“No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son who has made Him known”
The inmost Being of God as Holy Trinity is the “central mystery of Christian faith and life” [CCC 234] This mystery is inaccessible to reason alone. It is God who “freely wills to communicate the glory of His blessed life.” [CCC 257] How? Through the Incarnation of His only Son and in the sending of His Holy Spirit. In the “gifts” of these persons we learn that God, though one, is a communion of love. The doctrine of the Trinity is “very deep indeed” but there is one point in the Catechism that should not be lost on us. “We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons. The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire.[CCC253]
No one has ever seen God in His inmost Being as Holy Trinity. So, is there anything to be gained from images? Trying to create a picture of the Trinity with merely human resources can produce some curious representations. I once heard a homily that compared the Trinity to a 3-in- one oil! There is, of course, Saint Patrick's famous image of the 3 leaf clover – which The Catholic Parish of Napier has successfully taken as its logo. Language gives a better insight. God told Moses that He is “a God of tenderness and compassion, rich in kindness and faithfulness.” (Exodus) He is, says St John in the gospel, a God who “loved the world so much that he sent His Son that we might not be lost.”
So, how do we put together something that is accessible? The opening prayer for the Mass today gives us the best answer. “Father, You sent your Word to bring us truth, and your Spirit to make us holy. Through them we come to know the mystery of your life.”
— GM