MORAL STORIES

THE HOLY TRINITY AND ST. MARY

We believe that there is only one living God, but He comprises three separate personages who are equal, eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in complete communion and harmony, comprise a unified God, the Holy Trinity. Each personage is distinct and reflects the divine attributes of the one living God.

This cannot be visualized fully using the limited human intelligence and understanding. No example illustrates this divine mystery perfectly. One imperfect illustration is the existence of the same chemical substance, water (H2O) in three different physical states or forms-solid ice, liquid water and gaseous water vapour. Another example is the egg, comprised of three distinct parts-the yolk, the white and the shell. A rope formed by twisting or intertwining three ropes, wound around each other, the compound leaf of clover, with three leaflets united in a single leaf and the seed of the rubber plant with three seeds in a single seed are common media used by catechists to explain this mystery to children. These illustrations are inadequate to indicate the oneness of the three persons in the Holy Trinity.

St. Mary, the most perfect of God's creations, is intimately related to each person in the Holy Trinity. She is the spiritual daughter of God, the Father, the spiritual spouse of God, the Holy Spirit and the physical mother of God, the Son.

In Christian tradition and faith, she is venerated as the 'Mother of God' (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No.495).

Let us repeat, "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners - now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

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By: N.G.Philip, Bethel, Nalamchira, Thiruvananthapuram-15, India and Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India.

This is story No. 66 in this site. Please click ‘older posts’ at bottom of page to read previous stories in this site.