Tag: Dogma

The Holy Trinity – A Scientific Analogy

This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. 

The Holy Trinity, one of the five Dogmas of the Church, is an extraordinary and unfathomable mystery. Our limited intellects are unable to comprehend its reality, yet, our Scriptures and scholarly Tradition makes it known to us.

The scientific analogy that will be provided in a few moments is truly inadequate to describe the Holy Trinity. It does, however, provide the proverbial “grist for the mill” for all of us, believers and skeptics alike, that such a concept of “Three existing in One” does exist in nature and can be scientifically proven. So, if an actual physical and observable process exists in nature then why can it not be a reflection of its existence in the spiritual and religious world of Faith?

A number of years ago, one of my RCIA students (an engineer who graduated from Annapolis, America’s Naval Academy) mentioned a physical property of water that aided our discussion. He correctly said that God is One Being of three Divine Persons. He then went on to apply a new analogy regarding water. We know that water consists of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen and it can exist in three independent states: liquid, solid, and gas. It is one substance, water, in every state that it is in.

So, as far as the new analogy is concerned, he said the question should be asked: “Can water exist as a liquid, solid, and gas at the same time?”

The answer: “Yes, it can, because of the scientific reality known as the Triple Point.”

“The Triple Point is the single combination of pressure and temperature at which liquid water, solid ice, and water vapor can coexist.” The coexistence means that the water’s states of liquid, solid, and gas are present, yet independent, at the same time. Scientifically, and observationally, “This occurs at exactly 273.16 K (0.01 °C) and a partial vapor pressure of 611.73 pascals (ca. 6.1173 millibars, 0.0060373 atm).” For further inquiry see this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_point

The article also goes on to state that the Triple Point pressure of water was used during the Mariner 9 mission to Mars as a reference point to define “sea level”. More recent missions use laser altimetry and gravity measurements instead of pressure to define elevation on Mars.[3] [There are numerous other elements and substances that possess Triple Points, and are easily referenced in additional Wikipedia articles]. Some of the data comes from the U.S. National Bureau of Standards (now NIST).[4]”

So, while understandably inadequate to even skim the surface of the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Triple Point of water at least shows that a simple framework for comprehending the reality of the Trinity does exist in nature. Science can assist us in understanding theological truths.

Besides science and nature, our Holy Scriptures and Sacred Tradition provide additional historic and religious truth to substantiate the Dogma of the Holy Trinity. Examples are found in the Gospel of Matthew: the 3rd chapter (the Baptism of Jesus)  and in the 28th chapter (Jesus’ commissioning His Apostles to go out and make disciples of all the nations, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” St. Paul also refers to the Holy Trinity in his second epistle to the Corinthians (13: 11-13) and Romans (8: 14-17) and (5: 1-5).

The Early Fathers of the Church (AD 100 through AD 800) also discussed and provided extraordinary scholarship in developing our basic understanding of this dogma. St. Thomas Aquinas, 450 years later also wrote persuasively about the Holy Trinity, too.

The Holy Trinity, while being a Mystery, can still be approached and discussed through spiritual faith. Faith is the assent of an individual’s intellect and will to believe the teachings of the Church. It is a supernatural gift from God to a person’s soul and intellect at the moment of their Baptism. Faith is sustained through parental modeling, formal teaching, prayer, study, and the reverential reception of the Holy Sacraments.

The Catechism of the Council of Trent and the New Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd edition) contain wonderful explanations about this dogma of our faith. Also, teacher and apologist Frank Sheed, in his book Theology For Beginners, (pp. 33-36), provides us with additional insights into the truth of the Holy Trinity:

” …God utters a word [John 1:1]. … So it is a word in the mind of God, not sounding outwardly as our words sound, akin rather to a thought or an idea. What idea produced in God’s mind could possibly be God? Christian thinking saw early that it could be only the idea God has of Himself. The link between having a Son and having an idea of oneself is that both are ways of producing likeness.
    … [B]ecause God is infinite, eternal, all-powerful, His idea of Himself is infinite, eternal, all-powerful. Because God is God, His idea is God.
    … The Father knows and loves; so His idea knows and loves. In other words, the idea is a Person …, for He – this Person – can know and love. The thinker and the idea are distinct, the one is not the other, Father and Son are two persons; but they are not separate.
    … Father and Son love each other … They unite to express their love and … [this] expression is a third Divine Person: the Holy Spirit. In the Son, the Father utters His self-knowledge; in the Holy Spirit, Father and Son utter their mutual love. Their love is infinite; its expression cannot be less.
… As the one great operation of spirit, Knowing, produces the Second Person, so the other, Loving, produces the Third Person of the Holy Trinity.”

Glory Be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

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                                                 The Trinity in an Initial B, Master of the Codex Rossiano (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/461298)

Copyright © 2011- 2021. Deacon Paul O. Iacono – All Rights Reserved. Permission to reprint must be obtained from the author in writing. Students, and those interested, may quote small sections of the article as long as the proper credit and notation is given. Thank you.

Saint Nicholas Slaps a Heretic! A Reflection Appropriate for Palm Sunday

The extensive Gospel reading for Palm Sunday relates the Scriptural and historical truth that Jesus  triumphantly entered Jerusalem, yet, five days later He was arrested, put on trial, tortured, and executed.

As you know, the religious and secular leaders of Israel did not accept Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. They were adamant about the fact that Jesus was just a man and that His claims, teachings, and healings were all fraudulent.  Their disbelief took place during the first century, yet, two hundred years later there were Christians saying the same thing.

The questions came down to, “Who is Jesus Christ? Is He a man? Is He God? Is He both?”

These were the same questions that the people of Jerusalem, some of them waving palm branches, and their leaders were asking each other.

In the year 325 scholars and clerics were still grappling with those questions, too.

Many deacons, priests, and bishops of the Church had settled the question in their own mind, yet, all of Christendom was not in agreement. Emperor Constantine was worried; as a military man he knew trouble when he saw it. Religious disagreements could easily spread into civil war. Something had to be done.

Stories have come down to us through the centuries that St. Nicholas of Myra, a faith-filled bishop, decided to defend Sacred Tradition and the Scriptural interpretation of the reality of Jesus as the Son of God the Father. The story relates that he not only vigorously defended Sacred Tradition but became so worked up that during one of the debates he slapped the author of this heresy which was called Arianism.

But, was it a verbal or physical slap?

Let’s take a brief look at some of the details:

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Partial icon of the “incident” at the 1st Council of Nicaea. Immortalized in an early icon. The Early Church was well aware of the importance of this Council in debating and agreeing to the specific dogmas of the Church that would be ultimately proclaimed in the Nicene Creed. All catechumens that enter the Church at the Easter Vigil Mass proclaim their belief in the great Sacred Mysteries and historical truths of the Nicene Creed.

Who: Saint Nicholas of Myra, Bishop, (Myra, an Ancient Greek city on the coast of present day Turkey),  vs.  Arius, priest from the diocese of Alexandria, (Alexandria, a city on Egypt’s Mediterranean coastline). Emperor Constantine, Roman Empire, centered in the new city named in his honor: Constantinople (present day Istanbul, Turkey). Constantine convenes an ecumenical council of bishops from the five major patriarchies of Christendom (Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Rome).

What: Supposed incident of Bishop Nicholas “slapping” the priest Arius, at the first ecumenical Council of Bishops: the Council of Nicaea. This was the first Council since the Council of Jerusalem (held in the first century and was attended by luminaries such as St. Peter and St. James).

When: Late Spring and early Summer of the year 325.

Why: The incident concerned the critical issue of who is Jesus Christ, and whether Jesus Christ is “the same in being and the same in essence” as God the Father. Arius was promoting the heresy that Jesus Christ was “just a creature” of God and not a divine Person of the Holy Trinity.

Where: Nicaea, an ancient city in Asia Minor; it is the present day city of Iznik, Turkey.

As it applies to sacred art, the Council of Nicaea provided a specific creed: a set of theological proclamations that impacted  sacred artists from the 4th century to the present day. It is stated clearly in this Creed that God the Father has communicated His love, mercy, and laws to humanity through His revealed word in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. This action culminated in the ministry, passion, death, and resurrection of His incarnated Word, His Son Jesus Christ.

The Nicene Creed definitively proclaimed that Jesus Christ is the same in essence, and the same in being, as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. So we have the great Mystery of the Incarnation, the nature of Jesus Christ: He is both human and divine – the Son of God – One Person with two natures – human and divine.

orthodox_icon_of_our_jesus_pantocrator_of_sinai._large
The above is a 6th century sacred icon of Jesus as Pantocrator. Pantocrator is a Greek word describing the all knowing, all powerful Son of God: Jesus Christ. The Council of Nicaea declared that Christ, as God, is consubstantial: Jesus is the same in essence (substance) and in being as the Father and the Holy Spirit. Also, Jesus possesses two natures: human and divine. This is truly a great Mystery of the Church. The sacred artist of the above icon, probably a monk, used hot pigmented wax (the encaustic method) to render this likeness. This sacred icon is currently located in St. Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. The face has a striking resemblance to the face on the Holy Shroud of Turin.

The day-to-day proceedings and debate notes of the Council have been lost to history, so we will never know if St. Nicholas gave Arius a physical or just a verbal “slap.” Regardless, St. Nicholas made his point and contributed to giving us the gift of the Nicene Creed.

In AD 381, the Nicene Creed was edited and amended at the First Council of Constantinople (thus, the Creed is called the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. Try to say that phrase fast, three times!😃).

Thanks for visiting with me. May you have a prayer-filled Holy Week.

Sources for the above post are found in my bibliography post, entitled Early Church Fathers – A Short bibliography of February 8, 2019. I relied primarily on Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s works, also Aquilina and D’Ambrosio’s volumes.

Copyright © 2011- 2019, Deacon Paul O. Iacono – All Rights Reserved. Permission to reprint must be obtained from the author in writing. Students may quote small sections of the article as long as the proper credit and notation is given. Thank you.