The Search for Meaning - Specific

3.1 - Specific

Trinity

• In the Roman Catholic Tradition the fundamental belief of the One Triune and Incarnate God, that is “one God in three persons.” (ccc 253) 

• Each person of the Trinity: “the Father ... and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” (Matt 28:19) exist in a “consubstantial trinity.” (ccc 253) 

• Catholics attest that this Triune “God is love,” (1 Jn 4:8) and these three persons exist in “an eternal exchange of love.” (ccc 221) 

• Although each person of the Trinity is “God whole and entire,” (ccc 253) the “divine persons are really distinct from one another.” (ccc 254) 

• Finally, Catholics believe that the Trinity is the “central mystery” (ccc 234) of the Catholic faith, and that if you could fully understand it then “it would not be God.” (St. Augustine) 

Incarnation

• The fundamental belief in the Incarnation, where God the Son (the second person of the most blessed Trinity) “who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,” (Apostles Creed) became man in first century Palestine. 

• He became humanity's “model of holiness,” (ccc 459) by His perfect life, showing humanity how to live a life pleasing to God. 

• Christ released man from the eternal chain of sin, “opening the gates of heaven,” (ccc 637) that whoever believes in Him “may not perish but have eternal life,” (Jn 3:16) and that they “might know God’s love.” (ccc 458) 

• The Son became man to show that God was Trinitarian in nature, stating that “the Father and I are one.” (John 10:30) 

• He ‘became flesh’ (John 1:14) accepting the fate of His death and was crucified for humanity’s salvation. 

Nature of Human Life

• By nature “human life is sacred,” as it “remains forever in a special relationship with the creator.” (ccc 2258)

• This special relationship is a result of God’s creative action to create humans in His “image and likeness.” (Gen 1:27)

• By being created by God who “is love,” (1 Jn 4:8) to an infinite measure, humanity has the capacity to love. To “bear in themselves the Divine image,“ (St. Gregory of Nyssa) and can “show forth the image of God,” (ccc 1877) by expressing divine attributes in a finite way.

• Furthermore, God created humanity with free will, so that they can “initiate and control [their] own actions.” (ccc 1730) So that humans could “freely choose to love Him.” (ccc 1033)

• However, humans misused that free will and fell into sin, causing them to fall away from God and therefore by nature be “inclined to sin.” (ccc 405)

Purpose of Human Life