Among the paradoxes of our Catholic faith, the one that is the foundational element is the belief in the Trinity, which is the flour to the bread of Catholicism, cannot be understood through human reason. The mysterious nature of the Trinity, however, hasn’t stopped the church from spending centuries examining and clarifying its doctrine.
The main elements of the Trinity are portrayed in no uncertain terms: God is one, but exists in three distinct persons. The persons in their divinity do not share one divinity but are each wholly and entirely God, existing in relationship with one another.
We undividedly refer to these three persons of the Trinity as “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” but we also know that God is without gender. Is it likely to think of the three persons in any other way?
Since it can’t be reduced through logic, the nature of the Trinity is only versatile through revelation by God, mainly through the life and words of Jesus. Jesus calls out to God as Father, when he told his followers that “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). During the Last Supper, Jesus also told the apostles that though he is leaving them that his Father would send the Holy Spirit to teach and guide them. Therefore, It is truly through Jesus that we have come to know the three persons of the Trinity as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The benefits of naming the persons of the Trinity is the same as the benefits of naming any other thing. Because, name encapsulates the meaning. Father entails a creator and transcendent authority with the loving and tender care of a parent. Son connotes “begotten,” or coming forth from, and Spirit suggests pervasiveness, something that has an origin but is uncontainable.
Every of these names tells us something about the nature of each person of the Trinity while highlighting their intimate relationships.
Imagine putting aside Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and replace it with Mother, Child, and Breath of God or Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Anyways, no matter the particular names you choose, the main message of the Trinity remains unchanging. Because, God is God, and he is relational in nature, he manifested in three distinct ways, and he is an example of perfect communion.
