A young woman prays during Mass at the Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco May 19, 2024. The Mass was celebrated for the western route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, during which pilgrims from across the United States will travel with the Eucharist for the next eight weeks on their way to the National Eucharistic Congress, scheduled for July 17-21, 2024, in Indianapolis. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller) Whoever says, “I believe” says “I pledge myself to what we believe.” The syntheses of faith are called “professions of faith” since they summarise the faith that Christians profess, and it was gathered from all the Scriptures. They are called creeds, which comes from the word in Latin: credo (I believe). The first profession of faith is made during Baptism.
The Creed is divided into three parts: the first part speaks of the first divine Person and the work of creation; the next speaks of the second divine Person and the mystery of his redemption of men; the final part speaks of the third divine Person, the origin and source of our sanctification.
These three parts are distinct although connected with one another. Through the centuries many professions or symbols of faith have been articulated in response to the needs of the different eras, the professions of faith of certain Councils, or the symbols of certain popes. None of the creeds from the different stages in the Church’s life can be considered superseded or irrelevant. Among all the creeds The Apostles’ Creed and The Nicene Creed occupy a special place in the Church.
I believe in God
Our profession of faith begins with God, for God is the First and the Last. Our Creed begins with the creation of Heaven and Earth, for creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God’s works. The whole Creed speaks of God. The faithful first profess their belief in God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; three persons indeed, but one essence.
God has a name. To disclose one’s name is to make oneself known to others. God revealed himself progressively and under different names to his people. God says who he is to Moses and by what name he is to be called: “I AM.” God reveals himself as the God who is always there, present to his people in order to save them.
Faced with God’s fascinating and mysterious presence, man discovers his own insignificance. But because God is holy, he can forgive the man who realises that he is a sinner before him, despite the faithlessness of men’s sin, he keeps “steadfast love for thousands”. God is the fullness of Being and of every perfection. All creatures receive all that they are and have from him; but he alone is his very being, and he is of himself everything that he is.
He who is
In all his works God displays, not only his kindness, goodness, grace and steadfast love, but also his trustworthiness, constancy, faithfulness and truth. God is Truth itself, whose words cannot deceive. This is why one can abandon oneself in full trust to the truth and faithfulness of his word in all things. God loves his people more than a bridegroom his beloved. God’s very being is love.
Believing in God, the only One, and loving him with all our being has enormous consequences for our whole life. It means coming to know God’s greatness and majesty, living in thanksgiving, knowing the unity and true dignity of all men and making good use of created things.
The Creeds are the spiritual seal. It is the treasure of our soul.