How to explain the Holy Trinity simply (The Roman Liturgy – Trinity Sunday)
The dogma of the Holy Trinity is absolutely central to Christianity, but many do not know why we believe it, or that it is expressed in the Gospels themselves.
Why do we believe in the Holy Trinity?
“Blessed be the Holy Trinity and undivided Unity: we will give glory to Him, because He has shown His mercy to us.” (Introit for Trinity Sunday)
The dogma that there are three divine persons in the one God is absolutely central to the Christian revelation.
The Athanasian Creed, which deals primarily with the dogma of the Holy Trinity, says the following:
“Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all, keep the Catholic faith. For unless a person keeps this faith whole and entire he will undoubtedly be lost forever.”
We believe this dogma of the Holy Trinity because it has been supernaturally revealed by God, and because the Church has taught, proposed and defined it as such.
It is perfectly legitimate to leave the matter at that. It would be quite wrong to assume that one can withhold assent to dogma until one has satisfied oneself, through private reasoning and enquiry, that it is true. (I will address this point later on, in relation to mystery.)
However, once we have given the assent of divine faith, it is not wrong to look further into such dogmas, or to show that they are consonant with reason (whilst being above reason), or to consider to what degree they are taught directly by Holy Scripture,
With regards to the Holy Trinity for example, we can see that Our Lord revealed this truth at least at the end of the Gospel for Trinity Sunday:
Gospel: “And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” (Matt. 28.18-20)
We could also consider the Epistle of St John, which is read on Low Sunday:
“[T]here are three who give testimony in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
“And there are three that give testimony on earth: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three are one.” (1 John 5.6-8)
In this essay, let’s consider a simple explanation as to how the Gospels teach the dogma of the Holy Trinity. After this first half, we will consider what it means to assent with certainty to supernatural mysteries.
Like our simple summary of the Catholic Faith, the explanatory part is intended to be as simple as possible, with the hope that it may be useful in helping others towards making the act of faith necessary for salvation.
Reconciling points of data
One way of thinking about the dogma of the Trinity is that it is the reconciliation of the following, absolutely certain, points of data.
1 – The existence of one God
We know with certainty that there is only one God. We know this through natural reason, and through revelation. We also know through revelation that the natural proofs of God’s existence are certain too.
As The Penny Catechism and natural theology tells us: This God is the supreme spirit, who alone exists of himself, and is infinite in all perfections.
2 – Jesus of Nazareth is divine
First, let’s note that we are treating the Gospels as merely historical documents, rather than the inspired Word of God. Treated in this way, these documents are certainly as trustworthy and reliable as other documents which are the basis for historical events which we would never question. Archbishop Michael Sheehan writes:
“Heretics, e.g., Basilides (d. 130 A.D.), and pagans, e.g., Celsus (d. c. 200 A.D.), did not question the genuineness of the Gospels. Later testimony is abundant. Probably there is not one of the pagan classics whose genuineness can be supported by such convincing evidence.
“No one disputes that Caesar was the author of the Commentaries on the Gallic Wars, and yet the only ancient references to the work are found, about one hundred years after its composition, in the writings of Plutarch and Suetonius.”[1]
Elsewhere, he adds:
“No one would ever have thought of questioning the integrity of the Gospel texts, but for the fact that the)' contain a Divine law of belief and conduct, irksome to the irreligious.”[2]
What do these documents tell us? They tell us that the man whom we know as Jesus of Nazareth claimed to be God.
He claimed it through his preaching, and through the divine honours he allowed men to give him. Anyone who says that he did not claim this in the Gospels does not know what they are talking about.
However, he did not only claim to be God; these documents present him as proving this claim to be true.
First, his claim is proved to be true by the fulfilment of prophecies made centuries before his birth.
Second, he proved this claim through his miracles. Even those who reject him and his claim admit that such wonders occurred. For example, in the Talmud Our Lord is dismissed as a conjurer – but this shows he was recognised as a miracle-worker, even if these miracles are claimed to have been false ones.
The ultimate proof of Christ's divinity was his resurrection, which he predicted beforehand, and which is the final vindication of all his previous claims.
For various reasons, no other explanation of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is plausible, except this: he was what he said he was, and what we today believe him to be.
In other words, the conclusions which we draw are that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed God.
He is therefore also an absolutely reliable teacher of divine, supernatural and natural truths. In fact, as God, he is actually truth itself – as he himself said.
This is also where we might note that he established a society (the Church) to continue his mission to teach, rule and sanctify the members of his body. It is where we might consider the nature of such a society established by a God-Man, and which of the many claimants are in fact this society today. But this matter of ecclesiology is outside the scope of this short article.
3 – Jesus taught that there is more than one person in God
Jesus referred to himself as the Son of God, as well as referring to himself as God directly (i.e. by claiming the divine name for himself).
He speaks of himself and his Father being one, and having the same divine nature.
But at no time is there any suggestion of there being two gods. He speaks of there being one God, and only one.
From this, we can see that in God, there is more than just one divine person.
4 – Trinitarian theophanies in the New Testament
At Our Lord’s Baptism by St John, and at the Transfiguration, both the Father and the Holy Ghost are manifested together with him. This is a 'theophany', a revealing of God.
After the resurrection, our Lord explicitly tells the Apostles to baptise in the name of all three Divine Persons.
5 – The Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost is, throughout the Old and New Testaments, treated as divine.
And yet a part of the revelation of the New Testament is that this Holy Ghost is a distinct divine person from both the Father and the Son. There is never any implication that he is identified with the Father or with the Son, as if this were a mere title for or aspect of one of them.
Jesus talks of sending the Holy Ghost from the Father, and St Paul talks of him as the 'Spirit of Christ', and in other like ways.
In short, it is clear from the New Testament, and from reasoning on what the New Testament tells us, that the Holy Ghost is person distinct from both the Father and the Son.[3]
Drawing it all together
Let’s recap. From the above, we have several pieces of information, all of which are certain:
There is one God, as known with certainty by natural reason and from the revelation of the Old and New Testament.
Jesus of Nazareth is a divine messenger: he is divine in himself, and his teaching is supremely credible and trustworthy.
This supremely trustworthy divine teacher clearly teaches that he is a distinct person to God the Father.
In the New Testament theophanies, we are presented with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.
In the New Testament, the Holy Ghost is always treated as a divine person, distinct from the Father and the Son.
The dogma of the Holy Trinity is, in its simplest form, the acceptance of the above propositions, recognising that they cannot be false or contradictory because of it is God that has revealed them, and therefore each of them is absolutely certain.
The formulations in the creeds, catechisms and councils are so many ways of expressing the acceptance of these truths.
Drawing these points together, we can see that the New Testament, which is a trustworthy document and recounting the teaching of a supremely trustworthy divine teacher, teaches us that there are three Persons in this One God. Each Person is God, coequal and coeternal with the other Persons.
This marks the end of the explanatory part of this essay.
Supernatural Mystery
The dogma of the Holy Trinity – like other dogmas – is a mystery. As such it is not something that can be wholly understood, and we should not be anxious in the face of this.
Perhaps we might see it as a strange mystery – but even that does not need to stop us accepting it with Divine Faith, believing it because God has revealed it and because the Church proposes it to us for belief.
Aristotle writes of such situations: We are like owls, and our eyes are designed to see in the darkness of the material world. If we are in direct sunlight – which here, we are applying to truths above natural reason – we are dazzled and cannot see.
But this is a defect with us, not with the dogmas in question.
It would be very mistaken to try to understand this or other mysteries of the faith before believing them, as if we could only believe them if we understand them first. This is why Pope Pius XI taught in his encyclical Casti Conubii:
“[L]et the faithful also be on their guard against the overrated independence of private judgment and that false autonomy of human reason. For it is quite foreign to everyone bearing the name of a Christian to trust his own mental powers with such pride as to agree only with those things which he can examine from their inner nature […]”[4]
We do not accept what Christ teaches based on whether we agree with it, but because he is a divine messenger. We do not believe a dogma because we have weighed it with our own judgment and found it to be true.
The point at which our judgement is weighing matters is when we are assessing such claims and motives of credibility on the part of Christ and the Church, prior to the act of faith. The fulfilment of prophecies, the working of miracles and the nature of the Church herself are some such marks of God’s testimony to the truths which are taught.
But once we have assessed whether we should believe that Jesus of Nazareth is a divine messenger, we give the assent of faith, and accept what he teaches.
At this point, we are accepting, with certainty, God's authority in revealing – including his revelation of this great and central dogma of the Holy Trinity.
The certainty of faith
In this vein of God’s supremely trustworthy testimony, let’s return to the part of St John’s epistle immediately around the references to the Holy Trinity already quoted. St John teaches the following about this certainty of faith:
“If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater: for this is the testimony of God, which is greater, because He hath testified of His Son.” (1 John 5.4, 9-10)
Our natural reason simply cannot see for itself how or why a divinely revealed and supernatural mystery like the Holy Trinity is true – but we do not need this in order to give the assent of divine faith. Even when enlightened by divine faith, we do not “see” that it is true, but we are nonetheless certain that it is so.
This certainty is based in the fact that God, who can neither deceive nor be deceived, has revealed these truths, and has endowed the teaching of both Christ himself and his Church with certain marks and motives of credibility.
St Anslem said of such matters: We believe so that we might understand. We cannot understand before we believe. As the priest in Cardinal Newman’s novel Loss and Gain said:
“Certainty, in its highest sense, is the reward of those who, by an act of the will, and at the dictate of reason and prudence, embrace the truth, when nature, like a coward, shrinks.
“You must make a venture; faith is a venture before a man is a Catholic; it is a gift after it. You approach the Church in the way of reason, you enter into it in the light of the Spirit."[5]
The epistle of the Mass of Trinity Sunday gives us an example of St Paul’s joy in this certainty of faith in the Triune God:
Epistle: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible and His judgments and how unsearchable His ways!
“For Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Or who has first given to Him, that recompense should be made him?
“For from Him and through Him and unto Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” (Rom 11:33-36.)
Having seen all this, let’s join St Paul in this exclamation when we hear it sung on Trinity Sunday at Mass.
Conclusion
To conclude, we adore God – one yet three, and three yet one. We accept this truth in the darkness of our small minds and yet in the luminosity of divine faith. This acceptance itself is a grace, and over time we see more and more echoes of the truth of this dogma in our lives, in the natural world, and in other parts of divine revelation.
Let’s remember that our assent to this dogma is by no means dependent on explanations like that which I have attempted here. We believe this dogma of the Holy Trinity because it has been supernaturally revealed by God and because the Church has taught, proposed and defined it as such.
Finally, if we are ever confused by such things, we can reaffirm our faith by praying the Athanasian Creed as mentioned, or by making the Act of Faith:
Oh my God, I firmly believe that thou art one God in three divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
I believe that thy divine Son became man and died for our sins and that he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches because thou hast revealed them, who art eternal truth and wisdom, who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.
In this faith I intend to live and die. Amen.
Appendix – What is it we actually believe about the Holy Trinity?
To answer that question, we could turn to the authoritative acts of the magisterium, as well as the many dogmatic manuals and catechisms. However, given that this series is about the Roman Liturgy, let’s turn two key liturgical texts – the Preface of the Holy Trinity, which is sung on Sundays after Pentecost:
“It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who, together with Thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, art one God, one Lord: not in the oneness of a single Person, but in the Trinity of one substance.
“For what we believe by Thy revelation of Thy glory, the same do we believe of Thy Son, the same of the Holy Ghost, without difference or separation. So that in confessing the true and everlasting Godhead, distinction in persons, unity in essence, and equality in majesty may be adored.
“Which the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim do praise: who cease not daily to cry out, with one voice saying:
“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth! Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
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Further Reading:
The Roman Liturgy – an ongoing series of standalone pieces about the liturgy, hope, and the crisis in the Church
Septuagesima I: The Beginning of the Liturgical Year?
Septuagesima II: The Babylonian Captivity and the Crisis in the Church
Lent I: The Protection of God
Lent II: “What Think You of Christ?”
Lent III: Laetare Sunday and the Church
Passiontide I: The Silence of Passiontide
Passiontide II: The Composure and Agony of Passiontide
Holy Week: Maundy Thursday and the Stripping of the Church
Holy Week: Good Friday and Christ’s Royal Throne
Easter: Faith and Failing to Recognise the Church
Ember Days: The Privilege of the Ember Days
Trinity Sunday: Explaining the Holy Trinity simplyChrist the King: “Are you a King, then?” – Christendom and the Social Kingship of Christ
Advent I: The Advent Liturgy and the Apocalypse
Advent II: The Close Presence of Christ in Advent
Advent III: Advent and the Preparation for Victory
Christmas and Christ’s Triumph over Darkness
Epiphany as the Manifestation of Christ’s Kingship
Epiphanytide: Ordinary Time or our Entrance into Eternity?As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases through our Amazon links. See also The WM Review Reading List (with direct links for US and UK readers).
[1] Archbishop Michael Sheehan, Apologetics, p 78. M.H. Gill and Son, Ltd, Dublin. 1950.
[2] Sheehan 81
[3] The New Testament (particularly the Gospel of St John and certain epistles) makes clear that the Holy Ghost does not proceed just from the Father. On the contrary, he is presented as proceeding from the Father and the Son. The Son is begotten/generated eternally by the Father, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son as from a single principle.
If the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Father alone, it might be hard to see how he is different from the Son. The Son is uncaused but generated by the Father, and yet if so also was the Holy Ghost, then there would be no relationship between the Son and the Holy Ghost, nor would there be anything to distinguish them.
But it is not necessary to establish this point further in this piece.
[4] Pius XI, Casti Conubii n. 104 https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_19301231_casti-connubii.html
[5] John Henry Newman, Loss & Gain, pp 384.