the trinity

The Trinity

The Trinity

The Trinity

The Trinity is the one

God in three persons,

Father, Son and Holy

Spirit.KEY DEFINITION

The Trinity definition

The Revelation of the Trinity

Holy Trinity with Mary Magdalene, St John the Baptist and Tobias and the Angel by Botticelli

The Revelation of the Trinity (1)


The three divine persons are revealed through Jesus Christ and are united in the

work of our salvation.

The Father lovingly

supports the cross and

receives the sacrifice of his

Son.The Son reveals the love of the Father and

breathes forth the Spirit from

the cross.

The Holy Spirit placed

between Father and Son as the

personal love between them.

John the Baptist

bears witness to the Lamb of God and calls

for our worship of the

mystery.


The revelation of the one God

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo

The revelation of the one God (1)

The revelation of the one God The existence of the one God has been known to faith and reason throughout history. God chose to reveal himself as one God to the people of Israel, to teach them that he is the creator of all things and the single, true and exclusive object of worship.Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.

Deut 6:4-5


The revelation of the one God

The Old Testament gives glimpses of personal distinctions in God. An example is the use of the plural pronoun ‘us’ at the creation of human beings.Then God said,

“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

Gen 1:26


The revelation of the three persons

The Annunciation by Fra Angelico

The revelation of the three persons (1)


The Trinity is first revealed through the Incarnation of

Jesus Christ.

God the Holy Spirit

God the Son present in the womb of

Mary.

God the Father

Mary



The Baptism of Christ by Piero della Francesca

In the New Testament, when God the Son becomes man, he openly reveals the persons in God. First the relationship between Father and Son is revealed:“No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.”

Jn 1:18



He then reveals the relationship of the Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit:“When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness.”

Jn 15:26 NJB



All Christian life begins with Baptism in the name of the three divine persons, following Jesus’ command:“Make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Mt 28:19-20 NJBThe three divine persons are the One Triune God.Baptism of the Neophytes

by Masaccio


The Trinity in Creed and worship

The Trinity in creed and worship (1)


The Trinity is the central theme of the Apostles’ Creed, a summary of Christian belief from the early Church that is also an important liturgical prayer.



GOD THE FATHER

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.



GOD THE SONI believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.



GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.


SummaryQuestions

to reinforcekey points

Discussionquestions

Practicalactivities

Presentation Part II

Summary Activities I

Please select an activity or go immediately to part II of the presentation

Summary Activities I

Summary

Activities Menu Presentation Part II

• The Trinity is the one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

• In the Old Testament, God revealed himself as one God. Nevertheless, these texts also contain hints of personal distinctions in God.

• In the New Testament , when God the Son becomes man he openly reveals the persons in God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three divine persons are the One Triune God.

• The Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith. The Creed is structured in terms of the three persons of the Trinity.

Summary I

Questions to reinforce key points

One God

Three persons

What are the two essential elements of the doctrine of the Trinity?


12

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answers

Questions to reinforce key points I

Discussion questions


• Discuss how we know of the three divine persons of Trinity.

• Discuss what Genesis 1:26 and Genesis 18:1-16 tell us about the Revelation of God in the Old Testament.

Select one or more of the following:

Discussion questions I

Practical activities


• Read through one or more of the following: the Apostles’ creed; the Nicene creed used in the Mass; the Athanasian creed. Note carefully what is being said and what each line tells us about the Trinity.

• Read the Compendium of the Catechism questions 43-49.


Practical activities I

What is the Trinity?

The Trinity by Rublev

What is the Trinity?

One substance, three persons

One substance, three persons (1)


God alone reveals the Trinity since it is the mystery of his very being.

Human reason can know that there is a God; we cannot know God as he knows himself except from what God has revealed.


One substance, three persons The fact that Jesus Christ reveals the relationships of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, tells us that these are distinct and what we would call ‘persons’. Each divine person can properly say ‘I’, as when Jesus says:“I and the Father are One.”

(Jn 10:30)



Jesus also uses a personal pronoun (translated ‘he’) of the Holy Spirit when he says: “The Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things” (Jn 14:26; cf.

15:26; 16:13-15).


One substance, three personsNevertheless, the relations within the Trinity differ from those among human persons.

Our relationships are changeable, and are established from person to person over time.

By contrast, the relations of the divine persons are the very being or ‘substance’ of God. They are eternal and unchanging.



This picture symbolises the eternal and immanent Trinity.

Father Son Holy Spirit

Open table and chalice

invites us to share the divine

life of the Trinity.

One substance

The similarity of appearance signifies the

three persons are equally God.

Three persons The differences

of the eyes, clothing and

gestures signify the distinct

relations of the three divine

persons.



This unity of substance and distinction of persons is expressed in the Trinitarian formula of St Gregory Nazianzus, which Pope St Damasus I affirmed:

The Trinity is one substance, three persons.

KEY DEFINITION


Mistaken beliefs about the Trinity

The Teaching of St Augustine by Gozzoli. This shows Augustine meeting with a little child attempting to scoop up the whole ocean. When he asked the child why he was

attempting the impossible, the child replied that Augustine was trying something even more difficult:

explaining the mystery of the Trinity.

Mistaken beliefs about the Trinity (1)


The challenge of speaking about the Trinity leads to frequent mistakes.

These mistakes deny one aspect or another of the ‘one substance, three persons’ of the Trinity.


MISTAKES ABOUT THE TRINITY

Modalism

Denies that the Father, Son and Spirit are three persons, and sees them as mere appearances, or masks, of one person.




Tri-theism

Denies that there is one God, and claims that the Father, Son and Spirit are three gods.




Subordinationism

Denies that the Son and the Spirit are equal in divinity to the Father, claiming that they are subordinate to him.



The Trinity and our friendship with God

The Coronation of the Virgin by Quarton. Our final goal is to be united with the Trinity

forever in heaven.

The Trinity and our friendship with God (1)

The Trinity and our friendship with GodGod does not want us to relate to him merely as creatures to their Creator. The remarkable invitation that God has given to us is to enjoy intimate friendship with him by sharing his divine life.

This is the precise reason why God has revealed the Trinity to us, so that we may come to know and love him as he knows and loves himself.


The Trinity and our friendship with God

This is why:• All Christian belief is

Trinitarian (for example, the Creed).

• All sacraments are Trinitarian (for example, Baptism is in the name of the Trinity).

• All Christian life is directed towards union with the Trinity (for example, the virtue of charity).

• All Christian prayer is Trinitarian (for example, blessings and the Sign of the Cross).


As you are sons, God has sent into our hearts the Spirit

of his Son crying, “Abba, Father.” (Gal 4:6 NJB)


SummaryQuestions

to reinforcekey points

Discussionquestions

Practicalactivities

Summary Activities IIPlease select an activity or go immediately

to the concluding prayer

Concluding Prayer

Summary Activities II

Summary

Activities Menu

• The Trinity is one substance, three persons.

• Personal pronouns, such as ‘I’ and ‘he’ properly apply to each of the divine persons, showing their personal distinctions.

• The relations of the divine persons are the very being or ‘substance’ of God. They are eternal and unchanging.

• God has revealed the Trinity to us, so that we may come to know and love him as he knows and loves himself. The Trinity is the centre of all Christian belief, sacraments, life and prayer.

Concluding Prayer

Summary II

Questions to reinforce key points

All Christian belief is Trinitarian

All sacraments are TrinitarianAll Christian life is directed towards union

with the TrinityAll Christian prayer is Trinitarian

How does the Trinity relate to us?

Activities Menu Concluding Prayer

12

Click on a box to reveal one of the

answers

34

Questions to reinforce key points II

Discussion questions

Activities Menu

• Discuss the need for great care with language when describing the mystery of the Trinity.

• Discuss some personal experiences of how we live out and express our faith in the Trinity.


Concluding Prayer

Discussion questions II

Practical activities

Activities Menu

• Read John 14:25-31 and Galatians 4:4-7 and note what they tell us about the persons of the Trinity in relation to ourselves.

• Visit a church and note any symbols of the three divine persons.

Concluding Prayer


Practical activities II

Final Prayer

From the ‘Te Deum’ We praise you, O God: we acclaim you as the Lord. Everlasting Father, all the world bows down before

you. All the angels sing your praise, the hosts of heaven and all the angelic powers, all the cherubim

and seraphim call out to you in unending song: Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God of angel hosts. The heavens and the earth are filled with your

majesty and glory. The glorious band of apostles, the noble company of prophets, the white-robed

army who shed their blood for Christ, all sing your praise. And to the ends of the earth your holy

Church proclaims her faith in you: Father, whose majesty is boundless, your true and only Son who is

to be adored. The Holy Spirit sent to be our Advocate.

Amen.

Final Prayer

the trinity

Spiritual