This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity. The mystery of the Holy Trinity is the greatest mystery of our Faith. How can there be 3 Persons in One God? It surpasses the intelligence of any human (angels, as well) how we can have only One God, but that there are three Persons, distinct Persons in our One God. That is correct... each of the Three Persons is distinct. That is, the Father is NOT the Son or Holy Spirit; the Son is NOT the Holy Spirit or the Father; the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. Each Person is distinct, just like in members of your family, one child is a distinct person from another child. Even in the cases of twins or other multiple births, each child is a "separate" distinct person.

    It is so with the Blessed Trinity. The LOVE between the Father and the Son is so great, that that IS Who the Holy Spirit is. The Holy Spirit is the LOVE between the Father and the Son.

    Imagine! That LOVE is so great it "makes" or "creates" (a poor choice of words) the Holy Spirit.

    Anyone who thinks they can understand the Blessed Trinity, in my humble opinion is loco.

    I have a lovely Protestant friend (she is a sweetheart), who told me a few months ago that her Pastor "explained" the Holy Trinity like this: a man in a family can be a husband, a father and a laborer all at one time. I agree, but this "explanation" falls far short of an explanation of the Holy Trinity, for the simple reason that it only explains three roles that one persons has. That man is still just one and the same person. A person could have three or more "jobs" in life, but that doesn’t change him/her into more than one person.

    See what I mean? The Protestant minister fell far short in explaining the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. Nice try, but when we talk about God and His nature, that is, of being One God, but three Persons, there is nothing in the human experience that can match it, equal it or adequately explain it. It is THE greatest mystery of the Christian Faith.

    Who can comprehend God? Who can comprehend His Nature... Who He Is?

    In grade school, I learned that even in Heaven and for all of eternity, we will not comprehend this stupendous mystery. That part of it is not hard for me to understand. I mean, if anyone can understand the Blessed Trinity, then he/she would have to be God Himself, for only God fully comprehends Himself.

    Confusing? Well, if there are mysteries in the natural world (who understands everything about the universe or what causes all kinds of cancers?), we should not be surprised that there are mysteries in the supernatural world.

    But you see, we don’t have to understand. All we have to do is BELIEVE!

    Let me close with a verse from an inspiring hymn we sing on this day: "O Lord, my God... How great Thou art! How GREAT Thou art!"

    May God bless you!

Sister Mary Lucy Astuto

June 16-18, 2000
volume 11, no. 109
Sr. Lucy's GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER column

Return to Front Page of Current Issue