Contemplating the Trinity

2007 – The Word among us Press, Ijamsville, Maryland.

Raniero Cantalamessa This book contains a series of meditations given at the papal household during Advent of 2000, the jubilee Year, and in Lent of 2001, the first year of the new millennium. This completes the series of books on the mysteries of Christ in the life of the church, which includes the mystery of the nativity, the baptism of Christ, the transfiguration, the word of God, Easter, and Pentecost. The Trinity is also a mystery “of Christ” in that he was the one who revealed it to us and is himself part of it.

In his apostolic letter Novo millennio ineunte, Pope John Paul II speaks of a “high standard” for Christian holiness, and I have attempted to demonstrate how the Trinity itself is that high standard. I have applied the exciting invitation that resounds in that letter-Duc in altum, “launch out into the deep”-to the Trinity, because I am convinced of the need for a breath of fresh air, a new perspective on Christian life, that is more clearly trinitarian. The Trinity is the “bottomless sea without shores” in which Christ invites us to immerse ourselves in everything he continually says about the Father and the Spirit in the gospel.

I was encouraged to take these reflections out of the halls of the papal household by the kindness of the supreme pontiff, who heard these reflections and often asked me to give him the texts to reread. I was also moved by the conviction some cardinals expressed to me that these reflections could help develop a trinitarian spirituality, which the church sees a growing need for, among laypeople as well. All important events and acts of Christianity begin in the name of the Trinity, so it is appropriate for the new millennium to begin this way: in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Given my frequent references to a few famous artistic representations of the Trinity, four colored illustrations have been included to encourage the contemplation of the mystery, as is the nature of icons.