Day 32: The Most Holy Trinity (232-237)

• We are starting a new paragraph called THE FATHER

• “IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT”

• We are looking at the CORE OF EVERYTHING we believe as Christians

• IT IS THE TRINITY!!

• God’s DEEPEST IDENTITY…

• His INNERMOST SECRET is that He is a COMMUNION OF PERSONS 

• He is an ETERNAL EXCHANGE OF LOVE

• FATHER SON AND HOLY SPIRIT!!

• That is the CENTRAL MYSTERY of the Christian Faith

• We will also talk about these two terms: THEOLOGY and ECONOMY

• The technical definition of THEOLOGY is “theos-” and “-logos” or “-logia” aka THE STUDY OF GOD

• Also we know what ECONOMY means right?

• It’s all about money!!

• NO!!!

• OIKONOMIA is a Greek word that means “the management of the house”

• OIKOS- means house

• -NOMIA means management of

• The ECONOMY of salvation is the way in which God has acted in the world

• Right?

• The way in which God has revealed Himself THROUGH HIS ACTIONS

• We will use those words THEOLOGY and ECONOMY in Paragraph 236 to highlight a couple of things

• Theology refers to the mystery of God’s INMOST LIFE

• THIS IS WHO HE IS!!

• Economy refers to all the works by which God reveals Himself and communicates His life

• IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT!!

• We are going to hear economy A LOT

• The economy of salvation

• Recognizing the works through which God has REVEALED HIMSELF

• Recognizing the words through which God has COMMUNICATED HIS LIFE TO US

• IT IS POWERFUL!!

• IT IS BEAUTIFUL!!

• IT IS REALLY INCREDIBLE!!

• BUT…

• It is a glossary term that sometimes gets us hung up

• Kind of like if you’ve ever recited the Nicene Creed

• CONSUBSTANTIAL

• What the heck?

• The old translation was “One in being with the Father”

• Yes, that is essentially what CONSUBSTANTIAL means

• BUT…

• We never stopped to ask, “What does ‘one in being’ mean?”

• When you hear the word CONSUBSTANTIAL hopefully you stop and ask what it means

• It means OF THE SAME SUBSTANCE

• It means ONE IN BEING

• We never ask the question unless we use the BIG WORDS

• So today we are going to use the big words THEOLOGIA and OIKONOMIA

• Today we are also going to talk again about the MYSTERY

• GOD IS A MYSTERY!!

• His identity and works are revealed to us in time and in locations (space)

• BUT…

• Ultimately God is an INFINITE MYSTERY that we can only HOPE to plumb the depths

• So let’s pray

• Because God is known MORE FULLY through prayer than He is through studying

• Although studying does help us to get to know Him and to pray to Him

• So here let's pray with each other to our Father. 

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “We pray, Father in heaven, you have revealed yourself to us. You have revealed yourself to us through your actions. You have revealed yourself to us through the way in which you have communicated your very life to us. And we ask that you please in this moment continue to reveal yourself to us, continue to pour out your divine life into our lives because, God, we're coming to this moment from all these different places, and we ask that you please just meet us where we are. And we know that you can because you are everywhere. You are goodness, you are truth, you are love. And you are here, you are right here. So be here with us now. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”

• So here we go!!

• Paragraph 232 says, “Christians are baptized ‘in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’”

• Paragraph 233 highlights that we do NOT say in the NAMES of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

• We say IN THE NAME of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

• Why??

• BECAUSE THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD!!

• Did you ever notice that?

• Every time you and I pray we make the Sign of the Cross

• IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER

• AND OF THE SON

• AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

• But NOT in the names…

• BECAUSE THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD

• Every time we make the Sign of the Cross…

• We are highlighting THE TRINITY

• The three DIVINE PERSONS

• Father

• Son

• Holy Spirit

• BUT…

• We are also highlighting when we say IN THE NAME OF…

• We are highlighting the UNITY of God

• We are highlighting that God is ONE DIVINE BEING in THREE DIVINE PERSONS

• IT IS INCREDIBLE!!

• Paragraph 232 says, “The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity.”

• If you are ever asked what the PRIMARY DOCTRINE/PRIMARY BELIEF is in the Christian Faith

• Some people would say that it is THE BELIEF THAT JESUS IS GOD

• You would not be wrong!

• BUT…

• The FULLEST EXPRESSION of that truth is that not only is Jesus God, the second Person of the Trinity

• There is the First Person, God the Father…

• The Second Person, Jesus the Son…

• The Third Person, The Holy Spirit…

• IN ONE DIVINE BEING

• THAT is the actual center of our Faith

• It is revealed to us that the Second Person of the Trinity took on Flesh and dwelt among us

• BUT…

• THE FAITH OF ALL CHRISTIANS RESTS ON THE TRINITY

• THAT IS SO IMPORTANT!!

• Why??

• For a thousand reasons!!

• This the CENTRAL belief

• EVERY OTHER BELIEF FLOWS FROM THIS!!

• Paragraph 234 says, “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself.”

• It is NOT the mystery of God DOING ANYTHING

• It is NOT the mystery of God ACCOMPLISHING ANYTHING

• It is NOT EVEN the mystery of creation, redemption, or sanctification

• Although those things happened by God

• It is God in Himself BEFORE CREATION 

• It is God in Himself OUTSIDE OF REDEMPTION

• It is God in Himself EVEN IF HE NEVER SANCTIFIED

• IT IS GOD IN HIMSELF!!

• That is the remarkable thing

• He REVEALS Himself to us through those actions

• THROUGH REDEMPTION

• THROUGH CREATION

• THROUGH SANCTIFICATION

• BUT…

• The WHO HE IS is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than WHAT HE DOES

• At the same time…

• WHAT HE DOES reveals to us WHO HE IS

• Paragraph 236 talks about THEOLOGIA and OIKONOMIA (Does anyone else here have a sudden yearning for some Gyros? Perhaps some baklava? No? Just me? Ok, carry on 😉)

• OIKONOMIA is God’s works by which He has revealed Himself and communicates Himself to us

• BUT…

• OIKONOMIA reveals His THEOLOGIA

• HIS VERY DEEPEST IDENTITY

• THE VERY WHO HE IS

• The Catechism gives us an analogy that fits so well

• Paragraph 236 says, “So it is, analogously, among human persons. A person discloses himself in his actions, and the better we know a person, the better we understand his actions.”

• That is exactly what is happening through God’s self-revelation and communication of His life to us

• He is SHARING HIS LIFE WITH US

• Those actions reveal to us His identity

• The more we know His identity…

• The more we pray…

• The more we go through The Catechism…

• The more we go through Sacred Scripture…

• The more we engage in the Sacraments…

• The more we understand HIS ACTIONS IN THE WORLD

• IT IS REMARKABLE!!

• THIS IS NOT A VICIOUS CYCLE!!

• THIS IS A VIRTUOUS CYCLE!!

• THIS IS A CYCLE OF INTIMACY!!

• The more we KNOW GOD…

• The more we UNDERSTAND HIS ACTIONS…

• The better we are able to KNOW HIM

• Paragraph 237 says, “To be sure, God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation and in his Revelation throughout the Old Testament.”

• The very first words in the very first chapter of the very first book of the entire Bible

• Genesis Ch 1

• In the beginning when God created, there was the SPIRIT HOVERING OVER THE WATERS and then GOD SPOKE

• So in that moment you have God the Father

• In that moment you have The Spirit of God

• In that moment you have the Word of God

• So it’s a trace of His TRINITARIAN BEING in the Old Testament and in Creation

• BUT…

• Paragraph 237 continues, “But his inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel’s faith before the Incarnation of God’s Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit.”

• THAT IS REMARKABLE!!

• Because of that, what do we do?

• We HAVE to give God THANKS AND PRAISE!

• He has revealed His DEEPEST IDENTITY to us which we talked about a couple of days ago

• It is something…

• Let’s pause on that…

• Jesus says something very similar 

• Luke 10:24, “For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

• Think of all the Jewish people that God brought into the Covenant and continued to promise to them what He was going to do someday

• They never saw it come to fulfillment

• And here is Jesus looking his disciples in the eye saying, “All those people…All those generations…”

• Those of us who have gone through Bible in a Year realize THAT IS A LONG TIME

• 2,000 years of God showing up

• But also promising, “Listen, I’m going to show up in a new way!”

• Those people TRUSTING in the Lord

• And also those people who FAILED TO TRUST in the Lord

• BUT…

• Here is Jesus

• Here are the Apostles

• Here are the Disciples

• They got to see the FRUIT of that promise

• They got to see the REALITY of that promise

• They got to see that promise FULFILLED

• And here we are

• Think about how many people around the world have ever lived

• And looked up at the sky and said, “God, what are you like?”

• “God, who are you?”

• “God, can I trust you?”

• “God, are you good?”

• “God, do you love me?”

• “God, do you care about me?”

• And here we are now knowing that at the very CORE of His identity GOD IS LOVE

• Not only is He love in Himself…

• FATHER SON AND HOLY SPIRIT

• BUT…

• He has also made YOU in His IMAGE AND LIKENESS

• YOU WERE MADE FOR LOVE!!

• HE LOVES YOU!!

• HE KNOWS YOUR NAME!!

• HE CARES ABOUT YOU!!

• THAT IS REMARKABLE!!

• Think of all the people who have NEVER realized that

• Think of all the people who have NEVER known that

• Now think about the fact that we can sometimes be so quick to take that for granted

• So I’m not going to take that for granted

• Let’s pray for each other that we NEVER TAKE IT FOR GRANTED

• Let’s pray for each other that we ALWAYS DRAW CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE LORD

• Because without God we are TOAST

• With God WE CAN DO ANYTHING

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!

• I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!

Scripture References & Reflections

- compiled by Andrew Adamany

Bible Translation - RSVCE

CCC 232 "Christians are baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" Before receiving the sacrament, they respond to a three-part question when asked to confess the Father, the Son and the Spirit: "I do." "The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity."

Matthew 28:18–20 

"And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

CCC 237 "The Trinity is a mystery of faith in the strict sense, one of the "mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless they are revealed by God". To be sure, God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation and in his Revelation throughout the Old Testament. But his inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel's faith before the Incarnation of God's Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit."

Matthew 3:16–17 

"And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Revelation 5:6–7 

"And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth; and he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne."