235. Why are we baptised in the name (sg.) of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit? (CCC 233) We are baptised in the name (sg.) of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, because there is only one God.

236. What is the central mystery of Christian Faith and life? (CCC 234) The central mystery of Christian Faith and life is the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity.

237. From which two points of view can one look at the Trinity? (CCC 236) One can look at the Trinity from the point of view of:
1. theology meaning God’s inmost life within the Trinity
2. economy meaning the works by which God reveals Himself to the outside.

238. Why is the Trinity a “mystery of Faith in the strict sense”? (CCC 237) The Trinity is a “mystery of Faith in the strict sense”, because it can never be known unless it is revealed by God.

239. What are the “traces of the Trinity”? (CCC 237) The “traces of the Trinity” are marks of God’s Trinitarian being that He has left in creation and in the Revelation of the Old Testament.

240. What is the first stage in the revelation of God as Trinity? (CCC 238) The first stage in the Revelation of God as Trinity is His Revelation as the Father.

241. What two things do we mean when we call God “Father”? (CCC 239) When we call God “Father” we mean that God is:
1. the first origin of everything
2. goodness for His Children.

242. Why does the experience of fallible human parents not disfigure God’s Fatherhood? (CCC 239) The experience of fallible human parents does not disfigure God’s Fatherhood, because the Divine Fatherhood is the origin and standard of human fatherhood and not vice versa.

243. In what twofold sense is God a Father? (CCC 240) God is a Father
1. in being Creator
2. in His eternal relation to His only Son.

244. With what term does Nicaea I define the Son’s essential bond with the Father? (CCC 242) Nicaea I (AD 325) defines the Son’s essential bond with the Father with the term consubstantial.
The term “consubstantial” translates the Greek word homoousios which was rendered in Latin by consubstantiális.

245. What does it mean that the Son is “consubstantial” with the Father? (CCC 242) That the Son is “consubstantial” with the Father means that He is one only God with Him.

246. How does Christ reveal the existence of a third Divine Person, the Holy Spirit? (CCC 243) Christ reveals the existence of a third Divine Person before His Passover by announcing the sending of “another Paraclete” (= counsellor), the Holy Spirit.

247. What ecumenical council confessed the apostolic Faith concerning the Holy Spirit? (CCC 245) The ecumenical council that confessed the apostolic Faith concerning the Holy Spirit was Constantinople I.
Constantinople I (AD 381): “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father.”

248. What does the Latin Creed confess about the procession of the Holy Spirit? (CCC 246) The Latin Creed confesses about the procession of the Holy Spirit that He “proceeds from the Father and the Son”.
“And the Son” is in Latin: filióque .

249. How does the Council of Florence explain the “filióque”? (CCC 246) The Council of Florence (AD 1438-45) explains the “filióque” according to the following syllogism:
(1) The Father has given to the Son everything that He is, except His being the Father.
(2) This includes also the procession of the Spirit from the Father.
(3) Therefore the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.
A syllogism is a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is deduced from two given or assumed propositions.

250. Does the “filióque” appear in the original Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed? (CCC 247) No, the “filióque” does not appear in the original Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed.
The “filióque” is a later explanation that entered the Latin Church between the eighth and eleventh centuries.

251. Who was the first pope to confess the “filióque”? (CCC 247) The first pope to confess the “filióque” was Pope Leo the Great in AD 447.

252. How did the “filióque” enter the Latin Church and Liturgy? (CCC 247) The “filióque” entered the Latin Church and Liturgy gradually between the eighth and eleventh centuries.

253. What does the Eastern tradition of the procession of the Spirit affirm? (CCC 248) The Eastern tradition of the procession of the Spirit affirms that the Spirit comes from the Father through the Son.

254. What does the Western tradition of the procession of the Spirit affirm? (CCC 248) The Western tradition of the procession of the Holy Spirit affirms the consubstantial communion between Father and Son by saying that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son .

255. Where is the first appearance of the Holy Trinity in the teaching of the Faith? (CCC 249) The first appearance of the Holy Trinity in the teaching of the Faith is its presentation in the context of the Trinitarian baptismal formula.

256. What is the famous Trinitarian formula in St Paul? (CCC 249) The famous Trinitarian formula in St Paul is: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor 13).

257. What are the three key-terms in the theology of the Trinity? (CCC 251) The three key-terms in the theology of the Trinity are:
1. substance
2. person
3. relation.
A mnemonic for these is SPQR (meaning originally: Senatus Populusque Romanus).

258. What do the three key terms in the Trinitarian doctrine designate? (CCC 252) The three key terms in the Trinitarian doctrine designate the following:
1. “substance” designates the unity in God
2. “person” designates the distinctions in God
3. “relation” designates the relationships in God.

259. What terms can be used instead of “substance” in speaking about the Trinity? (CCC 252) In speaking about the Trinity, the terms “essence” or “nature” can be used instead of “substance”.

260. What term can be used instead of “person” in speaking about the Trinity? (CCC 252) In speaking about the Trinity, the term “hypostasis” can be used instead of “person”.
“Hypostasis” is Greek and literally means “substance”. The term is also used in other contexts.

261. How does Toledo XI explain that the Trinity is One? (CCC 253) Toledo XI explains that the Trinity is One by saying: “The Father is that which the Son is, the Son is that which the Father is, the Father and the Son are that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e., by nature One God.”
Toledo XI was a regional council in Spain that assembled the local bishops in AD 675.

262. How does Toledo XI explain that the Divine Persons are really distinct from one another? (CCC 254) Toledo XI explains that the Divine Persons are really distinct from one another by saying: “He who is the Son is not the Father and He who is the Father is not the Son, nor is the Holy Spirit He who is the Father or the Son.”

263. How does Toledo XI explain the relations between the Trinitarian Persons? (CCC 255) Toledo XI explains the relations between the Trinitarian Persons by saying: “In the relational names of the Persons the Father is related to the Son, the Son to the Father, the Holy Spirit to both.”

264. How does St Gregory of Nazianzus speak about God’s simultaneous Unity and Trinity? (CCC 256) St Gregory of Nazianzus (before AD 400) speaks about God’s simultaneous unity and Trinity by saying: “I have not even begun to think of Unity when the Trinity bathes me in its splendour. I have not even begun to think of the Trinity when Unity grasps me.”

265. How does the plan of God’s loving kindness unfold in the Divine works? (CCC 257) The plan of God’s loving kindness unfolds in the Divine works through:
1. the work of creation
2. the history of salvation after the Fall
3. the missions of the Son and the Spirit
4. the mission of the Church.

266. How do the Persons of the Trinity participate in the one Trinitarian operation? (CCC 258) The Persons of the Trinity participate in the one Trinitarian operation according to their unique personal properties.
Constantinople II (AD 553): “One God and Father from whom all things are and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and one Holy Spirit in whom all things are”.

267. Where is the property of Jesus Christ’s Divine Person shown forth above all? (CCC 258) The property of Jesus Christ’s Divine Person is shown forth above all in the divine mission of the Son’s Incarnation.

268. Where is the property of the Spirit’s Divine Person shown forth above all? (CCC 258) The property of the Spirit’s Divine Person is shown forth above all in the Divine mission of the gift of the Holy Spirit.

269. Why can one Trinitarian Person not be adored to the exclusion of the others? (CCC 259) One Trinitarian Person cannot be adored to the exclusion of the others, because the whole Christian life is a communion with each of the Divine Persons, without in any way separating them.

270. What is the ultimate end of the whole divine economy? (CCC 260) The ultimate end of the whole divine economy is the entry of men into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity.