It’s a Mystery…
Posted on: May 27, 2013
I love a good mystery.
From Elizabeth Enright to Agatha Christie to Earlene Fowler and too many other authors to mention here, I’ve long enjoyed untangling the threads and trying to solve the mystery before the author reveals all. The same goes for the procedurals I watch on TV.
But as our presiding priest pointed out at Mass this week, there are relative mysteries, which we can figure out, and then there are absolute mysteries, such as the Holy Trinity. Since, as he said, we won’t fully understand the mystery in this life or the next, we should simply adore the Lord.
To those who love the challenge of solving a mystery, not trying to solve one might seem unthinkable. And people in general like to categorize and define things in ways that make sense. Think about the way we arrange everything from grocery items to newspaper sections to apps. Not being able to fit everything into neat boxes can make us uncomfortable.
Still, human knowledge, theories and research can’t explain the mystery of the Trinity. The idea that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three persons but one Lord is a mystery we can only try to wrap our minds around.
Section 233 of the Catechism tells us “Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: not in their names, for there is only one God, the almighty Father, his only Son and the Holy Spirit: the Most Holy Trinity.”
For those who aren’t cradle Christians, this might seem confusing or incredible. But they can read about the Holy Trinity in John’s gospel, for example:
- Jesus was with God in the beginning and everything was created through him (see John 1:1-3);
- he is God’s only begotten Son (see John 3:16-17);
- Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in him (see John 14:9-11); and
- the Holy Spirit comes from the Father in Jesus’ name (see John 14: 26).
Today we can easily become jaded and even fail to treat everything from holy buildings and books to the Holy Trinity with the proper reverence and respect; for example, consider the way some worship songs treat God as a “buddy” and not as our Lord. I pray that, as we contemplate the mystery of the Trinity, we would still feel a sense of wonder and a desire to simply worship the Lord.
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2 Responses to "It’s a Mystery…"
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A Catholic Convert in Ottawa 
May 27, 2013 at 4:35 pm
Good post. I like your header picture with the Parliament Buildings in the distance. What street are the March for Life participants on?
May 29, 2013 at 12:33 pm
We walked down a few different streets…I think that was Metcalfe.