卷一信仰的宣認 - 第二部分 - 第一章 - 第二節聖父/THE FATHER

Chinese	English
第二節聖父一、「因父及子及聖神之名」 232. 基督徒是「因父及子及聖神之名」而受洗 (瑪 28:19)。受洗以前，他們以「我信」去回答是否信仰聖父、聖子、聖神的三重問題：「所有基督徒的信仰以天主聖三為基礎」。 233. 基督徒是因聖父、聖子、聖神之「名」(單數)而不是因祂們之「名」(複數)而受洗；因為天主只有一個，全能的聖父、唯一的聖子及聖神：至聖三位一體。 234. 至聖三位一體的奧跡是信仰和基督徒生活的核心奧跡，是天主本身的奧跡。因此是所有其他信仰奧跡的泉源，是光照它們的明燈。它是「信仰真理等級」中最基本和主要的訓示。「整個救恩史就是唯一的真天主：父、子、聖神自我啟示的歷史，使那些遠離罪惡的人與祂重修舊好、合而為一」。 235. 在這一節裡，我們將簡略說明：(一)聖三的奧跡如何啟示出來，(二) 教會如何把這奧跡定為信理，以及(三)聖父如何透過聖子和聖神的使命，實現祂創造、救贖及聖化的「慈愛計劃」。 236. 教父們把內在生命 (Theologia)與外在工程 (Oikonomia)兩詞加以區別，前者是指天主聖三親密生活的奧秘，後者則指天主的一切工程，藉著這些工程天主啟示自己並通傳祂的生命。透過「外在工程」，天主給我們啟示了「內在生命」；但反過來說，是「內在生命」光照整個的「外在工程」。天主的工程啟示出祂本身是誰；反過來說，在祂內在生命的奧秘的光照下，祂的一切工程都得以理解。同樣，在人身上也有類似的情形。人可透過他的行為將自己顯示出來，我們越是認識一個人，就越了解他的行為。 237. 嚴格來說，聖三是一個信德的奧跡，是一個「隱藏於天主內的奧秘，除非由天主啟示，是不能被人認識的」。無疑地，天主在舊約的過程中，已在其化工和啟示裡，留下了祂是聖三的痕跡。然而聖三存有的內蘊，是一個只憑理智無法理解的奧秘，連以色列的信仰在聖子降生及聖神被派遣前，也無從獲悉的。二、三位一體的天主的啟示聖父由聖子啟示出來 238. 在許多宗教裡，天主被呼號為「父親」。天主經常被視為「眾神和眾人之父」。在以色列，天主被稱為父，由於祂是世界的創造者，再者，透過盟約和法律所施於祂的「長子」以色列 (出 4:22)身上的一切，天主更顯得是父親。祂也被稱為以色列君王之父，尤其是「窮人之父」、孤兒和寡婦之父，因為他們都受到祂慈愛的庇護。 239. 以「父親」的名字稱呼天主，這信仰的語言特別表明兩點：就是天主是一切的根源和超越的權威，同時祂又愛護並眷顧祂所有的子女。天主的這種慈父溫情也可以用母性的形象表達，這更能顯示出天主內在於世界中，顯出天主與受造物之間的親密。信仰語言取自人類的父母經驗，因父母在某種程度上，為人是天主的最初形象。但這經驗也顯示人類父母可能破壞並扭曲父性或母性的形象。所以要牢記天主超越人類的性別，祂既非男人也非女人，祂是天主。因此祂超越人類的父性或母性，雖然祂是這兩性的根源和典範。沒有人能成為像天主那樣的父親。 240. 耶穌啟示天主是「父」，其意義是前所未聞的：天主是父，不僅因為祂是造物主。祂永遠是父，是因為祂與其獨生子的關係。同樣，子除非與父有永遠的關係，就不是子。「除了父外，沒有人認識子；除了子和子所願意啟示的人外，也沒有人認識父」(瑪 11:27)。 241. 為這緣故，宗徒們承認耶穌是「起初就與天主同在的聖言」，「聖言就是天主」(若 1:1)；耶穌也是「不可見的天主的肖象」(哥 1:15)，是「天主光榮的反映，是天主本體的真象」(希 1:3)。 242. 教會步武宗徒的芳蹤、依循他們的聖傳，於 325年的第一屆尼西亞大公會議中，承認聖子與聖父「同性同體」，就是聖子與聖父同是一個天主。381年於君士坦丁堡召開的第二屆大公會議，在制定尼西亞信經時保存了這項措辭，承認祂是「天主的獨生子。祂在萬世之前，由聖父所生。祂是出自光明的光明，出自真天主的真天主。祂是聖父所生，而非聖父所造，與聖父同性同體」。聖父與聖子由聖神啟示出來 243. 耶穌在祂的苦難和復活之前，宣布要派遣另一位「護慰者」 (Paraclitus)聖神。自創世之初聖神早已工作，祂「曾藉先知們發言」，祂將住在門徒中，並在他們內教導他們一切，「把他們引入一切真理」 (若 16:13)。這樣，聖神就被啟示為與耶穌和聖父相關的天主的另一位。 244. 聖神的永遠根源可從祂被派遣到現世的事上顯露出來。聖神或由聖父因聖子之名、或由聖子本身在回到聖父身邊之後，被派遣給宗徒們和教會。聖神在耶穌受到光榮以後的被派遣，圓滿地揭露了聖三的奧跡。 245. 宗徒信仰中有關聖神的部分，在 381年的君士坦丁堡第二屆大公會議中曾宣認：「我信聖神，祂是主及賦予生命者，由聖父所發」。這樣，教會承認聖父是「整個天主性的根源」。然而，聖神的永遠根源跟聖子的並非沒有關聯：「聖神既是聖三的第三位，故是天主，與聖父、聖子是同一和同等，也是同性和同體……可是，我們不能說祂只是聖父的神，卻該說，祂同時是聖父和聖子的神」。君士坦丁堡大公會議的信經這樣宣認：「祂和聖父聖子同受欽崇，同享光榮」。 246. 拉丁傳統的信經承認聖神「由聖父和聖子 (Filioque)所共發」。 1439年的翡冷翠大公會議清楚說明：「聖神的本質與存有同時來自聖父和聖子，祂永遠發自聖父如同發自聖子……，有如發自獨一本原、藉著獨一噓氣……這是由於凡父所有的，除了父的身分以外，都在父生子時全給了子。因此，聖神的這種由子所發，是自永遠中便從祂的父那裡所領受的，這父是在永恆中生了子」。 247. 雖然「和聖子 (Filioque)」一詞並沒有出現在 381年君士坦丁堡所宣認的信經中，但根據一個古老的拉丁和亞歷山大的傳統，早在羅馬尚未於 451年的加采東大公會議承認及接受 381年的信經前，教宗聖良一世已於 447年把它宣布為信條了，這種加入「和聖子」形式的信經的使用，逐漸地由第八世紀至第十一世紀進入了拉丁的禮儀。可是，拉丁禮把「和聖子」一詞引入尼西亞‧君士坦丁堡信經的做法，至今仍構成與東正教會間的分歧。 248. 東方傳統特別強調，聖父乃聖神第一根源。在宣認聖神「發自聖父」(若 15:26) 時，便肯定聖神是透過聖子發自聖父。西方傳統則強調聖父與聖子同體的共融，肯定聖神發自聖父和聖子(Filioque)。西方傳統也是「合法和合理地」這樣說。事實上，天主聖三在其同體共融的永恆關係中，意味著聖父是聖神的第一本原，因為聖父是「沒有本原的本原」；然而，由於祂也是獨生子的父，祂和聖子應是「聖神所發自的唯一本原」。這種合法的互補性，若不予以僵化，就不會在同一的宣認奧跡上，影響信仰的一致性。三、信理所表達的天主聖三天主聖三信條的形成 249. 聖三的啟示真理從起初屬於教會活潑信德的根基，這主要是依靠洗禮。這啟示的真理表達在洗禮信仰的規程中，並在宣講、教理講授及教會的祈禱中定形。這類的定形的格式已在宗徒的著作中出現，例如這致候詞：「願天父的慈愛，基督的聖寵，聖神的共融與你們同在」 (格後 13:13)所顯示的，也在感恩祭禮儀中採用了。 250. 在最初的幾個世紀裡，教會設法以更明確的格式去表達對天主聖三的信仰，一面為深入了解自己的信仰，一面為保護它免受各種錯誤的扭曲。這就是早期大公會議的工作，大公會議除了得到教父們在神學探討方面的協助外，也得到基督子民在信仰意識方面的支持。 251. 為制定天主聖三的信條，教會不得不借助一些來自哲學的概念，來發展一套專有的名詞：如「實體」、「位格」或「自立體」、以及「關係」等。教會這樣做，並非把信仰置於人類智慧之下，而是要賦予這些名詞嶄新的意義，好去解釋一個難以言喻的奧秘，「這奧秘無限地超越我們人類所能明白的一切」。 252. 教會採用「實體」 (有時也用「本質」或「本性」)一詞，來指明在一體中的天主本質；用「位格」或「自立體」一詞，來指明父、子、聖神彼此間的實際區別；用「關係」一詞，來指明三位的區別在於彼此間的關係。天主聖三的信條 253. 聖三是一個天主。我們並不宣認三個天主，而是一個天主有三位：「同性同體的聖三」。天主三位並不分割同一的天主性，而是每位都是整個的天主：「父享有與子一樣的天主性，子享有與父一樣的天主性，聖神享有與父和子一樣的天主性，即本性上是同一的天主。「聖三的每一位就是這個事實，即是天主的實體、本質或本性」。 254. 天主三位確是彼此不同的。「天主只有一個，但不孤獨」。「父」、「子」、「聖神」並不單指天主存在方式的名稱；實際上，祂們彼此確是不同的：「父不是子，子不是父，聖神不是父或子」。祂們的分別在於與本原的不同關係，父是生者，子是受生者，聖神是受發者。天主的一體是三位。 255. 天主三位是彼此關連的。由於天主三位並沒有分割同一的天主性，三位的實際區別只在於彼此之間的關係：「在三位的相關名字中，父是相對於子而言，子是相對於父而言，聖神是相對於父和子而言。不過就其關係而論及天主三位，應相信只有一個本性或實體」。事實上，「祂們的一體性，與祂們之間的關係並不相抵觸」。「由於這種一體性，父整個在子內，整個在聖神內；子整個在父內，整個在聖神內；聖神整個在父內，整個在子內」。 256. 號稱「神學家」的聖額我略‧納祥，把這段有關聖三信仰的總結傳授給君士坦丁堡的慕道者們：首先，請為我保管這珍貴的寶庫，我曾為它生活和奮鬥，也願與它同死，它使我能忍受一切痛苦和看輕所有快樂：我是指對聖父、聖子及聖神的信仰宣認。今天我就把它交付給你們。不久之後，我要藉它把你們浸入水中並從水中提出。我要把這宣認給你們當作一生的伴侶和主保。我只交給你們一個天主和德能，祂是三位一體，而三位都有區別。這天主沒有本質或實體上的差別，也沒有等級上的高低……三個無限都有同一的無限本性。每位單獨來看，都是整個的天主……三位一起來看也是一個天主……我尚未想到一個天主，聖三便讓我沐浴在祂的光輝中；尚未想到三位，一個天主便充盈了我……」。四、天主的工程和聖三的派遣 257. 「啊！光明，當受讚美的聖三和一體的根源！」。天主是永遠的幸福、不朽的生命、永不消逝的光輝。天主是愛：父、子和聖神。天主自由地要傳授祂幸福生活的光榮。這就是祂慈愛的計劃，是一項在創世以前已在祂愛子內擬定好的計劃，「預定了我們藉著耶穌基督獲得義子的名分」(弗 1:4-5)，就是因那「使我們成為義子的聖神」(羅 8:15)，「預定我們與祂兒子的肖象相同」(羅 8:29)。這項計劃是「在萬世以前……已賜予我們的恩寵」(弟後 1:9-10)，而其根源就是聖三的愛。這愛彰顯在創造的工程中，在人類墮落後的整個救恩史中，在聖子的使命中，在聖神及其透過教會而延續的使命中。 258. 天主整個的救恩工程是聖三的共同行動。事實上，聖三既有同一的本性，也只有同一的行動。「父、子、聖神並非創世的三個本原，而是一個本原」。可是，天主每一位依照本身的特性而完成共同的工作。教會引述新約的話宣認說：「我們只有一個天主，就是聖父，萬物都出於祂而存在；也只有一個主，就是耶穌基督，萬物都藉祂而存在；也只有一個聖神，萬物都在祂內而存在」。尤其在聖子降生及恩賜聖神的神聖派遣中，顯露了天主位格的特性。 259. 天主整個的救恩工程，是共同又是個別的工程，使人一方面認識天主三位的特性，另一方面又認識祂們共同的本性。同樣，整個基督徒生活也是跟聖三每一位的共融，無論如何也不能把祂們分開。誰光榮聖父，是透過聖子在聖神內光榮祂；誰跟隨基督，是因受到聖父吸引和受到聖神推動而跟隨祂。 260. 天主整個救恩工程的最終目的，就是所有受造物都能進入真福聖三的圓滿一體中。但如今我們已被召叫，要成為至聖聖三的寓所，主說：「誰愛我，必遵守我的話，我父也必愛他，我們要到他那裡去，並要在他那裏作我們住所」(若 14:23)：真福聖三依撒伯爾的祈禱：啊！我的天主，我所欽崇的聖三！請幫助我完全忘記自己，為能在祢內定居，使我的靈魂好像進入了永恆的安寧和恬靜。啊，我那永遠不變的天主！沒有甚麼能擾亂我的平安或使我離開祢，反之，每分每秒都要使我更進入祢奧跡的深淵！請安撫我的靈魂，把它變成祢的天空、祢的可愛寓所和祢的休憩之處。但願我總別留下祢獨自一個，而是整個的我留在祢那裡，在信德中警醒，全心欽崇祢，整個獻身於祢的造化工程。撮要 261. 天主聖三的奧跡是基督徒信仰和生活的主要奧跡。天主——父、子、聖神，把自己啟示出來，只有這樣，我們才能認識天主。 262. 天主子的降生給我們啟示：天主是永遠的父，而子與父同性同體，就是在祂內及同祂一起，同是唯一的天主。 263. 聖神是由父因子之名並由子「從父那裡」(若 15:26)被派遣的，這派遣顯示給我們：聖神和父與子是唯一的天主。「祂和父及子同受欽崇，同享光榮」。 264. 「父作為第一根源，聖神由父而發，而父作為給予子的永遠恩賜，聖神發自共融的父和子」。 265. 藉著「因父、及子、及聖神之名」而領受的洗禮恩寵，我們奉召分享真福聖三的生命，此世固然處於信仰的晦暗中，但死後將處於永遠的光輝中。 266. 「至公教會的信仰在於在聖三內欽崇唯一的天主，在唯一天主內欽崇聖三，既無位格的混淆，亦無實體的分離：事實上，父、子、及聖神的位格各不相同，但父、子、聖神的天主性卻是同一的，光榮相等，威嚴同是永遠的」。 267. 聖三在存有上既不可分離，在行動上也是如此。但在天主的同一行動中，每一位格顯示其在聖三中的特有行動，尤其是聖子降生及恩賜聖神的神聖派遣。	Paragraph 2. THE FATHER I. "IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT" 232 Christians are baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"⁵³ Before receiving the sacrament, they respond to a three-part question when asked to confess the Father, the Son and the Spirit: "I do." "The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity."⁵⁴ 233 Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: not in their names,⁵⁵ for there is only one God, the almighty Father, his only Son and the Holy Spirit: the Most Holy Trinity. 234 The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith".⁵⁶ The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men "and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin".⁵⁷ 235 This paragraph expounds briefly (I) how the mystery of the Blessed Trinity was revealed, (II) how the Church has articulated the doctrine of the faith regarding this mystery, and (III) how, by the divine missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit, God the Father fulfils the "plan of his loving goodness" of creation, redemption and sanctification. 236 The Fathers of the Church distinguish between theology (theologia) and economy (oikonomia). "Theology" refers to the mystery of God's inmost life within the Blessed Trinity and "economy" to all the works by which God reveals himself and communicates his life. Through the oikonomia the theologia is revealed to us; but conversely, the theologia illuminates the whole oikonomia. God's works reveal who he is in himself; the mystery of his inmost being enlightens our understanding of all his works. So it is, analogously, among human persons. A person discloses himself in his actions, and the better we know a person, the better we understand his actions. 237 The Trinity is a mystery of faith in the strict sense, one of the "mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless they are revealed by God".⁵⁸ To be sure, God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation and in his Revelation throughout the Old Testament. But his inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel's faith before the Incarnation of God's Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit. II. THE REVELATION OF GOD AS TRINITY The Father revealed by the Son 238 Many religions invoke God as "Father". the deity is often considered the "father of gods and of men". In Israel, God is called "Father" inasmuch as he is Creator of the world.⁵⁹ Even more, God is Father because of the covenant and the gift of the law to Israel, "his first-born son".⁶⁰ God is also called the Father of the king of Israel. Most especially he is "the Father of the poor", of the orphaned and the widowed, who are under his loving protection.⁶¹ 239 By calling God "Father", the language of faith indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and transcendent authority; and that he is at the same time goodness and loving care for all his children. God's parental tenderness can also be expressed by the image of motherhood,⁶² which emphasizes God's immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature. the language of faith thus draws on the human experience of parents, who are in a way the first representatives of God for man. But this experience also tells us that human parents are fallible and can disfigure the face of fatherhood and motherhood. We ought therefore to recall that God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: he is God. He also transcends human fatherhood and motherhood, although he is their origin and standard:⁶³ no one is father as God is Father. 240 Jesus revealed that God is Father in an unheard-of sense: he is Father not only in being Creator; he is eternally Father by his relationship to his only Son who, reciprocally, is Son only in relation to his Father: "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."⁶⁴ 241 For this reason the apostles confess Jesus to be the Word: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"; as "the image of the invisible God"; as the "radiance of the glory of God and the very stamp of his nature".⁶⁵ 242 Following this apostolic tradition, the Church confessed at the first ecumenical council at Nicaea (325) that the Son is "consubstantial" with the Father, that is, one only God with him.⁶⁶ The second ecumenical council, held at Constantinople in 381, kept this expression in its formulation of the Nicene Creed and confessed "the only-begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father".⁶⁷ The Father and the son revealed by the spirit 243 Before his Passover, Jesus announced the sending of "another Paraclete" (Advocate), the Holy Spirit. At work since creation, having previously "spoken through the prophets", the Spirit will now be with and in the disciples, to teach them and guide them "into all the truth".⁶⁸ The Holy Spirit is thus revealed as another divine person with Jesus and the Father. 244 The eternal origin of the Holy Spirit is revealed in his mission in time. the Spirit is sent to the apostles and to the Church both by the Father in the name of the Son, and by the Son in person, once he had returned to the Father.⁶⁹ The sending of the person of the Spirit after Jesus' glorification⁷⁰ reveals in its fullness the mystery of the Holy Trinity. 245 The apostolic faith concerning the Spirit was confessed by the second ecumenical council at Constantinople (381): "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father."⁷¹ By this confession, the Church recognizes the Father as "the source and origin of the whole divinity".⁷² But the eternal origin of the Spirit is not unconnected with the Son's origin: "The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son, of the same substance and also of the same nature. . . Yet he is not called the Spirit of the Father alone,. . . but the Spirit of both the Father and the Son."⁷³ The Creed of the Church from the Council of Constantinople confesses: "With the Father and the Son, he is worshipped and glorified."⁷⁴ 246 The Latin tradition of the Creed confesses that the Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son (filioque)". the Council of Florence in 1438 explains: "The Holy Spirit is eternally from Father and Son; He has his nature and subsistence at once (simul) from the Father and the Son. He proceeds eternally from both as from one principle and through one spiration... And, since the Father has through generation given to the only-begotten Son everything that belongs to the Father, except being Father, the Son has also eternally from the Father, from whom he is eternally born, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son."⁷⁵ 247 The affirmation of the filioque does not appear in the Creed confessed in 381 at Constantinople. But Pope St. Leo I, following an ancient Latin and Alexandrian tradition, had already confessed it dogmatically in 447,⁷⁶ even before Rome, in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon, came to recognize and receive the Symbol of 381. the use of this formula in the Creed was gradually admitted into the Latin liturgy (between the eighth and eleventh centuries). the introduction of the filioque into the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed by the Latin liturgy constitutes moreover, even today, a point of disagreement with the Orthodox Churches. 248 At the outset the Eastern tradition expresses the Father's character as first origin of the Spirit. By confessing the Spirit as he "who proceeds from the Father", it affirms that he comes from the Father through the Son.⁷⁷ The Western tradition expresses first the consubstantial communion between Father and Son, by saying that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (filioque). It says this, "legitimately and with good reason",⁷⁸ for the eternal order of the divine persons in their consubstantial communion implies that the Father, as "the principle without principle",⁷⁹ is the first origin of the Spirit, but also that as Father of the only Son, he is, with the Son, the single principle from which the Holy Spirit proceeds.⁸⁰ This legitimate complementarity, provided it does not become rigid, does not affect the identity of faith in the reality of the same mystery confessed. III. THE HOLY TRINITY IN THE TEACHING OF THE FAITH The formation of the Trinitarian dogma 249 From the beginning, the revealed truth of the Holy Trinity has been at the very root of the Church's living faith, principally by means of Baptism. It finds its expression in the rule of baptismal faith, formulated in the preaching, catechesis and prayer of the Church. Such formulations are already found in the apostolic writings, such as this salutation taken up in the Eucharistic liturgy: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."⁸¹ 250 During the first centuries the Church sought to clarify her Trinitarian faith, both to deepen her own understanding of the faith and to defend it against the errors that were deforming it. This clarification was the work of the early councils, aided by the theological work of the Church Fathers and sustained by the Christian people's sense of the faith. 251 In order to articulate the dogma of the Trinity, the Church had to develop her own terminology with the help of certain notions of philosophical origin: "substance", "person" or "hypostasis", "relation" and so on. In doing this, she did not submit the faith to human wisdom, but gave a new and unprecedented meaning to these terms, which from then on would be used to signify an ineffable mystery, "infinitely beyond all that we can humanly understand".⁸² 252 The Church uses (I) the term "substance" (rendered also at times by "essence" or "nature") to designate the divine being in its unity, (II) the term "person" or "hypostasis" to designate the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the real distinction among them, and (III) the term "relation" to designate the fact that their distinction lies in the relationship of each to the others. The dogma of the Holy Trinity 253 The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the "consubstantial Trinity".⁸³ The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: "The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God."⁸⁴ In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), "Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature."⁸⁵ 254 The divine persons are really distinct from one another. "God is one but not solitary."⁸⁶ "Father", "Son", "Holy Spirit" are not simply names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are really distinct from one another: "He is not the Father who is the Son, nor is the Son he who is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit he who is the Father or the Son."⁸⁷ They are distinct from one another in their relations of origin: "It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds."⁸⁸ The divine Unity is Triune. 255 The divine persons are relative to one another. Because it does not divide the divine unity, the real distinction of the persons from one another resides solely in the relationships which relate them to one another: "In the relational names of the persons the Father is related to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to both. While they are called three persons in view of their relations, we believe in one nature or substance."⁸⁹ Indeed "everything (in them) is one where there is no opposition of relationship."⁹⁰ "Because of that unity the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Son is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son."⁹¹ 256 St. Gregory of Nazianzus, also called "the Theologian", entrusts this summary of Trinitarian faith to the catechumens of Constantinople: Above all guard for me this great deposit of faith for which I live and fight, which I want to take with me as a companion, and which makes me bear all evils and despise all pleasures: I mean the profession of faith in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I entrust it to you today. By it I am soon going to plunge you into water and raise you up from it. I give it to you as the companion and patron of your whole life. I give you but one divinity and power, existing one in three, and containing the three in a distinct way. Divinity without disparity of substance or nature, without superior degree that raises up or inferior degree that casts down. . . the infinite co-naturality of three infinites. Each person considered in himself is entirely God. . . the three considered together. . . 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. .⁹² IV. THE DIVINE WORKS AND THE TRINITARIAN MISSIONS 257 "O blessed light, O Trinity and first Unity!"⁹³ God is eternal blessedness, undying life, unfading light. God is love: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God freely wills to communicate the glory of his blessed life. Such is the "plan of his loving kindness", conceived by the Father before the foundation of the world, in his beloved Son: "He destined us in love to be his sons" and "to be conformed to the image of his Son", through "the spirit of sonship".⁹⁴ This plan is a "grace [which] was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began", stemming immediately from Trinitarian love.⁹⁵ It unfolds in the work of creation, the whole history of salvation after the fall, and the missions of the Son and the Spirit, which are continued in the mission of the Church.⁹⁶ 258 The whole divine economy is the common work of the three divine persons. For as the Trinity has only one and the same natures so too does it have only one and the same operation: "The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are not three principles of creation but one principle."⁹⁷ However, each divine person performs the common work according to his unique personal property. Thus the Church confesses, following the New Testament, "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".⁹⁸ It is above all the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit that show forth the properties of the divine persons. 259 Being a work at once common and personal, the whole divine economy makes known both what is proper to the divine persons, and their one divine nature. Hence the whole Christian life is a communion with each of the divine persons, without in any way separating them. Everyone who glorifies the Father does so through the Son in the Holy Spirit; everyone who follows Christ does so because the Father draws him and the Spirit moves him.⁹⁹ 260 The ultimate end of the whole divine economy is the entry of God's creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity.¹⁰⁰ But even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity: "If a man loves me", says the Lord, "he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him":¹⁰¹ O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me forget myself entirely so to establish myself in you, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to trouble my peace or make me leave you, O my unchanging God, but may each minute bring me more deeply into your mystery! Grant my soul peace. Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest. May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative action.¹⁰² IN BRIEF 261 The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of Christian life. God alone can make it known to us by revealing himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 262 The Incarnation of God's Son reveals that God is the eternal Father and that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, which means that, in the Father and with the Father the Son is one and the same God. 263 The mission of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father in the name of the Son (⇒ Jn 14:26) and by the Son "from the Father" (⇒ Jn 15:26), reveals that, with them, the Spirit is one and the same God. "With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified" (Nicene Creed). 264 "The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father as the first principle and, by the eternal gift of this to the Son, from the communion of both the Father and the Son" (St. Augustine, De Trin. 15, 26, 47: PL 42, 1095). 265 By the grace of Baptism "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit", 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 (cf. Paul VI, CPG # 9). 266 "Now this is the Catholic faith: We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father is one, the Son's is another, the Holy Spirit's another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal" (Athanasian Creed: DS 75; ND 16). 267 Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons are also inseparable in what they do. But within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, especially in the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
第三節全能者 268. 在天主的所有屬性中，信經只提及祂的全能；承認這點對我們生命極為重要。我們相信這種全能是全面的，因為天主創造一切，統御一切，無所不能；是富有愛心的，因為天主是我們的父親；是神奇奧妙的，因為當祂的全能「在軟弱中顯露」時(格後 12:9)，只有信德才能辨認。「祂創造了所喜愛的萬物」(詠 115:3) 269. 聖經多次肯定了天主的全面能力。祂被稱為「雅各伯的大能者」(創 49:24;依 1:24等等)、「萬軍之軍的上主」、「大能、有力的上主」 (詠 24:8-10)。若說天主對「天和地」(詠 135:6)是全能的，因為是祂創造了它們。所以祂無所不能，可隨心所欲地處理祂的一切工程。祂是宇宙的主宰，是祂給宇宙定了秩序，這秩序完全服從祂的安排和指使。祂也是歷史的主宰，可照自己的喜愛統領人心和管治所發生的事。「祢隨時可用祢的大能，有誰能抵抗祢有力的手臂？」(智 11:22)。「祢憐憫眾生，因為祢是無所不能的」(智 11:24) 270. 天主是全能的父親。祂的父愛跟祂的能力互相輝映。因為祂在照顧我們的需要時，顯示了祂慈父的全能；透過接納我們為義子，祂把自己賜給我們(「我要做你們的父親，你們要做我的子女，這是全能的上主說的」格後 6:18)；最後，因著祂的無限仁慈，祂自由地寬恕我們的罪惡，把祂的能力表露無遺。 271. 天主的全能絕非任意妄為的：「在天主身上，能力和本質、意志和理智、智慧和正義都是同一的事，因而在天主的能力範圍內，不能做任何不符合天主的合理意願或明智理性的事」。外表無能的天主的奧跡 272. 對全能的天父的信心，會因著邪惡和痛苦的經驗而受到考驗。天主有時似乎不存在，無能阻止惡事的發生。然而，天父以最奧秘的方式顯示了祂的全能，就是藉著祂聖子的謙抑自下和復活，戰勝了邪惡。因此，被釘在十字架上的基督是「天主的德能和天主的智慧。因為天主的愚妄總比人明智，天主的懦弱也總比人堅強」 (格前 1:24-25)。當基督復活和受顯揚時，天父揭露了「祂對我們虔信的人，所施展的強有力而見效的德能是怎樣的偉大」(弗 1:19-22)。 273. 只有信德才能依附天主全能的奧妙安排。因著這信德，人誇耀自己的軟弱，好叫基督的德能來到自己身上。童貞瑪利亞就是這信德的至高典範，她相信了「在天主前沒有不可能的事」(路 1:37)，並頌揚上主說：「全能者在我身上行了大事，祂的名字是聖的」(路 1:49)。 274. 「堅強我們的信德與望德最好的方法，莫過於把『天主前沒有不可能的事』這個信念，深深地銘刻在我們的心靈上。因為凡信經教我們信的事，無論如何偉大、不可思議，以及超越自然常律的事物，只要我們的理智有了天主全能的意識，自然就毫無疑慮地相信了」。撮要 275. 我們同義人約伯一起，承認說：「我知道祢事事都能，祢所有的計劃，沒有不實現的」(約 42:2)。 276. 教會忠於聖經的見証，多次向「全能永生的天主」祈禱，堅信「在天主前沒有不可能的事」(創 18:14;路 1:37;瑪 19:26)。 277. 天主使我們棄邪歸正，以恩寵與我們重修舊好並藉此來顯示祂的全能，(「天主，祢在仁慈及寬恕方面，充分地顯示了祢的全能……」)。 278. 若不信天主的愛是全能的，如何相信父能造生我們，子能救贖我們，聖神能聖化我們呢？	Paragraph 3. THE ALMIGHTY 268 of all the divine attributes, only God's omnipotence is named in the Creed: to confess this power has great bearing on our lives. We believe that his might is universal, for God who created everything also rules everything and can do everything. God's power is loving, for he is our Father, and mysterious, for only faith can discern it when it "is made perfect in weakness".¹⁰³ "He does whatever he pleases"¹⁰⁴ 269 The Holy Scriptures repeatedly confess the universal power of God. He is called the "Mighty One of Jacob", the "LORD of hosts", the "strong and mighty" one. If God is almighty "in heaven and on earth", it is because he made them.¹⁰⁵ Nothing is impossible with God, who disposes his works according to his will.¹⁰⁶ He is the Lord of the universe, whose order he established and which remains wholly subject to him and at his disposal. He is master of history, governing hearts and events in keeping with his will: "It is always in your power to show great strength, and who can withstand the strength of your arm?¹⁰⁷ "You are merciful to all, for you can do all thing"¹⁰⁸ 270 God is the Father Almighty, whose fatherhood and power shed light on one another: God reveals his fatherly omnipotence by the way he takes care of our needs; by the filial adoption that he gives us ("I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty"):¹⁰⁹ finally by his infinite mercy, for he displays his power at its height by freely forgiving sins. 271 God's almighty power is in no way arbitrary: "In God, power, essence, will, intellect, wisdom, and justice are all identical. Nothing therefore can be in God's power which could not be in his just will or his wise intellect."¹¹⁰ The mystery of God's apparent powerlessness 272 Faith in God the Father Almighty can be put to the test by the experience of evil and suffering. God can sometimes seem to be absent and incapable of stopping evil. But in the most mysterious way God the Father has revealed his almighty power in the voluntary humiliation and Resurrection of his Son, by which he conquered evil. Christ crucified is thus "the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."¹¹¹ It is in Christ's Resurrection and exaltation that the Father has shown forth "the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe".¹¹² 273 Only faith can embrace the mysterious ways of God's almighty power. This faith glories in its weaknesses in order to draw to itself Christ's power.¹¹³ The Virgin Mary is the supreme model of this faith, for she believed that "nothing will be impossible with God", and was able to magnify the Lord: "For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name."¹¹⁴ 274 "Nothing is more apt to confirm our faith and hope than holding it fixed in our minds that nothing is impossible with God. Once our reason has grasped the idea of God's almighty power, it will easily and without any hesitation admit everything that [the Creed] will afterwards propose for us to believe - even if they be great and marvellous things, far above the ordinary laws of nature."¹¹⁵ IN BRIEF 275 With Job, the just man, we confess: "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted" (⇒ Job 42:2). 276 Faithful to the witness of Scripture, the Church often addresses her prayer to the "almighty and eternal God" (“omnipotens sempiterne Deus. . ."), believing firmly that "nothing will be impossible with God" (⇒ Gen 18:14; ⇒ Lk 1:37; ⇒ Mt 19:26). 277 God shows forth his almighty power by converting us from our sins and restoring us to his friendship by grace. "God, you show your almighty power above all in your mercy and forgiveness. . ." (Roman Missal, 26th Sunday, Opening Prayer). 278 If we do not believe that God's love is almighty, how can we believe that the Father could create us, the Son redeem us and the Holy Spirit sanctify us?

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第二節聖父

一、「因父及子及聖神之名」

232. 基督徒是「因父及子及聖神之名」而受洗 (瑪 28:19)。受洗以前，他們以「我信」去回答是否信仰聖父、聖子、聖神的三重問題：「所有基督徒的信仰以天主聖三為基礎」。

233. 基督徒是因聖父、聖子、聖神之「名」(單數)而不是因祂們之「名」(複數)而受洗；因為天主只有一個，全能的聖父、唯一的聖子及聖神：至聖三位一體。

234. 至聖三位一體的奧跡是信仰和基督徒生活的核心奧跡，是天主本身的奧跡。因此是所有其他信仰奧跡的泉源，是光照它們的明燈。它是「信仰真理等級」中最基本和主要的訓示。「整個救恩史就是唯一的真天主：父、子、聖神自我啟示的歷史，使那些遠離罪惡的人與祂重修舊好、合而為一」。

235. 在這一節裡，我們將簡略說明：(一)聖三的奧跡如何啟示出來，(二) 教會如何把這奧跡定為信理，以及(三)聖父如何透過聖子和聖神的使命，實現祂創造、救贖及聖化的「慈愛計劃」。

236. 教父們把內在生命 (Theologia)與外在工程 (Oikonomia)兩詞加以區別，前者是指天主聖三親密生活的奧秘，後者則指天主的一切工程，藉著這些工程天主啟示自己並通傳祂的生命。透過「外在工程」，天主給我們啟示了「內在生命」；但反過來說，是「內在生命」光照整個的「外在工程」。天主的工程啟示出祂本身是誰；反過來說，在祂內在生命的奧秘的光照下，祂的一切工程都得以理解。同樣，在人身上也有類似的情形。人可透過他的行為將自己顯示出來，我們越是認識一個人，就越了解他的行為。

237. 嚴格來說，聖三是一個信德的奧跡，是一個「隱藏於天主內的奧秘，除非由天主啟示，是不能被人認識的」。無疑地，天主在舊約的過程中，已在其化工和啟示裡，留下了祂是聖三的痕跡。然而聖三存有的內蘊，是一個只憑理智無法理解的奧秘，連以色列的信仰在聖子降生及聖神被派遣前，也無從獲悉的。

二、三位一體的天主的啟示

聖父由聖子啟示出來

238. 在許多宗教裡，天主被呼號為「父親」。天主經常被視為「眾神和眾人之父」。在以色列，天主被稱為父，由於祂是世界的創造者，再者，透過盟約和法律所施於祂的「長子」以色列 (出 4:22)身上的一切，天主更顯得是父親。祂也被稱為以色列君王之父，尤其是「窮人之父」、孤兒和寡婦之父，因為他們都受到祂慈愛的庇護。

239. 以「父親」的名字稱呼天主，這信仰的語言特別表明兩點：就是天主是一切的根源和超越的權威，同時祂又愛護並眷顧祂所有的子女。天主的這種慈父溫情也可以用母性的形象表達，這更能顯示出天主內在於世界中，顯出天主與受造物之間的親密。信仰語言取自人類的父母經驗，因父母在某種程度上，為人是天主的最初形象。但這經驗也顯示人類父母可能破壞並扭曲父性或母性的形象。所以要牢記天主超越人類的性別，祂既非男人也非女人，祂是天主。因此祂超越人類的父性或母性，雖然祂是這兩性的根源和典範。沒有人能成為像天主那樣的父親。

240. 耶穌啟示天主是「父」，其意義是前所未聞的：天主是父，不僅因為祂是造物主。祂永遠是父，是因為祂與其獨生子的關係。同樣，子除非與父有永遠的關係，就不是子。「除了父外，沒有人認識子；除了子和子所願意啟示的人外，也沒有人認識父」(瑪 11:27)。

241. 為這緣故，宗徒們承認耶穌是「起初就與天主同在的聖言」，「聖言就是天主」(若 1:1)；耶穌也是「不可見的天主的肖象」(哥 1:15)，是「天主光榮的反映，是天主本體的真象」(希 1:3)。

242. 教會步武宗徒的芳蹤、依循他們的聖傳，於 325年的第一屆尼西亞大公會議中，承認聖子與聖父「同性同體」，就是聖子與聖父同是一個天主。381年於君士坦丁堡召開的第二屆大公會議，在制定尼西亞信經時保存了這項措辭，承認祂是「天主的獨生子。祂在萬世之前，由聖父所生。祂是出自光明的光明，出自真天主的真天主。祂是聖父所生，而非聖父所造，與聖父同性同體」。

聖父與聖子由聖神啟示出來

243. 耶穌在祂的苦難和復活之前，宣布要派遣另一位「護慰者」 (Paraclitus)聖神。自創世之初聖神早已工作，祂「曾藉先知們發言」，祂將住在門徒中，並在他們內教導他們一切，「把他們引入一切真理」 (若 16:13)。這樣，聖神就被啟示為與耶穌和聖父相關的天主的另一位。

244. 聖神的永遠根源可從祂被派遣到現世的事上顯露出來。聖神或由聖父因聖子之名、或由聖子本身在回到聖父身邊之後，被派遣給宗徒們和教會。聖神在耶穌受到光榮以後的被派遣，圓滿地揭露了聖三的奧跡。

245. 宗徒信仰中有關聖神的部分，在 381年的君士坦丁堡第二屆大公會議中曾宣認：「我信聖神，祂是主及賦予生命者，由聖父所發」。這樣，教會承認聖父是「整個天主性的根源」。然而，聖神的永遠根源跟聖子的並非沒有關聯：「聖神既是聖三的第三位，故是天主，與聖父、聖子是同一和同等，也是同性和同體……可是，我們不能說祂只是聖父的神，卻該說，祂同時是聖父和聖子的神」。君士坦丁堡大公會議的信經這樣宣認：「祂和聖父聖子同受欽崇，同享光榮」。

246. 拉丁傳統的信經承認聖神「由聖父和聖子 (Filioque)所共發」。 1439年的翡冷翠大公會議清楚說明：「聖神的本質與存有同時來自聖父和聖子，祂永遠發自聖父如同發自聖子……，有如發自獨一本原、藉著獨一噓氣……這是由於凡父所有的，除了父的身分以外，都在父生子時全給了子。因此，聖神的這種由子所發，是自永遠中便從祂的父那裡所領受的，這父是在永恆中生了子」。

247. 雖然「和聖子 (Filioque)」一詞並沒有出現在 381年君士坦丁堡所宣認的信經中，但根據一個古老的拉丁和亞歷山大的傳統，早在羅馬尚未於 451年的加采東大公會議承認及接受 381年的信經前，教宗聖良一世已於 447年把它宣布為信條了，這種加入「和聖子」形式的信經的使用，逐漸地由第八世紀至第十一世紀進入了拉丁的禮儀。可是，拉丁禮把「和聖子」一詞引入尼西亞‧君士坦丁堡信經的做法，至今仍構成與東正教會間的分歧。

248. 東方傳統特別強調，聖父乃聖神第一根源。在宣認聖神「發自聖父」(若 15:26) 時，便肯定聖神是透過聖子發自聖父。西方傳統則強調聖父與聖子同體的共融，肯定聖神發自聖父和聖子(Filioque)。西方傳統也是「合法和合理地」這樣說。事實上，天主聖三在其同體共融的永恆關係中，意味著聖父是聖神的第一本原，因為聖父是「沒有本原的本原」；然而，由於祂也是獨生子的父，祂和聖子應是「聖神所發自的唯一本原」。這種合法的互補性，若不予以僵化，就不會在同一的宣認奧跡上，影響信仰的一致性。

三、信理所表達的天主聖三

天主聖三信條的形成

249. 聖三的啟示真理從起初屬於教會活潑信德的根基，這主要是依靠洗禮。這啟示的真理表達在洗禮信仰的規程中，並在宣講、教理講授及教會的祈禱中定形。這類的定形的格式已在宗徒的著作中出現，例如這致候詞：「願天父的慈愛，基督的聖寵，聖神的共融與你們同在」 (格後 13:13)所顯示的，也在感恩祭禮儀中採用了。

250. 在最初的幾個世紀裡，教會設法以更明確的格式去表達對天主聖三的信仰，一面為深入了解自己的信仰，一面為保護它免受各種錯誤的扭曲。這就是早期大公會議的工作，大公會議除了得到教父們在神學探討方面的協助外，也得到基督子民在信仰意識方面的支持。

251. 為制定天主聖三的信條，教會不得不借助一些來自哲學的概念，來發展一套專有的名詞：如「實體」、「位格」或「自立體」、以及「關係」等。教會這樣做，並非把信仰置於人類智慧之下，而是要賦予這些名詞嶄新的意義，好去解釋一個難以言喻的奧秘，「這奧秘無限地超越我們人類所能明白的一切」。

252. 教會採用「實體」 (有時也用「本質」或「本性」)一詞，來指明在一體中的天主本質；用「位格」或「自立體」一詞，來指明父、子、聖神彼此間的實際區別；用「關係」一詞，來指明三位的區別在於彼此間的關係。

天主聖三的信條

253. 聖三是一個天主。我們並不宣認三個天主，而是一個天主有三位：「同性同體的聖三」。天主三位並不分割同一的天主性，而是每位都是整個的天主：「父享有與子一樣的天主性，子享有與父一樣的天主性，聖神享有與父和子一樣的天主性，即本性上是同一的天主。「聖三的每一位就是這個事實，即是天主的實體、本質或本性」。

254. 天主三位確是彼此不同的。「天主只有一個，但不孤獨」。「父」、「子」、「聖神」並不單指天主存在方式的名稱；實際上，祂們彼此確是不同的：「父不是子，子不是父，聖神不是父或子」。祂們的分別在於與本原的不同關係，父是生者，子是受生者，聖神是受發者。天主的一體是三位。

255. 天主三位是彼此關連的。由於天主三位並沒有分割同一的天主性，三位的實際區別只在於彼此之間的關係：「在三位的相關名字中，父是相對於子而言，子是相對於父而言，聖神是相對於父和子而言。不過就其關係而論及天主三位，應相信只有一個本性或實體」。事實上，「祂們的一體性，與祂們之間的關係並不相抵觸」。「由於這種一體性，父整個在子內，整個在聖神內；子整個在父內，整個在聖神內；聖神整個在父內，整個在子內」。

256. 號稱「神學家」的聖額我略‧納祥，把這段有關聖三信仰的總結傳授給君士坦丁堡的慕道者們：

首先，請為我保管這珍貴的寶庫，我曾為它生活和奮鬥，也願與它同死，它使我能忍受一切痛苦和看輕所有快樂：我是指對聖父、聖子及聖神的信仰宣認。今天我就把它交付給你們。不久之後，我要藉它把你們浸入水中並從水中提出。我要把這宣認給你們當作一生的伴侶和主保。我只交給你們一個天主和德能，祂是三位一體，而三位都有區別。這天主沒有本質或實體上的差別，也沒有等級上的高低……三個無限都有同一的無限本性。每位單獨來看，都是整個的天主……三位一起來看也是一個天主……我尚未想到一個天主，聖三便讓我沐浴在祂的光輝中；尚未想到三位，一個天主便充盈了我……」。

四、天主的工程和聖三的派遣

257. 「啊！光明，當受讚美的聖三和一體的根源！」。天主是永遠的幸福、不朽的生命、永不消逝的光輝。天主是愛：父、子和聖神。天主自由地要傳授祂幸福生活的光榮。這就是祂慈愛的計劃，是一項在創世以前已在祂愛子內擬定好的計劃，「預定了我們藉著耶穌基督獲得義子的名分」(弗 1:4-5)，就是因那「使我們成為義子的聖神」(羅 8:15)，「預定我們與祂兒子的肖象相同」(羅 8:29)。這項計劃是「在萬世以前……已賜予我們的恩寵」(弟後 1:9-10)，而其根源就是聖三的愛。這愛彰顯在創造的工程中，在人類墮落後的整個救恩史中，在聖子的使命中，在聖神及其透過教會而延續的使命中。

258. 天主整個的救恩工程是聖三的共同行動。事實上，聖三既有同一的本性，也只有同一的行動。「父、子、聖神並非創世的三個本原，而是一個本原」。可是，天主每一位依照本身的特性而完成共同的工作。教會引述新約的話宣認說：「我們只有一個天主，就是聖父，萬物都出於祂而存在；也只有一個主，就是耶穌基督，萬物都藉祂而存在；也只有一個聖神，萬物都在祂內而存在」。尤其在聖子降生及恩賜聖神的神聖派遣中，顯露了天主位格的特性。

259. 天主整個的救恩工程，是共同又是個別的工程，使人一方面認識天主三位的特性，另一方面又認識祂們共同的本性。同樣，整個基督徒生活也是跟聖三每一位的共融，無論如何也不能把祂們分開。誰光榮聖父，是透過聖子在聖神內光榮祂；誰跟隨基督，是因受到聖父吸引和受到聖神推動而跟隨祂。

260. 天主整個救恩工程的最終目的，就是所有受造物都能進入真福聖三的圓滿一體中。但如今我們已被召叫，要成為至聖聖三的寓所，主說：「誰愛我，必遵守我的話，我父也必愛他，我們要到他那裡去，並要在他那裏作我們住所」(若 14:23)：

真福聖三依撒伯爾的祈禱：啊！我的天主，我所欽崇的聖三！請幫助我完全忘記自己，為能在祢內定居，使我的靈魂好像進入了永恆的安寧和恬靜。啊，我那永遠不變的天主！沒有甚麼能擾亂我的平安或使我離開祢，反之，每分每秒都要使我更進入祢奧跡的深淵！請安撫我的靈魂，把它變成祢的天空、祢的可愛寓所和祢的休憩之處。但願我總別留下祢獨自一個，而是整個的我留在祢那裡，在信德中警醒，全心欽崇祢，整個獻身於祢的造化工程。

撮要

261. 天主聖三的奧跡是基督徒信仰和生活的主要奧跡。天主——父、子、聖神，把自己啟示出來，只有這樣，我們才能認識天主。

262. 天主子的降生給我們啟示：天主是永遠的父，而子與父同性同體，就是在祂內及同祂一起，同是唯一的天主。

263. 聖神是由父因子之名並由子「從父那裡」(若 15:26)被派遣的，這派遣顯示給我們：聖神和父與子是唯一的天主。「祂和父及子同受欽崇，同享光榮」。

264. 「父作為第一根源，聖神由父而發，而父作為給予子的永遠恩賜，聖神發自共融的父和子」。

265. 藉著「因父、及子、及聖神之名」而領受的洗禮恩寵，我們奉召分享真福聖三的生命，此世固然處於信仰的晦暗中，但死後將處於永遠的光輝中。

266. 「至公教會的信仰在於在聖三內欽崇唯一的天主，在唯一天主內欽崇聖三，既無位格的混淆，亦無實體的分離：事實上，父、子、及聖神的位格各不相同，但父、子、聖神的天主性卻是同一的，光榮相等，威嚴同是永遠的」。

267. 聖三在存有上既不可分離，在行動上也是如此。但在天主的同一行動中，每一位格顯示其在聖三中的特有行動，尤其是聖子降生及恩賜聖神的神聖派遣。

Paragraph 2. THE FATHER

I. "IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT"

232 Christians are baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"⁵³ Before receiving the sacrament, they respond to a three-part question when asked to confess the Father, the Son and the Spirit: "I do." "The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity."⁵⁴

233 Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: not in their names,⁵⁵ for there is only one God, the almighty Father, his only Son and the Holy Spirit: the Most Holy Trinity.

234 The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith".⁵⁶ The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men "and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin".⁵⁷

235 This paragraph expounds briefly (I) how the mystery of the Blessed Trinity was revealed, (II) how the Church has articulated the doctrine of the faith regarding this mystery, and (III) how, by the divine missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit, God the Father fulfils the "plan of his loving goodness" of creation, redemption and sanctification.

236 The Fathers of the Church distinguish between theology (theologia) and economy (oikonomia). "Theology" refers to the mystery of God's inmost life within the Blessed Trinity and "economy" to all the works by which God reveals himself and communicates his life. Through the oikonomia the theologia is revealed to us; but conversely, the theologia illuminates the whole oikonomia. God's works reveal who he is in himself; the mystery of his inmost being enlightens our understanding of all his works. So it is, analogously, among human persons. A person discloses himself in his actions, and the better we know a person, the better we understand his actions.

237 The Trinity is a mystery of faith in the strict sense, one of the "mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless they are revealed by God".⁵⁸ To be sure, God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation and in his Revelation throughout the Old Testament. But his inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel's faith before the Incarnation of God's Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit.

II. THE REVELATION OF GOD AS TRINITY

The Father revealed by the Son

238 Many religions invoke God as "Father". the deity is often considered the "father of gods and of men". In Israel, God is called "Father" inasmuch as he is Creator of the world.⁵⁹ Even more, God is Father because of the covenant and the gift of the law to Israel, "his first-born son".⁶⁰ God is also called the Father of the king of Israel. Most especially he is "the Father of the poor", of the orphaned and the widowed, who are under his loving protection.⁶¹

239 By calling God "Father", the language of faith indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and transcendent authority; and that he is at the same time goodness and loving care for all his children. God's parental tenderness can also be expressed by the image of motherhood,⁶² which emphasizes God's immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature. the language of faith thus draws on the human experience of parents, who are in a way the first representatives of God for man. But this experience also tells us that human parents are fallible and can disfigure the face of fatherhood and motherhood. We ought therefore to recall that God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: he is God. He also transcends human fatherhood and motherhood, although he is their origin and standard:⁶³ no one is father as God is Father.

240 Jesus revealed that God is Father in an unheard-of sense: he is Father not only in being Creator; he is eternally Father by his relationship to his only Son who, reciprocally, is Son only in relation to his Father: "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."⁶⁴

241 For this reason the apostles confess Jesus to be the Word: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"; as "the image of the invisible God"; as the "radiance of the glory of God and the very stamp of his nature".⁶⁵

242 Following this apostolic tradition, the Church confessed at the first ecumenical council at Nicaea (325) that the Son is "consubstantial" with the Father, that is, one only God with him.⁶⁶ The second ecumenical council, held at Constantinople in 381, kept this expression in its formulation of the Nicene Creed and confessed "the only-begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father".⁶⁷

The Father and the son revealed by the spirit

243 Before his Passover, Jesus announced the sending of "another Paraclete" (Advocate), the Holy Spirit. At work since creation, having previously "spoken through the prophets", the Spirit will now be with and in the disciples, to teach them and guide them "into all the truth".⁶⁸ The Holy Spirit is thus revealed as another divine person with Jesus and the Father.

244 The eternal origin of the Holy Spirit is revealed in his mission in time. the Spirit is sent to the apostles and to the Church both by the Father in the name of the Son, and by the Son in person, once he had returned to the Father.⁶⁹ The sending of the person of the Spirit after Jesus' glorification⁷⁰ reveals in its fullness the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

245 The apostolic faith concerning the Spirit was confessed by the second ecumenical council at Constantinople (381): "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father."⁷¹ By this confession, the Church recognizes the Father as "the source and origin of the whole divinity".⁷² But the eternal origin of the Spirit is not unconnected with the Son's origin: "The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son, of the same substance and also of the same nature. . . Yet he is not called the Spirit of the Father alone,. . . but the Spirit of both the Father and the Son."⁷³ The Creed of the Church from the Council of Constantinople confesses: "With the Father and the Son, he is worshipped and glorified."⁷⁴

246 The Latin tradition of the Creed confesses that the Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son (filioque)". the Council of Florence in 1438 explains: "The Holy Spirit is eternally from Father and Son; He has his nature and subsistence at once (simul) from the Father and the Son. He proceeds eternally from both as from one principle and through one spiration... And, since the Father has through generation given to the only-begotten Son everything that belongs to the Father, except being Father, the Son has also eternally from the Father, from whom he is eternally born, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son."⁷⁵

247 The affirmation of the filioque does not appear in the Creed confessed in 381 at Constantinople. But Pope St. Leo I, following an ancient Latin and Alexandrian tradition, had already confessed it dogmatically in 447,⁷⁶ even before Rome, in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon, came to recognize and receive the Symbol of 381. the use of this formula in the Creed was gradually admitted into the Latin liturgy (between the eighth and eleventh centuries). the introduction of the filioque into the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed by the Latin liturgy constitutes moreover, even today, a point of disagreement with the Orthodox Churches.

248 At the outset the Eastern tradition expresses the Father's character as first origin of the Spirit. By confessing the Spirit as he "who proceeds from the Father", it affirms that he comes from the Father through the Son.⁷⁷ The Western tradition expresses first the consubstantial communion between Father and Son, by saying that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (filioque). It says this, "legitimately and with good reason",⁷⁸ for the eternal order of the divine persons in their consubstantial communion implies that the Father, as "the principle without principle",⁷⁹ is the first origin of the Spirit, but also that as Father of the only Son, he is, with the Son, the single principle from which the Holy Spirit proceeds.⁸⁰ This legitimate complementarity, provided it does not become rigid, does not affect the identity of faith in the reality of the same mystery confessed.

III. THE HOLY TRINITY IN THE TEACHING OF THE FAITH

The formation of the Trinitarian dogma

249 From the beginning, the revealed truth of the Holy Trinity has been at the very root of the Church's living faith, principally by means of Baptism. It finds its expression in the rule of baptismal faith, formulated in the preaching, catechesis and prayer of the Church. Such formulations are already found in the apostolic writings, such as this salutation taken up in the Eucharistic liturgy: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."⁸¹

250 During the first centuries the Church sought to clarify her Trinitarian faith, both to deepen her own understanding of the faith and to defend it against the errors that were deforming it. This clarification was the work of the early councils, aided by the theological work of the Church Fathers and sustained by the Christian people's sense of the faith.

251 In order to articulate the dogma of the Trinity, the Church had to develop her own terminology with the help of certain notions of philosophical origin: "substance", "person" or "hypostasis", "relation" and so on. In doing this, she did not submit the faith to human wisdom, but gave a new and unprecedented meaning to these terms, which from then on would be used to signify an ineffable mystery, "infinitely beyond all that we can humanly understand".⁸²

252 The Church uses (I) the term "substance" (rendered also at times by "essence" or "nature") to designate the divine being in its unity, (II) the term "person" or "hypostasis" to designate the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the real distinction among them, and (III) the term "relation" to designate the fact that their distinction lies in the relationship of each to the others.

The dogma of the Holy Trinity

253 The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the "consubstantial Trinity".⁸³ The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: "The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God."⁸⁴ In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), "Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature."⁸⁵

254 The divine persons are really distinct from one another. "God is one but not solitary."⁸⁶ "Father", "Son", "Holy Spirit" are not simply names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are really distinct from one another: "He is not the Father who is the Son, nor is the Son he who is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit he who is the Father or the Son."⁸⁷ They are distinct from one another in their relations of origin: "It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds."⁸⁸ The divine Unity is Triune.

255 The divine persons are relative to one another. Because it does not divide the divine unity, the real distinction of the persons from one another resides solely in the relationships which relate them to one another: "In the relational names of the persons the Father is related to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to both. While they are called three persons in view of their relations, we believe in one nature or substance."⁸⁹ Indeed "everything (in them) is one where there is no opposition of relationship."⁹⁰ "Because of that unity the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Son is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son."⁹¹

256 St. Gregory of Nazianzus, also called "the Theologian", entrusts this summary of Trinitarian faith to the catechumens of Constantinople:
Above all guard for me this great deposit of faith for which I live and fight, which I want to take with me as a companion, and which makes me bear all evils and despise all pleasures: I mean the profession of faith in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I entrust it to you today. By it I am soon going to plunge you into water and raise you up from it. I give it to you as the companion and patron of your whole life. I give you but one divinity and power, existing one in three, and containing the three in a distinct way. Divinity without disparity of substance or nature, without superior degree that raises up or inferior degree that casts down. . . the infinite co-naturality of three infinites. Each person considered in himself is entirely God. . . the three considered together. . . 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. .⁹²

IV. THE DIVINE WORKS AND THE TRINITARIAN MISSIONS

257 "O blessed light, O Trinity and first Unity!"⁹³ God is eternal blessedness, undying life, unfading light. God is love: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God freely wills to communicate the glory of his blessed life. Such is the "plan of his loving kindness", conceived by the Father before the foundation of the world, in his beloved Son: "He destined us in love to be his sons" and "to be conformed to the image of his Son", through "the spirit of sonship".⁹⁴ This plan is a "grace [which] was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began", stemming immediately from Trinitarian love.⁹⁵ It unfolds in the work of creation, the whole history of salvation after the fall, and the missions of the Son and the Spirit, which are continued in the mission of the Church.⁹⁶

258 The whole divine economy is the common work of the three divine persons. For as the Trinity has only one and the same natures so too does it have only one and the same operation: "The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are not three principles of creation but one principle."⁹⁷ However, each divine person performs the common work according to his unique personal property. Thus the Church confesses, following the New Testament, "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".⁹⁸ It is above all the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit that show forth the properties of the divine persons.

259 Being a work at once common and personal, the whole divine economy makes known both what is proper to the divine persons, and their one divine nature. Hence the whole Christian life is a communion with each of the divine persons, without in any way separating them. Everyone who glorifies the Father does so through the Son in the Holy Spirit; everyone who follows Christ does so because the Father draws him and the Spirit moves him.⁹⁹

260 The ultimate end of the whole divine economy is the entry of God's creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity.¹⁰⁰ But even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity: "If a man loves me", says the Lord, "he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him":¹⁰¹

O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me forget myself entirely so to establish myself in you, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to trouble my peace or make me leave you, O my unchanging God, but may each minute bring me more deeply into your mystery! Grant my soul peace. Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest. May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative action.¹⁰²

IN BRIEF

261 The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of Christian life. God alone can make it known to us by revealing himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

262 The Incarnation of God's Son reveals that God is the eternal Father and that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, which means that, in the Father and with the Father the Son is one and the same God.

263 The mission of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father in the name of the Son (⇒ Jn 14:26) and by the Son "from the Father" (⇒ Jn 15:26), reveals that, with them, the Spirit is one and the same God. "With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified" (Nicene Creed).

264 "The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father as the first principle and, by the eternal gift of this to the Son, from the communion of both the Father and the Son" (St. Augustine, De Trin. 15, 26, 47: PL 42, 1095).

265 By the grace of Baptism "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit", 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 (cf. Paul VI, CPG # 9).

266 "Now this is the Catholic faith: We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father is one, the Son's is another, the Holy Spirit's another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal" (Athanasian Creed: DS 75; ND 16).

267 Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons are also inseparable in what they do. But within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, especially in the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

第三節全能者

268. 在天主的所有屬性中，信經只提及祂的全能；承認這點對我們生命極為重要。我們相信這種全能是全面的，因為天主創造一切，統御一切，無所不能；是富有愛心的，因為天主是我們的父親；是神奇奧妙的，因為當祂的全能「在軟弱中顯露」時(格後 12:9)，只有信德才能辨認。

「祂創造了所喜愛的萬物」(詠 115:3)

269. 聖經多次肯定了天主的全面能力。祂被稱為「雅各伯的大能者」(創 49:24;依 1:24等等)、「萬軍之軍的上主」、「大能、有力的上主」 (詠 24:8-10)。若說天主對「天和地」(詠 135:6)是全能的，因為是祂創造了它們。所以祂無所不能，可隨心所欲地處理祂的一切工程。祂是宇宙的主宰，是祂給宇宙定了秩序，這秩序完全服從祂的安排和指使。祂也是歷史的主宰，可照自己的喜愛統領人心和管治所發生的事。「祢隨時可用祢的大能，有誰能抵抗祢有力的手臂？」(智 11:22)。

「祢憐憫眾生，因為祢是無所不能的」(智 11:24)

270. 天主是全能的父親。祂的父愛跟祂的能力互相輝映。因為祂在照顧我們的需要時，顯示了祂慈父的全能；透過接納我們為義子，祂把自己賜給我們(「我要做你們的父親，你們要做我的子女，這是全能的上主說的」格後 6:18)；最後，因著祂的無限仁慈，祂自由地寬恕我們的罪惡，把祂的能力表露無遺。

271. 天主的全能絕非任意妄為的：「在天主身上，能力和本質、意志和理智、智慧和正義都是同一的事，因而在天主的能力範圍內，不能做任何不符合天主的合理意願或明智理性的事」。

外表無能的天主的奧跡

272. 對全能的天父的信心，會因著邪惡和痛苦的經驗而受到考驗。天主有時似乎不存在，無能阻止惡事的發生。然而，天父以最奧秘的方式顯示了祂的全能，就是藉著祂聖子的謙抑自下和復活，戰勝了邪惡。因此，被釘在十字架上的基督是「天主的德能和天主的智慧。因為天主的愚妄總比人明智，天主的懦弱也總比人堅強」 (格前 1:24-25)。當基督復活和受顯揚時，天父揭露了「祂對我們虔信的人，所施展的強有力而見效的德能是怎樣的偉大」(弗 1:19-22)。

273. 只有信德才能依附天主全能的奧妙安排。因著這信德，人誇耀自己的軟弱，好叫基督的德能來到自己身上。童貞瑪利亞就是這信德的至高典範，她相信了「在天主前沒有不可能的事」(路 1:37)，並頌揚上主說：「全能者在我身上行了大事，祂的名字是聖的」(路 1:49)。

274. 「堅強我們的信德與望德最好的方法，莫過於把『天主前沒有不可能的事』這個信念，深深地銘刻在我們的心靈上。因為凡信經教我們信的事，無論如何偉大、不可思議，以及超越自然常律的事物，只要我們的理智有了天主全能的意識，自然就毫無疑慮地相信了」。

撮要

275. 我們同義人約伯一起，承認說：「我知道祢事事都能，祢所有的計劃，沒有不實現的」(約 42:2)。

276. 教會忠於聖經的見証，多次向「全能永生的天主」祈禱，堅信「在天主前沒有不可能的事」(創 18:14;路 1:37;瑪 19:26)。

277. 天主使我們棄邪歸正，以恩寵與我們重修舊好並藉此來顯示祂的全能，(「天主，祢在仁慈及寬恕方面，充分地顯示了祢的全能……」)。

278. 若不信天主的愛是全能的，如何相信父能造生我們，子能救贖我們，聖神能聖化我們呢？

Paragraph 3. THE ALMIGHTY

268 of all the divine attributes, only God's omnipotence is named in the Creed: to confess this power has great bearing on our lives. We believe that his might is universal, for God who created everything also rules everything and can do everything. God's power is loving, for he is our Father, and mysterious, for only faith can discern it when it "is made perfect in weakness".¹⁰³

"He does whatever he pleases"¹⁰⁴

269 The Holy Scriptures repeatedly confess the universal power of God. He is called the "Mighty One of Jacob", the "LORD of hosts", the "strong and mighty" one. If God is almighty "in heaven and on earth", it is because he made them.¹⁰⁵ Nothing is impossible with God, who disposes his works according to his will.¹⁰⁶ He is the Lord of the universe, whose order he established and which remains wholly subject to him and at his disposal. He is master of history, governing hearts and events in keeping with his will: "It is always in your power to show great strength, and who can withstand the strength of your arm?¹⁰⁷

"You are merciful to all, for you can do all thing"¹⁰⁸

270 God is the Father Almighty, whose fatherhood and power shed light on one another: God reveals his fatherly omnipotence by the way he takes care of our needs; by the filial adoption that he gives us ("I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty"):¹⁰⁹ finally by his infinite mercy, for he displays his power at its height by freely forgiving sins.

271 God's almighty power is in no way arbitrary: "In God, power, essence, will, intellect, wisdom, and justice are all identical. Nothing therefore can be in God's power which could not be in his just will or his wise intellect."¹¹⁰

The mystery of God's apparent powerlessness

272 Faith in God the Father Almighty can be put to the test by the experience of evil and suffering. God can sometimes seem to be absent and incapable of stopping evil. But in the most mysterious way God the Father has revealed his almighty power in the voluntary humiliation and Resurrection of his Son, by which he conquered evil. Christ crucified is thus "the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."¹¹¹ It is in Christ's Resurrection and exaltation that the Father has shown forth "the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe".¹¹²

273 Only faith can embrace the mysterious ways of God's almighty power. This faith glories in its weaknesses in order to draw to itself Christ's power.¹¹³ The Virgin Mary is the supreme model of this faith, for she believed that "nothing will be impossible with God", and was able to magnify the Lord: "For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name."¹¹⁴

274 "Nothing is more apt to confirm our faith and hope than holding it fixed in our minds that nothing is impossible with God. Once our reason has grasped the idea of God's almighty power, it will easily and without any hesitation admit everything that [the Creed] will afterwards propose for us to believe - even if they be great and marvellous things, far above the ordinary laws of nature."¹¹⁵

IN BRIEF

275 With Job, the just man, we confess: "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted" (⇒ Job 42:2).

276 Faithful to the witness of Scripture, the Church often addresses her prayer to the "almighty and eternal God" (“omnipotens sempiterne Deus. . ."), believing firmly that "nothing will be impossible with God" (⇒ Gen 18:14; ⇒ Lk 1:37; ⇒ Mt 19:26).

277 God shows forth his almighty power by converting us from our sins and restoring us to his friendship by grace. "God, you show your almighty power above all in your mercy and forgiveness. . ." (Roman Missal, 26th Sunday, Opening Prayer).

278 If we do not believe that God's love is almighty, how can we believe that the Father could create us, the Son redeem us and the Holy Spirit sanctify us?

第二節 聖父

一、「 因父及子及聖神之名」