(Trinity Sunday falls on this weekend, June 19. Scroll down for two more posts on the Trinity.)
Some of us are old enough to remember a diagram of the Trinity, like the one above, from the pages of a paperback catechism we thumbed and memorized. Perhaps you will even remember the Q&A:
I would not propose going back to this style of catechetics but there's no denying that those who learned about the Trinity in this way learned something about the "Three in One" that today's methodology doesn't teach. Is something lost in this change? I believe there is. As much as the Trinity is a mystery beyond our minds' grasp, that which we can understand is aided by diagrams like the one at the top of this post.LESSON THIRD: ON THE UNITY AND TRINITY OF GOD
21. Q. Is there but one God?A. Yes; there is but one God.
22. Q. Why can there be but one God?A. There can be but one God, because God, being supreme and infinite, cannot have an equal.
23. Q. How many Persons are there in God?A. In God there are three Divine Persons, really distinct, and equal in all things-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
24. Q. Is the Father God?A. The Father is God and the first Person of the Blessed Trinity.
25. Q. Is the Son God?A. The Son is God and the second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
26. Q. Is the Holy Ghost God?A. The Holy Ghost is God and the third Person of the Blessed Trinity.
27. Q. What is the Blessed Trinity?A. The Blessed Trinity is one God in three Divine Persons.
29. Q. Are the three Divine Persons one and the same God?A. The three Divine Persons are one and the same God, having one and the same Divine nature.
While youth today are familiar with the names, "Father, Son, Holy Spirit," I wonder how many of them can speak of the Trinity in high school as well as third graders did when I was a child. Is this important? I believe it is. The Trinity is stamped on our prayer, our creed, our sacraments and our songs - how often then do we speak and sing of the Trinity without benefit of a basic understanding of the mystery on our lips?
Catechists! Want to weigh in on this?
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I always taught little kids...who didn't think any one being could be 3......that they are someone's child, someone's grandchild, someone's brother/sister, etc. etc. etc. It just seemed to make it easier for them to understand that God is three divine persons but one God.
ReplyDeleteI like the diagram...
ReplyDeleteI always found it was confusing to people to call the aspects of God "persons." I think we as humans already tend to anthropomorphize God in OUR image when it is WE who are created in God's... (which I take to mean in our nature, not in our appearance.)
Jesus was human as well as divine but the Father is not an old man in the sky with a beard--unless you're five.... so while I think it's great to be clear about the catechism perhaps we can update the language a bit so people don't limit God by our concept of him as much--although by conceptualizing God at all, we do limit Him.
Thank you--I love your blog and subscribe by email, so I don't usually comment--but I enjoy often!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMI4rA4cuiM
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