Q. 1. What is meant by the Holy Trinity?

A. 1. The Holy Trinity means that there is One God in Three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the Catholic faith, the truth that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being truly distinct one from another.

This truth is supported by a verse in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians. "In Him (Jesus) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell bodily." [Col. 1:19; 2:9] "All the fullness of God means the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Q. 2. Is the word "Trinity" found in the Holy Bible?

A. 2. No, in the Holy Bible there is as yet no single term by which the Three Divine Persons are denoted together. The word trias (of which the Latin trinitas is a translation) is first found in Theophilus of Antioch about A.D. 180. That is the first written record of which we are aware. That does not mean that the word "Trinity" was not used before A.D. 180.

At the same time, we should ask "Are there any biblical passages to support that in the fullness of God, there are Three distinct Persons?" The answer to this is "Yes!" We can quote the closing of the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus told His disciples, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." [Mt. 28:18] And we can quote the closing words of St. Paul in the Second Letter to the Corinthians where He states, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you." [2 Cor. 13:13] These biblical passages affirm that while there is One God, there are Three distinct Persons in the Godhead.

Q. 3. Is there anything else I should know about the Holy Trinity?

A. 3. Each Person of the Holy Trinity has His own will and personality while at the same time, each is a part of the other two. It is a rather difficult concept to understand for those who are unfamiliar with the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity. This is why the Catholic Church teaches that the Holy Trinity is a mystery of God that must be accepted, although it may not be understood.

In accordance with the Nicene Creed said by Catholics during the Holy Mass, the following represents the Catholic view of the three aspects of God:

We believe in one God
The Father, the Almighty…
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ…
Eternally begotten from the Father…
One in being with the Father
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
Who proceeds from the Father and the Son
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified…

"The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith". The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the One True God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals Himself to men "and reconciles and unites with Himself those who turn away from sin"." (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 234)