Trinity Sunday (C)/ Everything the Father has is Mine
 

Prov. 8:22-31/PS 8/Rom 5:1-5/Jn 16:12-15
  Introduction
 

          A friend of mine asked a Jesuit priest about a clearer explanation for the mystery of the Trinity.  The priest, who has PhD in Mathematics smiled and said, “my friend it’s so simple, just don’t use addition, but try multiplication: 1 X 1 X 1 = 1.” And why would you add? God did not ask you to Add, He said “go out and multiply” (Genesis 1:28)

  
  Background
 

           Even we, priests who studied several years in the seminary, and even church doctors and great theologians, can not fully explain the mystery of the Trinity. And yet this is a Dogma of Faith (Infallible truths that can not be wrong). This is the foundation of our Christian Faith. We accept it and we believe in it, even we do not fully understand, simply because… this is how God chose to reveal himself.

There had been many attempts to explain this mystery, like that of the Nominalists, who say that this mystery is only a matter of names. My mother is Rosario and my father is Alfredo and I am George, but we all have only one family name, Vargas. This attempt is still far from the truth because even how hard I try to imitate my parents I will always be different from them.

In Philosophy, they define the word “person” as individually self existent being of the rational state, and “essence” is defined as “nature or substance of a thing” And in the Trinity, the three divine Persons share the same one divine Essence or Substance. But isn’t becomes more mysterious than the mystery itself? 

The Existentialists explained it in the realm of love. The Father loves the son so much, and the Son expressed the same unconditional love to his Father, through his obedience and death on the cross. And this beautiful Love that exists between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit. Beautiful, isn’t it? But unfortunately not one of these explanations can fully explain God’s mysterious way of revealing himself as Trinity.

 
  Reflection:  
 

  1. The Trinitarian faith of the early Christian communities. Even though Trinitarian theology was not yet fully developed during the time of Jesus, but there are many signs in the Bible that the early Christian communities were already aware of it. It today’s Gospel reading. Jesus said: “when the Spirit of truth has come, he will lead you into all truth.” Then Jesus continued, “All the thing that the Father has are mine.” Just in this short passage we can already see the acceptance of the ancient Christian community of three Persons in one God.

  2. The Apostles’ Creed, that our Church Fathers reformulate more clearly on 4th Century in the council of Nicea, which is popularly known as the Nicene Creed, we say: “We believe in God the Father.... and Jesus Christ … true God from true God… and the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father in the Son, and together they are worshiped and glorified…” This was their faith 2000 years ago and until now we still consistently recite the very same Trinitarian faith, every Sunday mass.

  3. Most Catholics do the sign of the cross when they pray and do important activities. And we also say: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” because we believe that when one acts, the two other persons always act together with him. When the Father created the universe, the Son (Word) and the Spirit (Ruah) acts with Him, and when Jesus died on the cross, the Father offered the Son and Spirit strengthen the Son. On the Pentecost, the Jesus promised the Spirit, and the Father sent it. No wonder we always invoke the names of the three Persons together, in all our liturgy acts, from baptism down to the sign of the cross.

 
  Conclusion  
 

        One time when St. Augustine was thinking about the mystery of the Holy Trinity, he took his time to walk along the beach. He saw a young boy who was running back in forth from the sea to the shore.  He asked the boy, what are you doing my child? Father, I’m transferring the whole ocean to this hole.  St. Augustine smiled and said, my child you can not put the whole big body of water to that small hole.  But the child looked at him and said, but you father, why are you keep on searching for the answer to the mystery of the Trinity, and trying to put the vastness its mystery to your limited mind? St. Augustine stopped for a while and reflects on the words of the boy. When he looked back he saw no one, except the vagueness of the ocean before him.

       I think the child was right.  God is so mysterious because his essence and existence are infinitely unfathomable. Even how hard we try, our limited mind can not grasp His infinite nature. But for those who are still trying to seek for a fuller explanation. I will honestly say to them: “I simply don’t know.” If we will keep on using our minds and intellect, it would always a mystery, but if we will use our hearts, it will always be a reality.