In the previous column, I reflected on the Nicene Creed, as we celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of its formulation this year.
Two of the principal doctrines professed in the Creed are the Most Blessed Trinity and the identity/nature of Jesus Christ, two beliefs which are absolutely unique to Christianity.
Why are these teachings so important? What are the implications of these truths for us as Catholic disciples of the Lord?
The unity of God
God is One. This simple fact points to the sovereignty of God, His power, and His mercy.
As the source of being and the Creator of all that exists, God is the ultimate reality to whom we owe gratitude, service, and worship.
The unity of God also points to the unity and cohesion of the world. In the beauty and order of creation, including the wonder and complexity of our humanity, we see the harmony and pattern of God’s mind and will.
God is not only supremely intelligent but also good, and we see both qualities in all that surrounds us.
Jesus Christ revealed to the world that, within God’s sublime unity, dwells a plurality of Three Divine Persons.
Jesus spoke of God as His Father, Himself as the Son, and the Holy Spirit as the Consoler sent forth upon the Church and the world.
The Most Blessed Trinity is the perfect model of plurality within unity.
The individuality of the Three Persons does not diminish the unity of God, nor does His Oneness impede the particularity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In His very inner life, God is a communion of persons.
In this mystery, we come to understand how the Lord wants us to live, united with Him and with each other in a deep communion of love and fellowship, discovering how the beauty of our unique personality only achieves fulfillment and greatness to the extent that we enter into relationship with God and others.
The sacrament of marriage, the life of a family, the communion of the Church, and a holy friendship all find their meaning and sustenance in the very nature of God.
Picture the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit perpetually and perfectly pouring themselves out to each other in this mysterious Trinitarian unity in the celestial dynamism of love and truth.
This radical pouring out of self, or kenosis, as Paul describes it in his letter to the Philippians (Chapter 2: 6-11), finds its external expression in God’s outward activity.
The Father creates the universe, the Son redeems the human race, the Holy Spirit sanctifies the Church and the world.
God’s love is so abundant and infinite that it spills out and overflows upon us, through the divine acts of creation, salvation, and sanctification.
One with the Trinity
Beginning in Baptism, carrying on through the other sacraments, and embraced in a life of prayer, service, and love, the Christian becomes an adopted son or daughter of the Father, invited to already, here and now, live the fullness of this Trinitarian communion.
As Jesus says, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” (John 14:23)
Here, we see that God’s greatest desire is to dwell within us, to make His home within our hearts, to have us step into His very life and communion.
This indwelling of the Trinity in our souls through sanctifying grace is the salvation that we seek and the love which we long for.
The mystics show us that we do not have to wait until we are dead to experience, at least in a partial way, the life of heaven where God will be all in all for us and in us.
As we celebrate this milestone anniversary of the Nicene Creed, meditate on these familiar words we recite each Sunday.
Study what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches about the Trinity.
Invite God to dwell ever more deeply in your heart and mind.
Seek to live this beautiful communion in your marriage, your family, your friendships, your parish, and your workplace.
In a world fractured by violence, hatred, war, and ideology, we know that God is the source and sustainer of all unity.
Striving to live as God does in His inner Trinitarian life may be the ultimate prophetic witness we can offer to the world as believers in the Gospel.