The Triune God

Today is the feast day of the Holy Trinity- Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  For me, there is nothing more intimidating than this idea of the Triune God- three persons, yet one God.  The very thought of the Trinity's ultimate cosmic power makes me feel like an ancient cowering Grecian underneath the powerful and unpredictable hands of their mythic gods and goddesses.  Although the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not different gods, they do each possess extreme power and take on different roles.   Although the Trinity should always evoke a holy fear, if I think about what the Trinity stands for, it does because something I can relate to and a relationship I can strive for. 

Individually, these three Persons don't intimate me quite as much as they do as a whole.   I can certainly relate to Jesus as my friend and brother.  The Holy Spirit is my constant companion, my inspiration, my comforter.  The Father is loving and merciful.  So why then is it when the three are combined, (which in reality they are always are) do I find it hard to relate to the Trinity?

Perhaps its because I am not thinking about what the Trinity actually is and I guess part of it is because it's a mystery- something I will never understand!  The Trinity is all about a loving relationship but not just any relationship.  It is the ultimate, infinite circle of love that we ourselves yearn to be a part of- whether we know it or not.  This is something I can relate to.   I have many relationships, yet I still yearn for a deeper love, a deeper intimacy--always something more.  This is the gift and the curse that is given to us so that we might not be too attached to earthy things and always remember our eternal home and eternal lover who waits for us.

There is another way I can relate to the Trinity and that is in the procreative act.  There is nothing that reflects the action of the Trinity more than the procreative act.  The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father so much that life bursts forth, and that is the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit then joins in the continuous circle of love for the Father and the Son.  While my family is not always the perfect model of the Trinity, it is something that we can always strive for because it doesn't stop with the procreative act. It continues on and on as our children grow and as my husband I become older.  The Trinitarian love reflected in our family become ever more purposeful and needed as the years go on!  If my husband and I stop working on giving self donative love to each other, our relationship will grow stale; and as my oldest son grows to learn what real love is, he finds meaning and purpose in his relationship with his sister and parents.  This cycle of love reflects the Holy Trinity.

Still, the meditating on the Trinity, will always bring me to a humble state,  as it should.  When I pray to the Trinity, I am, and will always be, kneeling before my creator, my redeemer, and the very breath of God.  There is nothing more humbling than to admit that all power, all good, all love belongs to the Triune God.  Alone, I am nothing.  If there is anything that is good in me, it comes from the Trinity and is only given to me on lend.   When I die, it is all taken away and the only remains is the love of the Trinity.  Only then, will I experience true fulfillment through the loving relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  My greatest wish is that my family will be there to experience it with me.