* Q. 24. Is there only one God?
A. Yes, there is only one God.

 * Reason can prove that there is only one God. The assumption that there could be two infinitely perfect gods or two infinitely supreme beings independent of each other, is an absurdity. confirms our reasoning that there is only one God.

 * > "That thou mightest know that the Lord he is God: and there is no other besides him" (Deuteronomy 4:35).

 * > "Thus, saith the Lord, the king of Israel and his redeemer the Lord of hosts: I am the First, and I am the Last: and besides me there is no God" (Isaias 44:6).

 * > "1 am the Lord, and there is none else: there is no God besides me" (Isaias 45:5).

 * Q. 25. How many Persons are there in God?
A. In God there are three divine Persons-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

 * Unaided by divine revelation, the human mind could not know the existence of the Blessed Trinity because it is a supernatural mystery. 3 Even after God has revealed the existence of the Blessed Trinity, we cannot understand it fully. When we believe, on the word of God, that there are three Persons in one God, we do not believe that three Persons are one Person, or that three gods are one God; this would be a contradiction. 3 (See question 34.)

 * > "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" (Matthew 28:19).

 * > "And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to dwell with you forever, the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him" (John 14:16-17).

 * > "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your mind whatever I have said to you" (John 14:26).

 * Q. 26. Is the Father God?
A. The Father is God and the first Person of the Blessed Trinity.

 * The first Person of the Blessed Trinity is called the Father because from all eternity He begets the second Person, His only-begotten Son.

 * God the Father is called the first Person not because He is greater or older than the other two Persons, but because He is unbegotten.

 * > "This, then, is why the Jews were the more anxious to put him to death; because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal to God" (John 5:18).

 * > ''Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort" (2 Corinthians 1:3).

 * Q. 27. Is the Son God?
A. The Son is God and the second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

 * The second Person of the Blessed Trinity is called the Son because, from all eternity, He is the only begotten of the Father. Proceeding from the Father, the Son is called the Divine Word or the of the Father.

 * > "All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and him to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Matthew 11:27).

 * > "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God" (John 1:1).

 * > "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, that we may know the true God and may be in his true Son. He is the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20)

 * > "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30).

 * Q. 28. Is the Holy Ghost God?
A. The Holy Ghost is God and the third Person of the Blessed Trinity.

 * The third Person of the Blessed Trinity is called the Holy Ghost because from all eternity He is breathed forth, as it were, by the Father and the Son. Proceeding from the Father and the Son, He is called the Gift or Love of the Father and the Son.

 * The word "Ghost" applied to the third Person means "Spirit."

 * > "But Peter

 * > "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16).

 * Q. 29. What do we mean by the Blessed Trinity?
A. By the Blessed Trinity we mean one and the same God in three divine Persons.

 * See Scripture, question 25, Matthew 28:19; John 14:26.

 * Q. 30. Are the three divine Persons really distinct from one another?
A. The three divine Persons are really distinct from one another.

 * Although the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are distinct Persons, they are not distinct in nature. The nature of the Father is entirely the nature of the Son; and the nature of the Father and the Son is entirely the nature of the Holy Ghost.

 * Q. 31. Are the three divine Persons perfectly equal to one another?
A. The three divine Persons are perfectly equal to one another, because all are one and the same God.

 * Q. 32. How are the three divine Persons, though really distinct from one another, one and the same God?
A. The three divine Persons, though really distinct from one another, are one and the same God because all have one and the same divine nature.

 * Because the three divine persons have one and the same perfections and the same external works are produced by them. But in order that we may better know the three divine Persons, certain perfections and works are attributed to each Person; for example, omnipotence and the works of omnipotence, such as creation, to the Father; wisdom and the works of wisdom, such as enlightenment, to the Son; love and the works of love, such as sanctification, to the Holy Ghost.

 * Q. 33. Can we fully understand how the three divine Persons, though really distinct from one another, are one and the same God?
A. We cannot fully understand how the three divine Persons, though really distinct from one another, are one and the same God because this is a supernatural mystery.

 * Q. 34. What is a supernatural mystery?
A. A supernatural mystery is a truth which we cannot fully understand, but which we firmly believe because we have God's word for it.

 * In addition to those truths which can be attained by man's natural reason, there are certain mysteries hidden in God which we cannot know without divine revelation, but which we must believe because God has revealed them. Divine mysteries by their very nature are far above the power of human understanding and even when revealed and accepted on faith they remain obscure during our life on earth. To understand these things fully, a finite mind would have to comprehend the infinite. In heaven there will be a fuller understanding of these mysteries, but never an infinite comprehension of them.

 * The Holy Trinity

 * This picture shows Jesus Christ seated in Heaven at the right hand of His Father on a throne of Glory. The angels and saints surround Him, and His throne is borne up by a multitude of celestial spirits. The Father holds a scepter and the Son His Cross, and both support the world, which was created by the Father, bought back by the Son, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

 * It is reasonable to believe supernatural mysteries revealed by God because He can neither deceive nor be deceived. In our everyday life we believe many things on the word of human beings even though at times they deceive or are deceived.

 * IMPORTANT TRUTHS ABOUT THE UNITY AND TRINITY OF GOD

 * Both reason and revelation assure us that there is, and can be, only one God, for the very idea of the Supreme Being makes it impossible for God to have an equal; but from revelation we learn that the one God is three distinct Persons, known as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Before the coming of the Son of God this truth was not manifested even to the Jews, although there are some texts in the Old Testament which seem to imply that there is more than one Person possessing the divine nature - for example: "Let us make man to our image and likeness" (Genesis 1:26).

 * In his discourse at the last supper Our Blessed Lord mentioned the three Persons by name, and He clearly spoke of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity to the apostles just before He ascended into heaven. The texts of Sacred Scripture containing these words of Christ have been given in this lesson. There was also an external manifestation of the Holy Trinity at the time of Our Lord's baptism by St. in the river Jordan. On that occasion it was God the Son in His human nature who was baptized, while God the Holy Ghost descended on Him in the form of a dove and God the Father announced from heaven: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17).

 * Hence, according to Catholic belief, there are three divine Persons but only one divine nature. All three Persons are perfectly equal to each other, because all possess the same divine nature with all its infinite perfections. From all eternity the Son proceeds from the Father as the Word, the product of the intellectual act whereby the Father understands the divine nature; and the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son as the product of the act of love of these two Persons for the divine goodness. All the actions of God outside of those whereby the second and third Persons proceed are acts of the three Persons operating together through the one divine nature. However, certain works performed by all three Persons are appropriated or attributed to particular Persons as if they individually performed them-for example, the work of creation to the Father, the work of producing the human nature of Christ to the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:35); but only the Second Person became incarnate.

 * Although the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity is a supernatural mystery-a truth which we cannot discover by reason nor understand in the present life-we believe it because it has been made known to us by God who can neither deceive nor be deceived. Even in natural things there are many mysteries which we accept on the testimony of our fellowmen. We believe what the astronomers tell us about the stars and the planets, although we cannot prove these truths ourselves. Not even the most learned scientist understands fully the nature of the force we call electricity; yet we all know that there is such a force and we unhesitatingly accept the information that scientists give us about it. How much more willing should we be to believe the marvelous truth which God Himself has made known to us-that He is one in nature and three in Persons-even though we cannot perceive this truth by our own reason nor understand how each divine Person can be identical with the divine nature, yet really distinct from the other two Persons!

 * On the first Sunday after Pentecost the Church celebrates a feast in honor of the Most Blessed Trinity. Moreover, on Sundays outside of the Christmas, Lenten and Easter seasons the Preface of the Holy Trinity is recited or chanted in the Mass. One of the favored devotions of the Catholic Church is the Doxology-the prayer: "Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen." This Doxology is frequently repeated in the official prayers of the Church, particularly in the Divine Office which priests and the members of many religious orders recite every day. And whenever we make the Sign of the Cross, we profess our faith in the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity.

 * RESOLUTION:

 * Whenever you recite the Doxology or make the Sign of the Cross, try to remember that you are expressing your faith in the most profound mystery of the Catholic religion, the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity.

 * Complete Exercises For Lesson 3

 * A. TRUE OR FALSE.

 * (Check each of the following statements as either true or false. The correct answers can be found in the preceding portions of the lesson)

 * Although we say that God the Father is the creator of heaven and earth, all three divine Persons created the universe equally.

 * The second Person of the Blessed Trinity is called the Word.

 * The Father existed before the Son and the Holy Ghost.

 * It is unreasonable to believe anything we cannot understand.

 * The third Person is called the Gift or Love of the Father and the Son.

 * The third Person proceeds from the Father alone.

 * The names Father, Son and Holy Ghost are names for one divine Person considered under three different aspects.

 * The producing of the human nature of Christ is appropriated to the third Person, though all three Persons actually produced this nature.

 * All three divine Persons became incarnate, in Jesus Christ.

 * We shall understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity perfectly in heaven.

 * B. PROBLEMS AND EXERCISES.

 * (Answer the questions orally or write them as your teacher may direct):

 * Does Lazarus, your Jewish neighbor, believe in the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity? Did his Jewish ancestors, before the coming of Christ, have this doctrine expressly revealed to them?

 * When did Our Lord clearly reveal the sublime truth of the Most Blessed Trinity?

 * In what words did Our Lord make this revelation?

 * What saying of Our Lord, at the Last Supper, revealed the names of the two other Persons of the Blessed Trinity?

 * At the beginning of Our Lord's public ministry, the Baptist baptized Jesus in the waters of the river Jordan. Show how the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity externally manifested themselves then.

 * Abner, a dealer in electrical supplies, and a Unitarian in religion, has great admiration for Jesus Christ, but he will not believe that Jesus is God. He refuses to believe that there are three Persons in God, He says that his mind revolts at the idea of believing something he cannot understand. Try to persuade him that he is wrong in maintaining such an attitude.

 * What induces you to believe in the Most Blessed Trinity?

 * In what ways does the Church pay honor to the Most Blessed Trinity?

 * Name three instances in which you have accepted on faith from human beings something you could not perceive yourself.

 * In church, Bonaventure picks up a leaflet of devotion to the nine choirs of angels. On it is printed the invitation to "recite the Doxology nine times each day." Bonaventure doesn't know what is meant by that strange word-Doxology. Tell him its meaning.

 * Rosamond fails to answer a test question: "By what common devotional practice do we render homage to the Blessed Trinity?" What is your answer?

 * Is the Holy Spirit the same as the Holy Ghost?

 * Is it correct to say that whatever is above reason is also against reason? Is the doctrine of the Holy Trinity either against reason or above reason?

 * It is related in the life of St. Patrick, the apostle of Ireland, that when he was preaching on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity to the pagan people of that land he plucked a shamrock and held it up to their gaze to illustrate the mystery of one God in three distinct divine Persons. A shamrock has three leaves on one stem. How would you illustrate the mystery by a three-leaf clover? Can you think of any other object to illustrate this wonderful mystery of the Holy Trinity?

 * In Catholic art when the three Persons of the Holy Trinity are portrayed, the Father is represented as a venerable man with a long beard, the Son is represented by the picture of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost is represented as a dove. Does this mean that God the Father, as well as the Son, took human nature? Does the fact that the Father is represented as a very old man indicate that the Father existed before the Son and the Holy Ghost?

 * In the pictures just mentioned why is the Holy Ghost portrayed as a dove? Describe the incident on which this method of portraying the third Person is based. Did the third Person on that occasion take to Himself the nature of a dove in the same way that the second Person took to Himself human nature at the Incarnation?

 * In the present lesson you have learned that the second Person of the Holy Trinity is called the Word. Do you know which of the four Evangelists uses this term for the Son of God in his Gospel? Do you know at what part of the Mass we use this term in the expression "The Word was made flesh?"

 * When Our Lord worked miracles, such as the healing of the sick, in the course of His mortal life, He used His divine power. Now, was this divine power exercised by the second Person only, or was it exercised by the three Divine Persons?