1. Dogmatic Understanding of the Trinity II

2. Substance/Nature/Essence E xpress what is one in God. Substance designates that reality, which forms a permanent basis for all the differentiations that arise in it, on it, or from it. Thus, the divine substance is what permanently sustains and unites the three persons. Nature designates the same substance in the measure that it constitute a principle that originate something, a principle of activity. Essence designates the inner rationale of being, that by which something is what it is. The essence of God is what constitute God as God.

3. Hypostasis/Subsistence/Persons What is three in God. Hypostasis indicate individuality existing in itself, distinct from all other individualities. Subsistence is the Latin equivalent of hypostasis. Each divine person is a "subsistant" - has a real existence in a singular mode. Person designates a thinking individuality or spiritual subject in possession of itself.

4. Three levels of meaning for person: 1.an existing subject distinct from others (classical meaning) 2.a subsistent relationship or the individual and incommunicable subsistence of a rational nature. It stresses the relationship between persons. (scholastic meaning) 3.a being-for, a knot of relationships, an identity formed and completed on the basis of relationship with others. Persons as conscious beings with ontological configuration. At the same time oriented towards others (modern meaning).

5. Processions Designates the origin of one Person from another. So there are two processions in the mystery of the Trinity: that of the Son and that of the Holy Spirit. The Father begets the Son from all eternity and with (or through) the Son originates the Holy Spirit. It is understood that there is no temporal succession in God, since in God everything is eternal and simultaneous.

6. Relationships This means an ordering of one Person to another, a connection between each of the divine three. The processions in the Trinity enables us to discern four relationships:  fatherhood of the father to the Son  sonship of the son to the father  breathing out of the Spirit by the Father and the Son  the Spirit's being breathed out by the Father and Son

7. Notions The characteristics or notes that enable us to know the Persons as themselves as different from one another. There are 5 notions: 1.fatherhood 2.unoriginatedness [of the first person] 3. sonship [for the second person] and 4. breathing-out [for the Son and Father], 5. being breathed-out for the Spirit.

8. Affirmations: Essential and Notional Essential is applied to affirmations based on divine essence (e.g. God is merciful, the Trinity is merciful, the Father is merciful). Notional affirmations are applied to Persons in their distinction from one another. Thus, there are four notional actions: begetting, being begotten, breathing out and being breathed-out. There are five notional properties: being without origin, fatherhood, sonship, breathing- out and being breathed out.

9. Perichoresis/Circumincession/ Circuminsession These are terms to describe the relationship of communion between the three persons, one totally within the other. They mean: co-habitation, co-existence, interpenetration of the divine persons by one another.

10. Trinity as Sole Agent of Action Perichoresis shows us that the three divine persons always act together in creation. Such is the communion between them that when they create (the universe, humankind, history), save, judge, intervene in the course of events, they always do so jointly.

11. Appropriated and Proper Actions All actions ad extra are attributed to the three persons. But liturgy and spirituality attribute certain actions which in fact belong to all three persons to one in particular because of a certain affinity with that person: Creation - attributed to the Father because he is the begetter and breather-out Revelation - attributed to the Son since he is the expression and revelation of the Father Redemption is also attributed to the Son since he became incarnate and set us free Sanctification is attributed to the Spirit since he is called the Holy One.

12. Divine Missions the idea of proper actions leads to an understanding of the divine missions. "Mission" means the presence of a divine Person in creature - the self-communication of one Person to a created being. Thus, the Father sent his Son into the world that he might divinize, teach and affiliate all people. And with the Son he sent the Holy Spirit, so that through the woman Mary, it could breathe the spirit into humanity and show the maternal face of God.

13. Economic Trinity and Immanent Trinity - The economic is trinity is the immanent trinity. Economic Trinity designates the presence of the Trinity or the Persons of the Trinity within the history of salvation. The trinity is revealed in this historical- salvific process. The economic trinity is God for us while the immanent trinity is the Trinity understood in itself.

14. Syntactical Rules for Correct Discourse of the Trinity Nouns expressing the divine essence should be used in the singular: mercy, goodness and wisdom. (not mercies but mercy, not Gods but God - there is one mercy as there is one God). Adjectives and adverbs should not be used to designate the nature of God. We can not speak about the Triple God or the Trinity exists in the only God.

15. Properties of each person may not be applied to the nature of God. So we do not speak of God begetting, but the Father begetting. Certain idioms have been coined as better expressing the truth of faith: we do not say that the Persons have an equal essence but one essence. Nor do we speak of different persons but of distinct persons.

16. To sum up the grammar of the Trinity we can follow Bonaventure: One nature (divine essence or substance) Two processions (or emanations): of Son and Holy Spirit Three persons (hypostases or subsistents): Father, Son and Holy Spirit Four relationships: fatherhood, sonship, breathing out, being breathed out Five notions: unbegotten, fatherhood, sonship, breathing-out, being breathed out. (or Rahner’s five notions, four relationships, three persons, two procession, one nature, zero comprehension)

17. Seven Propositions 1. The first person of the Trinity is God the Father, Almighty creator of heaven and earth, the un- originated origin, source and generator of the life of the Trinity. He is the Father of the only begotten Son. He is also the active principle of the breathing out of the Holy Spirit. 2. The second person of the Trinity is the Son, eternally begotten of the Father, without this making him a creature. He receives his divine nature, essence and substance from the Father. Being consubstantial with the Father, he is Word, image and sacrament of both in the intra- trinitarian sphere and in his incarnate mission.

18. 3. The third person of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from one source, from the Father and the Son, being consubstantial with them. The procession from the Father and the Son is not begetting but being breathed out. The HS is the eternal expression of the love between the Father and the Son. 4. The properties and saving missions of the divine persons. In the order of immanence, we say the properties of the Father are un-originatedness and fatherhood, the Son is to be begotten, the Holy Spirit is to be breathed out by the Father and the Son. In the order of history of salvation, the Father is the origin of saving history and the missions of the Son and Holy Spirit. Incarnation is proper to the Son; to the Holy Spirit, the mission of sanctifying and of producing the humanity of Jesus in the womb of the virgin Mary.

19. 5. The distinction of divine persons: The persons are distinguished from one another by relationships of proceeding and origin. They are distinct in order to unite and the distinction is based on the mutually relative opposition between them: fatherhood, sonship, breathing out and being breathed out. 6. The communion obtaining between the three divine persons. The distinction between the Persons is merely formal or virtual. Their mutual interpenetration forms the basis of the existence of the divine persons, an expression of eternal communion. 7. The revelation of the Trinity retains the character of mystery.

20. Next Meeting: Latin Tradition Thomas Marsh, Triune God, pp. 129- 142