How can three go into one?

REVEALED – THE THREE IN ONE GOD!

Jn. 16: 12-15

We admire many characters in the Old Testament. The two I would like to highlight are Abraham and Moses for their close relationship with God. When they conversed with, or thought of God, they were only aware of God as one Person. They knew nothing about the Trinity, the Three Persons in One God. How more fortunate are we than them?

As a result of what they did not know their relationship to God was so different from ours. They knew nothing about God’s Son Who became Man and won our redemption on the Cross. They knew nothing about God the Holy Spirit Who was sent by the Father and the Son to comfort us and Who is our constant Companion leading us to Heaven. How much richer our lives should be than those of Abraham and Moses.

So, when did God reveal to the world this intimate truth about Himself that He is Three Persons in One God? I discovered this for myself one day when I was preparing a talk on our Blessed Lady. I always regard this as one of my precious discoveries. It was at the Annunciation.

When the Archangel Gabriel told Mary that she was to conceive and bear a Son she asked the question, “But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?” Gabriel replied, “The Holy Spirit (the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity) will come upon you and the power of the Most High (the First Person of the Blessed Trinity) will cover you with Its shadow. And so, the Child (the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity) will be holy and will be called the Son of God.” We cannot thank Mary enough for asking that question which brought for us the revelation of the truth of the Blessed Trinity. How fitting that it should be to Mary that this intimate truth of God’s family life should be revealed first to her!

God is love. There are Three Persons in the Trinity … the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Together They represent the fullness of love. The Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father. The Holy Spirit is Their love for Each Other. We are made in the image of the triune God. God the Father, Who created us, His Son Who saved us, and the Holy Spirit Who continues to guide and lead us into all truth. Our lives should reflect the Trinity. We should aim to be creative like the Father, compassionate like His Son and dispose of our talents in the service of others like the Holy Spirit.

Saint Patrick had his own unique way of teaching the truth of the Blessed Trinity through the shamrock which has three leaves on one stem.

Recently a lady told me how she taught this doctrine to her little children to explain how there can be three in one. 'Take the lid of a square tin. Turn it upside down, lay it on a flat surface and put a drop of water in three of the corners of the tin. Then tilt the tin from the corner that has no drop of water and now you have no longer three drops but one.' What a good way, I am sure you will agree, of trying to explain the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, of the Three Persons in One God.

Every day when we pray, we should be conscious of praying not just to One Person in God but to Three. This is why the Church teaches us to make the Sign of the Cross and to say the Glory be prayer. When you make the Sign of the Cross use not just your index finger to bless yourself but your index finger and the two fingers next to it to remind yourself of the Three Persons who live in you.

Today we thank God for revealing the mystery of the Blessed Trinity to us through our Blessed Lady. Let us never forget that it is to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that all glory and praise belong.