Some Thoughts on the Trinity

 

Trinity Sunday

 

My favorite metaphor for the Trinity was developed by the theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, “Every act of speech consists of a speaker, a word, and the breath that animates the voice and enables the word to be spoken…. Within the Trinity the Father is the speaker, the Son is the word, and the Holy Spirit is the breath.”  [Hans Urs von Balthasar’s description of the Trinity in Longing to See Your Face by Thomas Scirghi, p.37]

I think von Balthasar’s metaphor is clear and rich for reflection, so deep and so simple.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “The mystery of the Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of the Christian life.” [CCC, #261]

Tertullian, one of the theologians of the early church, explained the Trinity this way, God the Father is "a deep root, the Son as the shoot that breaks forth into the world, and the Spirit as that which spreads beauty and fragrance.”

There is an ancient story about St. Augustine, it goes something like this, one day he took a break from writing about the Trinity to walk along the seashore. There he came across a child with a little pail, intently scooping up a pail full of water out of the ocean, then walking up the beach and dumping it out into the sand, then going back down to scoop out another pail of water to pour into the sand.  Augustine asked the child what he was doing, and the child explained that he was "emptying the sea out into the sand."   

The Bishop gently tried to point out the impossibility of this task, the child replied, "Ah, but I'll drain the sea before you understand the Trinity.  If you want to spend some time reflecting on the Trinity von Balthasar’s analogy [above] and St. Augustine’s “Memory, Understanding, and Will” analogy [below] will provide you with rich material.  We must start with the understanding that all Trinitarian analogies fall short.  St. Augustine’s analogy uses the mind's ability to remember, to understand, and to will.  Caitlin Sica has an excellent article on Augustine’s analogy here: https://mcgrathblog.nd.edu/st.-augustines-analogy-for-understanding-the-trinity

When you remember a story, you had to have understood the words that were being said and you need to will yourself to recall that story.  When you seek to understand a concept, you have to remember what the concept is and will yourself to understand it.  When you will or desire something, you must understand what you are willing, and you must remember what you are willing.  Thus, while a certain act like remembering might be more visible or tangible, it necessarily depends on understanding and will.

As these acts can never be fully separated, so too with God: “The divine Persons are also inseparable in what they do. But within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, especially in the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC, #267)  

 

One of my favorite stories about the Blessed Trinity comes from my ancestral land, Ireland.  I don’t know if it is a true story or not, but it worth sharing.  At the Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation the Bishop [as they traditionally do] was asking the candidates for Confirmation some questions about the faith.  The bishop asked about the Trinity, a young man offered this response “one in three and three in one”, the Bishop responded, “I don’t understand”, the young man said, “You’re not supposed to, it is a mystery.”

 

Although the Trinity is a mystery, we can reflect on it and develop a deeper understanding of it, realizing that we will not fully understand it here on earth. The Bishop of Perth in Ireland preached in 2017 on Trinity Sunday, one the insights he shared was this,  “At the very heart of the mystery of the Trinity, of course, is the realization that God is not isolated and alone but is, in fact, in some mysterious way, a communion of life and love. We have been taught by the Scriptures to speak of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and these names all point to the idea of relationships.”

 

The Trinity calls each one of us to a relationship with God, the God who loves us totally.  Spending time reflecting on that is a “good waste of time.”

 

St. Joseph pray for us.                                                                                                                          

St. Andre Bessette intercede for us.                                                                                          

May God Be Praised!