Beginning this week, every Thursday we will bring you a series of exemplary articles by Rev. Fr. B. Joseph Francis from his book titled ‘Creed For An Earnest Layman,’ a simple explanations of the Apostles’ Creed ‘I believe’. Fr. Francis believes that it will provide the needed knowledge and arguments to answer questions raised against one’s faith, coming either from our own mind or from others. We believe too!
The Creed: Introduction
The purpose of this little writing is to put into the hands of every Catholic Lay person a simple explanation from a student of theology [that is how I wish to call myself] about the creed (the “I believe” formula which we use so often). The creedal formula (formula of faith cast into sentences) are many e.g., the well known Nicean creed (325AD); Niceno-Constantinople creed (381AD); the Pseudo-Athanasian creed (V century) and the Apostles creed (X century). They are also called: Symbols and Professions of Faith. Of these, I propose to take chiefly the Apostles’ Creed for the comments, only because it is more popular and well known to anyone who recites the rosary regularly.
I shall try to be brief so that the units could be read at a short sitting of half an hour or more depending on the reader’s speed, interest and opportunity. The busy modern life does not permit most of us to spend much time on prolonged reading. Keeping this in mind I have tried to cut up the reflections into short viable units. I do hope that this would come in useful for many! Perhaps it could help a preacher to use it for a series of short sermons or homilies week after week in his parish or institution during the year of faith?
The ‘year of faith’ that started on 11th October 2012, the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and ending on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King, on 24th November 2013, as announced by the Pope Benedict XVI by his Apostolic Letter “Porta Fidei” issued on 11th October 2011 prompted this writing.
In no 10 of that document the pope notes: “Evidently, knowledge of the content of faith is essential for giving one’s own assent, that is to say for adhering fully with intellect and will to what the Church proposes.” The pope recommends earnest study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, calling it “a precious and indispensable tool” (Cf. No 11 of the document). He says further in the same place: “…the Year of Faith will have to see a concerted effort to rediscover and study the fundamental content of the faith.” Our little study is only a little contribution towards this effort; and since the Holy Father recommends so strongly the proper study of the official ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’ we shall include at the end of every chapter the relevant numbers in the afore said Catechism for further study. Our study is only a help and further simplification to prompt one to read the official Catechism. Part-I will deal with the Creed while Part-II will deal with apologetic questions. It will provide needed knowledge and arguments to answer questions raised against one’s faith, coming either from our own mind or from others.
Chapter I
The very first phrase in the Apostles’ creed is: “I believe”. Belief is something that is God-given. I cannot believe unless God moves my heart to accept what He has revealed and is cast into understandable human language by the Magisterium (the teaching authority of the Church that decides and formulates WHAT is to be believed). I accept it on the guarantee of God that it is true. God cannot bluff me and will not allow me to be deceived if I follow the directives of the Magisterium. The Magisterium itself is guided by the Holy Spirit and prevented from misleading the people of God in any way. Therefore I accept it on trust in God’s goodness, wisdom and love for my eternal happiness which God is so eager to give me! The strange thing is that so many human beings refuse to accept what God is offering. Often they are unable to see the offer clearly. Some wish to go by the principle that they would accept only what they see, feel, touch, hear, taste or sense and nothing else. Even if they are unable to see it phenomenologically (i.e., touch, see and feel etc), they demand that they should be able to think and reason it out completely to their satisfaction before saying their “Yes” to God.
Faith is reasonable
The Catholic Church has always held that all the faith-statements are REASONABLE, which does not mean that it can be proved just as a mathematical statement 2+2=4 or water is made up of Hydrogen and Oxygen or physical laws such as liquids find their own level. When we say it is reasonable we mean that it is NOT AGAINST reason and is in consonance with right reason. If some premises are accepted then the conclusion follows. The problem is with the premises, the truth of which I accept as said above on the guarantee of God and such a guarantee cannot be bought in the shop or obtained by severe and meticulous thinking. It is given by God to anyone who is not prejudiced and ready to see into his heart accepting humbly the ways of God. Either you have it or you do not have it; either you have accepted it in your life or have not accepted. I can never analyse and find out why you have not accepted it. Is it pride, prejudice or passions that blind my heart and selfishness that rules my life? I do not know. I can only humbly pray to God that he may grant me the gift of faith; that he may enable me to see with the eyes of faith what these fleshly eyes could perhaps never be able to see and recognize what the intellect cannot fully understand!
The reason for our belief
I also feel like asking: why should I believe? Because it is what God is showing me and refusing to acknowledge it is almost like insulting God. We need to take God seriously in our lives. Does God have any interest in this I may dare to ask and the answer is he does not have any earthly profit and in fact he is not in need of anything or anyone to fulfil his happiness. He is a company himself of three Divine Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We can add nothing to their internal glory as the great Medieval St. Anselm would say. Why then is God revealing? It is only that I and all of us may be happy already here on earth and forever happy eternally in heaven. So who is the loser if I do not believe and do not accept what God reveals? The answer should be obvious: only I. Can I pray for faith when I am not able to see? Sure, you should pray and a declaration of one’s helplessness surely brings God’s blessings and the gift of faith is one such.
Faith is a Gift of God
As a gift of God, it is freely given “…the righteousness [the simple way of understanding this word is ‘to be alright with God’ or ‘to be OK with God’] of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live’” (Rm 1.17); and it is God who gives “…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Rm3.22);and Paul concludes after his arguments: “For we hold that a man is justified [simple way of understanding the word ‘justified’ is to be alright with God or OK with God] by faith apart from the works of the Law [‘apart from the Law’ which for us means: we cannot purchase this faith from anyone or from anywhere but simply receive it from God] (Rm 3.28). St. Paul is forthright in declaring: “Therefore since we are justified [made alright] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand…” (Rm 5. 1-2a). He further says: “For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved” (Rm 10. 10).
As a practical measure Paul also recommends that we be humble about the faith we have received and be thankful to God and not boast about it: “For by grace given to me I bid everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith, which God has assigned him” (Rm 12.3). From the last portion of this quotation from Paul you would realize that there are degrees of this Faith and it is God who gives it according to his measure. I only receive it humbly and grow in it by doing what God wants me to do, prompted and assisted by his Holy Spirit whom he has given to each one of those who have accepted him and have been baptized and begun the new life in God! Read also Rm 12. 6-8 where Paul speaks of different gifts received “in proportion to our faith” and which we are called to exercise.
You will notice that I have used only from Paul’s letter to the Romans because that is the basic document where Paul gives his theology and understanding of Faith and salvation in Jesus Christ. Though this letter was written after many other letters, it is placed at the beginning of letters immediately after the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament because of its importance. Other letters of Paul also contain this doctrine expressed in many different ways.
Read The Catechism of the Catholic Church (hereafter abbreviated CCC) nos. 26-49; 142-184; 185-197.
To be continued next Thursday…