An Explanation of the Holy Mass
I Believe
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Creed
After the Gospel, we have a homily, and after the homily we say the creed. We call the creed the Nicene Creed because most of it came out of the Council of Nicaea in 325 in response to the Arian heresy. Arius was a priest who was teaching that Jesus was the most perfect creature created by God, but Jesus was not God, and Jesus did not exist until he was born of the Virgin Mary. Portions of the creed were not precise enough theologically, so the Arians could say that they believed everything in that creed. Thus, at the Council of Constantinople in 381 a few changes were made to the creed to make it more theologically precise. That is the creed that we recite at mass on Sunday.
We say “I believe.” We can’t speak for someone else. The creed is a personal statement of the faith. When we renew baptismal vows at a baptism we have always said, “I do” as we reject sin and Satan, and profess our faith. Each parent and godparent must speak for himself or herself. They can’t speak for anyone else. Hence, the response has always been, “I do,” rather than, “We do.” When a couple exchanges vows and gives their consent at a wedding, they always respond with, “I do,” rather than, “We do.” It is not permissible for one spouse to speak for the other. Each is required to give a personal assent to the vows. It is the same thing with the creed. Each of us must personally state that this is what I believe. The congregation can’t speak for us. We must personally state that this is what I believe.
We say, “…visible and invisible.” It is precise theologically. God made everything we see and those things in the spiritual world that are invisible to us, like the angels.
“…Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages,” means that the second person of the Trinity, Jesus, has always existed.
The next section that begins with: “God from God…,” states that Jesus is of the same stuff as God. Jesus has the same God stuff that the Father has. In fact, he is consubstantial. A fancy word that means Jesus has the same substance that the Father has. We are made in God’s image and likeness, but we don’t have the same God stuff, or substance, that God has. However, Jesus does, so he is consubstantial with the Father.
The bow is a sign of reverence as we say the words that describe the beginning of God’s salvation for all of us. In the creed the word “incarnate” means that Jesus existed for all eternity. Before Jesus became incarnate, he was pure spirit like the Father, but once he became incarnate, once he took on a human body, he will have that human body for all eternity. Jesus existed as a pure spirit like the Father before he took on human flesh.
If someone ever asks you what you believe as a Catholic. Please don’t give them a blank stare. Recite the creed. Tell them what you believe.