Posted on May 31, 2015 View all news
Laudetur Jesus Christus!
Gelobt sei Jesus Christus!
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity. On the one hand, the Trinity is the central doctrine of the Christian Faith while on the other It has been one of the most complex Theological concepts for us to understand. In the early Church, the Trinity led to much debate and fighting as the Church struggled to put words to this difficult doctrine.
Throughout the centuries, various saints have attempted to use creative ways to explain the Holy Trinity. Saint Patrick, for example, used the three leaf clover to explain the concept to the Irish. Demonstrating to them that God was three persons in one God-head. Just as the clover was three leafs in one clover. St. Augustine, while contemplating the Trinity and desiring to comprehend It, found a boy on a beach. When St. Augustine asked the boy what he was doing, he said he was attempting to place the entire ocean into a small hole in the sand that he dug. When St. Augustine informed the boy that the task was impossible, the boy responded that so too was trying to fully understand the Trinity, before the boy vanished.
While it is impossible for us to fully understand the Trinity, we are able to understand something about It. Built into creation, we find the importance of “threeness.” Creation is built upon things like electrons, protons, and neutrons. We find within the family that the love shared between a husband and a wife leads to children. We know that the Trinity is three persons in one God, and that the Trinity is at work within each person. We know and distinguish between each person of the Trinity based on their primary function, with the Father being the creator, the Son being the redeemer, and the Holy Spirit being the sanctifier. Each person is a distinct person, but intimately connected to the others. It is a perfect communion of persons, where love is perfect.
It is important for us to remind ourselves of the Holy Trinity, because each of us has been claimed by the Trinity in our baptism. Our souls have been configured to the Trinity, and it is our purpose in life to ultimately spend eternity with the Trinity in Heaven. May this Trinity Sunday teach us not only something about the Holy Trinity, but how we were created in the image of the Trinity and called to live like the Trinity.
Have a blessed week ahead!
