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The Adoration of the Trinity by Albrecht Dürer (1511): from top to bottom: Holy Spirit (dove), God the Father and the crucified Christ
Credit : Albrecht Dürer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity is celebrated on the Sunday following Pentecost Sunday.

Introduction

The mystery of the most Holy Trinity is a basic doctrine of Faith in Christianity, understandable not with our heads but with our hearts. It teaches us that there are three distinct Persons in one God, sharing the same Divine Nature. Our mind cannot grasp this doctrine which teaches that 1+1+1 = 1 and not 3. But we believe in this Mystery because Jesus, who is God taught it clearly, the Evangelists recorded it, the Fathers of the Church tried to explain it and the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople defined it as a dogma of Christian Faith.

Understanding the Mystery

We call it a mystery because it cannot be understood by reason alone. God reveals himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God has made it known to us.

GOD

The belief in one God comes to us through our Jewish ancestry. One of the primary prayers in the Jewish faith is taken from the Book of Deuteronomy:

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength.” Deuteronomy 6: 4-5

God revealed himself to the Chosen People as the one and only God.

JESUS CHRIST

Our Christian belief that there are three Divine Persons in one God came later, as it was revealed by the life and words of Jesus Christ. The Apostles came to understand that Christ was God.

“No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.” John 1: 18

HOLY SPIRIT

The Apostles later came to know and understand that the Holy Spirit was also God. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says,

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.“ John 16: 26

Before the Passion, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit as teacher, guide, and consoler. The appearance at Pentecost and at other events in the New Testament gives ample evidence of the Holy Spirit as the third Person of the Trinity.

History

Holy Trinity Sunday was not uniquely celebrated in the early church, but as with many things the advent of new, sometimes heretical, thinking often gives the Church a moment in which to explain and celebrate its own traditions; things it already believes and holds dear. In the early 4th century when the Arian heresy was spreading, the early church, recognizing the inherent Christological and Trinitarian implications, prepared an Office of Prayer with canticles, responses, a preface, and hymns, to be recited on Sundays to proclaim the Holy Trinity. Pope John XXII (14th century) instituted the celebration as a feast for the entire Church; the celebration became a solemnity after the liturgical reforms of Vatican II.

- Article by CT Staff