Where love and respect are one eternal reality

I remember a priest who once delivered his homily on the solemn feast of the Holy Trinity this way: “My brothers and sisters, the Trinity is a mystery. If I preach about this doctrine, it will no longer be a mystery. So today, I will not deliver a sermon.” Most of his parishioners responded with a collective sigh of relief: “Thanks be to God.”

- FR. ROLANDO Y. DELA ROSA, O.P.

Rather than delve into the theological complexities of this central article of faith, I would like to draw from it a few practical lessons for our daily Christian life.

In our Catechism, we were taught that there is one God in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—whom we invoke every time we make the sign of the cross. In doing so, we proclaim that all our prayers are offered in the name of the Holy Trinity.

Our belief in the Holy Trinity flows from God’s self-revelation as Love. Love, by its very nature, is both unitive and diffusive. As a unitive force, love has the power not only to unite, but also to transform the lover into the beloved. St. Thomas Aquinas expressed this beautifully: “We become what we love.”