Glory to the Holy Trinity
What is the dogma of the Holy Trinity? The Holy Trinity is the mystery of one God in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life; it is the mystery of God in Himself; it is the source of all the other mysteries of faith, and it is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the hierarchy of the truths of faith. The history of salvation is aligned to the way in which the Father, Son and Holy Spirit was revealed to men. (CCC 234) Holy Spirit imparts His gifts through the charisms and ministries of the Church.
During the first centuries, the Church sought to clarify its Trinitarian faith in the early Church councils, and aided by the theological work of the Church Fathers (CCC 250). The Church developed the term “substance” to designate the divine being in its unity, the term “person” to designate the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the term “relation” to designate their distinction from one another. (CCC 251-252)
The Holy Trinity is One. The Church confesses one God in three Persons, and not three gods. But at the same time, the three Persons do not share one divinity among themselves, but each Person is God whole and entire. (CCC 253)
Each Person is distinct from one another. The Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit, the Son is not the Father or the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. (CCC 254)
Each Person is relative to one another. The Father is related to the Son, the Son is related to the Father, and the Holy Spirit is related both to the Father and the Son. However, while all three Persons are distinct from one another, all three Persons are of one and the same substance. (CCC 255)
The whole Christian life is a communion with each of the divine Persons without separating them. Everyone who glorifies the Father does so through the Son in the Holy Spirit; everyone who follows Christ does so because the Father draws him and the Spirit moves him. (CCC 259; John 6:44, Romans 8:14) The Lord Jesus Christ said, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.” (John 14:23)
This is the Catholic faith: we worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without either confusing the Persons or dividing the substance; for the Person of the Father is one, the Person of the Son is another, and the Person of the Holy Spirit is yet another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal. (CCC 266; Athanasian Creed)
Next Sunday, June 6, 2021, is the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. Eucharistic Adoration begins at 9:30 am in the chapel. Immediately after the 10:30am Mass, Fr. Bill will lead the Eucharistic procession on our church grounds. When we return to the main Sanctuary, we will have the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
Just a reminder, if you would like to add any names to our prayer list, please submit them to Antonia Fu. She is our prayer list coordinator.
Prayer List: Agnes Lam, Shuang-san Wang, Bo Hao Pan, Winnie Lee, Anni Lee, Pat Hui, Leslie Tsui, Judy Su。
Tai-Chi exercise classes resume today after Mass. Tai-Chi master Anthony Liu will conduct the classes from 11:30am to 12:00pm in the Social Hall. There is no fee for the classes. All are welcome.