The Mass: Liturgy of the Word Part VII

We now return to looking at the second section of the Mass, The Liturgy of the Word. After the homily is given, at every Sunday Mass, we profess our faith by reciting the Creed.

The Creed as we know it has been essentially unchanged (well, at least in Latin!) for over 1600 years. It is the product of two very important ecumenical councils, called to settle Church doctrine. The first council was called by Constantine in the year 325 to take place in Nicea (present-day Iznik, Turkey). There was a major disruption in Church teaching occurring at the time, due to a priest named Arius. He had been teaching that Jesus, though Son of God, was less than God, and is subordinate to God. “There was a time when the Son was not,” is a famous quote attributed to Arius. The so-called heresy of Arianism was threatening to divide the Church.

The Council of Nicea affirmed the belief that God the Father and God the Son were homoousios (ὁμοούσιος), meaning they were of the same substance (“consubstantial”). Father and Son are two distinct persons but one God, who have existed forever. From this council came a “creed,” a statement of belief. The Nicean Creed is almost identical to the creed we recite today. The difference is that it ends with a statement of belief in the Holy Spirit, with no details.

The Arians were not content with the outcome of the council. A sect known as the Macedonians began to deny the divinity of the Holy Spirit. So a second council was called in Constantinople in 381. It was at this council that the creed was expanded to include belief in the Holy Spirit: that he too is God, a third distinct person. Yet we still are monotheists, because we believe in the one true God: one God, three persons. And we profess our faith in the Trinity actively at Mass, in response to God’s Word.

“The Church confesses one God and Father from whom all things are, one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things are, and one Holy Spirit, in whom all things are.” - Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 258.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Contact me at eucharist@stmli.org.