On the first Sunday after Pentecost, the Church celebrates in her liturgies the “central mystery of Christian faith and life,” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 234) that is, the Most Holy Trinity. What an incredible mystery--three distinct persons in one God. We often try to use analogies such as St. Patrick’s shamrock to wrap our minds around this great mystery, but the truth is, no matter how hard we try, our simple human minds will never fully grasp this fundamental doctrine of faith.

The Catechism tells us, “[God’s] inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone” (237). In other words, it takes faith. Even though we are unable to fully comprehend this mystery, we trust that what God has revealed to us is true, and we choose to accept this truth. That is what makes us Christians.

But we should also put some effort into trying to understand this mystery. The Catechism helps us with that too when it says, “God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (221). In other words, the Trinity is a loving, intimate relationship between the Father and the Son, and the Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit. The Catechism continues, “and he has destined us to share in that excellent exchange.” So not only is the Trinity a relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but we human beings are also invited into that Trinitarian relationship. This requires us to have a relationship not only with God as a whole, but with each person of the Trinity.

Prior to my first profession of religious vows, my novitiate directress encouraged me to spend some time meditating on what my personal relationship is to each person of the Trinity. Who am I to God the Father? Who am I to God the Son? Who am I to God the Holy Spirit? The key to holiness is self-knowledge, and I realized that it is only when we know and accept who we are in relation to the Trinity-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit-that we will be able to become the saints that God has created us to be.

So what about you? What is your relationship with the Trinity? Who are you to the Father? Who are you to the Son? Who are you to the Holy Spirit?

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By Sr. Petra, OP

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Image Attribution:
Leandro Bassano, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons