The Catholic bulletin., 1922-07-08
al BELIEVE IN GOD THE "A
THER"

My Dear Brethren: In our previ-
GUS instructions on the Apostles
Greed, we have considered as briefly
as possible the necessity and obllga-
ton of faith in a Supreme Being,
whom we call God, and also the es-
sence and divine attributes. of this
Supreme Being. Today we are called
upon to consider the words, Il be-
lieve in God the Father" not only of
God the Father but chiefly under the
title, 1.-The blessed or adorable Trim
ity," which is the greatest mystery
of our holy religion-nay, a summary
of all the mysteries of our faith, since
all Of our faith relates to one OF
other of the three divine persons, the
Father, the Son, or the Holy Ghost.
The Great Mystery.
In treating this subject we should
be ever mindful of the words of the
great Apostle, st. Paul, in his
eleventh chapter, 1886, addressed to
the Romans: 20 the depth of the
riches of the wisdom and of the
knowledge of God" How incompre
hensible are His judgments, and how
unsearchable are, His ways, for who
has known the mind of the Lord OF
who has been His counsellor?
We must be ever mindful of these
words of the great apostle, when con
templating this great mystery, anC
realize that we cannot fully under
stand how there can be, or are, three
divine persons in one and the same
God, yet we are obliged to believe
this truth on Gods own authority
and the authority of Gods owI
Church, which He established here OF
earth to be the custodian and the
teacher of the truth He had revealed
Hence we must examine into what
God Himself has taught us in regard
to this great mystery, which, we
could not discover, much less under
stand, of ourselves. In the very words
OF Genesis, chapter l, and 26th verse
God intimates a plurality of person:
when He said, Let us make mai
unto our own image and likeness,
and after Adam was made, the Lore
said, "Lo! Adam has become as on,
of u.s." indicating the plurality of per
sons in God.
Authority for Belief.
In the book of Psalms we beholt
David proclaiming aloud, 'The Lore
said to my Lord, sit thou at my righ
hand" which words, according to th'
explanation of Christ Himself and st
Paul, refer to the two persons of the
Holy Trinity. These passages ma!
be considered rather vague, obscure
and indefinite, compared with the eX
quisite manner in which We find i
revealed in the new dispensation, ant
communicated unto mankind by Chris
Jesus Himself.
st. John clearly set forth the plural
ity of persons in God in the fiftl
chapter of his first epistle, wherein
he says, There are three that Civ
testimony in heaven, the Father, tn
Word, and Holy Ghost" and thes
three are one. These words clearl
denote the trinity of persons and tn
unity of a divine nature.
At the baptism of Jesus Christ
this doctrine was manifested. TIL
Father was heard to say, "This
my beloved Son in whom l am we
pleased" and the Holy Ghost descend
ed in the form of dove upon Chris
whom the Lord had proclaimed Hi
beloved Son.
We also read of similar occu
renee on the occasion of Christ
traEsfiguration as narrated in Ma
thew, II, 5: "And as He was ye
speaking, behold a bright cloud owe
ishadowed them, and, 10! a voice OF
sof the clouds saying, this is my b.
loved Son in whom | am well pleased
hear Ye Him." The three divine pc
sons are explicitly mentioned b
Christ Himself in the gospel of S
John, 20, 17S CAS- the Father hat
sent Me l also send you." When II
said this He breathed upon them, an
He said to them, Receive We the Hol
Ghost" Elsewhere, st. John, IA: