catholic faith.
One cannot be saved without believing this firmly and faithfully.
Pax tecum!
Comm. of Four Crowned Martyrs
Labels: Catholic Belief, Creed, Trinity
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