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THE FOUR MARKS OF THE CHURCH
The Church is ONE
Just as God is one in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so also is the Church one. The founder of the Church is Jesus Christ, who brought us back to God and made us into the family of God. The Church is one in the Holy Spirit, who dwells in those who believe.
The Church is HOLY
The Church is holy because the Church lives in union with Jesus Christ, the source of holiness. Through the Holy Spirit the Church leads others to holiness. The holiness of the Church is seen in the love that the members of the Church have toward one another and the many sacrifices they make for the sake of the world.
The Church is CATHOLIC
Catholic means “universal” and it is universal in 2 ways. First, the Church is catholic because all baptized people are part of the Church and the Church possesses the means of salvation. Second, the mission of the Church is universal because the Church has been sent to proclaim Christ to the entire human race.
The Church is APOSTOLIC
The Church traces its tradition directly from the apostles; therefore, the Church is considered apostolic. With the Holy Spirit the Church preserves and continues the teaching of the apostles. The pope and bishops are the successors of the apostles.
THE 12 ARTICLES OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH
IN THE APOSTLES’ CREED
1 I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
This affirms that God exists, that he's a Triune God (one God in three persons, known as the Holy Trinity), and that he created the known universe.
2 And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
This attests that Jesus is the Son of God and that he's most certainly divine. The word Lord implies divinity, because the Greek Kyrios and the Hebrew Adonai both mean "lord" and are ascribed only to God. So the use of Lord with Jesus is meant to profess his divinity. The name Jesus comes from the Hebrew Jeshua, meaning "God saves." So Catholics believe that Jesus is Saviour.
3 Who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
This affirms the human nature of Christ, meaning he had a real, true human mother, and also affirms his divine nature, meaning he had no human father but by the power of the Holy Spirit was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He's therefore considered both God and man by Christians—fully divine and fully human.
4 He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
The human nature of Christ could feel pain and actually die, and he did on Good Friday. The mention of Pontius Pilate by name wasn't meant so much to vilify him forever in history but to place the Crucifixion within human history.
5 He descended into hell. The third day he arose again from the dead.
The hell Jesus descended into wasn't the hell of the damned, where Jews and Christians believe the devil and his demons reside. Hell was merely a word that Jews and early Christians used to describe the place of the dead. This passage affirms that on the third day he rose, meaning Jesus came back from the dead of his own divine power. He wasn't just clinically dead for a few minutes; he was dead dead — then he rose from the dead. More than a resuscitated corpse, Jesus possessed a glorified and risen body.
6 He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
The Ascension reminds the faithful that after the human and divine natures of Christ were united in the Incarnation, they could never be separated. In other words, after the saving death and Resurrection, Jesus didn't dump his human body as if he didn't need it anymore. Catholicism teaches that his human body will exist forever. Where Jesus went, body and soul, into heaven, the faithful hope one day to follow.
7 He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
This article affirms the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the world to be its judge. Judgment Day, Day of Reckoning, Doomsday—they're all metaphors for the end of time when what's known as the General Judgment will occur. Catholics believe that after the death of any human person, immediate private judgment occurs and the person goes directly to heaven, hell, or purgatory (an intermediate place in preparation for heaven).
8 I believe in the Holy Spirit,
This part reminds the believer that God exists in three persons — the Holy Trinity — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. What's referred to as the Force in the movie Star Wars isn't the same as the Holy Spirit, who is a distinct person equal to the other two — God the Father and God the Son.
9 The holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints,
Catholics believe that the Church is more than a mere institution and certainly not a necessary evil. It's an essential dimension and aspect of spiritual life. Christ explicitly uses the word church (ekklesia in Greek) in Matthew 16 when he says, "I will build My Church."
10 The forgiveness of sins,
Christ came to save the world from sin. Belief in the forgiveness of sins is essential to Christianity. Catholicism believes sins are forgiven in Baptism and in the Sacrament of Penance.
11 The resurrection of the body,
From the Catholic perspective, a human being is a union of body and soul, so death is just the momentary separation of body and soul until the end of the world, the Second Coming of Christ, the General Judgment, and the resurrection of the dead. The just go, body and soul, into heaven, and the damned go, body and soul, into hell.
12 And in life everlasting.
As Christ Our Saviour died, so, too, must mere mortals. As he rose, so shall all human beings. Death is the only way to cross from this life into the next. At the very moment of death, private judgment occurs; Christ judges the soul:
If it's particularly holy and virtuous, the soul goes directly to heaven.
If it's evil and wicked and dies in mortal sin, it's damned for eternity in hell.
If a person lived a life not bad enough to warrant hell but not holy enough to go right to heaven, Catholics believe the soul goes to purgatory, which is a middle ground between heaven and earth, a state where departed souls want to go to be cleansed of any attachments to sin before going through the pearly gates.
CREED: DO YOU KNOW?
1️⃣ That The Church has chosen the two creeds to be recited on different events?
The revised 2002 Roman Missal gave general permission to make use of the “baptismal symbol of the Roman Church, the so-called Symbol of the Apostles” in place of the Nicene Creed. It also notes that this is appropriate “especially during the Season of Lent and the Season of Easter. Traditionally, the Apostles’ Creed has been associated with Baptism and the Nicene Creed has traditionally been associated with the Eucharist.
2️⃣ That creeds are catholic, meaning universal – and not just recited by Roman Catholics?
These creeds are accepted by almost all mainstream Christian denominations in the West, including Lutheran, Reformed, Roman Catholic, and Anglican. Many Methodist churches also accept the Nicene Creed and Apostles' Creed.
3️⃣ That the Nicene Creed is the only ecumenical creed because it is accepted as authoritative by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and major Protestant churches?
The Apostles’ Creed, also called Apostolicum, on the other hand, is a statement of faith used in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and many Protestant churches, but is not officially recognized in the Eastern Orthodox churches.
4️⃣ That the early manuscripts for the two Creeds were written in different languages?
The Apostles’ Creed was written in Latin while the Nicene Creed was produced in Greek.
5️⃣ That the original version of the Nicene Creed, which was written in Greek, begins with the plural pisteuomen (we believe)?
When the Greek text was translated into Latin, pisteuomen (we believe) was rendered as Credo (I believe). Hence in our Mass today we start the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Profession of Faith (which is English translated from Latin) with 'I believe' (singular profession).
6️⃣ Why the Apostles’ Creed is named as such?
An ancient tradition held that on the day of Pentecost, the twelve apostles composed this Creed, with each apostle contributing one of the twelve articles. Today that tradition is no longer widely held.
The earliest written versions that we have are from the 4th century, so it was likely composed later than the Apostolic era. The Catechism asserts that we can rightly call it the Apostle’s Creed not because the apostles wrote it, but because it is “rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles’ faith.”
WHERE IS THE APOSTLES CREED FOUND IN THE BIBLE?
I believe in God, the Father almighty, (Mt 5:45)
Creator of heaven and earth, (Gen 1:1; Rom 1:20)
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, (Mt 3:17; Phil 2:12)
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, (Lk 1:35)
born of the Virgin Mary, (Lk 2:7)
suffered under Pontius Pilate, (Jn 19:16)
was crucified, died, and was buried. (Jn 19:29 – 42)
He descended into hell; (1 Pet 3:19 – 20)
on the third day He rose again from the dead, (Mt 28:1-10; Jn 20:11-18)
He ascended in heaven, (Lk 24:51)
and sits at the right hand of God, (Heb 1:3)
the Father almighty; (Mk 14:36)
from thence He shall come again (Mt 16:27; Acts 10:39)
to judge the living and the dead. (1 Cor 15:51)
I believe in the Holy Spirit, (Jn 14:15 – 20; Acts 1:7 – 8)
the Holy Catholic Church, (Mt 16:18 – 19; Eph 5:26-27; Col 1:24)
the communion of Saints, (Mt 28:19 – 20; 2 Cor 11:13; 1 Cor 15:33)
the forgiveness of sins, (Jn 20:22 – 23)
the resurrection of the body, (1Cor 15:51 – 54; 1 Thes 4:13 – 18)
and life everlasting. (1 Jn 5:20)
APOSTLES’ CREED IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
Mandarin
Malayalam
Tagalog
Bahasa Indonesia
Tamil
Sinhala
German
PERSONAL TESTIMONIES
For me, the words 'I believe' means a lot especially when I am in very uncertain situations such as the pandemic that makes me to be very doubtful. So when I am in very uncertain situations, I will have to always remind myself to believe and trust in God in all situations as God will help us in everything. The creed always serve as a good reminder for me! (Grace Lim)
The Creed is a concise and constant reminder of my faith. It reminds me of my own relationship with God the Father, Jesus and the Church. I draw strength from the Creed each time I am struggling in my faith journey. (Dominic Yap)
The Creed to me reminds us that Jesus walked among us as a man (at the same time as Pontius Pilate) and remains in us (the Emmanuel) through the Holy Spirit after His resurrection; that the Church is universal in nature and not an exclusive club for only 'perfect' members because none of us are perfect by any stretch of our limited imagination; that judgment belongs to God alone and not for us who are imperfect to judge others for God is the infinite, bottomless source of divine mercy that we are incapable of, and who is infinite in His love for all (believers or otherwise) which includes those whom we judge as sinners due to our own imperfect desires for legalistic justice. (AJ Leow)
When I was young, reciting the Creed was just something rattled off during Mass each Sunday, but as my faith journey matured, the Creed stands out as a declaration. Here we are, this is what we believe, and we believe this together. We are one Church, we are one family and we believe in the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That’s incredibly powerful and demands to be taken more seriously. For me the final words ‘We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church’ — seems to be the verse that brings everything else together. It says what we stand for. (Angela Ang)
Back when I was struggling in my faith, the Creed served as a benchmark of telling me what I do not know and what I do not agree to. It helped me know that I did not reject the Church as a whole. As I progressed in my faith journey, the questions were answered and the objections resolved. I can now say with conviction that I mean what I say when I recite the Creed. (Cox Alviso)
The creed is a part of our identity as Christians as a national pledge for citizens of a country. When I encounter doubts and uncertainties, the creed is there for me to return to the fundamentals and first principles of our faith. (Anonymous)
Apostles’ Creed always remind me how GOD the Father is so powerful in many ways. Jesus Christ’s sufferings and sacrifices made my faith stronger and I believe Jesus Christ with all my heart. I believe GOD the Father will forever protect and guide those who loves HIM and believes in HIM. (ianlinXXXX@gmail.com)