Foundations of Faith 4a - THE HOLY TRINITY (PART 1)
Notes summarised from
- The Study: "Foundations of Faith : A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church" (Workbook pages 35-37)
- Notes from "Overview of Catholic Theology", Rev Fr Michael Chan
THE ESSENCE OF GOD IS LOVE
If God were one person
all alone
whom would he have loved
before he created the world?
Jesus reveals to us
that God is a community
of Three Eternal Persons
who never cease to give themselves
to one another in love
The Father lovingly generates the Son
without beginning or end
And through the Son
the Father breathes the Holy Spirit
as a sigh of love
The foundation of all reality
is the dynamic love
of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity
is the central mystery
of Christian faith and life
The mystery of the Holy Trinity
is therefore
the source of all the other mysteries of faith
the light that enlightens them.
CCC 234
THREE DISTINCT PERSONS, ONE DIVINE NATURE
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit
are three distinct persons
who possess one and the same divine nature.
The divine persons do not share
the one divinity among themselves
but each of them is God
whole and entire
CCC 253
The Son proceeds from the Father
The Father generates the Son
by way of self-knowledge
resulting in the Word of God
THE PROCESSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son
as their fruit of mutual love
When a person loves, we sometimes speak of his breathing forth
or "sighs" or "breaths of love"
or "sighs" or "breaths of love"
In the case of the Trinity
this "breath" is the divine person of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is "spirated" or "breathed forth"
by the Father and the Son
as a result of their mutual love
- END -
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