The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-02-13
THE BLESSED TRINITY.

the mysteries OF our FaItn. 1t is the
fundamental, the bedrock doctrine of
our religion, upon which every other
tenet OF our belief is constructed.
Did we not have some knowledge of
this first and greatest mystery, we
could not understand our redemption
by the Son of God, or our sanctifica-
tion by the Holy Ghost, who proceeds
from the Father and the Son.
And we never could satisfyingly
have known this great truth of re-
ligion, were it not for the fact that
God has clearly revealed it to us.
From creation, we can grasp some idea
OF Gods existence, as we'll as His in
finite power, wisdom and goodness.
But the very conception of one God
in three persons, one divine nature
and three distinct, divine Persons, is
above and outside the powers and linn
its OF the average finite and created
mind. 1t is known to us because God
has chosen to reveal it to us, and
without such Il revelation most of us
could never as much as suspect the
existence of q triune God.
But though this great truth may be-
and is, above human reason, it is in
no way contrary to it. We do not
believe that God is one and three.
We do not attempt to reconcile the
contradictory assertions that a being
can be unique and multiple at the
same time. For our belief in the
Blessed Trinity is this and only this:
That there is one God, one in nature,
in three divine Persons. SO we do
not assert unity and trinity of the
divine nature of God, but we predi-
cate unity of His nature and trinity
Of His personality.
1t is true that our minds are unable
to comprehend so great truth which
has no exact parallel in the order of
finite creation. Yet there are analo-
gies which may aid us to secure some
idea of it, however imperfect such an
idea must necessarily be. We may
take, as an example, a tree growing
in the orchard. The tree is one and
yet we know that it has a root, a
trunk, and the fruit which buds and
blossoms, and ripens on its branches.
The root is distinct from the trunk;
the trunk from the root; and the fruit
from both. Still the fruit comes from
both the root and the trunk, and
these three constitute what we call
the tree. Though the analogy is i'm
perfect and incomplete, it resembles,
in a limited way, the one divine ma
ture in three divine Persons. Again,
we may find an imperfect representa-
ton OF the Trinity in our own souls.
The human soul is one. 1t is a simple,
invisible substance. And yet we
know that it possesses in itself the
diverse powers and faculties we find
in lower creation. 1t is vegetative,
in that there is in it, the source of
mere material growth. 1t is sensitive,
in that it gives to animals the faculty
of irrationally sensing things. 1t is
intellectual in that it confers upon
man, the masterpiece Of creation,
those wonderful powers of thinking
and willing, which make him like to
his God and Creator. 1t is true that
these analogies fall short of perfectly
eXemplifying the unity of the divine
nature in the trinity Of divine Persons.
The order of the infinite is SO essen
TALLY superior TO the order of the fin
lite, that comparisons between the two
are not comparisons at all, in the
truest sense of the term, but merely
helps to our mind by which we grasp
some inadequate idea of infinite and
eternal truth.
1t is only by revelation that we can
arrive at n true knowledge of the in
comprehensive and ineffabIe mystery
of the Blessed Trinity. Our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ revealed it to
His apostles, when He gave them the
divine commission of carrying the Cos
pei to the confines of the world: 60
and teach all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost" In this
text we have a sharp and clear dis
tinction of three divine Persons and
q. one God. 1t is the belief in a truth
which, massisted, ordinary reason is
powerless not only to discover for it
self but even to recognize as possible
that forms the very basis of the
other tenets of the Catholic Religion.
And it is by Revelation alone that we
can give assent to it. Philosophy is
unable to prove it. In the words of st.
Hilary: The Church knows this mys-
terry. The Synagogue believed it not.
Philosophy understood it not"
If this mystery Of the Trinity is so
essentially fundamental, how impor-
tant it must be for us to believe, with
constant and unwavering faith, in
its truth How eagerly we should
take advantage of every opportunity,
which presents itself, of Strengthening
our belief in it. If the Law of Pray
ing is the Raw of Believing" the
Church has not failed to give us am
pie evidence of the Importance she at
taches to belief in the greatest of all
the doctrines of religion. Again and
again We find the mention of one
God in three divine Persons in her
liturgy. We read it in the Apostles
Creed. 1t must be recited in the adj
ministration of each and all of the
Sacraments. There is no truth of
Faith so frequently suggested to our
minds Every sign of the cross is a
profession of faith in the unity of. the
divine nature and the trinity Of di-
vine Persons.