XXII — BEFORE THE TRINITY

Presence of God. — O Most Holy Trinity, may consideration of your mystery produce in me deep humility, blind faith, and ardent love.

Meditation

1 — What Jesus has revealed to us and what, relying on his words, the Church teaches us about the Trinity is enough to let us know that this mystery exists, but not to make us understand it. Indeed, this is precisely the mystery of our holy faith most inaccessible to human reason; before it we experience more than ever the infinite disproportion between our intelligence and divine mysteries, and we feel more than ever the immense distance between us, little creatures, and God, the Supreme Being, the Most High. All this is good, very good, because it helps us take before God the attitude that truly befits us as creatures: an attitude of humility, of humble acknowledgment of our insufficiency, of respectful abasement, of reverent adoration. Never as when we place ourselves before the great Trinitarian mystery do we feel the need to repeat humbly: nihil sumus, nihil possumus, nihil valemus; we are nothing, we can do nothing, we are worth nothing (St. John Eudes), and at the same time to exalt the inaccessible greatness of our God: Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus sabaoth; holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts; You alone are holy, You alone are almighty, You alone are worthy, You alone are He who is.

Reason is dazzled by the greatness of the mystery, but reason enlightened by faith does not lose itself: it recognizes its inferiority and, submitting to divine revelation, believes. It is an act of faith all the more meritorious and supernatural the less it can rely on human reasoning; an act of faith that honors God all the more the more blindly it clings to his word. “It seems to me,” says St. Teresa of Jesus, “that the more the realities of faith surpass the natural order, the more living my faith becomes and the greater devotion I feel... and in them I find one more motive for praising God” (Life 19, 9; cf. 28, 6). Such is the faith of the humble soul before the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity.

2 — Consideration of the Trinitarian mystery leads us not only to an attitude of humble reverence and blind faith, but also to an attitude of profound filial love. “This is the mark of friendship,” says St. Thomas, “that a friend reveal his secrets to a friend” (Contra Gentiles I, 4, c. 22). Such is the mark of God’s love for us, since by revealing to us the mystery of the Trinity He has unveiled the secret of his intimate life, upon which we had no right to cast our gaze. Even if we had no other proof of the love of friendship God has for us, the revelation of this mystery would be more than enough to convince us. He has confided to us the secrets of his heart, opened to us the hidden depth of his personal life, admitted us to his intimacy. All this makes us ever more convinced of the excessive charity with which God has loved us, all the more because He was not content to reveal his mystery to us, but He, the glorious Trinity, has willed to give Himself to us. The Father gave Himself to us: after drawing us into existence, He sacrificed his Only-Begotten for our salvation. The Son gave Himself to us: by becoming incarnate, He died for us on the Cross and became our food. The Holy Spirit gave Himself to us: He came to dwell in our souls in order to pour into them grace and charity. To this point the Trinity has given Itself to us precisely to raise us to the state of children and, as such, introduce us into the sphere of its divine family. Throughout the Gospel we see the whole Trinity bending over man to redeem him, to sanctify him, to make him share in its divine nature and eternal beatitude. We see the Father surrounding us with his paternal mercy and providence; we see the Son becoming one of us and pouring out all his Blood for us; we see the Holy Spirit sanctifying our souls by pouring grace and love into us.

Yes, before the Trinity we always remain little creatures, infinitely distant from its divine Majesty, and yet the Trinity has bent down over us and drawn us to Itself, loving us with an eternal love; in charitate perpetua dilexi te, ideo attraxi te miserans tui (Jer. 31, 3).

Colloquy

“My faith invokes You, O blessed Trinity, with clear and sincere voice; that faith which, nourished by You from my cradle, You have always illumined with the lights of your grace, and increased and confirmed in me through the doctrine of Mother Church.

“I invoke You, O blessed and glorious one Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; God, Lord, and Paraclete; charity, grace, and communion.

“O three equal and coeternal Persons, one true God, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, who alone dwell in eternity and in inaccessible light; who founded the earth by your power and govern the world by your wisdom; holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts, terrible and strong, just and merciful, admirable, worthy of all praise and lovable.

“One and undivided Trinity, open to me who invoke You... I stand at your door, O highest Father, and I knock; command that it be opened, O You who said: ‘Knock and it shall be opened to you.’ The desires of my longing heart knock at your door, O most merciful Father, and my cries and the tears of your child; Father of mercies, hear your child’s groan and stretch out your helping hand... “I know, O Lord, I know and confess that I am not worthy that You should love me; but surely You are worthy to be loved by me. I am unworthy to serve You, but You are most worthy to be served by your creature. Give me, therefore, O Lord, that of which You are worthy, and I shall be made worthy of what I now do not merit.

“Your faith invokes You, O blessed Trinity, that You may come into me and make me a temple worthy of your glory. I pray to the Father through the Son; the Son through the Father; I pray to the Holy Spirit through the Father and the Son, that all my vices may be driven from me and all virtues planted in me” (St. Augustine).