The mystery of the most Holy Trinity is a basic doctrine of Faith in Christianity, understandable not with our heads but with our hearts. It teaches us that there are three distinct Persons in one God, sharing the same Divine Nature, co-equal and co-eternal. Our mind cannot grasp this doctrine which teaches that 1+1+1 = 1 and not 3. We believe in this Mystery because Jesus, who is God, taught it clearly, the Evangelists recorded it, the Fathers of the Church tried to explain it, and the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople defined it as a dogma of Christian Faith.
It is important in our lives for several reasons. All prayers in the Church begin in the Name of the Holy Trinity and end glorifying the Trinity. All the Sacraments are administered (we are baptised, confirmed, anointed, our sins are forgiven, our marriage is blessed, and our Bishops, priests and deacons are ordained) in the name of the Holy Trinity. We bless ourselves, and the priest or deacon blesses us, in the Name of the Holy Trinity.
There are several actions we can do in our own daily lives which include the Holy Trinity. First let us respect ourselves and others because everyone is the temple of the Holy Spirit where all Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are present. Second let us know without any doubt that the Trinitarian God lives in us, that He is the Source of our hope, courage and strength, and that He is our destination on our death. Also, let us practise the Trinitarian relationship of love and unity in the family relationships of father, mother, and children because by Baptism we become children of God and members of God’s Trinitarian family. Finally let us practise to love myself, God and my neighbour as a Trinitarian act of love.
The Holy Trinity is a mystery and there have been many attempts to explain it. The one most people are familiar with is St. Patrick, who used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. The story goes that one day his friends asked Patrick to explain the Mystery of the Trinity. He looked at the ground and saw shamrocks growing in the grass at his feet. He picked one up one of its trifoliate leaves and asked if it were one leaf or three. Patrick’s friends couldn’t answer – the shamrock leaf looked like one, but it clearly had three parts. Patrick explained to them: “The mystery of the Holy Trinity – one God in Three Persons: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – is like this, but more complex and unintelligible.”
A less well known example perhaps is that of St. Cyril who tried to explain the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity using the sun as an example. He said, “God the Father is that blazing sun. God the Son is its light and God the Holy Spirit is its heat — but there is only one sun. So, there are three Persons in the Holy Trinity, but God is One and indivisible.”
St.Augustine wrote: “You see the Trinity, if you see love.” According to him, the Father is the lover, the Son is the loved one and the Holy Spirit is the personification of the very act of loving.”
Finally there is this story about Adam walking with God in the Garden of Eden: Adam said, “Excuse me God, can I ask you a few questions?” God replied, “Go on Adam, but be quick. I have a world to create.”
So, Adam says, “When you created Eve, why did you make her body so curved and tender unlike mine?” “I did that, Adam, so that you could love her.” “Oh, well then, why did you give her long, shiny, beautiful hair?” “I did that Adam so that you could love her.” “Oh, well then, why did you make her so stupid? Is that too because I should love her?” “Well, Adam, no. I did that so that she could love you.