Liturgy of the Word
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The Liturgy Of The Word: God Speaks To Us Through Scripture

Did you know that the Mass is a prayer? It’s not a bunch of prayers stuck together in some sort of mystical way every day, every Sunday. It is the prayer of God’s people, stretching back two millennia. The very earliest Christians gathered to share God’s word and celebrate the Eucharist, as Christ told his Apostles to do at the Last Supper. There are two billion Catholics throughout the world who pray together, entering into the Mystery of the Mass every day.

The Mass consists of two parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We believe that Christ is present in both, but in distinct ways.

The Mass is full of signs and symbols. We pray with our entire bodies, through gestures and postures. We are surrounded by music, images and art. All of these have meaning, and enrich the prayerful atmosphere. However, the Mass is the same whether it is celebrated in the most humble of chapels, on the back of a jeep with soldiers gathered about, or in St. Peter’s Basilica.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) says this about the Liturgy of the Word:

In the Liturgy of the Word, the Church feeds the people of God from the table of his Word …. The Scriptures are the word of God, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In the Scriptures, God speaks to us, leading us along the path to salvation.

The Responsorial Psalm is sung between the readings. The psalm helps us to meditate on the word of God.

The high point of the Liturgy of the Word is the reading of the Gospel. Because the Gospels tell of the life, ministry, and preaching of Christ, it receives several special signs of honor and reverence. The gathered assembly stands to hear the Gospel and it is introduced by an acclamation of praise. Apart from Lent, that acclamation is “Alleluia,” derived from a Hebrew phrase meaning “Praise the Lord!” A deacon (or, if no deacon is present, a priest) proclaims the Gospel.

Either a deacon or priest may give the homily, which is meant to be a reflection on the Word of God that was just proclaimed, and should educate and edify the congregation.

Following the homily, there should be a short period of silence for reflection. Then the Nicene Creed is proclaimed (or in some circumstances, the Apostles’ Creed). This is the declaration of our faith and beliefs as Christians, both as individuals and a community.

The Liturgy of the Word concludes with the Prayer of the Faithful. These prayers, while unique for every congregation, are meant to follow a rubric: prayers for the Universal church, for public matters and global concerns, for those afflicted or burdened, the local community and for the dead.

On Wednesday, we will look at the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Apostles' Creed
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The Apostles’ Creed: Faith Of Our Fathers

Yesterday, we discussed the origin and importance of the Nicene Creed. Today, we will look at another creed: the Apostles’ Creed.

Most Catholics are familiar with the Apostles’ Creed as the first prayer of the Rosary. It is also an option for Mass should a children’s liturgy be celebrated. The Apostles’ Creed is older than the Nicene Creed, with various forms dating back to the 200s. It is simpler and shorter than the Nicene Creed. One might say that the Apostles’ Creed was the father of the Nicene Creed: the Nicene Creed built upon and furthered clarified beliefs stated in the earlier creed.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Through the centuries many professions or symbols of faith have been articulated in response to the needs of the different eras: the creeds of the different apostolic and ancient Churches, e.g., the Quicumque, also called the Athanasian Creed; the professions of faith of certain Councils, such as Toledo, Lateran, Lyons, Trent; or the symbols of certain popes, e.g., the Fides Damasi11 or the Credo of the People of God of Paul VI.

None of the creeds from the different stages in the Church’s life can be considered superseded or irrelevant. They help us today to attain and deepen the faith of all times by means of the different summaries made of it …

The Apostles’ Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles’ faith. It is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome. Its great authority arises from this fact: it is “the Creed of the Roman Church, the See of Peter the first of the apostles, to which he brought the common faith”. (192-194)

For Catholics, the Creeds are both personal and communal. We pray them so as to assert our own beliefs, in renewal of our baptismal vows. However, whenever we pray together, we pray as the Universal Church. We are praying in communion with the entire Church around the world. The Creeds unify us, strengthen us and remind us of the faith we share.

St. Augustine said, “Let the creed be like a mirror for you. Look at yourself in it to see whether you really believe all that you claim to believe. And rejoice every day in your faith.”

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and 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 into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come 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.

creed
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The Nicene Creed: “I Believe”

Credo: Latin for “I believe.” The Nicene Creed is an integral part of the Mass, and serves as a “mini-catechism” of our beliefs. But what exactly is a “creed” and why is it so important to our Faith?

Theologian Scott Hahn explains:

A creed is an authoritative summary of Christianity’s basic beliefs. In the articles of the creed, we profess our faith in mysteries—doctrines that could never be known apart from divine revelation: that God is a Trinity of persons, that God the Son took flesh and was born of a virgin, and so on … A creed is not the totality of Christian faith. It’s a summary that stands for everything that is taught by the Catholic Church, which is itself one of the mysteries we proclaim in the creed. A creed is a symbol of something larger—and, ultimately, of Someone we love, Someone who loves us and makes us who we are, by means of creeds and other graces.

There are a number of creeds that the Church recognizes, but the Nicene Creed (used at the Mass) and the Apostles’ Creed (prayed during the Rosary) are the two primary creeds. The Nicene Creed dates back to 325 A.D. (isn’t that amazing?), from the Council of Nicaea. Just as bishops and cardinals are called to meet in our times (think of Vatican II), the early Church fathers met to discuss articles of faith and make decisions for the universal Church.

The Council of Nicaea was particularly important. There were those in the Church who claimed that Jesus was divine, but not human. This became known as the Arian heresy: Jesus was divine but only appeared to be human, an idea promulgated by Arius, a Christian leader in Egypt. The Nicene Council declared this a heresy, that is, a teaching that was contrary to the Faith. In order to make firm the truth that Jesus was true God and true Man, the Church Fathers created the Nicene Creed. In this way, even illiterate people would know the Church teaching. While the creed did not become part of the Mass until the 6th century, it was taught universally after the Council of Nicaea.

“The Nicene Creed expressed what the early leaders of the Church found to be Biblical, traditional and orthodox in their Christian faith – a faith in Jesus Christ that we continue to proclaim 1,700 years later.” Again, Scott Hahn:

The Creed is the capstone of the Liturgy of the Word, a summation of the mighty works of God, past, present and future. We have heard the Law and the prophets and sung the praises of the Psalms. We have received the Gospel as truly as St. Peter’s congregation did on that first Pentecost. Now, as we recite the Creed, we say our “yes,” our Credo, like the first believers in Jerusalem.

It’s significant that, in our liturgy, the Creed follows after the Bible readings, since the Creed is a summary of the history of salvation.

Every time we pray this Creed, we not only state the basis of our faith, we unite ourselves with the entire Church. We also renew to ourselves and to God our baptismal promises. The Nicene Creed is both ancient and new. This creed reminds us, and all the Church, of what we believe. We join our “I believe” with the voices of all the faithful around the world in prayer.

 

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.