The Trinity

There is obedience within the Most Holy Trinity. The Father, Son, and Spirit are obedient to one another. Their obedience is reciprocal and asymmetrical. And each Person of the Trinity is unique in obedience.

Each Person of the Trinity shares one and the same Divine Nature. So, with respect to their Divine Nature, the Three Persons of the Trinity are Equal. But each Person of the Trinity also has a unique Role in the Trinity. So, with respect to their Divine Roles, the Three Persons of the Trinity are not Equal. Each Person has His own unique Divine Role. These unique Roles are not arbitrary, but are based on the Procession of the Trinity within the One Divine Nature.

The Father is First. The Father does not proceed from the Son or the Spirit. The Father does not proceed. All that God is, and all that God does, is One Divine Eternal Act. This Act originates in the Person of the Father. As a result, the Father is First in authority, teaching, and leadership. All knowledge comes from the Father. All that the Son knows, the Father has taught the Son. The Father teaches the Son in the One Divine Eternal Act that is God. All authority comes from the Father. The Son does not act on His own. He can only act according to what the Father has taught Him. The Father is the leader of the Trinity. The Son follows the Father because the Son proceeds from the Father.

All Three Persons of the Trinity share the same Mind and the same Will, but each with a different and unique expression of that Mind and Will. From a human point of view, it seems as if the Trinity has three minds and three wills, because the Trinity is Three Persons and, in comparison, each of three human person would have his own mind and will. However, the Persons of the Trinity share one and the same Divine Nature, whereas any three separate human persons will exist with three separate examples of the same human nature. As a result, Mind and Will in the Trinity will also seem to be One, because the Trinity is so thoroughly One that every Act of the Trinity, and the very Existence of the Trinity, is One Divine Eternal Act. In truth, Mind and Will and even Existence itself are all One in the Trinity. But the expression of Mind and Will in each of the Three Persons differs in a unique way as a result of the differences in Procession.

Obedience of the Father and the Son

The Son is obedient to the Father. Yet the Father gives the Son whatever He asks of Him. Thus the Father is also obedient to the Son, but in a different manner. The Father is greater than the Son, in His Divine Role, as a result of the Procession of the Son from the Father. The Father is First in procession and the Son is Second in procession. The Son's obedience to the Father is subject obedience, because the Son is subject to the Father. The obedience of the Father to the Son is leadership obedience because the Father is leader over the Son. The obedience between Father and Son is reciprocal, for each is obedient to the other; but it is also asymmetrical, for each is a unique expression of obedience.

The Son's obedience to the Father is primary, because the Father is the First Person of the Trinity. The Father's obedience to the Son is secondary, because the Son is the Second Person of the Trinity. The Father is only obedient to the Son as a result of the Son's obedience to the Father. The Father's obedience to the Son is fundamentally different than the Son's obedience to the Father. The Father is First and the Son is Second. The Father obeys the Son, even though the Father is First, because the Son is obedient to the Father. The Son obeys the Father because the Father is First, not because the Father obeys the Son. The Father only obeys the Son in so far as the Son is obeying the Father. But the Son must obey the Father because He is First.

If the Son were to disobey the Father (though this is not possible within the Trinity), then the Father would be right to disobey the Son, but the Son would be wrong to disobey the Father. For the Father is First and the Son is Second. The Son is dependent on the Father for the Son's authority, but the Father is not dependent on the Son for the Father's authority. Such is the asymmetry of reciprocal obedience.

Obedience of the Spirit

The Spirit proceeds primarily from the Father and secondarily from the Son. The Spirit is primarily obedient to the Father and secondarily obedient to the Son. For the Father is First and the Son is Second and the Spirit is Third. The Father's obedience to the Son and Spirit is dependent upon the Son and Spirit's obedience to the Father. The Father and Son's obedience to the Spirit is dependent upon the Spirit's obedience to the Father and Son. The Father and the Son give the Spirit whatever He asks of Them because the Spirit is obedient to the Father and Son.

Thus the Father and Son are each and together obedient to the Spirit, but each in a different manner. The Father is greater than the Son and Spirit, in Divine Role, and the Father and Son are greater than the Spirit, in Divine Role, even though all Three are unique expressions of the same Divine Nature. The obedience of the Spirit to the Father is with and through the Son. The obedience of the Father to the Spirit is with and through the Son. But the Father is First, the Son is Second, and the Spirit is Third. As a result, the obedience of each is unique. The obedience of the Spirit to the Father and Son is subject obedience and the obedience of the Father and Son to the Spirit is leadership obedience. The Spirit is obedient to the Father only with and through the Son, for the Father and Spirit are never completely separate from the Son.

The obedience of the Son to the Father, and the obedience of the Father to the Son, is always with the Spirit. For the Spirit is always with the Father and the Son. Although the Son proceeds only from the Father, the procession of the Son from the Father is not isolated from the procession of the Spirit. Similarly, the obedience of the Son to the Father is not isolated from the obedience of the Spirit to the Father and Son. The obedience of the Father to the Son is not isolated from the obedience of the Father and Son to the Spirit.

The Spirit obeys the Father because He is First, not because the Father obeys the Spirit. And the Spirit obeys the Son because He is Second and because the Son obeys the Father, not because the Son obeys the Spirit. The Spirit's obedience to the Father and Son is not dependent on the obedience of the Father and Son to the Spirit. The Spirit is primarily dependent on the Father and secondarily dependent on the Son. The Father and Son are not dependent on the Spirit.

If the Spirit were to disobey the Father and the Son (though this is not possible within the Trinity), then the Father and the Son would be right to disobey the Spirit, but the Spirit would be wrong to disobey the Father and the Son. If the Son were to disobey the Father (though this is not possible within the Trinity), then the Spirit would be right to disobey the Son, but wrong to disobey the Father.

Obedience within the Trinity is reciprocal because the Father, Son, and Spirit are each obedient to one another. Obedience within the Trinity is asymmetrical because the Father is First, the Son is Second, and the Spirit is Third. Obedience to the Father is Primary, obedience to the Son is Secondary, obedience to the Spirit is Tertiary. Obedience within the Trinity is also asymmetrical because the Spirit is obedient to both Son and Father together, and the Father and Son are both and together obedient to the Spirit, whereas the obedience between Son and Father is above and in the presence of the Spirit.

The Three Persons of the Trinity have different roles under obedience within the Trinity itself. The Father is the highest power and authority in the Trinity. The Son and Spirit obey the Father. Such is the obedience of a lesser power and authority to a greater power and authority. The Father obeys the Son and the Spirit because a greater power and authority does well to cooperate with any lesser power and authority that is obedient to Him.

Obedience within The Family

The Family is a reflection of the Trinity. The husband, wife, and children are a reflection of the Father, Son, Spirit. The Obedience within the Trinity is and ought to be reflected within the family. Just as the obedience of the Trinity is reciprocal and asymmetrical, so also is the obedience within the family reciprocal and asymmetrical.

Each human person in the family is a unique and separate example of one and the same human nature. So, with respect to human nature, each person in the family (husband, wife, children) is equal. But each person in the family also has a unique role in the family. So, with respect to their roles, the husband, wife, and children are not equal. Each has his or her own family role. These roles are not arbitrary, but are based on the unique expression of one and the same human nature. The husband is an adult male human person; the wife is an adult female human person, the children are male and female, but they have not yet grown to adulthood. The differences in roles are based on different expressions of the same human nature in male and female, and in adults and children.

The family unit consists mainly of a man who is husband and father, a woman who is wife and mother, and their children. This family structure was ordained by God to be a reflection of the Trinity itself. The husband represents the Father, the wife represents the Son, and the children represent the Spirit. Obedience within the family is a reflection of obedience within the Most Holy Trinity.

The husband is First, the wife is Second, the children are Third. The wife must obey her husband, just as the Son must obey the Father. When the wife is obedient to the husband, then the husband gives the wife whatever she asks of him. Thus the husband is obedient to the wife, but only in so far as she is first obedient to him. Obedience between husband and wife is reciprocal and asymmetrical. The husband and wife are obedient to one another, but their obedience is fundamentally different. The husband is the head of the family and the first highest authority within the family. The wife is the heart of the family and the second highest authority in the family. The wife must be obedient to her husband because he is First. The husband should only be obedient to the wife in so far as she is first obedient to him.

If the wife were to disobey the husband (which is possible because of sin), then the husband would be right to disobey the wife (refusing to give her what she asks of him), but the wife would still be wrong to disobey the husband. For the husband is First and the wife is Second. The wife is dependent on the husband for her authority, but the husband is not dependent on the wife for his authority. For obedience between husband and wife is both reciprocal and asymmetrical.

The children are Third. The children must be primarily obedient to their father and secondarily obedient to their mother, because the father is First and the mother is Second. When the children are obedient to their parents, then their parents will give them whatever they ask. For the father and mother must be obedient to their obedient children. But if the children are disobedient to their parents, then the father and mother will not be obedient to them. For obedience between parents and children is both reciprocal and asymmetrical.

Disobedience in the Family

If the wife is disobedient to her husband, she is wrong to be disobedient to her husband. If the wife is disobedient to her husband, then the husband is right not to be obedient to his wife. For the obedience of the husband to the wife depends upon the obedience of the wife to the husband. But if the husband is disobedient to his wife, the wife must still be obedient to the husband. For the obedience of the wife to the husband does not depend on the obedience of the husband to the wife. The husband is primary and the wife is secondary.

If the wife is fundamentally disobedient to her husband, then the children must not be obedient to her, but they must be obedient to their father. Occasional lapses in obedience between husband and wife should not generally affect the obedience of the children to their parents. If the husband is disobedient to his wife, then the children must still be obedient to both father and mother, for the authority of the father is first.

If the husband departs so far from truth and goodness that he ceases to be at all a reflection of the goodness of the Father, then the wife and children do not owe him obedience. They should pray for his repentance and salvation. The same can also be said of wife and of children. If a wife departs so far from truth and goodness that she ceases to be at all a reflection of the goodness of the Son, then the husband does not owe her obedience, but should pray for her. If a child departs so far from truth and goodness that he or she ceases to be at all a reflection of the goodness of the Spirit, then the father and mother do not owe him or her obedience, but should pray for their child.

Sin often wreaks havoc in families, causing them to bear little or no resemblance to the Most Holy Trinity. In such cases, family members must obey God and the moral law, and they must help and pray for one another. However, obedience to sin is disobedience to God. And obedience to God is always First. The Shepherd does not require the sheep to be obedient to wolves. Nor to sin.

God and Creation

God created the Universe, and He made male and female to be an expression and image of the difference between Creator and Creation. Male roles differ from female roles because maleness and femaleness are a reflection of God and His Creation. Eve is said to have been created from the side of Adam, because femaleness is a reflection of God's creation of the Universe. Just as the Universe is created by and from God, so Eve was created from Adam.

The relationship between husband and wife is like the relationship between God and His Creation. Although the husband is not a god, and the wife is not a universe, still the relationship of husband and wife is intended by God to be a reflection of the relationship between God and Creation.

God is the head of Creation, just as the husband is the head of his wife. The wife should obey the husband, just as Creation should obey God. The husband's role is a reflection of the leadership role of God, and the wife's role is a reflection of the role of all Creation in God's plan. The wife is subject to the husband, just as Creation is subject to God. When a wife wears a veil at Mass or at prayer, the veil symbolizes her subjection to her husband, and the subjection of femaleness to maleness, in the manner of the subjection of Creation to God. When any woman wears a veil at Mass or at prayer, the veil symbolizes the subjection of women to men within their respective roles in God's plan.

Maleness is an expression of God's relation to His Creation, whereas femaleness is an expression of Creation's relation to God. God is properly referred to with male terms (Father, Son, He, His, etc.), not because God is an example of maleness, but because, in the relationship between God and Creation, maleness is a reflection of God and femaleness is a reflection of Creation. The role difference between male and female are an expression of the difference between Creator and Creation. When part of Creation acts as if it were God, such acts offend the Creator greatly. When women act like men, or take men's roles, or dress like men, they offend against the very Act of God whereby God created the Universe.

The relationship between Christ and Mary is the paramount example of this reflection of God and Creation in maleness and femaleness. Christ is God and man, therefore, He is the fullness of man as a reflection of God. Mary, next to the human nature of Christ, is the best part of Creation, representing its height and its fullness. Christ's relationship with Mary is the best example of the relationship between a man and a woman, and the fullest example of the reflection of God and Creation found in the relationship between man and woman.

God and You

If you are obedient to God, then God will be obedient to you. For in so far as you obey the commandments of God and the teachings of the Church, God will answer your holy prayers and give you what you ask of Him. The Virgin Mary was entirely obedient to God throughout every moment of her existence. Therefore, God gave the Virgin Mary everything she asked of Him. God was obedient to Mary because she was obedient to Him.

Therefore, O children of God, be obedient to God and He will be obedient to you.


by Ronald L. Conte Jr.