Issue 2: The Blessed Trinity

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A Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do Christians believe in three
gods?
As we saw in the last issue, Christians are properly called monothe- No, Christians believe in one God
ists because they believe in one God, not many. Christian monothe- who is three Divine Persons. These
ism, however, is distinct from other forms of monotheism, because Persons are different aspects of the
Christians believe in the Trinity: God is at once Father, Son, and same one God.
Holy Spirit. 2. Is the Father, then, superior to the
Son and the Holy Spirit?
The dogma of the Trinity is a mystery of Christian faith. The
No, the three Divine Persons are
dogma teaches simply that the equal because they share the same
Father is God, the Son is God, subtance -- they are all God. No one
and the Holy Spirit is God. We of them is more or less God than the
call these three the Divine Per- others.
sons of the Trinity. 3. Can we prove the Trinity in the
same way we can prove God’s exis-
How can these three different
tence?
persons be one and the same No, the Trinity is a mystery that goes
God? They are God because beyond our limited human ability to
they share the same nature: we understand.
say that they are consubstan- 4. Who am I praying to when I pray to
tial with each other. God – Father, Son, or Holy Spirit?
When you pray to one Person of the
Above: a medieval shield known as the Scutum Trinity, you are praying to all of them,
Fidei diagrams the mystery of the Trinity. With a bit
of Latin, you can piece together what it says. since they are all one God.
Terms and

Dogma: a doctrine (official teaching) of the Church which all believers must profess.
Ideas

Mystery: a dogma that cannot be demonstrated by logic or completely understood,

but rather must be accepted by faith.
Consubstantial: of the same substance or essence. This word is used to indicate
that the Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity are all God: they all share the same divine
essence.

© Notre Dame Regional Secondary. Design: Carlo Reyes. Banner image: Victoria Cieslik.