{"id":4685,"date":"2013-04-24T21:52:26","date_gmt":"2013-04-25T03:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/?p=4685"},"modified":"2020-09-10T15:17:34","modified_gmt":"2020-09-10T21:17:34","slug":"the-one-thing-is-three-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2013\/04\/24\/the-one-thing-is-three-review\/","title":{"rendered":"“The ‘One Thing’ Is Three” — Book Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"one-thing-is-three\"<\/a>I was excited about this book when I first heard the title.<\/p>\n

This premise has been the cornerstone of my teaching strategy for the last 10 years.<\/p>\n

Namely, that the Trinity is the foundational truth of Catholic Faith, and understanding the Trinity allows you\u00a0to\u00a0understand all\u00a0Christian doctrine.<\/p>\n

In the book’s title,\u00a0\u201cThe One Thing\u201d\u00a0refers to the only thing necessary, the essential thing. The \u201cThree\u201d refers to the Trinity.<\/p>\n

The Catechism #234 says the Trinity is the \u201csource,\u201d the \u201cmost fundamental and essential teaching.\u201d If that’s true, then it should inform everything and everything should have it\u2019s explanation in it.<\/p>\n

So, needless to say, I was thrilled to see a book illuminating this idea.
\n<\/p>\n

Understanding the Trinity through communio<\/em><\/h2>\n

To explain this essential truth of the Trinity,\u00a0Fr. Gaitley proposes the concept of communio<\/em> as a sort of interpretive key.<\/p>\n

Communio<\/em> is a Latin word meaning communion, but it\u2019s also a theological term that grew out of the Second Vatican Council and was further developed by Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI).<\/p>\n

Superimposed on this investigation of communio<\/em> is St. Thomas Aquinas\u2019 concept of the \u201cGreat Circle of Being.\u201d This is the idea that all of creation emerges from God and is destined to return to God. God is the source of everything and its final destination \u201cmaking one big, circular movement.\u201d Gaitley further explains:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis circular movement, or Great Circle, can also be likened to a journey, the Great Journey, the great movement of all of creation from the Trinity and back to the Trinity.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Gaitley takes the reader on this journey through three \u201cPoints of Communion\u201d that form the three sections of the book.<\/p>\n

Point One: Communion with the Trinity.<\/strong> We\u2019re created in the image of God and therefore constantly yearn to be in eternal communion with him, which is our final goal.<\/p>\n

Point Two: Transforming Communion with Christ.<\/strong> We have communion with the Trinity through the Second Person. He redeems us, unites us with himself, and transforms us into himself.<\/p>\n

Point Three: Mission of Communion.<\/strong> United with Christ, we should desire to bring others into this union. So this drives us toward action and apostolate.<\/p>\n

Misses the mark but filled with gems<\/h2>\n

While the concept is amazing, unfortunately the book doesn\u2019t hold together well. It\u00a0tries to do too much, and I found it difficult to stay focused on where it was taking me. I think Fr. Gaitley could have shaved off a hundred pages and accomplished his goal more efficiently.<\/p>\n

That being said, there are some gems in this book that are worth the price of admission.<\/p>\n

The whole concept of “The Great Circle of Being” is fantastic, and is really a way of telling the Gospel story. The appendix lays it out nicely along with an illustration to solidify it.<\/p>\n

The explanation of salvation, the Passion, and how the Sacraments transform us on pp. 74-100 is excellent.<\/p>\n

“God wanted to convince us fearful, skittish creatures of his love for us, and by the Passion, he proves it. In other words, being fallen, wounded creatures, distrustful of God, we needed a dramatic revelation of God’s love to convince us of it and to help us accept it. By Jesus’ suffering and death, ‘Man knows,’ says St. Thomas, ‘how much God loves him, and is thereby stirred to love Him in return, and herein lies the perfection of human salvation.'” pp. 74-75<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Gaitley does a fantastic job of explaining what culture is supposed to be and what the Culture of Death is on pp. 192-209. There’s an amazing dialogue\u00a0between the author and the personification of the Culture of Death. Very illuminating.<\/p>\n

“[Culture of Death speaking] So, by convincing people that there’s no such thing as objective truth, I open the door fro them to choose their own truth. And when they choose their own truth, they inevitably become enslaved to their passions. For, if reason doesn’t rule a person, the passions will. Cut off the head, and the belly is king. Kill the truth, and the appetites dominate. That’s my game.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Enrichment of Faith<\/h2>\n

The absolute best concept in this book is the \u201cEnrichment of Faith.\u201d Gaitley weaves this concept throughout the book. It’s really one of the main themes…and is awesome.<\/p>\n

It’s an idea that comes out of Vatican II and that Pope John Paul II used in implementing the teachings of the Council in his own Archdiocese of Krakow. You can see it present in his pontificate too.<\/p>\n

It’s\u00a0the idea that faith is not merely assent. That’s just the beginning. It’s\u00a0the response to truth that wells up from inside a person and becomes his own personal act made with his entire being.<\/p>\n

“For the enrichment of faith is not simply about agreeing to\u00a0the truths of the faith as if superficially from ‘the outside’…but about bringing them to ‘the inside,’…into our conscious life and into our hearts such that our inner life, attitudes, and actions are changed by the truths we have cherished within.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This concept is so amazing, I have to write more about it later\u00a0because I think it has profound implications for the New Evangelization and how we should present the faith to people. In a sense, he’s talking about evangelizing catechesis!<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Overall, The ‘One Thing’ Is Three<\/em>\u00a0is a good book well worth a look. It’s a bit long winded but has some great teaching if you can hang with it. I would recommend it to understand The Enrichment of Faith alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was excited about this book when I first heard the title. This premise has been the cornerstone of my teaching strategy for the last 10 years. Namely, that the Trinity is the foundational truth of Catholic Faith, and understanding the Trinity allows you\u00a0to\u00a0understand all\u00a0Christian doctrine. In the book’s title,\u00a0\u201cThe One Thing\u201d\u00a0refers to the only […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-reviews","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"yoast_head":"\n"The 'One Thing' Is Three" - Book Review - Marc Cardaronella<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2013\/04\/24\/the-one-thing-is-three-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""The 'One Thing' Is Three" - Book Review - Marc Cardaronella\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I was excited about this book when I first heard the title. 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