Catholic teaching maintains that the three person of the Trinity are co-equal. But if they were really co-equal (in all ways) they would have the same identity and hence could not be three persons. On the other hand, if one person of the Trinity possess something to differentiate himself from the other two, they are not equal, are they?

Dear Curious,

You have expressed the mystery of the Holy Trinity quite well. The three persons are different from each other, the Father being different from the Son and both different from the Holy Spirit. They have different relations. Yet they share the same nature as the One God. That the mystery! While it is true that with creatures a father is a different person from a son and while they share the same human nature in a way, they do not share it as the persons of the Holy Trinity share the One Divine Nature. While the earthly father is a human being and his son it a human being, they are not literally the same substance. They are different substances. The persons in the Holy Trinity are the same substance.

Dr. Geraghty

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