The Mystery of the Holy Trinity
May 26, 2024
At the heart of Catholicism are two of the most important doctrines of the Church, that define us as Church. There is the Feast that we celebrate today, that of the Most Holy Trinity, and next Sunday, the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). The belief in the Holy Trinity is the doctrine that defines us as Christians, and our belief that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ, defines us as Catholics.
Today, we reflect on the doctrine of the Trinity—that there is One God in Three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Many religions worship multiple gods, but only Christians and Jews and Muslims believe in only one God. Although Jews and Muslims believe in one God, they do not believe that the one God is actually three persons. That faith is reserved for Christians only.
The Most Holy Trinity is not only the core Christian doctrine, but it is also the most confusing mystery in the Catholic faith. How can God be One and Three at the same time. There is no explanation that will make clear sense of this. It is in fact, a mystery. When I was young, we were told that a mystery was something that you cannot understand. I personally do not like that definition.
There are some aspects of a mystery that we can understand, but we can never fully understand a mystery. I like the definition (it is kind of my own) that says that a mystery is a truth that is infinitely understandable. No matter how much you understand about a mystery, there is always so much more to understand. We can gain some insights into the Trinity, and there are some very brilliant teachings about the Trinity, but we are never done.
The greatest work on the Trinity is written by St. Augustine, and is simply entitled, De Trinitate, or The Trinity. But even he recognized that he had not fully grasped this amazing truth.
—Fr. Mike Comer
At the heart of Catholicism are two of the most important doctrines of the Church, that define us as Church. There is the Feast that we celebrate today, that of the Most Holy Trinity, and next Sunday, the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). The belief in the Holy Trinity is the doctrine that defines us as Christians, and our belief that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ, defines us as Catholics.
Today, we reflect on the doctrine of the Trinity—that there is One God in Three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Many religions worship multiple gods, but only Christians and Jews and Muslims believe in only one God. Although Jews and Muslims believe in one God, they do not believe that the one God is actually three persons. That faith is reserved for Christians only.
The Most Holy Trinity is not only the core Christian doctrine, but it is also the most confusing mystery in the Catholic faith. How can God be One and Three at the same time. There is no explanation that will make clear sense of this. It is in fact, a mystery. When I was young, we were told that a mystery was something that you cannot understand. I personally do not like that definition.
There are some aspects of a mystery that we can understand, but we can never fully understand a mystery. I like the definition (it is kind of my own) that says that a mystery is a truth that is infinitely understandable. No matter how much you understand about a mystery, there is always so much more to understand. We can gain some insights into the Trinity, and there are some very brilliant teachings about the Trinity, but we are never done.
The greatest work on the Trinity is written by St. Augustine, and is simply entitled, De Trinitate, or The Trinity. But even he recognized that he had not fully grasped this amazing truth.
—Fr. Mike Comer
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