5. Trinity

5. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit The One God has Revealed Himself as a Trinity of Persons Compendium 44-49 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:13-17 1. The Trinity is the most sublime and central mystery. It sheds light on every aspect of our faith and our lives. Revealed to us by Jesus Christ, the concept of the Trinity expands and elevates the power of reason.To grow in understanding of God we must pray and meditate on this profoundly important mystery. 2. Jesus taught us about the Father when he referred to the Father’s beneficent creation of the birds in the air and the lilies of the field. He demonstrated his perfect love for the Father in his complete and unwavering obedience even unto death on the cross. 3. From the Scriptures we learn that Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and that the Holy Spirit hovered over him at his baptism and the Transfiguration. The Holy Spirit empowered the Apostles to forgive sins and descended on Mary and the Apostles at Pentecost. 4. The Father eternally generates the Son and the bond of love between them is the Holy Spirit. 5. The three persons of the Trinity possess completely and co-equally the divine nature. They are three identifiable Persons, each fully God in a manner that is distinct yet related to the others. We must pray to each of them as three persons in one God. 6. God is love and love is always triune. There must be a lover, a beloved, and there must be mutual love among them. God is One and God is one perfect family in love. The human family is an image of the Trinity. God invites us to become part of his family and for this reason he sent his only begotten son to become one with us so that through his son we could also be adopted into his perfect family. This is the Last Will and Testament of Jesus: “Father, that all may be one, as you and I are one.” Jesus not only wants us to love one another and live in perfect harmony and peace forever, he gives himself to each of us totally and makes us heirs to his very same intimacy with the Father and the Holy Spirit for all eternity. God has only one heart and one soul and desires that we freely conform our hearts and minds and souls to his so that all will be one in him.