"Vestiges of the Trinity" in the Roman Catholic Mass

Last Sunday was Trinity Sunday, the Sunday that closes the Pentecost Octave in the traditional Roman calendar (in the modern calendar since 1970, there is no Octave of Pentecost as it was suppressed after Vatican II). And whilst every Mass is an act of worship of God in His Trinitarian mystery, Holy Mother Church, in her divine wisdom, has ordained that there be a special feast day dedicated to the mystery of God as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This solemn feast day is meant to highlight the central dogma of the Christian Faith: namely, that God is Three and God is One — the Supreme paradox (not contradiction) of our Holy Catholic Faith.

Many Catholics take for granted the Church's dogmas concerning the Holy Trinity. Yet it is important to remember that in the early centuries of Christianity, Holy Mother Church had to fight in order to preserve orthodox Christian teaching in regard to this mystery. It is not "self-evident" to believe in one God as Three Divine Persons. And we cannot know this sublime truth of the Christian religion merely through human reason and rational thought. We know that the One God who created all things exists as Three Divine Persons only because it was revealed to us by the Incarnate Word (God the Son) when He came into this world 2025 years ago.

Because God the Holy Trinity is the Creator of all that exists, St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430) says that there must be signs of the Trinity present throughout creation. He calls these "Vestiges of the Holy Trinity." And because the Church's sacred liturgical worship is meant to be a perfect expression of her Faith, it is to be expected that the central mystery of the Catholic Faith — God as a Trinity of Three Divine Persons — should be present at the heart of the Church's act of Divine Worship: the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Thus we can say, without a doubt, that there are "Vestiges of the Holy Trinity" that permeate the Church's official liturgy of the worship of God. This is what I would like to demonstrate through this blog post.

Now as there are currently two forms of the Roman Rite co-existing in the Catholic Church today (whether or not they are both the Roman Rite is a subject of much debate, but I will put that question aside for the moment), it follows that they must both in some way contain these "Trinitarian fingerprints" through the gestures, rituals, and prayers that comprise each rite. And while this is true, it is not false to say that the traditional form of the Roman Catholic Mass expresses the Trinitarian mystery in a much more adequate way than does the new rite of Mass, since the modern liturgy has eliminated many of the explicitly (or implicitly) Trinitarian gestures and prayers that comprise the Eucharistic Sacrifice. This is not a denial of the validity of the new rite in itself, which I fully accept, but an objective acknowledgement of one of its most serious shortcomings.

In the Church's traditional Roman Rite, signs of the Cross (which, of course, are Trinitarian), and the repetition of certain gestures or prayers performed or said three times, are to be found everywhere, since these convey the Church's underlying desire to honour and give glory to the Trinitarian Godhead in the most perfect way possible during Holy Mass. In the modern liturgy of the Mass since 1969, these "useless repetitions" (as they were so ruthlessly called by the architects of the new liturgy after Vatican II) were largely eliminated from the Mass. Some survived the ideological axe, but many became victims of it.

In order to show just how perfectly Trinitarian the Catholic Church's practice of Divine Worship is, I present you with a non-exhaustive list of some of the Trinitarian gestures and prayers found in the traditional Roman Rite of Mass, with an indication of changes made in the contemporary liturgy since 1969. Where nothing is indicated for the new liturgy in the points below, it is because it follows the rubrics of the traditional Mass in that particular instance.

Some Trinitarian Aspects in the Catholic Mass:

(1) The Mass begins with the sign of the Cross: "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

(2) The Confiteor (I Confess) has a triple confession of sins ("through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault"), accompanied by three strikings of the breast. The "through my fault" was only said once (and the breast was only struck once) in the 1969 Missal, but was corrected in the new 2011 version of the Missal, at least in English, and the Trinitarian "through my fault" was restored. However, the modern liturgy only has the Confiteor as one of several options for the penitential rite. And the preference of most priests today is to use one of the other, more contemporary options.

(3) The priest makes the Trinitarian sign of the Cross at the prayers at the foot of the Altar when saying "Our help is in the Name of the Lord" and "May the almighty and merciful Lord grant us pardon, absolution, and remission of our sins." Both of these are suppressed in the modern liturgy.

(4) The Kyrie contains three sets of three invocations, that is: three Kyrie eleison, three Christe eleison, and three Kyrie eleison, each set of invocations meant to honour the Three Persons of the Trinity within each Person, as it were: Three for the Father (Kyrie), Three for the Son (Christe), and Three for the Holy Ghost (Kyrie). In the modern liturgy, this is reduced to two sets of each, as a type of refrain/response of the people.

(5) The Gloria has a Trinitarian structure, glorifying the Father, then the Son, then the Holy Spirit.

(6) Incense is always blessed with the Trinitarian sign of the Cross wherever it is used at Mass.

(7) When a deacon chants the Gospel, he is blessed by the priest with a Trinitarian blessing: "May the Lord be in thy heart and on thy lips that thou mayst announce His holy Gospel worthily and well, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

(8) Three signs of the Cross are traced upon oneself when the Gospel is read: one upon the forehead, one upon the lips, and one over the heart, as the words are said, Gloria tibi, Domine ("Glory be to Thee, O Lord").

(9) The Creed has a Trinitarian structure: the first part dedicated to belief in God the Father, then in God the Son, then in God the Holy Ghost. In the Creed, Christ is also professed triply as being "God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God."

(10) In the traditional Mass, it is customary to begin and end the sermon (homily) with a sign of the Cross, in honour of the Holy Trinity. This is sometimes done in the new liturgy at the discretion of the priest, but rarely.

(11) The Preface of the Most Holy Trinity was used at all Sunday Masses outside of special seasons such as Christmas, Lent, and Easter. (An Advent Preface was added to the traditional Roman Rite in the 1960s, under the influence of the Gallican Missal, but before that even the Sundays of Advent used the Preface of the Holy Trinity). The Preface of the Most Holy Trinity from the traditonal Roman Missal is extremely rich in Trinitiarian dogmas. Here is the text (in an English translation of the original Latin):

It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who, together with Thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, art one God, one Lord: not in the oneness of a single Person, but in the Trinity of one substance. For what we believe by Thy revelation of Thy glory, the same do we believe of Thy Son, the same of the Holy Ghost, without difference or separation. So that in confessing the true and everlasting Godhead, distinction in persons, unity in essence, and equality in majesty may be adored. Which the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim do praise: who cease not daily to cry out, with one voice saying: Holy, Holy, Holy...

In the modern liturgy, this Trinity Preface is only used on Trinity Sunday, once a year. During "Ordinary Time," the new liturgy has eight Sunday Prefaces from which the priest can choose (or he can use the Preface that is proper to the "Fourth Eucharistic Prayer"), and of these nine choices only one (Preface VIII) has a direct reference to the Holy Trinity — and it is in a parenthetical way only, in reference to the "people, formed as one by the unity of the Trinity"!

(12) In the Offertory prayer, the priest refers to the host that he is offering to God the Father as as an offering made pro innumerabilibus peccatis, offensionibus, et negligentibus meis ( "for my innumerable sins, offences, and negligence"). Hence, the priest offering the Sacrifice is making a triple profession of his unworthiness. This Offertory prayer has been completely suppressed and rewritten in the modern liturgy.

(13) In blessing the water that is added to the wine at the Offertory (which is only done in the traditional Mass), the priest traces a sign of the Cross over it. He concludes the blessing prayer with the Trinitarian phase: "Jesus Christ our Lord, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee (God the Father) in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, for ever and ever. Amen."

(14) The priest traces a sign of the Cross over the bread and wine after the offering of the wine at the Offertory. The sign of the Cross is accompanied by these words: Come, O almighty and eternal God, the Sanctifier, and bless ✠ this Sacrifice, prepared for the glory of Thy Holy Name. This prayer and the sign of the Cross are suppressed in the new liturgy.

(15) If the bread and wine are incensed at the Offertory, they are incensed with three signs of the Cross with the thurible (censor) as the priest says silently the words: (1) incensum istud; (2) a te benedictum; (3) ascendat ad te, Domine (May this incense; blessed by Thee; ascend to Thee, O Lord). He concludes the prayer with three circles of the thurible over the bread and wine as he says: (1) et descendat super nos; (2) misericordia; (3) tua (And may Thy mercy descend upon us). Note that in the new liturgy, there is no prescribed way to do the incensing (no three signs of the Cross nor three circles, and no words are said when the priest incenses the bread and wine). In the traditional Mass, the Altar Crucifix is also incensed at the Offertory, and with three swings of the thurible — again, in honour of the Holy Trinity.

(16) When the priest is incensed at the various parts of the Mass, he is also incensed with three double swings of the thurible, in honour of the Holy Trinity.

(17) At the washing of the fingers of the priest after the Offertory (or after the incensing of the Altar if it takes place), the priest prays silently a prayer taken from Psalm 25 and concludes it with a Trinitarian doxology: the Glory Be. This psalm and the doxology are suppressed in the modern liturgy.

(18) After the washing of his fingers, the priest returns to the centre of the Altar and prays one of the most beautiful Trinitarian prayers of the entire Mass. This prayer, tragically, was completely suppressed by Pope Paul VI in the new rite of Mass. The prayer shows that the bread and wine that will become the Body and Blood of Christ are being offered in honour of the "Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ" (notice the number three again) and that they are specifically being offered to the Most Holy Trinity, since the prayer is addressed to Him. This prayer is worth reproducing in its entirety below:

Súscipe, Sancta Trínitas, hanc oblatiónem, quam tibi offérimus ob memóriam Passiónis, Resurrectiónis, et Ascensiónis Jesu Christi, Dómini nostri: et in honórem beátæ Maríæ semper Vírginis, et beáti Joannis Baptistæ, et sanctórum Apostolórum Petri et Pauli, et istórum et ómnium Sanctórum: ut illis profíciat ad honórem, nobis autem ad salútem: et illi pro nobis intercédere dignéntur in cælis, quorum memóriam ágimus in terris. Per eúndem Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen.

An English translation would be:

Receive, O Holy Trinity, this oblation which we make to Thee, in memory of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and in honour of Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the Saints, that it may avail unto their honour and our salvation, and may they vouchsafe to intercede for us in Heaven, whose memory we celebrate on earth. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

(19) At the" Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours...," there are three things for which we ask as the fruits of the Eucharistic Sacrifice: that it may be received by the Lord [God the Father] (1) ad laudem et gloriam Nominis sui (to the praise and glory of His Name); (2) ad utilitatem quoque nostram (and for our benefit, i.e. our salvation); (3) totiusque Ecclesiae suae sanctae (and for [the benefit] of all His Holy Church). Thus we see in this response of the faithful the triple (Trinitarian) purpose for which the Catholic Mass is being offered.

(20) Most of the prayers of the Mass are offered "through Our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee [God the Father], in the unity of the Holy Ghost," making them Trinitarian prayers par excellence.

(21) The Sanctus is, of course, tripled in honour of the triple holiness of God as Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The bells are rung three times while the words Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus are read or sung. In the modern rite, bells are usually omitted at this point. Their ringing is not forbidden, but neither is it prescribed by the rubrics of the new Order of Mass.

What follows below is in regard to the Roman Canon. Note that the Roman Canon is always used in the traditional Roman Rite of Mass, but is only one of the various options in the new liturgy (and is, in fact, seldom used by most of the clergy today):

(22) At the beginning of the Roman Canon, the priest traces three signs of the Cross over the bread and wine as he says: haec dona, haec munera, haec sancta sacrificia illibata (these gifts, these presents, these holy unspotted sacrifices). In the new liturgy, the triple sign of the Cross over the offerings is omitted. This prayer also highlights that the sacrificial offerings are being made for three groups of people: for the Pope, for the local bishop, and for all the faithful who preserve the orthodox Catholic Faith.

(23) During the Hanc Igitur prayer during which the priest places his hands over the bread and wine, God [the Father] is asked to graciously accept this oblation of our service and to grant three graces in exchange for our act of Divine Worship: (1) to dispose of our days in His peace; (2) to preserve us from eternal damnation; and (3) to rank us among the number of His elect (meaning His chosen ones, i.e. the Saints in Heaven).

(24) In the Quam Oblationem prayer of the Roman Canon, the priest once again makes a triple sign of the Cross over the bread and wine as he asks God to (1) bless; (2) approve; and (3) ratify the gifts on the Altar. These three signs of the Cross are suppressed in the modern rite.

(25) At the Consecration of the Body and of the Blood of Christ, thre bells are rung three times when the Host is elevated and again when the Chalice is elevated. The purpose is to honour the Holy Trinity precisely at the moment when the Body and the Blood of Christ become present on the Altar. The Consecration is also accompanied by a triple movement of the priest at the Consecration of the Body, and again at the consecration of the Blood, of Christ. The triple gesture is as follows: after the priest consecrates each of the elements (the bread and then the wine), he (1) genuflects to adore the newly consecrated species; (2) elevates the consecrated species for all the faithful to adore; and (3) genuflects again to adore once more the consecrated Host or Precious Blood. In the modern rite of Mass, there is no personal adoration and genuflection by the priest prescribed before the elevation — only after. Thus the triple movement of the priest at the double Consecration (the most sacred moment of the Mass) is absent from the modern rite. The triple movement of the priest at the two Consecrations in the traditional Mass is mirrored by the altar server (or deacon at a Solemn High Mass) who is kneeling right behind the priest, as he (1) bows his head at the priest's first genuflection; (2) raises the back of the priest's chasuble and looks up towards the raised Host/Chalice at the elevation; and (3) bows his head again at the priest's second genuflection. Note that, in the modern rite, many parishes (including cathedrals, such as the one is my diocese) do not even ring bells once — let alone thrice — at the Consecrations.

(26) Right after the Consecration of the Precious Blood, the priest makes in the Unde et memores prayer three signs of the Cross over the newly consecrated Body and Blood of Christ as he says the words: (1) Hostiam puram; (2) Hostiam sanctum; (3) Hostiam immaculatam. The word Hostia in Latin means both Host and Victim. Thus the English translation of these words would be "this pure Host (Victim), this holy Host (Victim), this immaculate (i.e. unspotted or unstained) Host (Victim)." Once again, a triple acknowledgement of the sacredness of the Consecrated Host, in honour of the Most Holy Trinity!

(27) After the above prayer, the priest invokes three of the most important Old Testament figures in the Supra quae prayer of the Mass: (1) Abel; (2) Abraham; and (3) Melchisedek.

(28) Next, in the Supplies prayer, the priest bows low over the Altar with his hands joined on the Altar and asks for three graces of the newly consecrated Body and Blood of Christ: (1) that they be borne by the hands of God's holy angels to His Altar on high; (2) that they be brought into the sight of His Divine Majesty; and (3) that those who receive Christ's Body and Blood from the sacred Altar be filled with every heavenly blessing and grace.

(29) At the Per quem haec omnia prayer, the priest traces three signs of the Cross over the Body and Blood of Christ as he asks God to (1) sanctify; (2) vivify (make alive); and (3) bless the sacred species. These signs of the Cross are eliminated in the new liturgy.

(30) Before the close of the Roman Canon (or any of the Eucharistic prayers in the new rite of Mass), the priest says the following words as he makes three signs of the Cross with the Host over the Chalice: Per ipsum, et cum Ipso, et in Ipso (Through Him, with Him, and in Him). The modern liturgy eliminates these three signs of the Cross, though the words remain. This prayer is the summit of the Mass in terms of the Trinitarian offering that is made precisely at that moment. At that very moment of the Mass, the priest is offering God the Son (the Body and Blood of Christ), to God the Father, in the unity of God the Holy Ghost. One Person of God (in His humanity, hypostatically united to His divine nature) is offered to another Divine Person, in communion with the Third Divine Person: the Trinitarian offering par excellence! The prayer that is said or sung at that moment goes like this:

Per ipsum, et cum ipso, et in ipso, est tibi Deo Patri omnipotenti, in unitate Spiritus Sancti, omnis honor et gloria per omnia sæcula sæculorum.

In English, this would be:

Through Him, and with Him, and in Him, is unto Thee, God the Father Almighty, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory: for ever and ever.

After the Roman Canon is thus completed, the Mass continues with the Communion Rite, which begins with the Our Father:

(31) In the Pater Noster (Our Father) of the Mass, the Trinitarian references are sometimes not noticed, since they are more subtle. There are seven petitions in the Our Father — seven being a biblical number which represents something that is perfect or complete (the Our Father is the perfect prayer, as it was taught to us by God the Son Himself). The first three petitions are for the glory of God directly: (1) Hallowed be Thy Name; (2) Thy Kingdom come; (3) Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. These three petitions pray for the glorification of God's Holy Name, His Holy Kingdom, and His Holy Will. After this, the Holy Eucharist is requested as Our Daily Bread ("Give us this day Our Daily Bread," which the Latin Vulgate translation of the Holy Bible calls "Our Supersubstantial Bread"), after which three more petitions are made (Trinitarian, again!), this time for the needs of God's people. These last three petitions flow, as it were, from the Holy Eucharist as direct fruits of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: (1) forgive us our trespasses in the measure in which we forgive others; (2) lead us not into temptation; deliver us from evil. Since these three petitions immediately follow the request for Our Daily Bread (the Holy Eucharist), the Mass sees these three things as the first fruits of the Eucharistic Sacrifice; for the Catholic Mass (1) forgives our sins; (2) keeps us from temptation; and (3) protects us from evil.

(32) In the prayer following the Our Father (the Libera nos prayer), three types of evils are mentioned from which we ask the Holy Eucharist to deliver us: Libera nos, quaesurus, Domine, ab omnibus malis, practeritis, praesentibus, et futuris (Deliver us, O Lord, we pray, from all evils (1) past; (2) present; and (3) future. Thus we see the threefold nature of time itself entering into the prayers of the Mass.

(33) At the moment known as the Fractioning Rite, the Holy Trinity is once again invoked as the priest breaks the Host in two and then breaks off a small particle of Host to be added to the Chalice, saying: Per eundem Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. (Through the same Our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Sin, who lives et reigns with Thee [God the Father], in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, for ever and ever. Amen).

(34) The priest then makes three signs of the Cross (another Trinitarian gesture!) with the small particle of Host in his right hand over the lip of the Chalice as he says: (1) Pax Domini (2) sit semper (3) vobiscum [May the peace of the Lord... be always... with you.]. Here again, the modern rite omits the three signs of the Cross at this moment.

(35) After dropping the small particle of Host into the Chalice (representing the Resurrection, since the Body of Christ is once again united with His Precious Blood), the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) begins. This too is a Trinitarian invocation in honour of the Three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity, though addressed to Jesus the Lamb: Agnus Dei... Agnus Dei... Agnus Dei...

(36) Before receiving Holy Communion himself, the priest prays three prayers silently at the Altar. The first is a prayer for peace for the Church, and the other two have the priest ask for the grace of not receiving Holy Communion unworthily so as to merit judgement and condemnation. In the modern rite of Mass, after praying the first prayer for peace, the priest only prays one of the other two prayers (at his choice) — thus once again destroying the Trinitarian (threefold) nature of the priests' preparation for Holy Communion. The second and third prayer also both end with a Trinitarian doxology.

(37) Before receiving Holy Communion, the priest confesses his unworthiness by saying three times: Domine, non sum dignus... (Lord, I am not worthy...). The faithful do the same before they commune. In the modern liturgy, this is said only once (not three times) and no distinction is made between the priest's Communion and the Communion of the laity.

(38) Before receiving the Host, and again before communing from the Chalice, the priest makes a sign of the Cross as he says: Corpus (or Sanguis) Domini nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam meam in vitam aeternam. Amen. (May the Body [or Blood] of Our Lord Jesus Christ keep my soul for Eternal Life. Amen"). Each sign of the cross is a sign of the Sacrifice of Our Lord but also a clear acknowledgement of the Trinitarian mystery.

(39) When Holy Communion is distributed to the faithful, the priest once again makes a Trinitarian gesture by making the sign of the Cross with the Host in front of the communicant as he [the priest] says (1) Corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi (2) custodiat animam tuam (3) ad vitam aeternam, Amen (May the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ... guard your soul... unto Eternal Life, Amen). Thus, there is a clear association with receiving Holy Communion and the Trinitarian mystery of God itself. Note that the new liturgy suppresses the sign of the Cross by the priest when giving Communion to the faithful, and the formula for giving Communion is reduced to a simple "The Body of Christ" to which the communicant replies "Amen."

After the Communion Rite until the end of the Mass (including the Leonine Prayers):

(40) Before the final blessing at Mass which the priest imparts to the faithful one last time through the Trinitarian sign of the Cross, the priest bows at the centre of the Altar and prays a prayer to the Most Holy Trinity known as the Placeat. This prayer is suppressed in the new form of the Mass. In the traditional Mass, this final Trinitarian prayer asks God for the grace to have honoured Him through the Sacrifice of the Mass and to obtain through the Mass mercy and propitiation for the priest and for all the faithful. Here is the beautiful text of that prayer:

Pláceat tibi, Sancta Trínitas, obséquium servitútis meæ: et præsta; ut sacrifícium, quod óculis tuæ majestátis indígnus óbtuli, tibi sit acceptábile, mihíque et ómnibus, pro quibus illud óbtuli, sit, te miseránte, propitiábile. Per Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen.

Or, translated into English:

May the performance of my homage be pleasing to Thee, O Holy Trinity: and grant that the Sacrifice which I, though unworthy, have offered up in the sight of Thy Majesty, may be acceptable to Thee, and through Thy mercy, be a propitiation for me, and for all those for whom I have offered it. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

It is unfortunate that this prayer was eliminated from the new rite of Mass, since it seeks to honour one final time the Trinitarian Godhead, asking God for the threefold grace of (1) honouring Him; (2) making propitation (or amends) for the sins of the priest himself; and (3) making propitation for the sins of all the faithful for whom the Mass was being offered.

(41) The Placeat prayer concludes with the final blessing which, of course, is administered by explicitly invoking the Holy Trinity: May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

(42) It is worth noting that the Leonine prayers ordered by Pope Leo XIII to be recited at the end of every low Mass also contain some Trinitarian (threefold) elements in honour of the Trinitarian mystery of God. These include the three Hail Marys and the invocation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a threefold manner. These prayers also, sadly, have been eliminated from the modern rite of Mass.

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All of the above are meant to show that the entire Catholic Mass is penetrated, through and through, with gestures, prayers, and rituals that honour the Most Holy Trinity: the central mystery of the Catholic Faith. There are other Trinitarian aspects to Holy Mass as well which I have not mentioned so that this post not be overly long or burdensome to read. No one who has eyes to see these profound mysteries can assist at a Catholic Mass and doubt that the God whom we Catholics adore is not just One but also Three. One in Three, and Three in One! And through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we give this Thrice-Holy God the only proper worship and adoration that He rightfully deserves. We honour and worship the Trinitarian God here on earth through the Holy Mass, as the Angels and Saints honour and worship Him on His celestial Throne in Heaven. Every single gesture, every prayer, every movement of the priest at the Altar during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, is meant to raise the minds and hearts of the faithful to the Most Blessed and Holy Trinity. This is why the Saints have called the Catholic Mass Heaven on earth!

Fiat Voluntas tua sicut in caelo et in terra

Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven

Albrect Durer, Adoration of the Most Holy Trinity (1511). Wikipedia Commons (Public Domain)