The “Trinity” is the word used to signify the primary doctrine of the Catholic Faith, namely the Truth that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three distinct Persons:  the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

In the Athanasian Creed one reads:

“The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, and yet there are not three Gods, but one God.”

God the Holy Ghost proceeds by an eternal procession from God the Father according to God the Son Who teaches all of us in the Gospel of Saint John about:

“The Spirit of Truth, Who proceedeth from the Father” (John 15:26).

This was the result of a controversy which arose during a Synodal Council convoked by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne [b. at Aix-la-Chapelle or Liége on Thursday, April 2, 742 A.D. - d. at Aix-la-Chapelle on Monday, January 28, 814 A.D.; King of the Franks from 771 A.D. to 814 A.D.; Pacific Emperor from 800 A.D. to 814 A.D.]  at Aix-la-Chapelle in France in the year 809 A.D. and which was brought to the Pope’s attention by a delegation of two Bishops, an Abbot and an Eastern Rite Monk.

70 years later, in 879 A.D., Pope John VIII  [Wednesday, December 14, 872 - Wednesday, December 16, 882] wrote a letter saying:

“We are aware of the negative reports you have heard about Us and Our Church.  Therefore, I seek to explain myself to you before you write to me on the subject.  You are aware that your envoy discussed the issue of the Creed with Us and that he found We preserve it as We originally received it without adding anything or taking anything from it. For We know that anyone who tampers with it deserves punishment.  We assure you, therefore, concerning this issue which has been a scandal to the Church, that We not only recite it [in the original version] but even condemn those foolish ones who have had the presumption to act otherwise... as violators of the Divine words and distorters of the teachings of Christ the Lord... and of the Fathers who transmitted the Holy Creed to Us through the Councils.  We judge them with Judas because they have done as he did, since, although it is not the Body of Christ which they subject to death, they nevertheless bring schism to the Faithful who are His members....” (Archbishop Gian Domenico Mansi, a.k.a. Archbishop Giovanni Mansi, [b. in Lucca on Saturday, February 16, 1692 A.D. - d. in Lucca on Wednesday, September 27, 1769 A.D.], an Italian Church Historian, who wrote a voluminous history of the Church Councils up to the Seventeenth Œcumenical Council, the First Council of Basel, Ferrara, Florence [Monday, April 9, 1438 A.D. - Thursday, August 7, 1445 A.D.], in 31 folio volumes, entitled Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova et Amplissima Collectio, published in Florence and Venice between 1758 A.D. - 1798 A.D., Letter of Pope John VIII to Patriarch Photius of Constantinople in 879 A.D., Columns 17, 523 and 526).

Of course, this term could have been in use before 180 A.D.

Afterwards, it appears in its Latin form of “trinitas” in the “De Pudicitia” of Tertullian (Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus [ b. Carthage, 155 A.D. - d. 225 A.D.], De Pudicitia, Chapter xxi).

In the next century the word is in general use.

It is found in many passages of Origen (Origen of Alexandria [b. Alexandria, Egypt in 185 A.D. - d. Tyre, Phenicia in 254 A.D.], On Psalm 17:15).

The first Creed in which it appears is that of Origen’s pupil, Bishop Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus of Neocæsarea in Pontus, Asia Minor [b. at Neocæsarea in Pontus, Asia Minor, c. 213 A.D. - d.  at Neocæsarea in Pontus, Asia Minor between c. 270 A.D. - 275 A.D.], who is also the Patron Saint against earthquakes, floods, and desperate and impossible cases.

In his “Ekthesis tes Pisteos” (Exposition of the Faith), composed between 260 A.D. and 270 A.D., Bishop Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus writes:

“There is one God, the Father of the living Word, Who is His subsistent Wisdom and Power and Eternal Image: perfect Begetter of the perfect Begotten, Father of the only-begotten Son.”

“There is one Lord, Only of the Only, God of God, Image and Likeness of Deity, Efficient Word, Wisdom comprehensive of the constitution of all things, and Power formative of the whole creation, true Son of true Father, Invisible of Invisible, and Incorruptible of Incorruptible, and Immortal of Immortal and Eternal of Eternal.”

“And there is One Holy Spirit, having His subsistence from God, and being made manifest by the Son, to wit to men: Image of the Son, Perfect Image of the Perfect; Life, the Cause of the living; Holy Fount; Sanctity, the Supplier, or Leader, of Sanctification; in Whom is manifested God the Father, Who is above all and in all, and God the Son, Who is through all.”

“There is a perfect Trinity, in glory and eternity and sovereignty, neither divided nor estranged.  There is therefore nothing created, nothing greater or less [literally, “nothing subject”] in the Trinity (oute oun ktiston ti, he doulon en te triadi), nothing superadded, as though it had not existed before, but never been without the Son, nor the Son without the Spirit; and this same Trinity is without variation and without change, immutable and unalterable forever” (Jacques Paul Migne [b. Saint-Flour, France on Saturday, October 25, 1800 - d. Paris, France on  Sunday, October 24, 1875], “Patrologiæ Graecæ Cursus Completus”, 2nd series, published in 166 volumes [1857 - 1866], Volume X, Column 986).

The evidence for the Holy Trinity in the Gospels culminates in the Baptismal commission of Matthew 28:18-19. It is manifest from the narratives of the Evangelists that Christ only made the Truth of this Great Mystery known to the Twelve Apostles gradually, step by step.

First He taught them to recognize in Himself the Eternal Son of God.

When His ministry was ending, He promised that He would send another Divine Person, God the Holy Ghost, in His place.

Finally after His resurrection, He revealed the doctrine in explicit terms, bidding them to go and teach all nations:

“Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”.

The phrase “in the name” (eis to onoma) affirms alike the Godhead of the Persons and their unity of nature. Among the Jews, as well as in the Apostolic Church, the Divine name was representative of God.  It is incredible that the phrase “in the Name” should be used here because all the Persons were mentioned as being equally Divine.

Also, the use of the singular word “Name”, and not the plural “names”, indicates that these Three Persons are the One Omnipotent God in whom the Apostles believed. The unity of God is so fundamental a tenet, both in the Hebrew and in the Catholic Faith, and is affirmed in so many passages of the Old and New Testaments, that any explanation inconsistent with this doctrine would be altogether inadmissible.

For our resolutions, let all of us thank God for revealing the deep Mystery of the Blessed Trinity to us because, without this Divine Revelation, mankind would have no absolute certitude of the existence of the Three Divine Persons in only One God.

IF you feel overwhelmed by the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity, like Saint Augustine, you might want to think about how Saint Patrick explained it by using a simple shamrock of 3 leaves.  A shamrock of 3 leaves is only ONE shamrock, but each of its THREE leaves represent each of the 3 Divine Persons in only ONE God.

As a final resolution, in the Holy Name of Jesus, and in an exercise of Catholic Charity, please contribute to the support of the Church - in this case - the Shrine of Saint Jude.    Please help us to save Souls!

Thank you for your thoughtfulness and Charity! Remember, God is never outdone in generosity!!!

Think how happy you will be when, in the next life, God shows you all of the Souls you helped to save by helping our Apostolates, including this Sermon web site, because "he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:20).

“And in doing good, let us not fail.  For in due time we shall reap, not failing. Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Galatians  6:9-10).