The Church teaches that the Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian Faith. But how much do you know about this mystery? The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains it this way: The Church expresses her Trinitarian faith by professing a belief in the oneness of God in whom there are three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three divine Persons are only one God because each of them equally possesses the fullness of the one and indivisible divine nature. They are really distinct from each other by reason of the relations which place them in correspondence to each other. The Father generates the Son; the Son is generated by the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. 

The Holy Family, and subsequently, our families are based on the Trinitarian model. The love generated between the Father and Son is expressed in the Holy Spirit. As Jesus was returning to His Father’s side in Heaven, the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and continues to come upon us through baptism, and confirmation. This mystery of the triune God models for us what the human community ought to be – a community of love. Just like the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity are united in love, we, who have been created in God’s image, ought to live in love for one another. This love goes deeper than mere fleeting emotions. It is the very life of God in us, for God is love and everyone who abides in love abides in God and God in them (1 John 4:16). Of the three cardinal virtues – faith, hope and love, it is love that makes us more like unto God. 

God the Father created the world out of love and continues to hold it in existence because of love. Jesus Christ came into the world for love of humanity and gave his life in obedience to the Father, and as a proof of his love for humanity (John 15:13). The Holy Spirit, who is the love between the Father and the Son, animates the world and pours out God’s love into our hearts (Romans 5:5). When we love sincerely, we are manifesting the presence of God in our hearts.