St. Augustine said, “O Lord, thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts can never find rest until they rest in thee.”

The Second Vatican Council states: “If man is the only creature on earth that God has wanted for its own sake, man can fully discover his true self only in a sincere giving of himself.”

Father Patrick J. Gearon, OCarm, wrote, “There is between God and man a link so strong that nothing can break it. There is a bond greater than that which unites a master with his servant; an artist with the creations of his genius; or a carpenter with the work of his hands.”

Father Gearon further states: “Suppose that you lend me your fountain pen. I must not use it to dig up clay. I must make the correct use of it. Now, our souls, our bodies, our faculties, our time, in fact, every minute and hour of the day … all these things are given to us to promote God’s glory. To promote God’s glory is our whole purpose on earth.”

“God has given each of us an intellect, a will and a memory. By our intellect, we can know him, though imperfectly. By our will we can follow his commands. By our memory we can recall what he has done for us.” 

Father Adolphe Tanqueray pointed out that our union with the Holy Trinity should awakes in us chiefly three sentiments: adoration, love, and imitation. 

We adore the Holy Trinity explicitly by making the Sign of the Cross, praying the Glory Be, saying or singing the Gloria and Sanctus at Holy Mass with devotion. 

Adoration of God is inseparable with love of God. Father Tanqueray wrote, “Our love should be a repentant love, a love that expiates infidelities past and present; a grateful love that renders thanks to our great Benefactor, the devoted Co-worker who labors without stint and without rest. Above all, it should be the love of friend for friend holding sweet converse with the most faithful, the most generous of friends, whose part we should take, whose glory we should make known, whose name we should forever bless.”

Father Gearon wrote, “It is possible to admire a person and at the same time not do anything about imitating him. Now, when contemplating God’s perfections, we must also aim at doing something for God. It must be more than what I shall call a merely theological consideration which, strange to say, can co-exist with want of fervour.”

Regarding imitation of the Holy Trinity, Father Tanqueray pointed out three passages from Sacred Scriptures.

  1. “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (1 Co 3:16–17) Father Tanqueray pointed out: “Experience is witness to the fact that with generous souls this is the most powerful motive to turn them away from sin and incite them to the practice of virtue. Temples wherein the thrice Holy One resides can never be too rich in beauty, too glorious in sanctity.”
  2. “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48) Father Tanqueray explained: “At first sight this ideal does seem too high. But when we recall that we are the adopted children of God and that He lives in us in order to impress upon us His image and to collaborate in our salvation, then we realize that a high rank imposes obligations, noblesse oblige, and that it is no more than our plain duty to approach ever nearer the divine perfections.”
  3. “That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (Jn 17:21) St. Josemaria Escriva wrote, “This is the truth of a Christian’s life: self giving and love – love of God and, for God’s sake, love of one’s neighbour – founded on sacrifice.”

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『我們屬於天主』

聖奧斯定說：『主，祢為自己創造了我們，我們的心永不能找到安息直到他們能安息於祢內。』

第二次梵蒂崗會議稱：『在這大地上，唯有人是天主為人的本身而喜愛的受造物。故人類唯有衷誠地捨己為人，始能達到圓滿。』

Patrick J.Gearon, O Carm神父寫道：『在人與天主間有一個連結，這連結強得沒有任何事物可打斷。這是一個聯擊比一個主人和僕人的聯擊更強；一位藝術家與他天才的創作；一位木匠與他手上的作品。』

Gearon神父進一步稱：『假如你把你墨水筆借給我，我不應該用它掘地。我應該正確地使用它。現在，我們的靈魂，我們的身體，我們的才能，我們的時間，事實上每天的每一小時，每一分鐘…所有的這一切給我們的都是為去光榮天主。去光榮天主是我們在世的全部目的。』

『天主給我們每人一份智慧，一個意志和一份記憶。以我們的智慧，我們能夠認識祂，雖然不甚完整。以我們的意志，我們能夠服從祂的誡命。以我們的記憶，我們可以回顧祂為我們所做的。』

Adolphe Tanquerary神父指出我們與聖三結合應該能喚醒我們三個主要的情操：朝拜，愛和效法。

我們以劃十字聖號及誦唸『聖三光榮經』顯明地朝拜聖三，並且在彌撒中虔誠地述說或唱詠『光榮頌』和『聖、聖、聖』。

朝拜天主與天主的愛是分不開的。Tanqueray神父寫道：『我們的愛應該是懺悔的愛，一份補償過去和現在不忠的愛；一份感恩的愛以報謝我們的偉大的恩主，這位忠誠的合作者，無限制，不休息地辛勞。在這一切之上的，應是朋友的愛，因為我們可以參與至忠誠和最慷慨的朋友間甜蜜的交談；我們要參與祂的角色、顯揚祂的光榮，永遠顯揚祂的聖名。』

Gearon神父寫道：『去仰慕一個人，但同時不做任何事去效法他是可能的。現在，當默觀天主的美善，我們也要關注去為祂做一些事。它應該是多於我想稱謂的，純粹是神學上的考慮，說是奇怪，這考慮可以跟缺乏熱誠共存。』

有關效法聖三Tanqueray神父指出聖經中的三段經文。

  1. 『你們不知道，你們是天主的宮殿，天主聖神住在你們內嗎﹖ 誰若毀壞天主的宮殿，天主必要毀滅壞他，因為天主的宮殿是聖的，這宮殿就是你們。』 （格前3:16-17）Tanqueray 指出：『經驗證明事實上為慷慨的靈魂這是最有力的動機轉離罪惡並激勵他們實踐德行。聖三居住的聖殿不會太美麗，在聖善中太光榮的。』
  2. 『所以你們應當是成全的，如同你們的天父是成全的一樣。』（瑪竇5:48）Tanqueray神父解釋：『最初看似這理想會是過高。但當我們回想我們是天主的義子，祂活在我們內好讓祂的肖像印在我們上，承行我們的救恩，這樣我們意識到，高的等級強加了義務，崇高的義務，而接近神聖的完美無非是我們清楚的職責。』
  3. 『願眾人都合而為一! 父啊! 願他們在我們內合而為一，就如你在我內，我在你內，為叫世界相信是你派遣了我。 』（若望17:21）聖施禮華寫道：『這是基督徒生命的真理：獻出自己和愛—對天主的愛，因天主的緣故，對近人的愛—基於犧牲。』