{"id":152729,"date":"2015-06-09T05:00:28","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T09:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/"},"modified":"2024-10-22T15:20:27","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T19:20:27","slug":"ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cAsk a Priest: Is God the Father Supreme in the Trinity?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Q: I was praying from my Liturgy of the Hours, and in Philippians 2:6-12 it is written that “though he was in the form of God,” Jesus “did deem equality with God something to be grasped.” We are taught, regarding the Trinity, that all three divine Persons are equal — the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. So there seems to be a contradiction. Rationally, one would assume that the Father is supreme. In addition, Jesus in his obedience to the Father is an example for all of us Catholics. However, aren’t we obedient to our “superior,” our God? And if Jesus is the way to God the Father, it seems that there is an apparent hierarchical relationship. I believe that all Three Persons are equal, or more specifically, one, so how do I connect the “circle”? Thank you and God bless your work. -J.D.<\/address>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC<\/p>\n

A: Questions about the Trinity are often among the trickiest in theology. Let me attempt a brief answer to your questions.<\/p>\n

First, it would be good to see the footnote to Philippians 2:6<\/a> in the New American Bible. It says, \u201c[2.6] Either a reference to Christ\u2019s preexistence and those aspects of divinity that he was willing to give up in order to serve in human form, or to what the man Jesus refused to grasp at to attain divinity. Many see an allusion to the Genesis story: unlike Adam, Jesus, though \u2026 in the form of God (Gn 1:26\u201327), did not reach out for equality with God, in contrast with the first Adam in Gn 3:5-6.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, Jesus by taking on human form was willing to lower himself, to become one of us. That he was and remains God at every moment is part of the mystery of the Incarnation. Yet his very willingness to take on human nature was an act of loving abasement.<\/p>\n

Now, it might be good to clarify that notion of equality of the Three Persons of the Trinity. Yes, each is equal in the sense that each is God. Equal doesn’t mean identical, however.<\/p>\n

Father, Son and Holy Spirit are, in theological terms, subsistent relations.<\/em> There is an opposition, so to speak, among them. The Father is Father to the Son, the Son is Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. There is a real distinction between the Three Persons, though they are all the same substance.<\/p>\n

Is the Father supreme among them? We might say that he is a kind of \u201cfirst among equals.\u201d The Father is unbegotten, “the principle not from a principle\u201d (see St. Thomas Aquinas\u2019 Summa Theologiae,<\/em> I, q.33, a.4<\/a>). To the Father alone is attributed the property of innascibility.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, Jesus\u2019 obedience to his Father isn\u2019t a sign of inferiority but rather a sign of the fullness of his Sonship. As the perfect Son he shows perfect love to his Father \u2013 and what better way than through perfect obedience?<\/p>\n

Obedience, moreover, doesn\u2019t necessarily connote a superior-subordinate relationship. Think of a husband who is quick to fulfill his wife\u2019s wishes, or vice versa. Both are equal in dignity, and we wouldn\u2019t think of an obedient spouse necessarily being \u201cunder the other\u2019s thumb.\u201d Rather, obedience can be one of the highest expressions of love between spouses. Or think of a parent who is up late at night with a sick baby. The parent, in a sense, is obedient to the needs of the little one. Yet we would likely see this as an act of love, not subordination.<\/p>\n

As for the hierarchical relationships: Hierarchy can be understood to mean a<\/em> sacred rule <\/em>or sacred order. <\/em>Hierarchy can be thought of as a way of understanding (in some small way) how the Trinity “is put together.”<\/p>\n

All Three Persons are coeternal; there was no temporal beginning for them, no time when the Father was alone. Yet we can speak of an ontological beginning or source of the Trinity \u2013 and this is where the notion of the Father being \u201ca principle not from a principle\u201d can help. The Father generates the Son (not the other way around); nor is it the Father who proceeds from the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

I will admit that such a brief answer really can\u2019t do justice to your questions. For in-depth reading you might look at Bertrand de Margerie, SJ, The Christian Trinity in History<\/em><\/a>. The International Catholic University course on the Trinity has a lecture<\/a> dedicated to the divine Persons as subsistent relations.<\/p>\n

I hope some of this helps. God bless.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q: I was praying from my Liturgy of the Hours, and in Philippians 2:6-12 it is written that “though he was in the form of God,” Jesus “did deem equality […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":362,"featured_media":145952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3718],"tags":[3854,3855,3861,3295,4467,3061,4275,1609,118,3937,4468,3938,4469,3097],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-152729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ask-a-priest","tag-ask-a-catholic-priest","tag-ask-a-priest","tag-bible","tag-catholic","tag-divine-persons","tag-god","tag-god-the-father","tag-holy-spirit","tag-jesus","tag-scripture","tag-sonship","tag-the-incarnation","tag-three-persons","tag-trinity"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cAsk a Priest: Is God the Father Supreme in the Trinity?\u201d - Regnum Christi<\/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:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cAsk a Priest: Is God the Father Supreme in the Trinity?\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Q: I was praying from my Liturgy of the Hours, and in Philippians 2:6-12 it is written that “though he was in the form of God,” Jesus “did deem equality […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Regnum Christi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RegnumChristiEn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-09T09:00:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-22T19:20:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@RegnumChristiEn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@RegnumChristiEn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8ad2d347644cc6887ae52670c470c68b\"},\"headline\":\"\u201cAsk a Priest: Is God the Father Supreme in the Trinity?\u201d\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-09T09:00:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-22T19:20:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":781,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Ask a Catholic Priest\",\"Ask a Priest\",\"Bible\",\"catholic\",\"Divine Persons\",\"God\",\"God the Father\",\"Holy spirit\",\"Jes\u00fas\",\"Scripture\",\"Sonship\",\"The Incarnation\",\"Three Persons\",\"trinity\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Ask a Priest\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u201cAsk a Priest: Is God the Father Supreme in the Trinity?\u201d - Regnum Christi\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-09T09:00:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-22T19:20:27+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png\",\"width\":3750,\"height\":2500,\"caption\":\"Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Ask a Priest\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Portada\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u201cAsk a Priest: Is God the Father Supreme in the Trinity?\u201d\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"RegnumChristi.com\",\"description\":\"Regnum Christi is a Catholic Community of Apostles including lay people, consecrated men and women, and the priestly order of the Legionaries of Christ\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RegnumChristi.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/open-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/open-1.png\",\"width\":900,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"RegnumChristi.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/RegnumChristiEn\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/RegnumChristiEn\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/regnumchristi_english\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8ad2d347644cc6887ae52670c470c68b\",\"name\":\"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC\"},\"description\":\"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC, ordained to the priesthood in 2001, taught theology and Scripture at the then Mater Ecclesiae College in Rhode Island and is now a part-time chaplain at Overbrook Academy in Greenville, R.I. He holds degrees from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut, the Regina Apostolorum Athenaeum in Rome, and Northwestern University in Illinois. He was an assistant publisher of the National Catholic Register and Faith & Family magazine and an editor of the Zenit news agency\u2019s English edition. He has written for\u00a0SpiritualDirection.com\u00a0and\u00a0ePriest. Fr. McIlmail also worked in spiritual retreats in the Northeast, New England, the Midwest, and the South\u00a0and assisted with mission work in Mexico. Born in Philadelphia, he worked in journalism and was active in the pro-life movement before entering the novitiate of the Legion of Christ in 1992. His contributions to RCSpirituality include responding to\u00a0Ask A Priest\u00a0questions and sharing his insights in our\u00a0Weekly Newsletter.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/emcilmail\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u201cAsk a Priest: Is God the Father Supreme in the Trinity?\u201d - Regnum Christi","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u201cAsk a Priest: Is God the Father Supreme in the Trinity?\u201d","og_description":"Q: I was praying from my Liturgy of the Hours, and in Philippians 2:6-12 it is written that “though he was in the form of God,” Jesus “did deem equality […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/","og_site_name":"Regnum Christi","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RegnumChristiEn","article_published_time":"2015-06-09T09:00:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-22T19:20:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":3750,"height":2500,"url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@RegnumChristiEn","twitter_site":"@RegnumChristiEn","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/"},"author":{"name":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/8ad2d347644cc6887ae52670c470c68b"},"headline":"\u201cAsk a Priest: Is God the Father Supreme in the Trinity?\u201d","datePublished":"2015-06-09T09:00:28+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-22T19:20:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/"},"wordCount":781,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png","keywords":["Ask a Catholic Priest","Ask a Priest","Bible","catholic","Divine Persons","God","God the Father","Holy spirit","Jes\u00fas","Scripture","Sonship","The Incarnation","Three Persons","trinity"],"articleSection":["Ask a Priest"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/","name":"\u201cAsk a Priest: Is God the Father Supreme in the Trinity?\u201d - Regnum Christi","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png","datePublished":"2015-06-09T09:00:28+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-22T19:20:27+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png","width":3750,"height":2500,"caption":"Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Ask a Priest"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-god-the-father-supreme-in-the-trinity\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Portada","item":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u201cAsk a Priest: Is God the Father Supreme in the Trinity?\u201d"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/","name":"RegnumChristi.com","description":"Regnum Christi is a Catholic Community of Apostles including lay people, consecrated men and women, and the priestly order of the Legionaries of Christ","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#organization","name":"RegnumChristi.com","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/open-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/open-1.png","width":900,"height":600,"caption":"RegnumChristi.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RegnumChristiEn","https:\/\/x.com\/RegnumChristiEn","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/regnumchristi_english\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/8ad2d347644cc6887ae52670c470c68b","name":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC"},"description":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC, ordained to the priesthood in 2001, taught theology and Scripture at the then Mater Ecclesiae College in Rhode Island and is now a part-time chaplain at Overbrook Academy in Greenville, R.I. He holds degrees from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut, the Regina Apostolorum Athenaeum in Rome, and Northwestern University in Illinois. He was an assistant publisher of the National Catholic Register and Faith & Family magazine and an editor of the Zenit news agency\u2019s English edition. He has written for\u00a0SpiritualDirection.com\u00a0and\u00a0ePriest. Fr. McIlmail also worked in spiritual retreats in the Northeast, New England, the Midwest, and the South\u00a0and assisted with mission work in Mexico. Born in Philadelphia, he worked in journalism and was active in the pro-life movement before entering the novitiate of the Legion of Christ in 1992. His contributions to RCSpirituality include responding to\u00a0Ask A Priest\u00a0questions and sharing his insights in our\u00a0Weekly Newsletter.","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/author\/emcilmail\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/362"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152729"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=152729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}