Beyond imagination

Human beings were created by God to aspire to the Infinite, which is to say Himself.

Sadly, in our fallen and sinful state, this aspiration and all the abilities that have been given to us are often twisted into arrogance.

We inflict this arrogance on ourselves and the world around us all too often.

We see this especially in the overreaches of science, technology, public policy, and even personal choice.

We think we know the way things are, we think we know what we are doing, but then reality reasserts itself and suffering follows.

We are even arrogant when it comes to God.

Believer or unbeliever, we arrogantly think we can understand Infinity Himself.

We arrogantly think we can question His wisdom (“How can God let these bad things happen”) or even His existence (in the case of the unbeliever).

God is beyond our arrogance and beyond our imagination.

The doctrine of the Trinity, which we celebrate today, is a glimpse into the Infinite Mystery Who is God: a reminder that while God makes Himself known through Revelation, He is ultimately beyond the arrogant intellect of human beings.

On the one hand, this reminds us that we should be careful in our trying to speculate or imagine what the doctrine of the Trinity means.

It is good to stay close to the descriptions defined by the Church through the grace of God (such as the Creed), the classic descriptions of the great saint theologians such as Saint Thomas Aquinas (such as the doxology to his hymn Pange Lingua down below) and to passages of Scripture such as today’s Gospel (John 16:12-15).

I have much more to tell you,
but you cannot bear it now.

But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.

He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you
the things that are coming.

He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you.

Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you
that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you.

On the other hand, the Infinite Mystery that is the inner life of God reminds us of the infinitely glorious adventure that awaits us in heaven, for there we shall see Him and understand Him and love Him more and more with every moment of eternity.

Genitori genitoque
Laus et jubilatio,
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio.
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio.

"To the One who begets and to the One begotten
Praise and jubilation,
Salvation, honor and power
And blessing be;
And to the One who proceeds from Both
Equally be praise."

Amen.