Posted on 03/23/2012 1:34:00 PM PDT by NYer
In his masterpiece, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman at the age of fifteen describes his initial conversion toward the teachings of the Catholic Church where he, “Fell under the influences of a definite creed, and received into my intellect impressions of dogma, which, though God’s mercy, have never been effaced or obscured” (pg. 16).
What parent wouldn’t want their fifteen year old to suddenly realize the importance of the Creed of Christ in their daily lives? Or better yet, to find that they actually believe in the Creed. Human beings are constantly seeking something to put their faith in as long as it’s easy to believe and follow.
Hence when presenting the scenario of a teenager believing in “The Creed”, i.e. the Apostles Creed and its tenets, we are left wondering in a cynical way whether this is actually possible. However, Divine Revelation clearly tells us that this is possible (Rom 10:9; Mat 28:17-20). Blessed Newman’s encounter with “the definite creed” found in the Catholic Church echoes the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The image of the Corpus more than any other image reveals the saving realities of Christ and His Church expressed through the Creed (Jn 3:16-17; 1 Cor 11:23-33).
What do we mean by Creed?
In Latin the word Creed means: “I believe.” “I believe” serves as the genesis to our Profession of Faith in Christ and His Church. It provides Christ’s faithful with a synthesis of the chief truths of the faith handed down by Christ (Mt 16:16-19; Luke 24) for all to believe freely. A clear and distinct sign of the Creed is found in the Apostolic Age of the Church (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor 15:3-5). It is no coincidence that upon our Lord’s Ascension, the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary and the Apostles to assure the continuation of the Church of Christ on earth and to firmly set a common language, i.e. the Creed, for all to know, understand, and follow.
The Sufficiency of the Apostles Creed
When you take the time to reflect and pray the Apostle’s Creed, you are left with an acute, yet profound exposition of the Catholic faith that is both enlightening and simple. When you take the first stanza of the Apostles Creed ending with: “ . . . who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit . . .” you receive the initial exposition of the faith found in the sign of the Cross which in turn reflects our Baptismal call in the name of the Blessed Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Thus the Sign of the Cross serves as the preeminent symbol of our faith. In the Cross we have a symbol of faith that becomes our spiritual birth mark identifying exactly who we are. We take on the characteristic of Christ through the Profession of Faith.
The Creed Abandoned
Imagine if you were trying to construct a car from scratch and during the process you forgot a very important component needed for the car to work, motor oil. Your friend points this out to you and asks the obvious question: do you know what you are doing? You dismiss your friend’s question because you are convinced the car will work without the use of motor oil and basically imply you know exactly what you are doing. Of course, just as the car cannot function without motor oil, so too do our own faith lives suffer when we ignore or omit the Creed.
This simple analogy reveals the depths people will go to reconstruct what God has revealed through His Son Jesus Christ and replace it with their own perceived enlightened thought. In other words, we will stop at nothing to develop our own “rule of faith” detached from God that we convince ourselves is indeed the only truth, i.e. Creed, that we will live by. In doing so, we abandon the Creed. Some blunt examples of forsaking the Creed are as follows:
Though this list is not exhaustive you get the point. The moment we abandon our Catholic Identity, i.e. the Creed of faith, we develop our own Creed to suit our needs apart from Christ and His Church. In many ways, this is exactly what is happening at this very moment with the calculated attack on our religious freedom and the attempt to redefine what the Church believes and professes. What better way to initiate mass doctrinal confusion than by creating a new set of doctrinal norms and Creedal statements; especially by those who purport to represent Christ and His Church when in reality they have willfully abandoned what the Church through Christ has taught for over two-thousand years.
St. Ambrose, the great “golden tongue” responsible for the conversion of St. Augustine, summarizes the importance of the Creed this way:
The Creed is the spiritual seal, our heart’s meditation and an ever-present guardian; it is, unquestionably, the treasure of our soul.
I believe in God,
the Father Almighty,
Creator of Heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day, He rose again.
He ascended to Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.
"Ideas have consequences"(Weaver).
The ideas of 1776 came out of a set of ideas consistent with liberty.
We tend to forget, or have never considered, that other world views existed then, as now.
Unless today's citizens rediscover the ideas of liberty existing in what Jefferson called "the American mind" of 1776, we risk going back to the "Old World" ideas which preceded the "Miracle of America."
There are those who call themselves "progressives," when, in fact, their ideas are regressive and enslaving, and as old as the history of civilization.
Would suggest to any who wish an authentic history of the ideas underlying American's founding a visit to this web site, at which Richard Frothingham's outstanding 1872 "History of the Rise of the Republic of the United States" can be read on line.
This 600+-page history traces the ideas which gave birth to the American founding. Throughout, Richard Frothingham, the historian, develops the idea that it is "the Christian idea of man" which allowed the philosophy underlying the Declaration of Independence and Constitution to become a reality--an idea which recognizes the individual and the Source of his/her "Creator"-endowed life, liberty and law.
Is there any wonder that the enemies of freedom, the so-called "progressives," do not promote such authentic histories of America? Their philosophy puts something called "the state," or "global interests" as being superior to individuals and requires a political elitist group to decide what role individuals are to play.
In other words, they must turn the Founders' ideas upside-down in order to achieve a common mediocrity for individuals and power for themselves.
An astute observation. Society has led us to the "it's all about me" generation. Thank you for the post and ping!
More correctly it has been the modernists. Modernism was declared a heresy by Pope Pius X and from 1910 until 1967 all Catholic Clergy had to swear an oath against it. Following Vatican II the oath was rescinded leading to many of the problems in the Church today.
Creed 7: Ascended Into Heaven
Beginning Catholic: Creeds: Apostles, Nicene, Athanasian [Ecumenical]
Beginning Catholic: Basic Tenets of Catholicism [Ecumenical]
The Catholic Nicene Creed
We Believe in One God...: The Nicene Creed at Mass [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
I Believe [Apostle's Creed]
Why the Creed Doesn't Mention the Eucharist
The Apostles' Creed in Public and Private Worship
More Than Our Father [The Creed]
The Nicene Creed in Greek and Latin
The Creed - latest revisions proposed by ICEL
There are a couple of changes in the Apostles’ Creed with the new translation.
1. Descended into hell
2. From there he shall come to judge....
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