Feast of the Holy Trinity

This weekend, we celebrate the feast of The Holy Trinity. Article #233 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states; Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: not in their names,55 for there is only one God, the almighty Father, his only Son and the Holy Spirit. This is the most holy Trinity.

The Trinity is one of the central truths of Christianity. Throughout the 2000-year history of the Catholic Church, there have been twenty-one Church Councils with the most recent being the II Vatican council held between 1962-1965. It was at the Council of Nicaea – the very first ecumenical gathering held by the early Christian church in the year 325 AD – that the doctrine of the Trinity was finalized after many years of debate.

But what exactly is the Trinity? To understand the Trinity, it is first important to understand the nature of God himself. God is, as the church affirms, one being in three persons. What that means is that God is one, but that he is made up of the three distinct persons which are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. What is beautiful about the nature of the Trinity is that it recognizes the relational reality of God. God is both fully unified and fully distinct in the persons of the Father, Son, and Spirit.

Further, as we know from Genesis 1: 26, 27: God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness… So God created man in His own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them.” Thus, in our nature, we too are relational beings who are meant (while remaining distinct in ourselves) to be united to those around us in one body through Christ in one faith. You might ask yourself today, how can I share in the relational love that exists between the persons of the Trinity? How can I know and love the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit better and, by extension, those around me?

About the Author: 

Avila Rose (Allison Ramirez) is a Catholic author, editor, and teacher. She received her B.A in English with Creative Writing emphasis from Seattle Pacific University in 2019. She recently received her M.A. in Theology with Church History emphasis from Holy Apostles College & Seminary in 2024. She currently serves as the Pastoral Assistant for Faith Formation at St. Barbara Parish, and she is the author of The Divided Kingdom series as well as nonfiction devotional journal, Breathe Deeply: The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary as Invitations to Peace. Allison and her husband, Nathan, reside in Washington State with their pug pup, Leo.

You can connect with Allison through her Substack newsletter at https://authorallisonramirez.substack.com/p/welcome. She can also be found on her website at www.author-allison-ramirez.com or Instagram at authorallisonramirez.