By faith we believe that God is one in three Divine Persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is what we call the Trinity. We cannot fully explain it, but we make it a dogma of faith. Why?
We believe in the Trinity because we believe in Jesus who, in the gospel, reveals the Triune God. Jesus claims that the Father and he are one (Jn 10:30). He tells the disciples that he and the Father would send the Holy Spirit (Jn 15:26). Then, before his ascension into heaven, he commissioned the apostles to go to all corners of the world and make people his disciples. “Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit . . .” (Mt 28:19-20).
Because the Trinity is a mysterious reality, some people would think that it means little or nothing to our life? But wait! Were we not created in the image and likeness of the Triune God? If such is true, then the inner life of Trinity must have something to tell us about being human or about the way we live our life.
First of all, the Trinity tells us about the equal dignity of persons. Each Person of the Trinity is unique and different, but all three are of equal dignity. The Divine Persons live harmoniously because they have full respect of each other’s individuality and equality. This is one important thing that we need to emulate from the Trinity – to respect the dignity of every person and to treat all equally, irrespective of age, colour, gender, belief, or financial status. Respect for the dignity of persons is crucial in every relationship. In fact, friendship between persons would thrive only if the parties involved are respectful of each others’ worth and dignity.
Moreover, the Trinity shows us that there can be unity amidst diversity. The divine persons are equal in dignity, but each of them possesses different characteristics. Yet, instead of causing tension, the uniqueness of every Divine Person enriches the beauty and productivity of the Trinitarian life. This is another basic lesson that we need to learn from the Trinity. We become beautiful and more fruitful if we allow or respect differences in our communities. The challenge is to inspire individuals to use their unique gifts and talents for the good of all.
The family, for example, is a community of persons who are called to reflect the inner life of the Trinity. The members of the family – parents and children – must respect the dignity of each one. Parents and elders must not consider themselves superior to their children or younger siblings. Love, not power, should rule in the family. Love gives, power dominates. Relationships are harmful when one party dominates another or makes the other subservient to one’s wishes and desires.
Furthermore, members of a family must respect the uniqueness of each one. Husband and wife, for example, should not lose their individuality in marriage. Some would like us to believe that for marriage to last, husband and wife must have the same likes and dislikes. Nothing is further from the truth. Complementarity in marriage means that a husband or a wife must be a willing supplement or help to the other. Husband and wife do not have to like the same food, but each one is challenge to do everything so that the other can eat his or her favorite food. They do not have to share the same idea about something, but each one is called to listen and enlighten one another’s opinion.