The Apostle’s Creed

 

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.

The Nicene Creed

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.

Questions:

How can one God be three “persons” – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

How can Jesus be both God and human?

What is God’s kingdom like?

Think of one club, team or organization to which you presently belong. What is the purpose of this group? What is one requirement or belief of the group that helps all its members work toward a common goal?

Read Isaiah 49:15-16. What is the prophet attempting to tell us about God?

Read CCC #239. What does the Church say about God in this passage?

Read John 13:3-17. What does this passage tell us about Jesus and therefore about God?

When do you most feel the presence of Jesus in your life?

Humanness

In partnership with the entire community, the Catholic school has a value and importance that are fundamental to the integral human formation of children. In virtue of its mission, the Catholic school constantly and carefully attends to the cultivation in children of the intellectual, creative and aesthetic gifts of the human person. Catholic schools foster in children an appreciation of their God-given dignity; the ability to make correct use of their judgement, will and affectivity; promote in them a sense of values; encourage just attitudes and prudent behaviour; introduce to them the cultural heritage handed down from past generations; prepare them for professional life; and encourage the friendly interchange of diverse cultures and backgrounds that will lead to mutual understanding.

In short, Catholic schools contribute to integral human formation. Catholic schools strive to form strong and responsible persons who are capable of making free and correct choices and are able to form in themselves a clear idea of the meaning of life.

Strategies to develop the Human Dimension of Catholic Schools:

  • Give appropriate emphasis to academic excellence
  • Support art, music, drama, dance and other fine arts and performing arts
  • Create a healthy respect for physical education and manual arts
  • Recognize the importance of fun and humour
  • Exercise forgiveness and reconciliation
  • Create discipline policies that are firm, fair, and flexible and that respect the dignity of persons and invite forgiveness and reconciliation

How does Catholic education respect the dignity of human persons?

Baptism

John the Baptist was a Jewish prophet. He told people that they needed to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, or deliverer of the Jews. John urged people to repent and to seek forgiveness for their sins. To show their repentance, people came to John to be baptized. John immersed his followers in the Jordan River. This immersion, or baptism, was symbolic. It signified spiritual cleansing and rebirth.

Today baptism is an important Christian ceremony. The ceremony still involves water, whether just a sprinkling or complete immersion. Why do you think water is used in this ceremony?

Quotes

Give, give, give – what is the point of having experience, knowledge or talent if I don’t give it away? Of having stories if I don’t tell them to others? Of having wealth if I don’t share it? I don’t intend to be cremated with any of it! It is in giving that I connect with others, with the world and with the divine. – Novelist Isabel Allende

There is such a thing as truth, but we often have a vested interest in ignoring it or outright denying it. Also, it’s not just thinking something that makes it true. Truth is not relative. It’s not subjective. It may be elusive or hidden. People may wish to disregard it. But there is such a thing as truth and the pursuit of truth. – Filmmaker Errol Morris

I seem most instinctively to believe in the human value of creative writing, whether in the form of verse or fiction, as a mode of truth-telling, self-expression and homage to the twin miracles of creation and consciousness. – Writer John Updike

This I believe: that it is intellectually easier to credit a divine intelligence than to submit dumbly to felicitous congeries about nature. – Commentator William F. Buckley, Jr.

When I was young, an honest and moral life seemed like a straightforward goal. I now know that it’s not always easy to see what should be done and even harder actually to do it. Nevertheless I’m grateful that I still have some time to keep trying to get it right, and to savor each remaining day in my life. – Elizabeth D. Earle

I believe in the journey, not the arrival, in conversation, not monologues, in multiple questions rather than a single answer. I believe in the struggle to remake ourselves and each other in the spirit of eternal forgiveness, in the awareness that none of us knows for sure what happiness truly is, but each of us knows the imperative to keep searching. – Commentator and blogger Andrew Sullivan

I came to believe in God because, over the many years, He time and time again made Himself manifest to me. To embrace the career of composer is tantamount to embracing a life of high adventure. There may be no atheists in foxholes, but there are none in the Green Room either, especially before the premiere of a difficult, intricate and, I hope always, courageous musical work. Also, one cannot long work in the composition of music without coming to realize that one doesn’t do it all by oneself. — Composer George Antheil

I do not believe in predestination, for I think we are given minds for development – and the greatest gift ever given is that of freedom to decide and act. But there comes a time in every person’s life – and generally many times – when things become greater than he and when he must turn to Some One bigger. If one does not have Some One to turn to, one is lost and unhappy. — Ward Wheelock, co-creator of This I Believe

I believe that I should behave with courageous dignity in the presence of fate and strive to be a worthy companion of the Beautiful, the Good and the True. But fate has its master in the faith of those who surmount it, and limitation has its limits for those who, though disillusioned, live greatly. True faith is not a fruit of security. It is the ability to blend mortal fragility with the inner strength of the Spirit. It does not shift with the changing shades of one’s thought. — Helen Keller

I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in human beings. Like Confucius of old, I am so absorbed in the wonder of earth and the life upon it that I cannot think of heaven and the angels. I have enough for this life. If there is no other life, then this one has been enough to make it worth being born. — Novelist Pearl S. Buck

In all honesty, what I believe is neither inspirational nor evangelical. I cannot say that I am even a sound Christian, though the code of conduct to which I subscribe was preached more eloquently by Jesus Christ than by any other. About God I simply do not know; I don’t think I can know. — Writer Wallace Stegner