In Matthew 28:19 Jesus instructs the apostles: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Thus clearly the idea of a Trinitarian doctrine was espoused by Jesus himself. I have repeatedly stated throughout my postings that one of the most misunderstood and often lacking component of modern Theology especially from our Protestant brethren is the dynamic of mystery. To me personally, the idea that you could fully understand God's ways from a book, and know emphatically how He thought, is a stretch that I cannot fathom. The Trinitarian doctrine is very difficult to grasp. When the Divine became flesh, we entered a realm that was beyond total human comprehension. God is who He is, and His plan for the universe is full of mystery. Yet the the Father, Son and Holy Spirit was understood by those in the early Church. The Didache, an early Christian treatise, whose author was unknown, but reads as an Apostolic instruction manual, states in the Sacrament of Baptism. "After the foregoing instructions, baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living [running] water. . . . If you have neither, pour water three times on the head, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". This document has been estimated to be written circa 70 A.D.. Justin Martyr wrote in his First Apology "We will prove that we worship him reasonably; for we have learned that he is the Son of the true God himself, that he holds a second place, and the Spirit of prophecy a third. For this they accuse us of madness, saying that we attribute to a crucified man a place second to the unchangeable and eternal God, the Creator of all things; but they are ignorant of the mystery which lies therein" St Patrick's breastplate read "I bind to myself today the strong power of an invocation of the Trinity—the faith of the Trinity in unity, the Creator of the universe" In the Nicene Creed of which in it's present form came about in 381 A.D. We believe in the Holy Spirit,the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. God's l0ve from the father to the Son to the Holy Spirit is the model of love that we as Christians seek to emulate. It is the blueprint of what a family is, central to our life as Christians. It is a mystery, yet something that we should not ignore nor fear to delve into.
Pope Francis
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Mystery of The Trinity
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus instructs the apostles: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Thus clearly the idea of a Trinitarian doctrine was espoused by Jesus himself. I have repeatedly stated throughout my postings that one of the most misunderstood and often lacking component of modern Theology especially from our Protestant brethren is the dynamic of mystery. To me personally, the idea that you could fully understand God's ways from a book, and know emphatically how He thought, is a stretch that I cannot fathom. The Trinitarian doctrine is very difficult to grasp. When the Divine became flesh, we entered a realm that was beyond total human comprehension. God is who He is, and His plan for the universe is full of mystery. Yet the the Father, Son and Holy Spirit was understood by those in the early Church. The Didache, an early Christian treatise, whose author was unknown, but reads as an Apostolic instruction manual, states in the Sacrament of Baptism. "After the foregoing instructions, baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living [running] water. . . . If you have neither, pour water three times on the head, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". This document has been estimated to be written circa 70 A.D.. Justin Martyr wrote in his First Apology "We will prove that we worship him reasonably; for we have learned that he is the Son of the true God himself, that he holds a second place, and the Spirit of prophecy a third. For this they accuse us of madness, saying that we attribute to a crucified man a place second to the unchangeable and eternal God, the Creator of all things; but they are ignorant of the mystery which lies therein" St Patrick's breastplate read "I bind to myself today the strong power of an invocation of the Trinity—the faith of the Trinity in unity, the Creator of the universe" In the Nicene Creed of which in it's present form came about in 381 A.D. We believe in the Holy Spirit,the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. God's l0ve from the father to the Son to the Holy Spirit is the model of love that we as Christians seek to emulate. It is the blueprint of what a family is, central to our life as Christians. It is a mystery, yet something that we should not ignore nor fear to delve into.
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