A Beacon Of Light… Our Belief In One God In Three Persons
By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON JR.
(Editor’s Note: Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr. is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn. He received his BA in religious studies and his MA in dogmatic theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.)
- + + Last week we began this series by asking the question: I believe. We answered the question by saying we believe not in something, but in someone. This someone, God, is the first part of what we profess in the Nicene Creed each Sunday. For us as Catholics, this one God is three divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We profess our belief in the Blessed Trinity as demonstrated in the Credo.
We begin by saying: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, of all things visible and invisible.”
By professing these words, we stand at the starting line of the truths of the faith. As a runner stands at the starting line eager to run the race, so too, it is here we begin the race to know who God is.
In the beginning moments of this “race of faith,” we find ourselves gazing into the Old Testament. It is here that we first encounter the “one God.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us of this (n. 201) as it makes reference: “To Israel, his chosen, God revealed himself as the only One: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.’ Through the prophets, God calls Israel and all nations to turn to him, the one and only God: ‘Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. . . . To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear’.”
Our belief in the “one God” is continually strengthened because God reveals Himself to us in this way: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6).
Our beliefs are linked to the God who searches us out in the midst of our daily lives. But what is even more exciting is that God tells us His name. At Mount Sinai, after the Ten Commandments and the instructions for the people Israel were received, God reveals His name: “Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO AM.’ And He said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, I AM has sent me to you…this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations’” (Exodus 3:15 ESV).
By revealing His name, God shows He is faithful to those He has created. Not a faithfulness that ends in the Old Testament, but a faithfulness that encompasses all time and space; past, present, and into the future. In doing so, our belief in God includes an understanding that He will always be with you.
Having revealed Himself to us by through a name, “I AM WHO AM,” humanity now begins to establish a relationship with Him. We know who the new GOD is, but how are we to understand Him? This question can be answered simply through what God revealed to the people Israel and to the prophets of old and all of creation. Following the sin of Israel, and after they worshiped the golden calf, God showed the abundance of His mercy and love:
“After Israel’s sin, when the people had turned away from God to worship the golden calf, God hears Moses’ prayer of intercession and agrees to walk in the midst of an unfaithful people, thus demonstrating his love. When Moses asks to see his glory, God responds, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name “the LORD” [YHWH].’ Then the LORD passes before Moses and proclaims, ‘YHWH, YHWH, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness’; Moses then confesses that the LORD is a forgiving God” (Exodus 32-34).
Through the mercy and compassion of God toward the people of Israel, we are able to see that we believe in a God of truth and love. Believing in a God of truth, means that every word spoken by God is an authentic expression of His care for us. Unlike the tempter in the Garden of Eden who tricked Adam and Eve through a lie, God never lies to us. His words are spirit and truth. The coming of the Incarnation is a visible sign of this Truth. St. John the Baptist reminds us of this when he says: “When he sends his Son into the world it will be ‘to bear witness to the truth’” (John 18:37).
God’s truth, however, is magnified in His love for us. Throughout the history of salvation, God’s primordial purpose was to share His love with us. It’s a love that is so great, it is gratuitously given. Meaning man continually has the opportunity to experience God’s love through grace that is freely given out of love. The Incarnation is the most visible form of God’s love for us!
On that Christmas night in Bethlehem, the visible sign of God’s love was made manifest for all the world to see, and it involved a little baby. The baby is a reminder of pure innocence and love, and so, God’s love would shine through the person of Jesus, the baby of Bethlehem. The heavenly glow of that night, along with the choirs of heavenly angels singing, is a sign that God’s redeeming love had arrived. No longer does man live in fear of darkness and sin, because God “has visited His people.”
God’s Greatness And Majesty
And so, what are the implications of professing: “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible”?
Well first of all, by professing these words we open ourselves up to God, the only ONE, and allow Him access into our lives. By doing so we gain the ability to see God working in our lives.
Second, we come to know God’s greatness and majesty. The Book of Job reminds us of this: “Behold, God is great, and we know him not” (Job 36:26).
Third, it enables us to live our lives in thanksgiving for all that He has given us. “What shall I render to the Lord for all his bounty to me?” (Psalm 116:12).
Fourth, it means recognizing the unity and true dignity of all men as is spoken in the Book of Genesis: “Everyone is made in the image and likeness of God” (Gen. 1:26).
Fifth, we are also called to make good use of created things because they were created for our sanctification. St. Nicholas of Flue expressed this in the following prayer: “My Lord and my God, take from me everything that distances me from you. My Lord and my God, give me everything that brings me closer to you. My Lord and my God, detach me from myself to give my all to you.”
And finally it means trusting God completely, even though the adversities of life may seem difficult. St. Teresa of Avila understood and excelled in this way of thinking. In fact, St. Teresa of Avila believed that the more we are connected to God, the more we can endure the earthly life. She composed a prayer to that effect saying:
“Let nothing trouble you. Let nothing frighten you, everything passes. God never changes, patience obtains all. Whoever has God, wants for nothing” (St. Teresa of Avila, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, volume III, Washington, D.C.: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1985).
And so where do we go from here? We return to the starting line of the “race of faith,” and we need to focus ourselves on the prize ahead; the prize of knowing our faith better. Now that we have affirmed believing in one God and getting to know the Father, we will continue taking small steps that will lead to more of an understanding of our faith. Our faith is but a mystery in the journey of salvation and there is so much more to be known.
Come, join me as we take these little steps of faith together!
Next week we will examine what it means to believe in One Lord Jesus Christ!