Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance.
For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.
Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.
The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three eternals, but one Eternal.
As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one Uncreated, and one Incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Spirit Almighty. And yet they are not three almighties, but one Almighty.
So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not three gods, but one God.
So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord. And yet not three lords, but one Lord.
For as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge each Person by Himself to be both God and Lord, so we are also forbidden by the catholic religion to say that there are three gods or three lords.
The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Spirit is of the Father, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
So there is one Father, not three fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.
And in the Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another, but all three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.
He therefore that will be saved is must think thus of the Trinity.
Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man; God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of the substance of his mother, born in the world; perfect God and perfect man, of a rational soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father, as touching His godhead; and inferior to the Father, as touching His manhood; who, although He is God and man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; one, not by conversion of the godhead into flesh but by taking of the manhood into God; one altogether; not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ; who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, He sits at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence He will come to judge the quick and the dead. At His coming all men will rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.
This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.
The Blessed Trinity
The doctrine of the Trinity is the fundamental teaching of Christianity. It is one of the three main mysteries of the Faith; namely the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Redemption of man. The Trinity is one of the most beautiful yet puzzling of all the mysteries, and to understand it is impossible. We are not even capable of understanding a mystery fully, for to do that we would have to comprehend the Infinite with our finite intellects. This is why we need the virtue of faith – to ascent to a truth on God’s authority. Since God cannot deceive nor be deceived, and is goodness itself, it is thus reasonable to believe His revelations to us, which are found in Scripture and Tradition.
To emphasise the fact that it is impossible to understand God, an anecdote from the life of St. Augustine is thus given:
One day St. Augustine was walking along the sea-shore, contemplating the Trinity and trying to work out why God exists as a Trinity. While he was walking along, he noticed a little boy who had dug a small hole in the sand. He then repeatedly took some water from the ocean and placed it in the hole he had dug. As he was doing this, St. Augustine asked him, “what are you doing, son?” to which the young boy answered, “I am trying to fit the ocean into the little hole I dug.” On hearing what seemed to him as impossible, the saint said to him, “that is impossible! You will never fit the ocean into that hole.” To which the boy replied, “It is easier for me to fit the ocean into this hole, than for you to fit the Infinite God into your mind.” The boy, being an angel in disguise, then disappeared. At once St. Augustine understood the message from God, and praised God for His Infinite Wisdom.
We should therefore learn the lesson St. Augustine did. Faith in the Trinity is just that, FAITH. The only thing which could hinder our faith is if the concept of the Trinity was illogical. In our apologetics section, we will defend the doctrine of the Trinity. Here we will discuss what the Church teaches.
The Catholic Church has always, from the outset, taught that there is only one God, the creator of Heaven and Earth, the Supreme ruler of the Universe. However, in the Trinity, we have three persons. There is only one Divine Nature, yet three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – share in this nature. This is by far the most difficult of the doctrines of the Church to believe, with the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist the other major stumbling block. The evidence in Sacred Scripture is obvious. Jesus Christ preached much about His relationship with the Father, and we have many theophonies – manifestations of God – in the New Testament, starting with the Baptism of Our Lord, where the Holy Spirit descends onto Our Lord like a dove, with the Father saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:17). Other instances are at the Transfiguration, where the Father again says “this is my Son, listen to Him!” (Luke 9:35). In the Old Testament the main indicator of the Triune existence of God is at the Fall of Man. When Adam had eaten of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, “Then the LORD God said, ‘behold, man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.’” (Gen. 3:22). Also, Jesus at the end of the Gospel of St. Matthew, orders His disciples “baptising them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 28:19).
The Father is God, yet He is neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit. Likewise, the Son is neither the Father nor the Spirit, yet is equally God. The Holy Spirit is also distinct from the Father and the Son, yet is not separate. Thus the Persons of the Trinity are distinct from one another, yet they are not separate, they are one God. The theory of how this must be is rendered thus:
The Father is Infinite, and when he ‘looks’ at Himself and knows Himself, this image in His Intellect is also infinite (unlike our knowledge of ourselves, which is a finite idea). Thus, this image, a mental word, is infinite and Divine in nature. He is called the Son, the Word of God (the mental word of God). The same Word which St. John speaks of in the Introduction to his Gospel (John 1). This is called generation, thus the Father generates the Son Now the Father sees the Son, and loves Him infinitely, and this love is reciprocated from the Son to the Father, thus a third person is spirated. Thus the Holy Spirit is called the ‘Love of God’. Thus we have three Persons, the Son generated from the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Love of God.
A more comprehensive look at the relationships in God can be found in St. Athanasius’ Creed, known as the Athansian Creed. The beautiful depth of God is explored by the great Doctor of the Church (296-373 AD) who defended the Divinity of Christ at the Council of Nicaea in 325 against the Arian heretics.
The fact that God is one, with only one Divine Nature, yet three Persons, is the mystery of mysteries. To understand it would be to “fit the ocean into a little hole”. However, it is reasonable for us to believe this doctrine on account of God’s authority, His infinite goodness and holiness, and His desire to have us reach Heaven and share Eternal Happiness with Him there. Only there will he reveal to us His nature. We shall see Him as He is in His glory. We will know how it is possible to share the Divine Nature in three Persons and why He actually cannot exist otherwise. It will be a sight to behold, all eternity not being sufficient to appreciate the beauty of the Divine Nature.
Catholic Resources
