1. Tuesday Faith Formation SHARING THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL

2. The Blessed Trinity

3. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

4. Then Jesus appeared: he came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. John tried to dissuade him. ‘It is I who need baptism from you’ he said ‘and yet you come to me!’ But Jesus replied, ‘Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that righteousness demands.’ At this, John gave in to him. As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him’. Matthew 3: 13-17

5. 1. God is One

6. God is One (CCC 200) “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One” (Deut. 6:4-5).

7. We say of ourselves and of all things we encounter in the world that they have being. We never say of ourselves, “I am being.” All things in the world have being that they have received from another. The one who is being is the source of being for all things that have being. In Exodus 3:13-15, God tells Moses that His name is “I am who I am” (or “I am He who Is”). The One who IS being is GOD (see CCC 206, 213). Thus we can say, in the words of St. Paul, of ourselves and of all finite, existing things, “In Him [God] we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). We have our being in Him; He is being itself, in and through Himself.

8. God is Merciful; God is Truth; God is Love. God is Merciful: CCC 210, Ex. 34:5-6 God is Truth ◦God is Steadfast, Faithful (CCC 214, Ex. 34:6) ◦Faithful→Truthful God is Love (1 John 4:8, 16), (CCC 221) ◦Love is the only motivation for God’s revelation of Himself to us, redemption of us (John 3:16, CCC 218-220) ◦Steadfast love→Mercy

9. 2. God is Three

10. The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith". CCC 234

11. God reveals Himself as Trinity  Already in the Old Testament, in a hidden way  Through the incarnation of the Son, Jesus Christ.  Through the Holy Spirit, in the Church

12. Same WHAT: The Trinity is One. "The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God.“ CCC 253 Different WHO: The divine persons are really distinct from one another. "He is not the Father who is the Son, nor is the Son he who is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit he who is the Father or the Son.“ CCC 254 WHOLLY IN: “the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Son is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son.“ CCC 255

13. The ultimate end of the whole divine economy is the entry of God's creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity. But even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity: "If a man loves me", says the Lord, "he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him“ – CCC 260

14. 3. God is creator

15. Lets recall what we have we have learnt so far... that all the persons of the Trinity are of the same nature or essence, equal, eternal and distinct. that the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit always acts towards us in perfect unity. No one Person ever acts alone or ever could act alone, because all exist and act only in relation to each other.

16. The world was created for the Glory of God “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” Genesis 1:1 The eternal God gave a beginning to all that exists outside of himself: - He alone is the creator (Hebrew bara) - The totality of all that exists (heavens and the earth) depends on the one who gives it being (God)

17. http://www.agodman.com/blog/christ-as-the-word-of-god-is-both-the-creator-and-the- means-of-his-creation/

18. http://image.slidesharecdn.com/genesisdigsite1-130905154028-/95/genesis-digsite-1-3-638.jpg?cb=1378396036

19. Who made it? By what means? Why? The Father Through his Word Jesus his Son Out of Love - The Holy Spirit. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came to be.... (John 1: 1-2). ( St. Augustine, City of God XI, 24)

20. Then the Lord formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostril the breath of life and man became a living being (Genesis 2:7 ) “The Son was sent where he already was...” as Creator, sustaining the whole of creation in being (St Augustine) All things were created in heaven and on earth All things were created through him and in him He is before all things and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17) Let us make man in our own image, after our own likeness... So God created man in his own image in the image of God he created him... ( Genesis 1:26-27)

21. Workshops Workshop 1 For those who transmit the Catholic faith to children Workshop 2 For those who transmit the Catholic faith to young people Workshop 3 For those who transmit the Catholic faith to adults Workshop 4 For those who want to deepen their own understanding of the Catholic faith

23. Mary, Virgin and Mother, you who, moved by the Holy Spirit, welcomed the word of life in the depths of your humble faith: as you gave yourself completely to the Eternal One, help us to say our own “yes” to the urgent call, as pressing as ever, to proclaim the good news of Jesus. Mother of the living Gospel, wellspring of happiness for God’s little ones, pray for us. Amen. Alleluia!

24. Acknowledgments Mosaics artworks: © Fr Marko Rupnik and Centro Aletti - www.centroaletti.com Scripture: Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA