We teach our toddlers the sign of the Cross, “In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit… Amen!” It is taught at all levels of institutional Catholic education. In a word, the Trinity is basic to the Catholic tradition, but have we ever pondered on what exactly is the Holy Trinity?
The Trinity refers to the idea that God is one but exists in three different Persons. The word ‘Trinity’ comes from the word ‘tri’ meaning ‘three’ and ‘unity’ meaning ‘one’. Christians believe that there are three distinct Persons to this one God and that these three Persons form a unity. This belief is called the Doctrine of the Trinity:
God the Father – the Creator and Sustainer of all things.
God the Son – the incarnation of God as a human being, Jesus Christ, on Earth.
God the Holy Spirit – the power of God, which is active in the world, drawing people towards God.
God the Father
Christians refer to God as the Father and the creator of all things. God is also viewed as a loving Father. This means that He cares and loves humanity just as a father loves his son. In the parable of the prodigal son, despite the son having squandered his early inheritance, the father still welcomes him home with open arms and a celebration. In the same way, God welcomes back those who have sinned and now seek to be reconciled with Him.
God the Son
God the Son refers to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. For Christians, this is Jesus as God in human form, who was sent for the salvation of humanity. For He so loved us that He sacrificed His life for the sins of humankind, so that through salvation we can be reunited with God after death. Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God on Earth.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the power of God at work on the Earth. In the scriptures it is often depicted as wind, fire or in the form of a dove. It is through the power and workings of the Holy Spirit that God is known today, and how Christians can know what God wants them to do.
At the heart of the universe, there exists an eternal divine community of perfect love. The Bible calls this community the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There’s a certain logic to trinitarian belief. The Bible says that God is love, but the only way God can be love is for God to be a community of divine persons.
Having recognized this mystery in the Bible, the early Church began to sort out some possible misunderstandings—what the Trinity is not. Like the Holy Trinity is not a chain of command; it’s not an amorphous energy field of love.
Each Person of the Trinity is distinct, three persons, and yet is perfectly united in being, love, and purpose. It is a true community of perfect love. It’s not just that God is trinitarian—our salvation is trinitarian too.
In the Gospel of John, before His death Jesus prays to His Father, “I have given them the glory that You gave me, that they may be one as We are one—I in them and You in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them, even as You have loved Me” (John 17:22-23).
Creta Dias