Lesson 7: The Holy Trinity
1. Did Jesus reveal anything new about God?
Yes, Jesus revealed something “new” about God. Jesus is the “fullness of the revelation of God.” (Vatican II, Dei Verbum, 2)
2. What new things did Jesus reveal to us about God?
Jesus revealed to us, even more than in the Old Testament, the infinite love of mercy of God. Jesus also revealed to us the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
3. What is the mystery of the Holy Trinity?
The mystery of the Holy Trinity is the mystery of God. It is the central mystery of The Christian Faith and Life.
By the Holy Trinity we mean that there is one God in three divine Persons.
4. Is there just one God?
Yes, there is only 1 God.
God is one, but He is not solitary.
5. How many Persons are there in God?
In God there are 3 Persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
6. Is the Father God?
Yes, the Father is God. He is the First Person of the Holy Trinity.
7. Is the Son God?
Yes, the Son is God. He is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. From all eternity He is generated by the Father.
8. Is the Holy Spirit God?
Yes, the Holy Spirit is God. He is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. From all eternity He proceeds from the Father and the Son.
9. Are the 3 divine Persons really distinct from one another?
The 3 Persons are really distinct from one another’ but there are not three Gods. There is only ONE God in three divine Persons.
10.Which of the three Persons of the Trinity is Jesus?
Jesus is God the Son, who became man over 2000 years ago in the womb of the Virgin Mary.
We picture God the Father as a kind Father.
But He is really a Spirit. We cannot see a spirit.
It is easy to picture God the Son because He really became man. Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity
We picture God the Holy Spirit as a dove. He appeared like a dove at the baptism of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is really a Spirit also. All three Persons are equal.
11. How do we know that there are three Persons in one God?
We know that there are three Persons in one God because Jesus told us. The Father sent His Son to us on earth. The Son told us what the Holy Trinity was like.
Jesus told us to baptize everyone “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) The word “Name” is in the singular, meaning there is only ONE God. Three names are then given, giving us the names of the three Divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
12. Was the Holy Trinity known in the Old Testament?
No, the Holy Trinity was not known in the Old Testament.
Jesus told us about the Holy Trinity.
Nonetheless, there were “types” (foreshadowings) of the Holy Trinity in the Old Testament. The people in the Old Testament did not understand these “types” but they were there.
13. Why is the Holy Trinity called a mystery?
A mystery is something we could not know about unless God revealed it to us. From reason alone, we can know that there is a God. But from reason alone we could not know that there are three Persons in one God. We know this only through the revelations given to us by Jesus Christ.
St Augustine (354-430)
St Augustine was a bishop who prayed and studied to learn all that he could about the Holy Trinity. He wanted to understand the Holy Trinity perfectly. One day while thinking about the Holy Trinity, he took a walk on a beach. There he saw a little boy putting water from the ocean into a hole. He asked the boy, “What are you doing?” The boy said, “I am putting the ocean into this hole.” St Augustine said, “Don’t you see that it is not possible to put the ocean in this little hole.” The boy responded, “Just as it is impossible to put the ocean in this little hole, so it is impossible to fully understand the Holy Trinity.” This little boy was really an angel. The Holy Trinity is a mystery. A mystery is something revealed by God that we could not know if God did not tell us. We cannot fully understand it even after God has told us about it.
