Adam's disobedience short-circuited God's original plan for mankind. That plan had man sharing in God's holiness and glory forever. Instead, Adam's disobedience brought sin and death into the world. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 616) reveals, "No man, not even the holiest, was ever able to take on himself the sins of all men and offer himself as a sacrifice for all." Truly, this was the case until the incarnation brought forth a man capable of shouldering and achieving such a monumental task. This man was and is Jesus Christ: true God and true man.

Saint Paul tells us in Rom 5:19 that our eternal salvation came through the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. "For just as by the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one man the many will be made righteous." Paul goes on in 1 Cor 15:21-22 to assure us that Christ has defeated death. "For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead came also through a man. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life."

Saint Paul's powerful, yet comforting and reassuring words should bring every Christian peace of mind and confidence that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ has made eternal salvation possible. Clearly, our earthly life has purpose and meaning because it is tied to our faith, hope, and trust in God.

The Trinity is the union of three divine persons in one God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. No man or woman can be called Christian if he or she does not accept and believe in the Trinity. "The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life...It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the 'hierarchy of the truths of faith,'" declares the Church (CCC 234). Christians do not profess belief in three Gods. We profess belief in three divine persons in one God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit do not share this one divinity among themselves; for each one of them is wholly and entirely the one true God. Each person of the Godhead is distinct; but each one is inseparable from the other. "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," states CCC 253.

The Council of Constantinople II was held in 553 AD. It declared that there is one nature of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and there is one power and one might. It declared that the Trinity is one Godhead being worshipped in three subsistences, or persons. The Trinity is consubstantial: the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity are distinct and separate but share one and the same substance. "For there is one God and Father, from whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, can one Holy Spirit, in whom are all things," wrote the Council of Constantinople II.

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.'" These are the inspired words from Gen 1:26. Did you notice that the words do not read, "Then God said, 'Let me make man in my image, after my likeness." "My" is singular; "us" is plural. The Triune God had no beginning and will have no end. The Old Testament (OT) speaks constantly of God the Father; but it also foreshadows the coming of the Holy Spirit. God the Father says in Ezek 36:26 that He will give us a new heart and put a new Spirit within us. Then God the Father says in Joel 2:28 that He will pour out His Spirit on all flesh.

Jesus Christ, who is concealed in the OT, is revealed throughout the New Testament (NT). Here's how Saint John opens his gospel, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." At the beginning of creation Jesus, like the Father and the Holy Spirit existed. Jesus' relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit are revealed in the NT. Jn 10:18 says, "If I [Jesus] do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize [and understand] that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." Jn 14:16, 26 says, "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you always. The advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name, He will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you."

As stated earlier, Christians must accept and believe in the Triune God. What else must a man or woman accept and believe in to be a Christian? A true Christian must accept and believe that Jesus Christ is one divine person with two distinct natures: divine and human. The Second Person of the Trinity is the uncreated and eternally-begotten Son of the Father. From the moment of His incarnation until His death on Calvary, Jesus remained completely and lovingly obedient to the Father. His total obedience wiped away Adam's disobedience and made possible the salvation of all men.

Saint Paul concludes 2 Corinthians with these Trinitarian words, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you." Do these words sound familiar? They should, if you regularly fulfill your Sunday Mass obligation. When Mass begins, the priest and the faithful make the sign of the cross as the priest says, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Then the priest greets the faithful with Paul's words from 2 Cor 13:13.

While we do not fully comprehend the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, at each Mass we profess our faith in our Triune God and the salvation the Second Person of the Holy Trinity earned for us.

For more insight read CCC paragraphs 234, 237, 253-56, 402, 410-12, 420-23, 426, 430-33, 461, 517-18, 571-72, 598-603, 609, 613-17, 619-23, 1026. Also, pull out your "Catholic" Bible and reference Gen 1:26; Deut 32:6; Ezek 3:12-14; 36:26; Is 53:10-12; Joel 2:28; Mt 20:28; Jn 1:1, 29; 14:26; 17:21-23; Rom 3:24-25; 5:17-21; 1 Cor 15:21-22, 45, 56; 2 Cor 5:19; Gal 4:4-6; Eph 1:3-10; Phil 2:8; Col 1:13-14; Heb 5:8-9; 9:26; 10:5-9.