Sacred Mysteries: The Holy Trinity –three persons in one God
And tomorrow is Trinity Sunday. If you're unlucky a clergyman will say in his sermon that the doctrine of the Trinity is too hard to understand and so he'll talk about something else. I suppose that is better than saying things about the Trinity that are untrue.
Yet Christianity regards the Trinity as the very making of Christians – at Baptism, when water is poured over them with the words: 'I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.'
There are big differences between Catholics and Orthodox and Anglicans and Lutherans, but they agree about Baptism, and no one who moves from one communion to another has to be baptised anew.
Yet the words are important. There was an incident resolved in 2008 in which people – babies mostly, in Australia – had been baptised 'in the name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer'. When asked, the Vatican ruled that the baptisms were invalid and would jolly well have to be done from scratch.
There is a grammatical point about the formula that is meant to throw light on the doctrine of the Trinity. It is the fact that the words say 'in the name' and not 'in the names'. The name is held to refer to the essence of God, not to the three personal names of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The same invocation, 'in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit' accompanies the Sign of the Cross, at the start of a prayer, at grace before meals, on entering a church or when taking a penalty kick.
I don't think people imagine that God the Father is connected to the forehead, which is touched when his name is spoken, or that the Son is connected to the heart or the Holy Spirit to the shoulders. The form of the devotion marks out the shape of a cross. It feels different making it by touching the right shoulder before the left, as Eastern rite churches do, but one soon gets the hang of it, so often is the gesture used in their worship.
Even without the Sign of the Cross, the Holy Trinity is often invoked in liturgy by the doxology: '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.'
Some people apparently got confused by the phrase 'world without end' when we all know that the world will have an end (and pretty soon, the way things are going). It is surprising the confusion wasn't untangled when they were little children, for 'world' here refers to the world of eternity, translating the Latin saecula saeculorum, which itself follows the pattern of Hebrew superlatives such as holy of holies, Song of Songs. Anyway, some English forms of prayer have changed the end of the doxology to 'is now, and will be forever. Amen'. The change must have seemed a good idea at the time.I'm not suggesting these habitual prayers contain the whole doctrine of the Trinity (any more than does its adumbration in the Sanctus prayer, 'Holy, holy, holy'), but if worshippers follow the way these are employed in the liturgy, they should gain some intuition of God the Holy Trinity.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
New bins rolled out in national parks to tackle deadly Aussie issue
New bins will start appearing in select national parks in an attempt to tackle a deadly Aussie issue. This month, 12 fishing tackle bins will be installed throughout NSW with the goal of deterring fishers from dumping discarded fishing line and tackle — a sadly common act that has a devastating impact on the environment and wildlife. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) announced on Thursday it had teamed up with OzFish Unlimited — the country's only fishing conservation charity — to roll out the bins at various locations popular among anglers. The first one has been installed in Bongil Bongil National Park on the Mid North Coast, with the rest set to follow in the coming week. The 'tangle bins' will also be placed in select areas of the Royal National Park, Bents Basin State Conservation Area, Georges River, Kosciuszko National Park and the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, a NPWS spokesperson confirmed to Yahoo News. Emma Kark, OzFish tackling litter manager, told Yahoo the bins will be monitored regularly. 'Tangle Bins provide opportunities for recreational fishers to safely and easily discard fishing gear they don't need or have collected from their favourite fishing spots,' she said. 'As climate change increases the frequency and severity of threats to Australia's waterways, there has never been a more crucial time to take care of the places we love to fish.' Discarded fishing gear continues to pose fatal risk to wildlife Discarded fishing gear is not only a significant source of pollution in the country's waterways, but entanglement and ingestion can injure or kill marine animals. Yahoo has reported on countless incidents of wildlife being caught up in fishing lines and hooks, including a corella left hanging upside down for days from a tree, a baby dolphin tangled in multiple strands of fishing line, and a turtle who was left fighting for its life after ingesting a hook. In February, a platypus turned up dead in NSW as a result of entanglement, and last month worried Sydneysiders called for help after spotting an injured cormorant at Balmoral Beach. While incidents like these are shocking to the public, they're an occurrence that wildlife rescuers see daily, prompting an urgent plea to fishers to 'leave no trace'. 'Fishing line entanglement is massive in the oceans and rivers... A lot of wildlife drown from fishing lines and hooks because they get caught up and they can't get out of the water,' rescuer William Watson previously told Yahoo after wading in a neck-high river to rescue a tangled ibis. 'Stomach-churning' reason behind popular Aussie tourist show Shocking find inside bird highlights worrying beach trend Tragic scene on Aussie roadside prompts urgent plea Additional Return & Earn bins installed at national park It's understood the fishing tackle bin initiative is part of NPWS's litter prevention strategy. In addition, the organisation has installed 13 Return & Earn baskets in Georges River National Park so it's easier for visitors to separate recyclables and cash-in cans and bottles. More Return & Earn bins will be installed in other locations in the coming months. 'The NPWS is doing its bit to reduce plastic waste through its litter prevention program,' a spokesperson for the organisation told Yahoo. 'This program is essential to tackle harmful waste through an ongoing coordinated approach to litter prevention within NSW national parks, with the primary objective of reducing rubbish at trial sites by 50 per cent.' Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Deadly creature catches Aussie snorkeller ‘by surprise' in popular rock pool
It was the distinctive blue lines on the octopus that drew Scott's attention - a clear warning sign from the creature to not get any closer. Video transcript This small and deadly creature in a rock pool caught one Aussie snorkeler by surprise. It was the distinctive blue lines on the octopus that drew Scott's attention, a clear warning sign from the creature to not get any closer. The blue-lined octopus, a species of the more commonly known blue-ringed octopus, carries enough venom to kill 26 adults within minutes. However, they're usually very timid and their bite is small, often only occurring if the creature is picked up. Due to their size and timid nature, few snorkelers are lucky enough to come across blue-lined octopuses in the wild. Scott said, they're very little creatures that are hard to spot at the best of times. That's why it was pretty cool to see. It caught me by surprise to see this little guy just cruising past, it was just amazing.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Aussies warned over common camping mistake after 400-year-old trees destroyed
Campers are being urged to ensure their fires are properly extinguished after a blaze ripped through an Australian park on the weekend, destroying trees thought to be hundreds of years old. Pictures show once towering red gums have completely collapsed along the Murray River, due to the intensity of the blaze. The fire burned around half a hectare at Gadsen Bend Park, on the Victoria and NSW border, but was extinguished by expert crews working within Victoria's Department of Environment (DEECA). Red gums can live for up to 1,000 years and soar 45 metres into the air, and it's understood two giants were saved by a team of seven firefighters. Red gums are considered a slow-growing species of tree, and hollows that provide shelter for birds, gliders, and possums take over a hundred years to form inside them. But it's not just on land that they play an important environmental role, as their fallen limbs provide habitat for threatened fish like Murray cod. What was the cause of the destructive blaze? Mystery surrounds the exact cause of the blaze and how widespread the damage was, but DEECA issued a public statement about the incident on Wednesday, warning people to 'Always ensure your campfires are completely extinguished'. 🏡 Biosecurity hazard found inside resident's oven poses 'serious risk' to Australia 🐟 Incredible discovery at market after common fish purchase 🕷️ Scientist's 'time capsule' in vault key to resurrecting rare species DEECA said crews from its agency, Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic), were unavailable for interview with Yahoo News. In an emailed statement, FFMVic Deputy Chief Fire Officer Scott Falconer said the cause of the blaze is still under investigation. 'The fire burnt around half [a] hectare and impacted some large red gum trees. Some of the trees destroyed by the fire are estimated to have been around 400 years old,' he added. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.