Sunday, May 30, 2010

The Mystery of the Trinity


"O incomprehensible God, Your greatness is eternal, and Your goodness ineffable. I see the three divine Persons flowing one into another in an indescribable, inscrutable way, and I rejoice in this sight. The Father flows into the Son, the Son into the Father, and the Father and the Son flow into the Holy Spirit. Eternal God, You are unspeakably good, You who, out of goodness, communicate to a creature, aware of its nothingness, some knowledge of Your eternal Being; but although this communication is wonderful, it might be called in all truth a mere nothing, in comparison with what You really are. " (St Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi)

The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the mystery of God's intimate life, and as creatures we had no right to know it. However, God in His goodness, has willed to raise us to the dignity of sons, of friends, therefore, He made it known to us, not by the Prophets, but by His only begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is one with Him. The Son of God said: "I will not now call you servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth. But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of My Father, I have made known to you" (John 15:15). The "all things" is precisely the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity which Jesus, the Son of God, has seen and heard in the bosom of the Father. The Evangelist says: "No man hath ever seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John 1:18). Jesus came to reveal to us the mystery of the intimate life of God; He spoke of Himself as the Son of God, equal to the Father in all things: "He that sees me, seeth the Father also," because "I am in the Father and the Father [is] in Me" (John 14: 9,11). He spoke to us of the Holy Spirit, without Whom we cannot attain eternal life: "Unless a man be born again of the water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God" (John 3:5), and He promised us that He Himself, with the Father, would send us the Spirit who proceeds both from Him, the Word, and from the Father: "It is expedient to you that I go, For...if I go, I will send  Him to you" (John 16:7); "I will ask the Father and He shall give you another Paraclete....the Spirit of truth" (John 14:16). By repeating these words, Jesus teaches us that it is good for us to fix our gaze on the sublime mystery of the Blessed Trinity: to admire, to praise, and to return love to this One Triune God, who loves us so much that he wishes to bring us into the secrecy of His own intimate life.

Let us pray with St Catherine of Siena: "O Eternal Trinity! Who can reach You to thank You for the incomprehensible gifts and unlimited favours You have showered upon me, as well as for the doctrine of the truth You have taught me? Answer me, O Lord!...Enlighten me with Your grace, so that by this very light, I may thank You."