In One God

I believe in God. I hail from India, where I have encountered many religions and their followers: Buddhists who do not speak of God; Hindus who believe in many gods and goddesses; Muslims and Jews who are monotheists; Sikhs and Jains who strictly adhere to the teachings of their founders; and Parsis who embrace the dualistic principles of good and evil, to name a few.

I am not an atheist. Disbelief in God is not in my nature. The term “atheism” came into use in late 18th-century Europe as a descriptor for those who did not believe in the monotheistic Abrahamic God. It simply refers to “disbelief in God.”

I am not an agnostic. I do not hold the view that God is unknowable. The term “agnostic” was coined in 1870 by the biologist T.H. Huxley (1825-1895), combining the Greek prefix “a,” meaning “without,” and “gnostos,” meaning “known.” It was meant to propose the idea that the existence of God is unknown and unknowable.

I do not believe in lesser divine beings – gods and goddesses. I am not an animist. I do not believe that natural objects, phenomena, or the universe possess souls and deserve worship. I abhor practices such as sorcery, black magic, witchcraft, and divination.

I believe in one God, in contrast to henotheistic beliefs that acknowledge a supreme deity alongside lesser divine beings. My belief moves me toward God, and into God, leading me ever deeper into the mystery of God.

Specifically, I believe in one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity. I believe in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as one God in three persons: Each one of them possesses the same divine nature, while remaining distinct in their roles and relationships.

It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son. But the Godhead of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.

By the grace of Baptism, we are called to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity, here on earth in the obscurity of faith, and after death in eternal light.

One of the four great doctors of the church, St. Augustine of Hippo, writes, “I began as a very young man, and have published in my old age some books concerning the Trinity.”  Can this dogma, which surpasses even the loftiest intellectual and spiritual figures, truly be understood by someone as lowly as myself? No.

Nevertheless, I must do my best to grasp the truth of my God, the Holy Trinity, and live out my faith in one God. In my own simple words, this is the faith I hold:

I believe in one God who exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are equal in divinity and share the same divine nature, yet each has a unique role: the Father is the Creator, the Son is born of the Father and is our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son.

I was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Created by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, I remain a Catholic and a priest. Inspired by the perfect unity of the Trinity, my prayer is to live in communion with God, with my fellow humans, and with all of creation.