Symbol of Multiplication (I) Communion in the Holy Trinity

The Trinity, El Greco 1577-1579

Originally published by: Círculo Sacerdotal Cura Santa Cruz March 19, 2021

In the Traditionalist Communion, which in our time and geography, must embody what the holy Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church always believes, for everyone and everywhere. Id teneamus quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est. The Church is not only hoped for and loved, but she also professes a deep faith in the article of our Creed that states: «I believe in the Communion of Saints». How well Saint Paul taught the Ephesians! «There is only one Body and one Spirit, just as there is the same hope, to which you have been called, according to the vocation received. There is only one Lord, only one faith, only one baptism. There is only one God and Father of all, who is above all, penetrates all, and is in all.» Catholic coherence obliges and demands one to believe and to practice it.

«That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me». Thus Our Lord prayed to His Father and our Father. In the previous verses, Saint John tells us how Jesus prayed for us, saying: «I have given them Thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world; as I also am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldst keep them from evil. They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world». This fragment of the Holy Thursday prayer tells us about that intra-Trinitarian union that exists between the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, inviting us to participate in it, and warns us both of the dangers that lie in wait for His disciples from the world, as well as of the attacks of its «prince» who does not stop doing his work in order to bring to ruin all of the order and harmony of Creation.

We would have to ask the Saints to listen to a more authoritative voice on the mystery of the union of the three Divine Persons in one true God, the internal processions and their communications, which Saint Athanasius systematically summarizes in the Quicúmque symbol (or the Athanasian Creed, also known as the Quicúmque vult which is both its Latin name and its opening words), which begins like this: «And the Catholic Faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance».

The Trinitarian mystery is immeasurable, as an ocean of infinite dimensions that we have to contemplate from the shores of our nature. The Saints have penetrated somewhat into the unlimited latitudes of God, delving into its heights and depths, with their mystical eagle eyes, but it is probable that we should come and go with conch in hand, trying to transfer the sea to the little hole of our reason; an impossible task, as an angel once implied to Saint Augustine.

May the contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity inspire us and grant us the grace to aspire to this ideal of Communion, so that we find our place and mission within that plan of love of the One who has given us being, with a specific reason for being that transcends us, within the harmony of the natural and supernatural order, and thus freeing us from the chaos to which «he who divides» is leading us. May the grace of that single baptism that has elevated us to the dignity of children of God divinae consortes naturae, and that has made us heirs of heaven. May the sublime grace that has made us living temples of the Trinity, remain in us and grow each day, strengthening His presence in our lives and the bonds of Charity with our neighbors, starting with those closest to us. Thus, united to the lineage that invigorates us and allows us to bear fruit, within the Mystical Body of Christ, among the members of the Church Militant, we will continue to prolong the fullness of Communion that we will enjoy throughout eternity in the bosom of the Trinity.

(To be continued)

Rev. Fr. José Ramón García Gallardo, Chaplain of the Traditionalist Youth. Royal Chaplain.

Translation by Alférez Matthew Scullinrculo Carlista Camino Real de Tejas.