LESSON FOR 11TH WEEK

TOPIC: THE HOLY TRINITY

LESSON
Who is God?
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, God is one being existing in three
Divine Persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. This is known as the
HOLY TRINITY, a central mystery of Christian faith. Also, God is understood as the
transcendent, personal and all powerful creator of the universe.
CCC 198 affirms that our profession of faith “I believe in God” begins with God, for God is
the first and the last, the beginning and the end of everything.
WHERE IS GOD?
According to the teaching of the Catholic Church, God is every where and in everything, not
limited to a specific location (Omnipresent God). He is present in the world, in creation
and in the hearts of individuals.
THE NATURE OF GOD
According to Christian perspective, there are a number of ways to describe the nature of
God.
 Monotheism: Christianity teaches that there is only one God. People who believe this
are Monotheists.
 Trinity: The word “TRINITY” comes from the word “TRI" meaning “THREE" and
“UNITY” meaning “ONE". Christians believes that there are three distinct persons to
this one God and that these three persons form a unity. This is called the Doctrine
of the Trinity.
 Incarnation: The belief that God took human form of Jesus Christ. Also it is the
belief that God in Christ is active in the Church and in the world. Jesus Christ is
the incarnation of God on Earth. “ the Word became Flesh and made His dwelling
among Us" (Jn. 1:14).
Second Vatican Council states, “for, by His Incarnation, He, the Son of God, in a
certain way United Himself with each man. He worked with human hands, He
thought with a human mind, He acted with a human will and with human heart
He loved".
 Hypostatic Union: This is belief that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. That is
the two Natures of Jesus Christ-: Divinity Nature and Humanity Nature.
Divinity nature: The belief that Jesus Christ shares this nature equally and eternally
with the God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Humanity nature: The belief that Jesus Christ become fully human during his
incarnation. So, Jesus Christ is fully God, as well as fully human.
THE HOLY TRINITY
The Holy Trinity is the mystery of one God in three Persons. Is the central dogma or
mystery of the Catholic faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself, it is source of
all the other mysteries of faith and it is the most fundamental essential teaching in the
 hierarchy of the truths of the faith. CCC 253 states that the Holy Trinity is one. The
church confesses one God in three Persons and not three gods. But at the same time,
the three Persons do not share one Divinity among themselves, but each Person is
God whole and entire. CCC 254 affirms that each Person is distinct from one another;
The Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit, the Son is not the Father or the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. Also CCC 255 maintained that each Person is
relative to one another. The Father is related to the Son, the Son is related to the Father
and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is related both to the Father and the Son. However,
while all three Persons are distinct from one another, all the three Persons are of one
and the same Substance.
WHO IS THE GOD THE FATHER?
Christian’s refer to God Father as the creator and sustained of all things. Meaning that
He is the creator of the world and everything in it. He is the Father of the universe. God
is also viewed as a loving Father. This means that he cares and love humanity, as a
father loves his son. This is shown in the parable of the Prodigal son (Lk15: 11 –
32).God is also known as the Father of Jesus Christ. , as Jesus claimed to have a special
relationship with God.
WHO IS GOD THE SON?
The incarnation of God as a human being, Jesus Christ on earth. God the Son refers to
Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus as God in human form, who was sent to save
humanity. As Redeemer and Saviour, He was sacrificed for the sins of humankind,
which allows us to be reunited with God after death.
WHO IS GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT?
According to the doctrine of the Triune God. Holy Spirit is the third Person of the
Trinity. He is God Himself. Etymologically, the word HOLY SPIRIT in Greek is “ Penuma
Hagion, Hebrew is Ruach Hakodesh and Latin word is Spiritus Sanctus. Penuma, Ruach,
Spiritus means: spirit, winds, breath and air. The Holy Spirit is the power of God at
work on earth. The Holy spirit is connected with life and the soul. When Adam was
created, God breathed life into him. It was through the power and workings of the
Holy Spirit that God is known today and how Christians can know what God wants
them to do. Through the Holy Spirit Christians receive grace and gifts from God,
through the Holy Spirit Mary became pregnant with Jesus. The Holy Spirit is
mentioned in the Bible from Genesis to the Revelation. In Scripture, it is often depicted
as dove, wind or breath, tongues of fire, finger of God, cloud or light, Water, oil, clothing,
seal.
NOTE: Dogma is a doctrine of truth revealed by God that the Church Magisterium ( the
highest authority) officially defined and pronounced as divine truth that is binding all
the Christians and denial of it is a heresy. While Doctrine is an official teaching of the
church that has its foundation basically on the teaching of the bible in general and the
teachings of Jesus Christ in particular. So every dogma is a doctrine but not every
doctrine is a dogma.
ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
God revealed His mysterious name as YHWH (Yahweh) Greek word meaning “I am He who
is” or “I am who I am”. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) attributes various
qualities of God. Such as holiness, infinite beauty, all knowingness, omnipresence, love,
mercy and justice, ominibenevolence, omnipotence and ominiscience.