Relationship With The Father, Son And Holy Spirit

[Sarah147]

Hello,

I would like to know how you all relate/pray to/etc. the three Persons of God -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Also, how do you view each Person of God?

God bless you.

Edited June 13, 2011 by JoyfulLife

[CatherineM]

Here's how I used to explain it. The ancient Maya had an interesting way of farming. They would make one hole and place three seeds in it, one corn, one bean, and one squash. The corn provides a stalk that gives support for the growing bean stalk. The beans are nitrogen fixers. That means they can draw nitrogen out of the air, and then put it out as nodules on their roots thereby giving nourishment to the corn and squash. The squash grows along the ground with large leaves. They shade the ground helping maintain the moisture for the corn and beans. Corn, beans and squash together provide a complete protein which allowed the Mayan nation to prosper. It takes all three, a foundation, a nourisher, and a sustainer. Together they give life.

[Miss Hepburn]

Wonderful question, JoyfulLife.


I follow the Donald Trump Method ---always go to the top.

The Father has always been my focus. It is His Spirit that overwhelms me
my whole life-so I'll stick with Him.

Miss Hepburn

[Sarah147]

I relate to Jesus the most in His humanity. He shows me His love, mercy, forgiveness, and most of all, His sacrifice on the Cross out of love to save us.

I hear a lot of people have special experiences of the Holy Spirit in Charismatic programs. They sense heat, love, etc. enkindled in them.

People seem drawn to the Father as the Fatherly loving God that He is, and to Him as Protector, Creator, etc.

Edited June 15, 2011 by JoyfulLife

[BarbTherese]

"He who sees Me, sees The Father. The Father and I are One" The Holy Spirit is the Love that exists between them - the Spirit of The Father and The Spirit of The Son united in The Holy Spirit of Love. God is Love. I guess I think of The Father as Creator God and my Father. I think of the Son as Teacher and Redeemer, Beloved, The Holy Spirit as the essence of God who is Love and Comforter and Advocate.
Sometimes I pray to one, sometimes to another. Sometimes my mind just boggles and stuns, won't move, at the 'apprehension' of The Blessed Trinity, One God.

Edited June 17, 2011 by BarbaraTherese

[AccountDeleted]

I'm not sure how one person's relationship with the Trinity can really be meaningful to someone else because it is so personal. No two of us are going to have the same relationship or the same experiences. But St Paul tells us that before Jesus, we were enemies of God (he puts it a bit harshly, but I'm sure you get his point), and Jesus Himself told us that no one comes to the Father except through Him, and no one knows Him (Jesus) unless the Father allows Him to.... and the power that makes both of these things possible is love, the Holy Spirit through God's grace. That's why we say that faith is a gift. They are one God, but without the Incarnation.... we would never know this. Miss Hepburn, you seem to be leaving Jesus out of the equation - without the Incarnation, whatever you experience isn't God.

[Miss Hepburn]

Oh Nunsense - what a sentence to say to someone - [i]whatever you experience isn't God....
[/i]And who said anything about Jesus not being part of the equation.
Jesus pointed to the Father at every turn - I got the message loud and clear - I'm in love with my Father.

If the near death experiences (NDEs) are correct and Jesus greets you - I will
bask in awe of His Love and beauty and then say ,"Now can we see Dad?"

If you have a problem with that ...going boldly to [u]His[/u] Throne - I have no comment.

[AccountDeleted]

[quote name='Miss Hepburn' timestamp='1308317763' post='2255028']
Oh Nunsense - what a sentence to say to someone - [i]whatever you experience isn't God....
[/i]And who said anything about Jesus not being part of the equation.
Jesus pointed to the Father at every turn - I got the message loud and clear - I'm in love with my Father.

If the near death experiences (NDEs) are correct and Jesus greets you - I will
bask in awe of His Love and beauty and then say ,"Now can we see Dad?"

If you have a problem with that ...going boldly to [u]His[/u] Throne - I have no comment.
[/quote]


I have no apologies for what I said Miss Hepburn - God is a Trinity. You failed to mention Jesus at all in your initial post so it left me wondering where He fits into your theology. I realize that you are not Catholic, but I am not sure if you are even Christian, that is why I mentioned it. If I misunderstood you, perhaps it was because of your own omission?

'No one comes to the Father except through me.' His words, not mine. And "I have been with you all this time and still you do not know me, Philip? When you have seen me, you have seen the Father.'

He said it first.

[Miss Hepburn]

[quote name='nunsense' timestamp='1308318300' post='2255033']
When you have seen me, you have seen the Father.'
[/quote]
Yes.
You may see the word "me" - I see the word "Father".

And since a little girl - this is who I feel when I feel His Presence, my Holy Father, my whole life.
Someone else may have Jesus in full manifestation before them, many many have- I have not. Oh, well.

Regarding the topic of this thread...I also have the Holy Spirit sweep over me like a breeze filling me and using me often
like a puppet; once to hand a child $20 when I had little after paying all my bills. What a feeling out of nowhere, ah, to be used...
(within 2 hours - someone out of nowhere bought a stained glass that had been in my office for 3 years hanging - $320...but, of course, I wasn't surprised.)
I have many, many times been overcome by Him always like a breeze in my soul guiding me...could someone doubt that and say it
was [i]something else, not God[/i] -sure---but I know it was Him, The Holy Spirit.

I will speak my mind here Nunsense:
There is a word on forums used sometimes - it's "snarky" - your initial sentence to JoyfuLife was snarky to me and unnecessary - a little "dig".
[i]"I'm not sure how one person's relationship with the Trinity can really be meaningful to someone else because it is so personal."
[/i]
When I'm sure she just wanted to be inspired, learn more and share, freely and with joy.
So got that off my chest.

[AccountDeleted]

[quote name='Miss Hepburn' timestamp='1308332506' post='2255124']
Yes.
You may see the word "me" - I see the word "Father".

And since a little girl - this is who I feel when I feel His Presence, my Holy Father, my whole life.
Someone else may have Jesus in full manifestation before them, many many have- I have not. Oh, well.

Regarding the topic of this thread...I also have the Holy Spirit sweep over me like a breeze filling me and using me often
like a puppet; once to hand a child $20 when I had little after paying all my bills. What a feeling out of nowhere, ah, to be used...
(within 2 hours - someone out of nowhere bought a stained glass that had been in my office for 3 years hanging - $320...but, of course, I wasn't surprised.)
I have many, many times been overcome by Him always like a breeze in my soul guiding me...could someone doubt that and say it
was [i]something else, not God[/i] -sure---but I know it was Him, The Holy Spirit.

I will speak my mind here Nunsense:
There is a word on forums used sometimes - it's "snarky" - your initial sentence to JoyfuLife was snarky to me and unnecessary - a little "dig".
[i]"I'm not sure how one person's relationship with the Trinity can really be meaningful to someone else because it is so personal."
[/i]
When I'm sure she just wanted to be inspired, learn more and share, freely and with joy.
So got that off my chest.
[/quote]

Well, first, if my response to JoyfulLife sounded snarky to her, then I truly apologise to her because that certainly was not my intention. As I am sure you know, the Internet is not a good way to communicate because of the lack of body language, tone of voice etc, but what I intended to convey was that sometimes one person might judge their own experience against someone else's and wonder why theirs isn't the same, so trying to describe or explain a personal relationship is a difficult thing and I wasn't sure of the value of doing it, hence my 'disclaimer'. I did go on then to describe something of what I feel, but since it is very personal, I obviously didn't convey that well. I hope that JL then has found her inspiration and learning from your posts and others.

As for your experiences of the Father, I appreciate your sharing those with us. I, too felt a loving presence my whole life, and even sought God and found Him in other things like meditation, but it wasn't until I was graced with a deeply personal experience of the Incarnation that had any understanding of the Truth of the Catholic Church with its apostolic succession and sacred traditions and the role that Jesus plays as our Saviour.

Many religions claim to experience "God" and I am not denying these seeply spiritual experiences, but I do adhere to Jesus' claim that He is the Truth, the Way and the Life. When He said "me" He meant "me", Himself. He knew who He was. He was not just an enlightened man of His times who had 'attained' some kind of 'connection with God' through prayer. Jesus was, is, and always will be God, in human form. He lives as much today as He did when He was with His disciples and He will live eternally. The throne of God is His as much as it is His Father's, because He is God. He and the Father are one through the Holy Spirit, and He just can't be left conveniently out of the equation as something uncomfortable to deal with (this is something I did before I became a Christian) or pulled out when one wants someone to 'greet' them at the doorway to heaven and escort them to the Father.

Perhaps we are describing the same thing and just confusing understanding with words, I have no idea. But St John made it very clear in my mind. God spoke one Word, and that Word is Jesus. All that needed to be said has been said through Jesus.
I am sorry that we seem to be at loggerheads over this because this is not the Debate Table, it is the Transmundane Lane. So I will agree to disagree with the way you state your case, which appears to me to leave Jesus out of the equation or transform Him into something less than that which He is. I admit that I jmight be totally misinterpreting what you are saying. Just remember that this is a Catholic forum so perhaps the way we express our theology won't always be the same and misunderstandings are bound to occur.

Yours in Christ Jesus.

[AccountDeleted]

Dear all,


Tonight I went to a vigil Mass for the Solemnity of Holy Trinity Sunday (I just love the liturgical calendar of the Church) and we had a visiting priest because ours is on holidays. He reminded us that God is about relationships. He is a Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and it is through this that we realize the importance of relationships. Today's gospel was especially beautiful for me...

GospelJohn 3:16-18 [url="http://www.universalis.com/Australia/20110619/mass.htm#copyright"]©[/url]Jesus said to Nicodemus:'God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,so that everyone who believes in him may not be lostbut may have eternal life.For God sent his Son into the worldnot to condemn the world,but so that through him the world might be saved.No one who believes in him will be condemned;but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already,because he has refused to believe in the name of God's only Son.'


In his homily, the priest reminded us that our relationship with God isn't a one-to-one thing, but a relationship, not only with Himas a Trinity, but with each other through Him. I just thought it very appropriate that it should come up today. Enjoy.

Edited June 18, 2011 by nunsense

[BarbTherese]

Joyful and Blessed Trinity Sunday all!

I went to the same Vigil Mass in my parish, Nunsense - and our homily was along the same lines. Our relationship with each other reveals our relationship with God and our relationship with God is revealed in our love for each other. He spoke to us about the great Mystery that is The Blessed Trinity and of the Love that is their life and unites. That God is relationship and community - a Divine Relationship of Love of The Father, Son and Holy Spirit ....... and a relationship of Love into which we are drawn.
We all had a giggle when Father turned the prayer of Moses (with a mischievious glint in his eye) in the First Reading into his own personal and very solemn prayer:

[quote]Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9
Early in the morning Moses went up Mount Sinai
as the LORD had commanded him,
taking along the two stone tablets.

Having come down in a cloud, the LORD stood with Moses there
and proclaimed his name, "LORD."
Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
[quote]"The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity."
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.
Then he said, "If I find favor with you, O Lord,
do come along in our company.
This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins,
and receive us as your own."[/quote][/quote]

The Second Reading is beautiful too. I love the various expressions of St. Paul scattered in his letters that so conveys his very real warm love of his people:

[quote]2 Cor 13:11-13Reading II
Brothers and sisters, rejoice.
Mend your ways, encourage one another,
agree with one another, live in peace,
and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the holy ones greet you.

[quote]The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.[/quote][/quote]

Edited June 18, 2011 by BarbaraTherese

[AccountDeleted]

Oh Barb, don't you just love being a Catholic? The liturgy is so beautiful and holy and God speaks to us not only through scripture, but through His priests and through each other. We are truly blessed to have the gift of faith.

I have had some experiences lately of just what you are talking about, the community of God through His faithful. Kindness and generosity has flooded my life recently and despite all obstacles, I know that God is working in my life. I am so grateful.

This is a beautiful Solemnity!

[BarbTherese]

[quote name='nunsense' timestamp='1308401964' post='2255525']
Oh Barb, don't you just love being a Catholic? The liturgy is so beautiful and holy and God speaks to us not only through scripture, but through His priests and through each other. We are truly blessed to have the gift of faith.

I have had some experiences lately of just what you are talking about, the community of God through His faithful. Kindness and generosity has flooded my life recently and despite all obstacles, I know that God is working in my life. I am so grateful.

This is a beautiful Solemnity!
[/quote]

Amen! Alleluia! to every word, Nunsense.

We are now in an extremely beautiful, profound and indeed powerful time of many blessings in the Church's Liturgical Year. Last Sunday - Pentecost Sunday. Today, Trinity Sunday. Friday 24th - The Birth of John The Baptist and then on the 26th, The Body and Blood of Christ. Friday 1st July, The Sacred Heart of Jesus. Saturday 2nd July The Immaculate Heart of Mary and many other beautiful feastdays in July.
Pentecost Sunday ended Easter Season and also introduced next day on the Monday Ordinary Time - and time for us to roll up our proverbial sleeves and get busy.

I am very happy to read that kindness and generosity despite all obstacles is flooding into your life through the Community of God - indeed He is working in your life and with consolations. Alleluia! Amen!


Edit: I forgot to mention that the Sunday prior to Pentecost was the Solemnity of the Ascension!

Edited June 18, 2011 by BarbaraTherese