Metaphysical insight allows us to see that the limited existence of the things around us point to Existence, itself.

In a similar manner, the aspects of personality that we encounter in ourselves in terms of self-awareness and love point to Existence, itself, as Personal.

On this philosophical level we can conclude that Existence is supremely Personal, but we cannot enter into those depths and see what that means.

Theological reflection on Christian faith tells us that in God there is one nature and three persons. The Father is identical with the divine nature, as is the Son and the Holy Spirit, but the Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit. The distinction among the persons of the Trinity rests not on the divine nature, itself, as if each one had staked out its own territory, but on their relationships to each other. This, however, is hard to understand.

Let’s take a new perspective. If metaphysics tells us that Existence is Personal, why not say that the doctrine of the Trinity affords us a glimpse of what those personal depths in God are like?

The divine Existence should not be imagined as identical to the divine nature to which the three persons are somewhat accidentally added on as if we could relate first to the three persons and then somehow go deeper and encounter the divine nature. Rather, the inner nature of Existence is a communion of three loving persons. It is the relationship between these persons that constitutes the divine nature. Existence is intrinsically a loving communion of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Creation reflects God as Existence, superabounding in Personality, but there is no reflection of the Trinity in creation. Even our own interior processes of understanding and love do not directly point to the Trinity. Once we know about the Trinity, however, our own processes of understanding and love can become wonderful symbols of the richness of Existence as Personal.

Creation is a free act of God, but it is also an act expressing the nature of God. The persons of God communicate as completely as possible with each other, but they also communicate as completely as possible in regard to creation. Creation is necessarily a reflection of the divine Existence as Personal, but it can also be a deeper expression of the inner nature of God as Trinity. This is best seen in regard to the human nature of Jesus. The creation of that human nature is a reflection of God as Existence and Personal, and as such can be called a work common to the three divine persons. But at the same instant as the human nature of Jesus is being created, it is being united to the Word of God, and through the Word to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it takes on a Trinitarian character, and thus reflects both God as Existence and Personal, and God as Trinity. It is through the human nature of Jesus that we, too, can participate in the inner life of the Trinity.