TRINITY
‘One God in three Persons’ is a mystery difficult to grasp, given the limitations of human intellect. Theologians and teachers have tried to simplify this mystery using metaphors, resemblance materials, and art forms. However, none of them is adequate because there is nothing in this world that has a corresponding existence. Compared to God’s omniscience, we have limitations in understanding.
A child trusts its parents, believes what they say, and follows their instructions. As children of God, we trust God and follow the teachings of Jesus. Heresies happened based on different interpretations and disputes on the Holy Trinity among Christian scholars. For a believer, faith in the Most Holy Trinity is an article of faith and not a topic for dispute.
We believe in the oneness of God. The Israelites lived among pagans who worshipped many gods, including the forces of nature and man-made objects. The Almighty God commanded through Moses: “You shall not have other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them” (Ex 20:3-5a). Jesus affirmed the oneness of God, along with his revelation of the three persons in the Most Holy Trinity.
Jesus commanded his disciples to use the Trinitarian formula for Baptism. Thus, though we start the prayer referring to the three persons of the Holy Trinity, it should start with the singular word “In the name” (not “names”) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Mk 12:29-30).
We base our faith on the one and true God in a loving relationship with our creator, sustainer, and redeemer. “Listen, O Israel: The LORD, our God, is the One LORD. And so you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deut 6:4,5). Love is a two-way relationship and commitment. God, who made a covenant with Israel, compared his relationship with them as a father’s love for his son, stronger than a mother’s love for her children, and more than a bridegroom’s love for his beloved. It is out of this love that he gave His only begotten son for our redemption (Jn 3:16). Hence, John concludes, “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8) and love it is that unites the three persons of the Most Holy Trinity. God called us to be in loving communion with Him and with one another, who are also God’s dear children.
TRINITY AND THE TEMPLE
Though we speak distinctly of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, they are not separate. Whoever sees Jesus, sees the Father, and whoever receives the Holy Spirit receives the Father and the Son. The altar in the Church’s sanctuary represents the Most Holy Trinity. The altar itself is the throne of God.
In its sanctuary, the Jerusalem Temple had a representation of the Most Holy Trinity. The Ark of the Covenant at the Holy of Holies represented the Seat of God the Father. In the Holy Place, there were 12 showbreads representing Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. The menorah with seven flames in the Holy Place symbolized the Holy Spirit that came on the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost. The Old Testament had these truths hidden that are revealed in the New Testament. Saint Augustine says: “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.”