A Penitent Blogger
A mysterious doctrine and wonderful gift
The end of today’s second reading, the end of Saint Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (13:11-13), provides us with one of the earliest written mentions of the Most Holy Trinity.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
These words are very familiar to us, since they are the basis of one of the greetings that may be used by the celebrant at the beginning of Mass.
It is very important, of course, to remember that all of God’s actions directed beyond Himself (ad extra) are actions of all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity in perfect union. God’s grace comes to us not just from our Lord Jesus Christ, but from all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity in perfect union. God’s love comes to us not just from God the Father, but from all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity in perfect union. Divine communion or fellowship comes to us not just from the Holy Spirit, but from all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity in perfect union.
That being said, there is truth and value in ascribing in our own minds particular aspects of divine action to particular Persons of the Blessed Trinity, such as Saint Paul appears to do in this verse (“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit”) and our Lord Himself appears to do in the famous words of today’s Gospel (John 3:16-18):
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
The value of ascribing these different aspects to different persons (while maintaining the perfect unity of the Trinity’s actions ad extra) is that these aspects may be used to tell us something of the internal actions or relations of the Persons within the Blessed Trinity (ad intra): e.g., the Father begets, the Son is begotten, the Father loves, the Son in loved, the Holy Spirit is the love, and so forth.
Ascribing these different aspects to different persons is also helpful for our finite minds and poor human imaginations, which naturally are incapable of fully grasping the mystery of the inner life of God, as long as we do not fall into the various errors which divide God.
The doctrine of the Trinity is a wonderful gift, partly because it is a unique and freely given gift of God– beyond the reach of human reason – a glimpse into the inner life of God Himself.
The doctrine of the Trinity is also a wonderful gift because it is such a mystery: a reminder that we cannot put God fully into the boxes of our human brains. He reveals himself to us, in Creation and in Revelation, yet he is also infinitely transcendent.
It is good for us to remember the wonder and the beauty of this gift: on today’s Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, in the words of Scripture such as those that are used by the priest at Mass, and as we begin and end every prayer in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
These words are very familiar to us, since they are the basis of one of the greetings that may be used by the celebrant at the beginning of Mass.
It is very important, of course, to remember that all of God’s actions directed beyond Himself (ad extra) are actions of all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity in perfect union. God’s grace comes to us not just from our Lord Jesus Christ, but from all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity in perfect union. God’s love comes to us not just from God the Father, but from all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity in perfect union. Divine communion or fellowship comes to us not just from the Holy Spirit, but from all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity in perfect union.
That being said, there is truth and value in ascribing in our own minds particular aspects of divine action to particular Persons of the Blessed Trinity, such as Saint Paul appears to do in this verse (“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit”) and our Lord Himself appears to do in the famous words of today’s Gospel (John 3:16-18):
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
The value of ascribing these different aspects to different persons (while maintaining the perfect unity of the Trinity’s actions ad extra) is that these aspects may be used to tell us something of the internal actions or relations of the Persons within the Blessed Trinity (ad intra): e.g., the Father begets, the Son is begotten, the Father loves, the Son in loved, the Holy Spirit is the love, and so forth.
Ascribing these different aspects to different persons is also helpful for our finite minds and poor human imaginations, which naturally are incapable of fully grasping the mystery of the inner life of God, as long as we do not fall into the various errors which divide God.
The doctrine of the Trinity is a wonderful gift, partly because it is a unique and freely given gift of God– beyond the reach of human reason – a glimpse into the inner life of God Himself.
The doctrine of the Trinity is also a wonderful gift because it is such a mystery: a reminder that we cannot put God fully into the boxes of our human brains. He reveals himself to us, in Creation and in Revelation, yet he is also infinitely transcendent.
It is good for us to remember the wonder and the beauty of this gift: on today’s Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, in the words of Scripture such as those that are used by the priest at Mass, and as we begin and end every prayer in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
posted by Penitens | 11:15 AM
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