The Creed: What We Believe and How We Live It.

The Creed is a formal statement of what we believe as Christians. The Creed is the summary of the Christians belief or the summary of the main truth of our Catholic faith handed to us from the apostles and the early church. 

The word creed comes from the Latin word "CREDO" meaning I BELIEVE. 

The creed starts with God the creator,who made heaven and earth and also man out of love, it tells the story of man's redemption through Jesus Christ after the fall of man. It include The Holy Spirit who work in the church through the sacraments. The sacraments gives us the grace to live the faith we profess in the creed.

 Therefore the creed is a bridge between what we believe (our faith) and how we live what we believe through the sacrament.

There are two main types of Creeds used in the Catholic Church:

1. The Apostles's Creed:This is the older and shorter of the two. It is called the Apostles’s Creed because it reflects the basic teachings of the apostles. It is often used during Baptisms, Rosaries and in daily prayers. It clearly outlines our belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, the Holy Spirit, the Church and eternal life.

2. The Nicene Creed:This Creed is longer and more detailed. It was developed at the Councils of Nicaea (325 AD) and Constantinople (381 AD) to correct false teachings about Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is the Creed we say during Sunday Mass. It gives a fuller explanation of the nature of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit while still affirming the same core faith.

Both Creeds express the unity of our faith and help us to profess what we believe as members of the Catholic Church.

Let us not just recite the Creed with our lips, but live it with our hearts and actions. Each time we say "I believe" may it be a reminder of the faith we profess and the call to live it fully through the grace of the sacraments.  

May our lives reflect what we believe. Amen.