Trinity question

[Lynn]

This is probably a dumb question, but what the heck I'll ask anyway.

Does the Church teach that the Trinity is eternal? Or did it begin when Jesus was born. I know that there are prophecies of the Messiah in the OT but did all Three Persons of the Trinity exist?

lynn

 

[Theresa]

All three are eternal, and all one God.

It sounds simple, but it's very confusing!

Theresa

 

[Lynn]

For some reason I never before thought too deeply about it. I've always believed in the Trinity and I've always believed that God is eternal.
It just struck me today in Mass that maybe the Trinity didn't begin until Jesus was manifested as man.

You're right, it is very confusing. But it is also very beautiful. I think we need mysteries. Life would be boring if we knew everything!

lynn

 

[geocajun]

Originally posted by Lynn
This is probably a dumb question, but what the heck I'll ask anyway.

Does the Church teach that the Trinity is eternal? Or did it begin when Jesus was born. I know that there are prophecies of the Messiah in the OT but did all Three Persons of the Trinity exist?

lynn

Hi Lynn,
The Trinity is eternal and no person of the trinity is 'older' or 'younger' than any other person of the trinity. God has always been triune (3 persons in 1 nature).

This is a hard concept, because we are accustomed to 1:1 ratio of person:nature.

- Man 1:1 person:nature
- Yahweh 3:1 person:nature
- Jesus 1:2 person:nature

Jesus was 1 divine person, with 2 natures - that of God and that of man.

I hope that helps, I have barely scratched the surface of the mystery of the Trinity though.
The single greatest explanation of the Trinity is in Frank Sheeds book (I think its the first chapter) "Theology for beginners" (this is no beginners book!).

 

[Theresa]

Hah, that's funny. I was going to quote from that book but I thought it might cut up the concept too much if I gave small quotes. The first time I read the Trinity part my mind just couldn't fathom the ideas presented there.

Theresa

 

[sklippstein]

Lynn, it's not a dumb question.....and i agree it is confusing. It's 3 in one, which is hard for us to understand.

 

[ZooMom]

Originally posted by Lynn
This is probably a dumb question, but what the heck I'll ask anyway.

Does the Church teach that the Trinity is eternal? Or did it begin when Jesus was born. I know that there are prophecies of the Messiah in the OT but did all Three Persons of the Trinity exist?

lynn

Hi, Lynn. John1:1.

 

[Wolseley]

When I was a child, I loved the Shield of the Trinity graphic; it always made the most sense to me:

God (Deus) is in the center; in the corners you have the Father (Pater), the Son (Filius), and the Spirit (Spiritus). The outside connecting lines explain that the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and so on, while the inside lines explain the the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are, however, all God.

The one I had was more in the shape of a shield, with one point down, and it was entirely in Latin. I have no idea where it came from, or whatever happened to it....I have not laid eyes on it since 1972.

 

[panterapat]

The Father is all-knowing. Therefore He totally knows Himself.
This self-knowledge of the all-knowing God is so powerful that it is the Son. The love between the Father and Son is so powerful that it is the Holy Spirit.

Three Persons in One God!

St. Augustine was walking along a beach contemplating the Trinity. He was frustrated because he could not grasp the Trinity. He came upon a boy who had dug a hole in the sand. The boy was running with a bucket from the water to the hole, dumping water into the hole. St Augustine inquired what the boy was doing. The boy repied that he was attempting to empty the sea into his hole in the sand. Augustine told the boy that it is quite impossible to empty the huge sea into such a little hole. The boy retorted, "It would be easier for me to empty the contents of the entire sea into this hole than it would be for you to understand the Trinity.

In Christ, Patrick