By Msgr. Joseph Prior • Posted June 13, 2025

(See the readings for The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity)

How can we describe God in Himself? How can we possibly use words to define the Trinity?

Since He is infinite and we are finite, since He is perfect and we are still being perfected, since He is all-knowing while our knowledge is limited, and since He is all-loving, merciful, and just while we can only strive to be, neither a simple nor a complete answer to these questions can be found.

This was the point illustrated in the well-known story of the young boy who spoke to Saint Augustine by the seashore. As Augustine worked on his classic theological treatise, On the Trinity, he encountered the boy pouring buckets of water into a hole.

“What are you trying to do?” Augustine asked.

“Move the ocean,” the boy replied.

Augustine responded, “You cannot do that—it is impossible. The ocean is too vast and wide.”

The boy looked up at him and said, “Neither can you, try as you will, be able to describe the Trinity.”

Over the centuries and millennia, people have sought to understand and illustrate the inner workings of One God in Three Persons.

Tertullian described the Trinity as a plant—the Father as a deep root, the Son as the shoot breaking forth into the world, and the Spirit as the beauty and fragrance it spreads.

Saint Patrick famously used the shamrock, with its three leaves stemming from one stem. Sometimes the equilateral triangle is used as an image of the Trinity

John of Damascus offered multiple analogies:

• A spring representing the Father, the river flowing from it as the Son, and the sea into which it pours as the Spirit.
• A tree, with the roots as the Father, the trunk and branches as the Son, and the fruit as the Spirit.
• The sun, with the Father as the sun itself, the Son as its rays, and the Spirit as its warmth.

Other analogies have developed over time, each offering insight into the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

Perhaps, as we celebrate Trinity Sunday, we should simply acknowledge the mystery and seek to enter into it more deeply.

God invites us into the relationship that defines who He is. He created us in love and endowed us with the freedom to love. He redeemed us when we squandered His love. He sanctifies us so that we may love Him and our neighbor more perfectly.

He does all of this in love, for as Saint John reminds us: “God is love.”

Jesus speaks of the Father and the Spirit many times in the Gospels. In His final address before ascending, He tells His apostles to go out to all nations and to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

In today’s Gospel, He promises to send the Spirit upon His disciples—a fulfillment celebrated at Pentecost. The Spirit dwells in and among the Church, guiding the faithful toward truth. Jesus also speaks of His unity with the Father, stating:

“Everything that the Father has is mine.”

At other points, He is even more explicit, declaring:

“The Father and I are one.”

It is within this loving relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit that we are united both with God and with each other. The more we recognize His love, the more we are empowered to love.

Saint Paul reflects on this love in the second reading from Romans, reminding us of the peace we have received through faith in Christ Jesus.

Jesus—fully God and fully human—has restored fallen humanity through His Paschal Mystery, opening for us a share in divine life. This love strengthens us and fills us with hope, even in suffering.

Saint Paul boldly proclaims: “Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

As we celebrate Trinity Sunday, we reflect on His goodness and love.

Even though He is far beyond our understanding, He remains close to us—loving us and inviting us deeper into His presence.

We praise Him for His mercy. We praise Him for His love. We praise Him for His goodness.

And so we proclaim: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”