The Mystery of the Holy Trinity
The mystery of the Holy Trinity is the
central mystery of the Christian faith and life.
God reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity includes
three truths of faith.
First, the Trinity is One. We do not
speak of three gods but of one God. Each of
the Persons is fully God. They are a unity of
Persons in one divine nature.
Second, the Divine Persons are distinct
from each other. Father, Son, and Spirit are not
three appearances or modes of God, but three
identifiable persons, each fully God in a way
distinct from the others.
Third, the Divine Persons are in relation to each other.
The distinction of each is understood only in reference to the others.
The Father cannot be the Father without the Son, nor
can the Son be the Son without the Father. The
Holy Spirit is related to the Father and the Son
who both send him forth.
All Christians are baptized in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. The Trinity illumines all the other mysteries of faith.
This article is an excerpt from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, copyright © 2006, United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops. All rights reserved. Image: Initial B: The Trinity, Taddeo Crivelli, The J. Paul Getty Museum.
