4 June 2012: Formation of the Trinitarian Dogma

From the beginning, the revealed truth of the Holy Trinity has been at the very root of the Church’s living faith, principally through Baptism. It finds expression in the rule of baptismal faith, formulated in the preaching, catechesis and prayer of the Church. Such formulations are already found in the apostolic writings such as this salutation taken up in the Eucharistic liturgy: ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.’ During the first centuries the Church sought to clarify its Trinitarian faith, to deepen its own understanding and to defend it against errors that were deforming it. This clarification was done by the early councils, aided by the theological work of the Church Fathers and sustained by the Christian people’s sense of the faith. The Church uses (1) the term ‘substance’ (rendered also at times by ‘essence’ or ‘nature’) to designate the divine being in its unity; (2) the term ‘person’ or ‘hypostasis’ to designate the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the real distinction among them; and (3) the term ‘relation’ to designate the fact that their distinction lies in the relationship of each to the others. Ref: “Catechism of the Catholic Church”, Nos. 249, 250, 252 Believing in God Is the First Truth “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.” This is ‘the first truth of the faith’, the first article of our Creed. Creatures give testimony of God the Creator. The more man lets himself be carried away by the eloquence of creatures, their richness and beauty, the more need to adore the Creator grows in him and ought to grow in him. On our knees before the Lord, let us prostrate ourselves and adore. These are not extravagant words. They confirm the perennial ways of the fundamental logic of the Faith and of the thought about the cosmos as well; about the macrocosmos and microcosmos. The Faith confirms itself in a particular way as ‘reasonable worship’. I ask you to think about this disproportion which really exists in gigantic areas of contemporary civilization. The better man knows the cosmos, the less he seems to feel obliged to ‘bend the knee’ and ‘prostrate himself’ before the Creator. Need we ask why? Do people think that knowledge of the world and enjoyment of effects deriving from it make man master of creation? But should men not think, rather, that what man knows, the astonishing richnesses of the microscosmos and dimensions of the macrocosmos, he finds, as it were, ‘ready-made’; and that what he produces on that basis he owes to the wealth of raw materials in the created world? Could contemporary man not think there may be a fundamental ‘injustice’ toward the Creator in the entire direction of development of his civilization and mentality? “Come let us go down on bended knees before Him who has created this.” Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, 1984, pp112-3 Our faith rests on the Trinity Christians are baptized in the ‘name’ of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: not in their ‘names’, for there is only one God, the almighty Father, his only Son and the Holy Spirit: the Most Holy Trinity. The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is central to the Christian faith and life; the mystery of God in himself. Thus, the source of all other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. The most fundamental teaching in the ‘hierarchy of the truths of faith’. The whole mystery of salvation is identical with the history of the way and means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men ‘and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin’. The Trinity is a mystery of faith in the strict sense, one of the ‘mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless they are revealed by God’. Ref: “Catechism of the Catholic Church”, Nos. 233, 234, 237 Going (and returning) to the Trinity through Mary St Alphonsus of Liguori says that the main role Christ entrusted to Mary is the dispensing of mercy, in which service Mary employs all her prerogatives. St Josemaria Escrivá adds: “When I was young I wrote (with the conviction that coalesced around my daily visits to ‘Our Lady of the Pillar’): ‘To Jesus one goes and to him we return through Mary.’ (“Libro de Aragon”) If our welcome to divine intimacy is possible because of the Son, it is only right that in reaching the Son we return to his Mother, Mary. Neither are we surprised that Christians, who go with Mary to Jesus, also ‘return’ to him, if unfortunately they had wandered away.” (“Libro de Aragon”) In this maternal task, Mary’s mission is not to mitigate divine justice. Isn’t God always good and merciful? Our Mother’s mission, rather, is to ready our hearts to receive the graces her Son has in store for us. That is why it is always helpful to return to her when we prepare ourselves to receive the sacrament of penance. The Virgin always provides the shortest and most secure path to God; a most pleasant path that does not demand special conditions. She welcomes us in any shape, even if we can barely take a step. That is when she proves to be closest to us, ‘awakening in Christians a supernatural desire to act “as members of the household of God” (Eph 2:19)’. She bestows on us the gift of being ushered into the divine family. “Turn to our Lady -- daughter, Mother, and Spouse of God and our mother as well -- and ask her to obtain more graces for you from the blessed Trinity: graces of faith, hope, love, and contrition. ... (cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Forge”, 227) Ref: F Fernandez-Carvajal, ‘et al’, “Children of God”, 1997, pp60-62 • Our Lady of the Hill, at Fribourg, where many miracles are wrought. — Triple Couronne, n. 85. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of the Hill, Lombardy, Italy (4th Century). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady of the Hill. Fribourg, Switzerland; Lombardy, Italy. 4th Century. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of the Hill. At Fribourg, Switzerland 4th century. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of the Holy Letter. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady, Queen of Apostles. Moveable feast -- Saturday after Ascension Thursday. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.starharbor.com/santiago/m feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Queen of the Apostles (“Regina Apostolorum”). Moveable feast -- Saturday within the Octave of Ascension Thursday [19 May 2012]. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (www.starharbor.com/santiago/m feasts.html) • Queen of the Apostles. Harrison Blvd, Pasay City MM PHL. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)