Friday, March 27, 2009

The Creed

The Nicene creed is a statement of faith of the early Catholic Church ratified by the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 AD in opposition to certain heresies, especially Arianism. These heresies, which disturbed the church during the fourth century, concerned the doctrine of the trinity and of the person of Christ.

This creed serves as the bar of orthodox Christian belief - to confess to parts of the creed without confessing to the entirety of the creed is to confess to being in heresy.

Here's the Latin and English versions of the creed. As I am more familiar with the Latin (as I chant to this every Sunday), I'll place the Latin first followed by the English transliteration.

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

Et in unum Dominum, Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum, ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum Verum de Deo Vero. Genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem, descendit de caelis. Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria virgine, et homo factus est. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis, sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est. Et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas. Et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, judicare vivos et mortuos, cujus regni non erit finis.

Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et Vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur, et conglorificatur, qui locutus est per Prophetas.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

Et Unam, Sanctam, Catholicam, et Apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi+.

And I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess in one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Fasting during the Great Lent

Below is an excerpt from St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople during the 5th century and one of the early Church fathers, about the noble Christian tradition of fasting and abstinence during the Great Lent.

The value of fasting consists not only in avoiding certain
foods, but in giving up of sinful practices. The person who
limits his fast only to abstaining from meat is the one who
especially lowers the value of it.

Do you fast? Prove it by doing good works. If you see
someone in need, take pity on them. If you see a friend being
honored, don’t get jealous of him. For a true fast, you cannot
fast only with your mouth. You must fast with your eye, your ear,
your feet, your hands, and all parts of your body.

You fast with your hands by keeping them pure from doing
greedy things. You fast with your feet by not going to see
forbidden shows or plays. You fast with your eyes by not
letting them look upon impure pictures. Because if this is
forbidden or unlawful, it mars your fast and threatens the safety
of your soul. But if you look at things which are lawful and
save you increase your fast, for what you see with your eye
influences your conduct. It would be very stupid to eliminate or
give up meat and other foods because of the fast but feed with
your eyes upon other things which are forbidden.

You don’t eat meat, you say. But you allow yourself to lis-
ten to lewd things. You must fast with your ears, too. Another
way of fasting with your ears is not to listen to those who speak
evil or untrue things about others. “Thou shalt not receive an
idle report. “This is especially true of rumors, gossip,
untruths which are spoken to harm another.

Besides fasting with your mouth by not eating certain foods,
your mouth should also fast from foul language or telling lies
about others. For what good is it if you don’t eat meat or
poultry, and yet you bite and devour your fellow man?


Seems like I have much to learn, do and undo. I must say I've been guilty of observing the bare minimum for the fasting practice - since 1537 the Filipino faithful have been exempted from much of the laws of the fast and abstinence, reducing the requirements of the fast to Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. By contrast, the early Christians fasted a lot!