Some doctrines perplex us more than others.
The Most Holy Trinity
The Virginal Birth (Mary remained a virgin before,
during, and after the conception and birth of her
Son, Jesus)
Creation ex nihilo (the creation by God of something
out of nothing)
We assent to these dogmas, (a formally revealed
truth) although they remain mysteries, that is to say, they
exceed the capacity of reason, while not conflicting with
it. No logical contradiction can be adduced to discredit
them; they simply lie beyond the province of our natural
experience, and the limitations inherent in reason (and
reason has limitations: we need only ponder the
concepts of infinity, infinite divisibility, and eternity to
name a few).
Among these dogmas, or revealed truths, however,
none quite so perplexes us as the notion of the Most
Holy Trinity. That in and of itself it remains a profound
mystery is profoundly true. However, because it pertains
to the most central aspect of our faith as Catholics and
Christians, inasmuch as it pertains to the Person and
nature of God, we attempt to apprehend it in some
measure, for only in knowing something, in knowing of its
nature, can we begin to love it. We do not love what we
do not know and our knowing defectively or insufficiently
results in our loving defectively or deficiently.
We wish to know God. We wish to know Him well. In
fact, we are convinced --- and rightly so --- that the more
we know about God, the more we will find to love in Him,
and the more we love, the greater our own felicity ...
especially when that love is requited.
Too often, in the minds of Christians, God is reduced
to the Father: conceived as an elderly, avuncular figure
with a great white beard Who is rather stern and quite
distant; one Who is really very little involved in the trivial
affairs of men, and so sent His Son instead, and the Son,
of course, is less than the Father. What is more, the Son
is more compassionate than this remote and rather
irascible figure that more resembles Aristotle's Unmoved
Mover, than a Father. We like Jesus --- although we fear
His Father. In fact, for so many, Christian’s and pagan’s
alike, Jesus was merely a man, perhaps a wise man,
maybe even a prophet of sorts --- but not more. Well ...
maybe ... but we are not quite sure how. The Holy Spirit
? This faceless Spirit, whatever its nature, clearly cannot
be that of a person, although He nevertheless figures
largely in this mysterious narrative. Quite a conundrum.
St. Augustine literally wrote volumes on the subject (De
Trinitate), as did St. Thomas Aquinas and many, many,
other great and learned Saints. Even the most modest
compendium using the utmost concision will, very likely,
avail you little in the way of understanding the most
fundamental features of this doctrine, this profound
mystery --- and in failing to yield understanding in
whatever measure, consequently failing to motivate love
for that which is not understood.
Perhaps, then, as it is said, "a picture (in this case a
diagram) is worth a thousand words". So, for the sake
of all for the children, and the rest of us as well, we
present a picture --- in the absence of words.
Our motivation is simple: if you do not know God, how
can you love Him?