“The nuptial mystery offers a systematic perspective—but one never taken for granted or possessed—for the intellectus fidei.”¹

1. Beyond a classical prohibition

We have already noted the impossibility of approaching the Holy Spirit except from two directions at once: as the (subjective) quintessence of the mutual love of Father and Son, hence, as the bond (nexus) between them; and as the (objective) fruit that stems from and attests to this love. This impossibility translates into a convergence of the poles. Imagine for a moment that the act of love between a man and woman did not include nine months of pregnancy, that is, the aspect of time. In the parents’ generative-receptive embrace, the child would already be immediately present; it would be at one and the same time their mutual love in action and something more, namely, its transcendent result. . . . In this sense, it is precisely perfect creaturely love that is an authentic imago Trinitatis.²