Holy Trinity and Society

The Holy Trinity is one yet distinct from one another and relative to one another. As Catholics we believe that there is one God in three persons, each one of them God whole and entire (CCC 253). Their distinctness comes from their relations of origin. “It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds” (CCC 254). “In the relational names of the persons the Father is related to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to both. While they are called three persons in view of their relations, we believe in one nature or substance. Indeed everything (in them) is one where there is no opposition of relationship” (CCC 255).

This unity of the Holy Trinity is the source and model of unity for society. The latter’s oneness is derived from its own shared humanity. The diverse gifts each one has received from God are likewise not opposed to unity. Just as the Trinity is three persons in one God, man, who is created in His image and likeness, can also work in harmony with fellow human beings amidst diversity. Yet the Church also recognizes that sin and the burden of its consequences constantly threaten the gift of unity (CCC 814). Hence, each Christian member of society is exhorted to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Above all charity “binds everything together in perfect harmony” (CCC 815).