The Mystery of Holy Trinity in Christianity - Essay Example

THE MYSTERY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY IS THE CENTRAL MYSTERY OF CHRISTIAN FAITH AND LIFE. IT IS THE MYSTERY OF GOD IN HIMSELF. IT IS THEREFORE THE SOURCE OF ALL THE OTHER MYSTERIES OF FAITH, THE LIGHT THAT ENLIGHTENS THEM. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the central pillar of the Catholic faith. For any faith or religion, its concept of God in foundational to the life and conduct of adherents to that religion or faith. Thus the defining feature of Christianity is of a necessity, its concept of God. Hence, the pillars of all other doctrines in the Christian faith rests upon the foundation of the Trinity. The Trinity denotes the unity of the Godhead as one Being but having three Persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity apart from being the central doctrine of the Catholic Church, also holds an important place in the history of the Christian Church as a whole. In the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) the matter of the Trinity was reaffirmed by the Church as the fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith, hence rejecting the teachings of Arianism that held that since Jesus was begotten of the Father, He is not of equal status in divinity but was a created being. Arianism also held that since Jesus was created, He was not co-eternal with the Father. The Athanasian creed that proceeded from the decision of the Council of Nicaea affirmed the doctrine of the Trinity. It succinctly states in its relevant part thus: “And the Catholic Faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is all One, the Glory Equal, the Majesty Co-Eternal.” By its affirmation of the co-eternality of the Godhead consisting of three Person – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the Arian teaching that Jesus was a created being was put to rest. The doctrine of the Trinity is so fundamental to the extent that a rejection of the Trinity is tantamount to a rejection of the Christian faith as evidenced in the provisions of the Athanasian creed. Though the word ‘Trinity’ does not appear in the Bible, the doctrine of the Trinity is based on biblical provisions both in the New Testament and the Old Testament. Perhaps, the clearest reference to the doctrine of the Trinity in scripture can be found in Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. The Old Testament gives a glimpse of the doctrine of the Trinity in Genesis 1:26 – “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image”…” and in Genesis 11:6-7 “And the Lord said, … “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language …” The singularity of the Godhead is made evident in the use of the singular ‘Then God said’ and ‘And the Lord said’. The Trinity of Persons is also made evident in the use of the plural ‘let Us’. The centrality of the doctrine of the Trinity in the Catholic Church is also made evident in the fact that it permeates the observance of the Eucharist. It can thus be said that without recognition of Jesus Christ the Son in the Godhead, the Church cannot be seen to be worshipping Him during the sacrament of the Eucharist. If He is not God, then He cannot be worshipped. The Sacrosanctum Concilium for instance states that: “56. The two parts which, in a certain sense, go to make up the Mass, namely, the liturgy of the word and the eucharistic liturgy, are so closely connected with each other that they form but one single act of worship. Accordingly this sacred Synod strongly urges pastors of souls that, when instructing the faithful, they insistently teach them to take their part in the entire Mass, especially on Sundays and feasts of obligation.” Consequently the observance of the Eucharist, which is a memorial of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross is not just a memorial but an act of worship. Without the doctrine of the Trinity, an act of worship to Christ would not have existed as it is only God who deserves worship. But as stated in the Athanasian creed, “the Godhead of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is all One, the Glory Equal, the Majesty Co-Eternal.” The equality of the Son with the Father and the Holy Spirit in glory and majesty, denotes equality in worship as well. Thus the centrality of the doctrine of the Trinity can be said to be the source of the Mass where the liturgy of the Word and the Eucharist are a combined act of singular worship. Also in the observance of the Eucharist, the blessing of the Holy Spirit in invoked on the “essential signs of the Eucharisitc sacrament” – the bread and the grape wine – (Chatechism of the Catholic Church, 1412) and this is done in tandem with “the proclamation of the Word of God; thanksgiving to God the Father for all his benefits, above all the gift of his Son; the consecration of bread and wine; and participation in the liturgical banquet by receiving the Lords body and blood. These elements constitute one single act of worship.” (Chatechism of the Catholic Church, 1408) It can thus be seen that the three Persons of the Godhead – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – are all accorded recognition in the Mass in a ‘single act of worship’. The emphasis on the ‘single act of worship’ denotes the unity of the Trinity worshiped as one God and not three worships to three Gods. Of particular importance is the recognition in the Eucharist that God the Father sent His Son as a gift to humanity. The last ordinance set by the Son before ascending to His Father was the observance of the Eucharist – Luke 22:19-20. Thus the Father sends His Son, the Son establishes the Eucharist before ascending to the Father and the priest conducting the Mass prays to the Holy Spirit who was sent to the Church by the Son, for His blessing on the Eucharistic sacrament. This order is also epitomised in the Eucharistic prayer – “Accept our praises, heavenly Father, through your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, and as we follow his example and obey his command, grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit these gifts of bread and wine may be to us his body and his blood”. This Trinitarian source of the Mass can also be seen in the life of the early church after the ascension of Christ. Hayes and Gearon (1999) for instance argue that “the first Christians wanted to pursue their relationship with Jesus, to celebrate the God who had not abandoned his Son to the power of death … and to proclaim the good news to every one”. (p.485) Thus in keeping with their quest to continue their fellowship with Christ, they continued the observance of the Mass instituted by Jesus – “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” – Luke 22:19. In Acts 2:42 and Acts 20:7, there is record of the disciples ‘breaking bread’ together in communal meal as ordained by Jesus. Apart from the Trinity being the source of the Mass, the Trinity also sheds light on the Mass. For example John 17:21 talks about the unity between the Father and the Son – “as You Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe You sent Me.” The unity of the Father and the Son, and by extension the Holy Spirit thus has implications for the church as well. In the words of Jesus “that they also may be one in Us”. The ordinance that Jesus left the church to achieve this oneness in the Trinity is the Eucharist. This is made perfectly clear in John 6:56 when Jesus said: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him”. Thus a continual fellowship between the Trinity and the church is achieved by the observance of the Mass where the Eucharistic sacraments are also observed. In this sense, the Trinity is not only the source of the Mass in that it was instituted by Jesus, the Trinity also sheds lights on the Mass in that it is only through the eating of the body of Christ and the drinking of His blood that the believer can have union with the Trinity. Paul also admonishes the church not to eat the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner but to discern the body of Christ when eating the Lord’s Supper (the Eucharist) – I Corinthians 29. The trinity thus sheds light on the Mass because without discerning the Trinity in the observance of the Eucharist, it becomes an unworthy or sinful practice that brings the judgement of God - I Corinthians 29. Further proof of the light and union that the Trinity sheds on the Mass can be seen in Paragraph 48 of the Sacrosanctum Concilium which states that: “by offering the Immaculate Victim, not only through the hands of the priest, but also with him, they should learn also to offer themselves; through Christ the Mediator, they should be drawn day by day into ever more perfect union with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in all.” The second part of this essay considers the sacraments of Christ that are practised in the Church. One of the frequently asked questions about the sacraments is that: “If the sacraments are actions of the church, then how can they be actions of Christ?” As argued above, the quest of the first century disciples to continue their fellowship with the risen Christ resulted in their observance of the ordinance of ‘breaking of bread’ in communal meals which were done as a memorial of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and also in obedience to the command that Jesus gave for this ordinance should be done to remember Him. The observance of the Eucharistic sacrament was thus a continuation of the what Christ Himself established. Also, the church preached and baptised new converts as Christ commanded. Thus the seven sacraments – Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Penance and Reconciliation, Anointing the sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony – ‘activities’ whose practise portrays the continual link of the church with the risen Christ. Their observance shows the union of the church with the Godhead through Christ. References and Bibliography Bible Societies (1971). Revised Standard Version Bible ( 2nd ed); Great Britain; Collins Catechism of the Catholic Church http://www.vatican.va/archive (Accessed on February 5 2008) Eucharistic Prayer - http://www.oremus.org/liturgy/tcw/ep-jan98/ep-a.html (Accessed on February 5 2008) Hayes, M. A. and Gearon, L. (1999), Contemporary Catholic Theology: A Reader, New York: Continuum The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html (Accessed on February 5 2008) Read More