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What We Catholics Believe!
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1. The Articles of the Apostles
Creed
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We Believe:
In God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth |
"Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one
Lord..." (Deut 6:4; Mk 12:29). " The supreme being must be unique,
without equal...If God is not one, he is not God." (Tertullian, Adv
Marc 1,3,5: PL 2, 274).
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We Believe: In Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord |
The name Jesus means "God
Save;" the title "Christ" means "Anointed One;"
the title "Son of God" signifies the unique and eternal relationship
of Jesus Christ to God his father; the title "Lord" indicates
divine sovereignty.
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...He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and was born of the Virgin Mary |
Jesus Christ possesses two natures,
one divine and the other human, not confused, but united in the one person
of God's Son. The Incarnation is therefore the mystery of the wonderful
union of the divine and human natures in the one person of the Word.
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... He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried |
"Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the scriptures" (1 Cor 15:3); By his loving obedience
to the Father, "unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:8),
Jesus fulfills the atoning mission (Isa 53:10) of the suffering Servant,
who will "make many righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities"
(Isa 53:11; Rom 5:19)
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...He descended into
Hell,
on the third day He rose again |
Jesus did really die and through
his death for us conquered death and the devil "who has the power of
death: (Heb 2:14); Christ, "the first-born from the dead: (Col 1:18),
is the principle of our own resurrection, even now by the justification
of our souls (Rom 6:4), and one day by the new life he will impart to our
bodies (Rom 8:11).
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...He ascended into Heaven
and
is seated at the right hand of the Father |
Jesus Christ, the head of the
Church, precedes us into the Father's glorious kingdom so that we, the members
of His Body, may live in the hope of one day being with him forever. Having
entered the sanctuary of heaven once and for all, He intercedes constantly
for us as the mediator who assures us of the permanent outpouring of the
Holy Spirit.
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...He will come again to judge the living and the dead. |
When He comes at the end of time
to judge the living and the dead, the glorious Christ will reveal the secret
disposition of hearts and will render to each man according to his works
and according to his acceptance or refusal of grace.
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We Believe: In the Holy Spirit |
The Holy Spirit, whom Christ the
head pours out on his members, builds, animates, and sanctifies the Church.
She is the sacrament of the Holy Trinity's communion with men.
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...In the Holy Catholic
Church, and in the
communion of Saints |
This is the sole Church of Christ, which in the Creed we profess to be "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic". These four characteristics, inseparably linked with each other, indicate essential features of the Church and her mission. It is Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, make His Church one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, and it is He who calls her to realize each of these qualities. "...the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church...in this communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is always attentive to our prayers."
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...In the forgiveness
of sins
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By Christ's will, the Church possesses
the power to forgive the sins of the baptized and exercises it through bishops
and priests normally in the sacrament of Penance. "...for the risen
Christ entrusted to the apostles the power to forgive sins when he gave
them the Holy Spirit.
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...In the resurrection
of the body
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By death the soul is separated
from the body, but in the resurrection God will give incorruptible life
to our body, transformed by reunion with our soul. Just as Christ is risen
and lives forever, so all of us will rise at the last day.
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...and in life everlasting.
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At the end of time, the Kingdom
of God will come in its fullness. Then the just will reign with Christ forever,
glorified in body and soul, and the material universe itself will be transformed.
God will then be "all in all" (1 Cor 15:28), in eternal life.
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Amen
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In Hebrew, amen comes from the
same root as the word "believe." This root expresses solidarity,
trustworthiness, faithfulness. And so we can understand why "Amen"
may express both God's faithfulness towards us and our trust in Him.
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