Most – if not all – of us have certainly heard the story of how George Washington admitted that he did indeed chop down the cherry tree. Now, Washington’s biographer, Mason Weems, in his book entitled “THE LIFE OF WASHINGTON,” said that this MYTH was created as a way to show Washington’s honesty. Regardless of whether the story is factual or not, it does convey an important message, namely that of honesty.

As does this story represent the honesty of a pivotal figure in the forming of our nation, so too do we have a story involving one of the pivotal figures in the writings and administration of our early Church. Let me quote the story you may have already heard.

‘One day while walking along the seashore, Augustine came upon a child dipping water from the sea and pouring it into a hole in the sand. Curious, the bishop inquired, “What are you doing?” The child replied, “I’m going to pour the ocean into this hole I dug.” Augustine smiled: “You’re wasting your time. That’s impossible!” To which the child said, “I will accomplish this before your finite mind can comprehend the infinite Godhead,” and then vanished.’

Augustine lived some 1,600 years ago, so we have no way of verifying whether the story actually took place. However, as with the story of George Washington and the cherry tree, it does convey an important truth. The infinite Godhead or Trinity cannot possibly be comprehended by our finite minds.

And yet, although we cannot comprehend the Trinity, we still invoke and pray to the Trinity.

How do we begin most of our prayers? “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” In the very act of my beginning a prayer, we invoke the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And how does the Mass begin? After the opening hymn, we make the Sign of the Cross, saying “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The Trinity. Then the priest says: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.” Again a mention of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then comes the Penitential Rite, followed by the Gloria. And what do we hear in the Gloria? “Almighty God and Father… Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father… You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father…” Again the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I will be the first one to admit that the story of Augustine at the seashore, whether factually based or not, conveys the truth about the incomprehensibility of the Trinity. And yet, that does not stop us from invoking and praying to the Trinity.

This is a fundamental reality of our faith that, if we do not grasp it, we can truncate our own spiritual development.

We can love our God wholeheartedly, even though we cannot understand him with all of our mind. We can invoke the Trinity, even though we cannot comprehend the Trinity. We can pray and priests and deacons can carry out sacraments with the power of the Trinitarian formula – “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” – even though we cannot comprehend the power of the Trinity.

The very essence of our faith, the very reason we need to rely on faith, is that our limited understanding cannot grasp the unlimited God, which can lead to a great danger.

In our culture with so much emphasis placed on rational thought and learning, and with the reward and prestige showered over the smart among us, we may only venture as far as we can comprehend.

But that cannot be. We need to make the leap of faith to go beyond where our mere brains and rational thought can take us.

In so many areas of life, it is dangerous and foolhardy to lead with the heart, but with respect to the Trinity it is the only way. Our progress in the spiritual life will be stalled shortly after it begins if we only allow ourselves to journey as far as we can see and comprehend.

Let us lead with our hearts and leap into the communion of love that makes up the relationship of the Trinity: Father and Son and Holy Spirit all loving one another.

That being said, although the Trinity is beyond our comprehension, there are some things that we can know about it.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1. “The Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith… known to us by revealing himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

2. “In the Father and with the Father, the Son is one and the same God.”

3. “With them, the Sprit is one and the same God.”

4. “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.”

5. The Catechism goes on to tell us how the Trinity is one God, while made up of three distinct persons.

But how can they be one and three at the same time? Sorry, but if Saint Augustine – one of the doctors of the Church, and sometimes dubbed the father of the Western Church – could not comprehend and explain it, then how much less can … little old me.

That being said — this much I can say: While being one God, the Trinity also remains three divine persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is most central to our faith. It is who God is. While here on earth we are called to share in the Trinity while in the obscurity of faith. These basic facts are found in the Catechism.

But I hope that we can go beyond merely memorizing and reciting basic facts and embrace the opportunity we have to make a leap of faith directly into the very heart of the Trinity, so as to lead with love and go beyond what our minds can comprehend and find ourselves drawn into that community which is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit loving one another.