GOD is in three persons—God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit—“distinct from one another” and “do not share the one divinity among themselves,” but each a supreme reality, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC).
In the sign of the cross, the three persons are acknowledged, relative to one another in divine unity. “Because of that, unity in the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Son is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son,” CCC 255 says.
As the core of Christian faith, the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity is ineffable. It can never be expressed in words, because it is beyond human understanding. Considered as the most basic teaching of the Catholic Church, the dogma of the Holy Trinity is the most essential in the hierarchy of faith, and the “source of other mysteries of truth and faith,” according to CCC 234.
The Council of Constantinople in 382 declared that Godhead should be understood by all Christians as Mia Ousia, Tres Hypostaseis, One Substance, Three Persons—Unity in Trinity.
God’s divine power
Faith is one of the three virtues “infused into the soul with sanctifying grace,” according to Catholic Dictionary. It is a choice, a personal response of an individual.
To believe in God’s divine powers is impossible without God’s gift of faith. For God’s divine powers will never be believed by a person not gifted in a supernatural way by an omnipotent omnipresent, omniscient God.
It takes humility and God’s grace of Faith that God in three persons has unlimited power, is present in all places and all things at all times, and possesses infinite knowledge, awareness, insight and understanding. Omnicompetent, God can handle any situation. So even the prophets, and Jesus’ disciples entertained doubts.
Abraham, the father of the Jewish people and spiritual father of all believers in Christ, doubted the Lord’s assurance he will have a son. For Abraham is 99 years old and Sarah, his wife, is 99 years old, too. To Abraham the Lord comments: “Is anything too marvelous for the Lord to do?” (Genesis 18:14).
To the disciples who wondered who can be saved, after hearing Jesus’ advise to a rich young man, Jesus remarked: “For human beings, this is impossible. But to God, all things are possible” (Matthew19:26).
The intellectual mind who insists “to see is to believe,” and demands proofs on God’s ineffable attributes will be difficult to convince. He needs faith to open the doors of his mind, so his spirit can see.
Grace is a must to believe. Faith is the only requisite for the will to accept the dogma of The Blessed Trinity. Saint Thomas Aquinas in Dei Filius asserts: “Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace.”
Divine unity
The dogma of the Most Blessed Trinity was revealed to man progressively. Even the different names of God.
To Israel, God revealed Himself as the “Only One—The One and Only God” (CCC 201). To Moses, in a burning bush that is not consumed, he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (CCC 205). When Moses asked for His specific name, God answered: “I am who I am.” Or Yahweh.
Out of respect for God’s holiness, Israelites do not pronounce His name. In the scriptures YHWH is replaced by Lord, a divine title. In Hebrew, it is Adonai; in Greek, it is Kyrios.
To God the Father is attributed the work of creation. He, likewise, created man as a rational and free person with free will. God created a good and ordered world to “communicate His glory…share in His truth, goodness and beauty” (CCC 319).
Jesus, the Son and Second Person in the Blessed Trinity, is God the Father’s Beloved Son. John called Him “The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
During the baptism of Jesus, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a Dove descended on Jesus. A voice was heard: “You are my Beloved Son, with You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22).
The scriptures also refer to Jesus as the Son of David, promised by God to Israel, the Rabbi or Teacher and the Eschatological Judge at the end of the world.
In contrast to the first Adam, who came from dust on Earth, Jesus is the New Adam who came from heaven and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Christ the Redeemer, liberated man from sin and by His Resurrection opened for man a new life in heaven. By “filial adoption, men becomes Christ’s brethren” (CCC 654).
Although Jesus alluded to the Holy Spirit in some events in the course of his teachings, Jesus did not reveal it fully.
The full descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and about 3,000 new Christians was on Pentecost. Tongues of fire descended from the sky and rested on each person. Filled with the Holy Spirit they began to talk in different languages. This liturgical solemnity is considered the birthday of the Church, which signifies the start of heralding God and His words to the world (Acts 2:1-13).
The Scriptures noted that the signs of the Holy Spirit are cloud, light, fire, dove, water and hand of God, and sphragis, the seal or indelible effect in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Holy Orders.
The Holy Spirit is God’s gift. It is the Holy Spirit that sanctifies man to make him holy. It is the Holy Spirit that restores man’s divine likeness in baptism.
The tradition of the Church lists 12 fruits of the spirit: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity (CCC 1832).
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord (CCC 1831).
Although God revealed Himself and continues to reveal the mystery of His personhood, as true God and true man, He remains a mystery.
As Saint Augustine said: If you understood Him, He would not be God.
Man, safe in God’s hand
Every person is on the march, to a life that is more pleasurable and comfortable. With growing unbelief on a loving and merciful God, man searches for meaning to attain self-fulfilment pursues esoteric activities, which is popular, fashionable and available.
“Made in the image of God,” with the spark of divinity within, man continues to search answers to liberate himself from his inadequacies.
New Agers believe there is no demarcation line between God and creation. In the concept of Monism, everything and everyone is one. Because “all is one,” everything, too, is “part of a divine essence.” Thus, there is a persistent and increasing belief that the person is the “standard of truth” with a “self-sacredness.”
In man’s continuous search for meaning, prestige, power, fame and money are the benchmarks.
With the norms for a successful life, man experiences disappointments, anxieties, brokenness and filled with the belief of hopelessness, others commit suicide. Seemingly, man has forgotten, he has a God that cares, who sees his heartaches and understands his needs. He has access to God and can ask in humility for divine assistance. Didn’t God not promise, “I will never forsake and abandon you” (Hebrew 13:5). So, “come to me, all you who are weary and I will give you rest” (Matthew11:28).
Saint John Paul II, in a homily, in Bern, Switzerland, on June 6, 2004, said: “In man’s search for meaning, he asks, ‘what is the truth?’ But for world unity, he should ask instead, ‘who is the truth, for each one is called to witness to the truth…Jesus Christ.’”
Man, either he admits it or not, needs a Yahweh—a Shepherd, who loves, sustains, guides, calms and heals.
Max Lucado, in Safe in the Shepherd’s Arm, invites everyone to have faith to “go, bow, trust,” and announces, “worth a try, don’t you think?”
• Santiago is a former regional director of Departmemnt of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris College in Calauan, Laguna.