Part I, Chapter II — Unity and Trinity of God

37. What does "Unity of God" mean?

"Unity of God" means that there is only one God.

38. What does "Trinity of God" mean?

"Trinity of God" means that in God there are three equal Persons, really distinct: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

39. What does "three really distinct Persons" mean?

"Three really distinct Persons" means that in God one Person is not the other, although all three are one and the same God.

40. Do we understand how the three divine Persons, though really distinct, are one God?

We do not understand, nor can we understand, how the three divine Persons, though really distinct, are one God: it is a mystery.

41. Who is the first Person of the Most Holy Trinity?

The first Person of the Most Holy Trinity is the Father.

42. Who is the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity?

The second Person of the Most Holy Trinity is the Son.

43. Who is the third Person of the Most Holy Trinity?

The third Person of the Most Holy Trinity is the Holy Spirit.

44. Why is the Father the first Person of the Most Holy Trinity?

The Father is the first Person of the Most Holy Trinity because He does not proceed from any other Person, and from Him proceed the other two, that is, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

45. Why is the Son the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity?

The Son is the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity because He is begotten of the Father, and is, together with the Father, the principle of the Holy Spirit.

46. Why is the Holy Spirit the third Person of the Most Holy Trinity?

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Most Holy Trinity because He proceeds from the Father and the Son.

47. Is each Person of the Most Holy Trinity God?

Yes, each Person of the Most Holy Trinity is God.

48. If each divine Person is God, are the three divine Persons therefore three Gods?

The three divine Persons are not three Gods, but only one God, because they have the same one divine nature or substance.

49. Are the three divine Persons equal, or is one of them greater, more powerful, and more wise?

Since the three divine Persons are one God, they are equal in all things, and they have every perfection and every operation equally in common; although certain perfections and the corresponding works are attributed more to one Person than to another, as power and creation are to the Father.

50. Was the Father at least before the Son and the Holy Spirit?

The Father was not before the Son and the Holy Spirit, because the three divine Persons, having in common the one divine nature, which is eternal, are equally eternal.