Tria Haec (These Three)

“So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” The term Tria Haec actually means “These Three” in the scriptures specifically from the passage of the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. The three are the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. 

Rev. Fr. Rolando V. de la Rosa, OP, in one of his articles in Varsitarian, mentioned the Main Building of the University of Santo Tomás and he said that the engineer of the building was Rev Fr. Roque Ruano, O.P. When describing the statues in the main building he noted that the “Three statues at the façade are collectively known in Latin as Tria Haec (“these three”), a phrase derived from 1 Corinthians 13:13 where St. Paul declares: “These three things last forever: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” The Tria Haec seem to tell us that the history of UST is a history that is impelled by faith, propelled by hope, and compelled by love. What other university can claim such a sublime past?” The architect of the statues in the main building including the Tria Haec was Francesco Riccardo Monti. In the article of the Varsitarian (Vol. LXXXVI, No. 6 on December 5, 2014), the life of Monti was featured especially his contribution to the university and to the country. The publication recounted how Monti became part of the history of the University. “In 1948, UST offered Monti a teaching position at the College of Architecture and Fine Arts (CAFA) where he was tasked to develop its sculpture program. UST Rector Rev. Fr. Ángel de Blas, OP gave him one of his career’s biggest commissions: to crown the Main Building with statues of Aristotle, St. Augustine, and William Shakespeare, among others, representing literature, philosophy, and religion. But the plan came to a complete halt in 1953, with only 15 of the originally planned 30 statues completed. The 40-foot statue of St. Thomas Aquinas, which Monti was supposed to chisel, was also never pursued.” 

The theological virtues are faith, hope and love as mentioned in the passage of the Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 13, Verse 13. Here are some of the reasons why they are called theological virtues: “1) they are not attainable by a human’s natural capacities; 2) they are only attainable through certain participation in God’s nature; 3) they are infused by God and direct a person sufficiently toward God as the object of supernatural happiness; 4) they are known only through Divine revelation. They are properly called virtues because they are dispositions to that which is according to nature, even if this nature is only attainted through certain participation in God’s nature.”  

The large cross representing faith symbolizes the believer's deep trust in that all God has revealed is true. The cross of faith is taller than the other symbols because believers are expected to share with others their faith in God’s truth. The act of divine supernatural faith as "the act of the intellect assenting to a Divine truth owing to the movement of the will, which is itself moved by the grace of God" (St. Thomas, S. Th., II-II, q.4, a.2). And just as the light of faith is a gift supernaturally bestowed upon the understanding, so also this Divine grace moving the will is, as its name implies, equally supernatural and an absolutely gratuitous gift. Neither gift is due to the previous study neither of them can be acquired by human efforts, but "Ask and ye shall receive.” According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief because He is truth Himself. By faith ‘man freely commits his entire self to God’. For this reason, the believer seeks to know and do God's will. ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ 

We usually see the symbol of hope as the anchor. There is that connection between hope and the anchor. In the Catholic Encyclopedia, it is said that, “The anchor is a symbol of hope because of the great importance in navigation, was regarded in ancient times as a symbol of safety. The Christians, therefore, in adopting the anchor as a symbol of hope in a future existence, merely gave a new and higher signification to a familiar emblem. In the teachings of Christianity, the virtue of hope occupies a place of great importance; Christ is the unfailing hope of all who believe in Him. St. Peter, St. Paul, and several of the early Fathers speak in this sense, but the Epistle to the Hebrews for the first time connects the idea of hope with the symbol of the anchor. Writers say that we have "Hope" set before us "as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm" (Hebrews 6:19-20)”. 

The woman extending help to the needy: symbol for charity Believers strive to love God and to love others as God loves them. Charity symbolizes the desire to love everyone, including one's enemies, neighbors, and especially the poor. St. Thomas (S. Th., II-II, q. 23. a.8), the "form of virtues" (forma virtutum). The meaning is that the other virtues, while possessing a real value of their own, derive a fresh and greater excellence from their union with charity, which, reaching out directly to God, ordains all our virtuous actions to Him. The practice of all the virtues is animated and inspired by charity, which "binds everything together in perfect harmony"; it is the form of the virtues; it articulates and orders them among themselves; it is the source and the goal of their Christian practice. Charity upholds and purifies our human ability to love, and raises it. 

At first glance we might not see the significance of the word Tria Haec but looking deeper into it we discover that it is more than a name. Tria Haec refers to the theological virtues and they challenge us that these virtues be the guide in living out our Christian life. We continue to live our lives in gratitude to the generosity of God in our life. Our response is expressed by doing what is good. The theological virtues are the living out of this grateful response to the generosity of God and eventually share this divine life with Him in deep communion. “The three theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity) allow man to share in God's nature. These virtues relate directly to God who directly infuses these three virtues into the soul where they make the believers capable of living as God's children and meriting eternal life”. On a practical level, the living out of the theological virtues is a day-to-day commitment to prayer, living in openness and understanding within a community, and a life sensitive to the needs of our brothers and sisters especially the poor. Indeed with these three virtues, we could only do so much, but even though how small acts of virtues we have done it is enough when it is done in/with love. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta would say “We cannot do great things on this earth, only small things with great love.”