and sense of isolationwhichmake us seekpersonal gain to the detriment of all else. The lawofweekly
rest forbade work on the seventh day, “so that your ox and your donkeymay have rest, and the son of
your maidservant, and the stranger, may be refreshed” (
Ex
23:12). Rest opens our eyes to the larger
picture and gives us renewed sensitivity to the rights of others. And so the day of rest, centred on the
Eucharist, sheds it light on thewholeweek, andmotivates us to greater concern for nature and the poor.
VII. THETRINITYANDTHERELATIONSHIPBETWEENCREATURES
238. The Father is the ultimate source of everything, the loving and self-communicating foundation
of all that exists. The Son, his reflection, throughwhom all things were created, united himself to this
earthwhen hewas formed in thewomb ofMary. The Spirit, infinite bondof love, is intimatelypresent
at the very heart of the universe, inspiring and bringing new pathways. The world was created by the
three Persons acting as a single divine principle, but each one of themperformed this commonwork in
accordance with his own personal property. Consequently, “when we contemplate with wonder the
universe in all its grandeur andbeauty, wemust praise thewholeTrinity”.
169
239. For Christians, believing in one Godwho is trinitarian communion suggests that the Trinity has
left its mark on all creation. Saint Bonaventure went so far as to say that human beings, before sin,
were able to see how each creature “testifies that God is three”. The reflection of the Trinitywas there
to be recognized in nature “when that book was open to man and our eyes had not yet become
darkened”.
170
The Franciscan saint teaches us that
each creature bears in itself a specifically
Trinitarian structure
, so real that it could be readily contemplated if only the human gaze were not so
partial, dark and fragile. In this way, he points out to us the challenge of trying to read reality in a
Trinitarian key.
240. The divine Persons are subsistent relations, and the world, created according to the divine
model, is a web of relationships. Creatures tend towards God, and in turn it is proper to every living
being to tend towards other things, so that throughout the universe we can find anynumber of constant
and secretly interwoven relationships.
171
This leads us not only tomarvel at themanifold connections
169
JOHNPAUL II,
Catechesis
(2August 2000), 4:
Insegnamenti
23/2 (2000), 112.
170
Quaest.Disp. deMyst. Trinitatis
, 1, 2 concl.
171
Cf. THOMASAQUINAS,
Summa Theologiae,
I, q. 11, art. 3; q. 21, art. 1, ad 3; q. 47, art. 3.
