I would like to cite a warning sign before you read this column. I am writing to explain a complex topic: doctrine and the mystery of the Trinity. I did my best to simplify my notes and readings about this doctrine, but I know I can only do so much. The Trinity is one of those difficult topics to comprehend, as it pertains to the vastness of God’s Divine characteristics. So in any event we disengaged with each other while you are reading the article, it’s perfectly ok. We can try other ways of getting a sight of God’s profound mysteries in our lives.
There was a story written by Fr. George Smiga about Saint Augustine, one of the great thinkers of our Tradition, who was grappling with the mystery of the Trinity.
One day, while walking along the beach of Hippo, where he was bishop, St. Augustine was trying to discover a more concrete idea or image explaining how there could be three persons in one God.
As he continued to walk, feeling the comfort of the cool ocean breeze and the warm sun, he came across this young boy running back and forth on the beach. The boy had a small bucket and was filling it from the ocean, running over and pouring it into a small hole he had dug in the sand.
Augustine asked the boy, “What are you doing?”
The boy responded, “I’m taking all the water from the ocean and pouring it into this little hole.”
“That’s impossible,” said Augustine. The boy shrugged and continued with his play.
Then Augustine realized that he was that boy. He was trying to do the impossible. He was trying to take the infinite vastness of God and pour it into the small hole of his finite mind.
The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the mysteries that is hard to explain.
A mystery has no answer. We cannot understand it because it is much greater than our human mind can comprehend. It is something beyond our grasp. However, although we cannot comprehend a mystery, we contemplate it through the help of academic disciplines, like philosophy, theology, spirituality, and even the sciences. Our good works and prayers are also helpful in encountering the Divine mysteries, so we feel their working and manifestations in our lives. Some people use analogies or images to help us connect to mysteries.
I came across this writing, which uses a candlestick to represent the Trinity, which I thought was helpful. The writer acknowledged that this is only an analogy, which many theologians employ to explain the mysteries of the faith. He compares the base to the Father; the fire or light is Jesus, and the warmth from the light is the Holy Spirit. It explains that the candle as one object cannot be useful if it is only a base. It should have its light and rays to serve its purpose. But the light and rays cannot exist without the base. The three elements are together. Similarly, the Trinity highlights the profound unity of three persons in one Godhead. The guiding principle has been the creedal declaration that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are consubstantial. They are the same in substance or essence, and they need each other. The three, in some sense, are one. In God, we see the Father, the first principal of life in the Godhead. Then we see the Son, the Word who proceeds from the Father, and the Holy Spirit, the bond of love between the Father and Son who proceeds as love from the Father and Son.
The presence of the Trinity was manifested during the creation: “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:1–3).
The creation story is the first foreshadowing of the doctrine of the Trinity. There was only one creator yet functioning as three divine Persons. The Father is the source and background of all beings. Jesus manifests and speaks for the Father. He is the word.
The Spirit interprets and energizes the Son, and the Father brings grace to human experience operating in time and space. Then we know in the later part this word that God had spoken became flesh in the person of Jesus.
Trinity exists as one, which signals how relationship is essential for God. Relationships must also be necessary for us. Yet, we see that many are almost taking our relationships for granted. Many children are often left alone in front of their computer games. Many of our elderly have been left unvisited by their family members in their nursing homes for weeks or months at a time. We are often too busy to pay attention to each other because many things compete to gain our attention. Yet the passion for connecting with others and having relationships remains a drive we cannot remove from our hearts.
Pope Francis said that we can celebrate the great solemnity of the Trinity by opening our hearts to a deeper relationship with our God, who is love. Taking an example from the human condition, we see the perfection of love is demonstrated through our Godly human family. Unity, community, and belonging are important elements to keep and nurture that love.
Let us be reminded that the drive to belong, love, and be loved comes from God because the heart of God is to be in a community with a sustaining relationship. So, while the divine mystery is difficult to grasp, we know a lot about God, the Holy Trinity, when we live in love and in a relationship where love is alive and reciprocated. This is the way of living the presence of the one Triune God in our lives.