Blessed Trinity

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    Blessed Trinity

    Man could never have known there was a Trinity, until God

    Himself revealed it to man. He did so by sending Jesus.

    Old Testament Hint of the Trinity

    Gen. 1:26 Let usmake man in our image, after ourlikeness.

    The Jews could not have understood what this meant because their

    understanding of God was monotheistic (one God). They could not have

    understood 3 persons in one God.

    OT Reference to the Holy Spirit

    I will put my spirit in you that you may live. Ez. 37:14

    This is also a foreshadow of the resurrection of the dead.

    Gen. 1:1-2 The wind swept over the waters.

    This is a reminder of Acts 2:2

    There came a noise like a strong driving wind.

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    Blessed TrinityTrinity Revealed in the New TestamentIn the New Testament there are three events in the life of Jesus, which reveal theTrinity.

    Annunciation- The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary.

    He said, you will conceive andbear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Sonof the Most High. The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most Highwill overshadow you. Luke 1: 31-32, Luke 1:35

    The Baptism of Jesus--The heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended uponHim accompanied by the Fathers voice, who said, This is my beloved Son, in whomI am well pleased. Matt. 3:17

    The Transfiguration--Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain and wastransfigured. The Holy Spirit overshadowed them and they heard the voice of theFather say, This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to Him. Luke 9:35

    In the Gospel of John there are many references to the Trinity.

    John 10:30 The Father and I are one.

    The end of the Gospel of Matthew reveals very plainly all three persons. Gotherefore and make disciples, baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son,and the Holy Spirit. Matt. 28:19 The word in the name refers to one. It does notsay names One name for all three persons.

    St. Paul in his Second Letter to the Corinthians The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

    the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.. (2 Cor. 13:13)

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    Blessed Trinity

    Relationship between the Three Persons

    The Father totally and eternally gives Himself to the Sonand the Holy Spirit.

    The Son gives Himself totally and eternally to the Fatherand the Holy Spirit.

    The Holy Spirit gives Himself totally and to the Father

    and the Son.

    Existence of GodGod is eternal- Always existed. All three persons alwaysexisted. There always was a Father, Son and Holy Spirit.However, the human nature of Jesus was created in thewomb of Mary. Before time began, Jesus did not have ahuman nature. Now He eternally has a human nature.

    About God

    The Son is eternally begotten-The word begotten can besaid to mean, comes from, but Jesus always existed yetwas begotten by the Father. Jesus was not made by the

    Father.

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    Blessed Trinity

    God is self-giving.God is a community of persons. The Trinity is a family ofpersons, whose life is love. The divine family wants our happiness andwants to dwell with us, that we may dwell with them in heaven.

    The expression of love between the Father and the Sonis so real,

    that a third person, the Holy Spirit, proceeds from both.

    The distinction between the Persons is their relation to one another.

    Each Divine Person is God. The Father is God. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit

    is God.

    God created us to share His life forever.

    However, sin cut us off from God and our destiny. Nevertheless, the Fatherdid not abandon us. When the fullness of time had come, God sent forthHis Son, born of a woman, to reveal His plan, to show us how to live, and

    to pay the price for our sins. When this was accomplished, the Holy Spiritwas sent to begin the new and eternal life won for us by Christsredemption. The Holy Spirit empowers and guides the Church to fulfill Hermission to preach the Good News of salvation to the whole world. Godthe Father created us out of love, the Son, who came among us to save usout of love, and God the Holy Spirit who infuses us with love and whosustains us in the Church. The Blessed Trinity comes to dwell within us atBaptism, and we share in Gods divine life through the indwelling within us.

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    Blessed Trinity

    The Father (The Creator)

    God is the First Person of the Blessed Trinity.

    Almighty- Nothing is impossible for God.

    Protectorof His people Israel.

    He commands obedience and holiness of life.

    He is tender, compassionate and forgiving.

    God is the first and perfect Fatherall fatherhood finds

    its origin in him. Jesus reveals God the Father to us.

    Creator-The Father is the origin of all that exists and ever

    will exist.

    God created Adam and Eve to reflect what God is like

    Himself.

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    JESUS (The Redeemer)

    Jesus is the second person of the Trinity.

    And the word became flesh and dwelt amongus.Carne refers to flesh. The incarnation is themoment when the divine person of Jesus tookupon the human nature of flesh in the wombof the Blessed Virgin Mary. By way of theincarnation, Jesus became man, walked theface of the earth and became a historicalperson in worldly time, who lived on earth,died on the earth, rose from the dead here onearth and ascended into heaven. He had full

    human nature, keeping His full Divine nature.The Eucharist is the resurrected Jesus-- fullyhuman and fully divine natures are present.The same Divine Jesus, who is in heaven, is thesame Jesus fully human and divine in the

    Eucharist.

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    Blessed TrinityThe Holy Spirit- (The Sanctifier)The Holy Spirit is the third personof the Trinity.

    God is love and the identity of this lovedefines the person of the Holy Spirit.

    The Holy Spirit is: The Lord and giver of life. He is co-equal with the Fatherand the Son.

    The Holy Spirit in Salvation History.The Holy Spirit guides Joseph, Joshua,David and Ezekiel, revealing God and His plan and so prepared the people ofGod for the coming of Jesus.

    The New Testamentbegins with the action of the Holy Spirit- To the BlessedVirgin Mary, the Holy Spirit will come upon you. The Holy Spirit is revealed atthe baptism of Jesus, He is led into the desert by the Spirit, in the synagogueas He begins His public ministry He states, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.Jesus promised that those who believed in Him would receive the Holy Spirit.He promised to send the Holy Spirit after He ascended into heaven. AtPentecost the Holy Spirit fell like fire from heaven. The Holy Spirit gave birthto the early Church and gives courage to the apostles to go out and spread

    the Gospel, even to martyrdom. The Holy Spirit gives power to thesacraments.

    The Holy Spirit safeguards the Church and keeps Her from error.The HolySpirit is the sanctifier and mediates His power through the Church, giving Herlife. He is always with us.

    The Holy Spirit bears witness that we are children of God.If we foster ourrelationship with the Holy Spirit, He makes us closer in communion with God.

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    Blessed Trinity

    One GodThree Persons

    The Father is God. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is God. Yet onlyone God.

    Jesus has two natures.

    Both human and divine. Yet He is a divine person.

    Co-Equal.

    Each person is equal.

    Perfect Unity.

    They are perfectly one. Perfect union.

    Jesus Declares Himself God.

    Jesus died as a result of His declaring Himself God.

    The reason why Jesus was crucified was because He claimed tobe God. Jews could not understand Jesus was God, because theybelieved in only one God and they knew God the Father as God.

    Jesus said, I Am, which was claiming Himself to be God. The

    words I am were used as Gods name.

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    CCC 234: The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the

    central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the

    mystery of God in Himself. It is therefore the source ofall the other mysteries of faith, the light that

    enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and

    essential teaching in the hierarchy of the truths offaith. The whole history of salvation is identical with

    the history of the way and the means by which the

    one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, reveals

    Himself to men and reconciles and unites with

    Himself those who turn away from sin.

    St. Caesarius of Arles said, The faith of all Christians

    rests on the Trinity.

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    Blessed TrinitySign of the CrossBy the sign of the Cross, all know that we are Catholic.

    In making the sign of the cross, we proclaim the abundance of the mysteries it signifies: The Trinity ofPersons whom we name as the one God; that the Son who came to earth in the Incarnation sufferedfor us even to the point of sacrificing Himself on the Cross; the sure hope of our redemption from sinthat flows from the Cross; and our original baptismal promises. The prefigurment of the Cross in theOld Testament may be found in Ezekiel 9:4-6 in which the foreheads of worshippers were marked andeach person was sealed and thus saved from death. From the earliest times of the Catholic Church,the Sign of the Cross has been used in many important ways: at the beginning and end of prayers,especially Holy Mass, which commemorates what Christ did on the Cross, in administering thesacraments, and in all blessings. It is customary to begin and end our prayers with the sign of theCross, and when we arrive and leave the Church, when receiving a blessing, in times of temptation,before meals, trips and meetings. At Mass we trace the Sign of the Cross on our forehead, lips and

    heart saying, May your words be on my mind, on my lips and in my heart. When made withreference the Sign of the Cross signifies our belief in God and our belief that in taking up the Cross, asJesus asked us to do, we will make His sacrifice fruitful in our own salvation and enjoy eternalhappiness with Him in heaven."Let us not then be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the Cross our seal

    made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in everything; over the

    bread we eat, and the cups we drink; in our comings in, and goings out;

    before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake; when we are in

    the way and when we are still. It is the Sign of the faithful, and the dread ofevils; for He has triumphed over them in it, having made a show of them

    openly; for when they see the Cross, they are reminded of the Crucified;

    they are afraid of Him, Who hath bruised the heads of the dragon. Despise

    not the Seal, because of the freeness of the Gift; but for this rather honor

    thy Benefactor." -- St. Cyril of Jerusalem, A.D. 315 386

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"In all our travels and movements", says Tertullian (250AD), "in all our

    coming in and going out, in putting of our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in

    lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment

    occupieth us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross".