The Christian Life is Trinitarian

Fr Antonio Pineda
Assistant Parish Priest

I studied Theology in Rome for seven years. We even had a course dedicated to the Trinity that lasted for one semester; but if I’m honest I still cannot easily explain what the Trinity is.

The Trinity – that fundamental Christian doctrine of three Persons in one God – is called a mystery for a good reason: we could never hope to grasp fully its meaning by reasoning alone. After all, how can we mere mortals ever fully understand the nature of God who is all-powerful, created everything and does not have a beginning or an end?

But perhaps it would help our understanding if we turned away from the language of philosophy to explain the Trinity and turn instead to the language of love. The loving Father sent His beloved Son so that the way to eternal life might be opened up for us all. The Father and Son exist in a relationship of love and the bond of love that binds them is the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is a community of three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – existing as one in a relationship of perfect love.

If God is love and if we are created in His image, this can only mean that we are also called to be Trinitarian: to love, to be a community and to be united.