After the Scriptures have been proclaimed and the homily preached, a response is necessary to the Word of salvation. The Catechism says: "The Liturgy of the Word is an integral part of the celebration [of the Mass]. The meaning of the celebration is expressed by the Word of God which is proclaimed and by the response of faith to it." (#1109)
What actually occurs after the proclamation of the Scripture Readings, the Gospel and the preaching is a series of responses of faith: the Creed is recited, the summary of our Christian Faith; the Intercessions are prayed where we intercede in faith for the peace and salvation of all the world; then the Liturgy of the Eucharist itself is celebrated, a thanksgiving to God for salvation and a uniting of each participant to the One Sacrifice of Christ: to the service of his sacrificial love in dying and rising.
Therefore, let us examine the Creed. The word "creed" comes from the Latin word "credo," meaning "I believe." At one time we began the Creed at Mass by saying; "We believe..." The Creed is a summary of the entire Church’s Faith. Now we say "I believe..." It is correct to also say that each one of us must personally embrace and believe the Creed.
The Creed was first formulated for use in Baptism in the early Church. Just as is done today, the Creed was given as a series of responses to ritual questions asked of the one being baptized or of the parents of an infant to be baptized. Later, it began to also be used as a Profession of the Faith in the Mass and also used on its own for teaching.
In the revised Missal used today, there are two options for the profession of the Creed. One is the use of the Apostles Creed (See text HERE). This might be used in the Lenten and Easter Seasons. Lent and Easter both remember our Baptism into the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
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| The Apostles holding the Church |
The Apostles Creed was once thought to have been created by the 12 Apostles, each one formulating one of the 12 articles of this Creed. This is pious legend, but it true enough that the Apostles Creed represents the core of the Faith of the Apostles.
The other Creed used the most in the Sunday and Holy Day Masses is the Nicene Creed (See text HERE), or officially called the Nicene-Constantinopoliton Creed. It was developed from the Apostles Creed and expanded at the first two Ecumenical Councils of the Church, the First at Nicea (325AD) and the Second at Constantinople (381 AD). It was formulated to correct various heresies at the time.
One can see in the Nicene Creed, for exmple, an argument against the Arian heresy troubling the Church at the time of the first two Councils. Arianism taught that Jesus is the Son of God, but not truly equal to God. The Nicene Creed is over-emphatic in refuting this: Jesus is "God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial [i.e., one in being] with the Father." No mistaking what the true Faith teaches on this matter!
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| St. Irenaeus |
The Creed has been seen from an early time as a corrective against heresy. Heresy is a falsification or denial of one or more of the truths of the Orthodox-Catholic Faith. This creedal safeguard against heresy was definitively proposed by St. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons in the Second Century. At that earliest of times in the Church, various groups existed given the generic name "Gnostic" (from a Greek word for "knowledge." For more about Gnosticism See HERE). They denied key Christian teachings and claimed authority for their teaching based on "secret knowledge" from the Apostles and Christ.
This confused some Catholics. Did Jesus privately give the Apostles secret knowledge meant for only a special group, apart from the crowd? Irenaeus took up the challenge and insisted that all that Jesus taught the Apostles is now public knowledge and meant for everyone. There are no secret teachings in the Catholic Church. Irenaeus taught that there are three ways to know the Apostolic Faith, all related and all public:
(1) The Apostolic Tradition can be found in the New Testament used in the Catholic Church.
(2) It is also stated in summary form in the Creed used in the Catholic Church.
(3) It is taught in the Catholic Church, founded by the Apostles. The Catholic churches in various places traced their foundation to one or more of the Apostles. The Bishops are their successors and teach only the Apostolic Faith. If one wanted, however, an authoritative example, look to the Church at Rome founded upon the Apostles Peter and Paul. The churches founded by the Apostles all teach the same thing and nothing secret.
The Creed began to be included in the Mass, first in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire in the 6th century and later in Rome in the 11th Century.
Let us try every time we recite the Creed at Mass to do so thoughtfully, prayerfully, and with the realization that this is each one's Faith and that of the whole Church.
Let us try every time we recite the Creed at Mass to do so thoughtfully, prayerfully, and with the realization that this is each one's Faith and that of the whole Church.
Next Week: The Intercessions in the Liturgy of the Word.
