6 Creed - are you a robot

What do you mean when you say the creed? This provocative title comes from the short video which asks some interesting questions.  Although it doesn't go through either the Nicene or Apostles' creed it asks some interesting questions and reminds us what some of the underlying statements of faith mean and links these to passages of scripture.  Why not watch it with others and discuss what questions it raises for you?

  

6 Creed - Apostles

CCC 194 The Apostles' Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles' faith. It is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome. Its great authority arises from this fact: it is "the Creed of the Roman Church, the See of Peter the first of the apostles, to which he brought the common faith".

In the middle ages it was believed that the apostles inspired by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost wrote the Apostles' creed. The idea was that each of the 12 apostles suggested one of the 12 articles or statements in this creed. As the first of the spirituality sessions on the Apostles' creed illustrated there is great richness in each of these articles.  For further information see the links to the catechism below.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, CCC 199 - 421

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, CCC 422 - 455 
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, CCC 456 - 570 

suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; CCC 571 - 630 
he descended into hell; 
on the third day he rose again from the dead; CCC 631 - 658

he ascended into heaven, and is seated 
at the right hand of God the Father almighty; CCC 659 - 630 
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. CCC 668 - 686

I believe in the Holy Spirit, CCC 687 - 747

the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, CCC 748 - 795

 the forgiveness of sins, CCC 796 - 987

the resurrection of the body, CCC 988 - 1019

 and life everlasting. Amen. CCC 1020 - 1065

Who were the twelve apostles?

For a quiz on the names of the apostles click the image

6 Creed: Nicene

The Nicene-Constantinopolitan or Nicene Creed draws its great authority from the fact that it stems from the first two ecumenical Councils (in 325 and 381). It remains common to all the great Churches of both East and West to this day.  CCC 195

When the new translation of the Mass was introduced in Advent 2011 many of the prayers in the mass needed new music.  Although we don't often sing the creed at Sunday mass, the video below is an English chant of the Creed.  

I believe in one God

the Father almighty,

maker of heaven and earth

of all things visible and invisible.

And 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 and for our salvation

He came down from heaven.

(at the following words, up to and including “and became man”, all bow) 

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.

His kingdom will have no end.

And 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;

And in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

I look forward to the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Spirituality Sessions on the Apostles' Creed

Focal area for the 1st session - I believe in 
God the Almighty Father creator of heave and earth ...

If you'd like to use the Year of Faith as an opportunity to learn more about what we believe then why not come along to the spirituality sessions delivered by the Ursuline sisters at St Thomas More.  On the 2nd Monday of each month at the end of the Drop in Day of Prayer there is a time to learn more about the Apostles' Creed.  

 + For leaflet and details on Spirituality Sessions: The Apostles' Creed led by Ursuline Sisters, 2nd Monday of the month at 7.30 to 9.00pm at St Thomas More's, 

5 Our Father: 7 petitions

Word cloud for the Our Father

For younger readers a video of Jesus teaching the disciples how to pray.  Is it from Matthew or Luke's Gospel?  And if they are interested in the wordle why not create your own based on a prayer and send it to us for a future post in the parish blog,

Petitions of the Our Father
As the catechism explains that the prayer includes seven petitions: 

CCC 2803 After we have placed ourselves in the presence of God our Father to adore and to love and to bless him, the Spirit of adoption stirs up in our hearts seven petitions, seven blessings. The first three, more theological, draw us toward the glory of the Father; the last four, as ways toward him, commend our wretchedness to his grace. "Deep calls to deep."

         1)        Hallowed be Your Name

         2)        Your kingdom come

         3)        Thy will be done

         4)        Give us each day our daily bread

         5)        Forgive us as we forgive others

         6)        And lead us not into temptation.

         7)        Deliver us from evil

Our videos today includes 3 translations of the Our Father, reminding us that not only has this prayer been translated into different languages but has been a prayer sung and prayed throughout the ages since Jesus first gave the prayer to the Apostles.

There are lots of versions of the Our Father - including versions by popular artists, listening to these can help us to appreciate this prayer in a different way.  

Andrea Bocceli - The Lord's Prayer

Charlotte Church - The Our Father

Cliff Richard's - Millenium Prayer and Lord's Prayer and in Hungarian - which the post says is because the person who posted this video is Hungarian 

Mario Lanza Our Father for older readers

And the Our Father in Latin - Pater noster gregorian chant

5 Our Father - two versions

There are many prayers which have their origin the scripture.  Unlike some, the Lord's Prayer appears in two places within the Bible, Mt 6: 9-13 and Lk 11: 2-4.  What do you notice by reading what happens before and after the prayer itself?  

As we pray the Our Father, it is in union with Christ who gave us this prayer.  Over the coming days try to reflect on the different phrases and petitions of this prayer and see how they connect with parts of our daily life.  See entry on Sunday for further details about the seven petitions of the Our Father.

Finding bible passages
When looking up passages in the Bible we look for the Book, chapter and verse.   

Book Matthew chapter 6 verses 9 to 13 Mt 6: 9-13
Book Luke chapter 11 verses 2 to 4  Lk 11: 2-4

The video today is inspired by the Lord's prayer, the words appear alongside a soundtrack.  Sometimes when we experience something familiar in a new way we can find we gain a new understanding and appreciation of what we thought we already knew.

For younger readers, a colouring page of the different parts of the Our Father

5 Our Father - who taught you?

CC 2775 It is called "the Lord's Prayer" because it comes to us from the Lord Jesus, the master and model of our prayer

Who taught you?

Although Jesus taught the disciples to pray this prayer, and in turn they have passed it on, there is much to be gained in thinking about who taught you this prayer.  What memories do you have of when you were taught to pray the Our Father?  Have you ever taught someone this prayer, or helped someone to understand what it means?  In this year of faith we are encouraged to think about and share our faith, perhaps talking about the Our Father, is one way of learning from others, including our children and young people, and    increasing our appreciation of this traditional prayer 

CCC 2765 The traditional expression "the Lord's Prayer" - oratio Dominica - means that the prayer to our Father is taught and given to us by the Lord Jesus. The prayer that comes to us from Jesus is truly unique: it is "of the Lord." On the one hand, in the words of this prayer the only Son gives us the words the Father gave him: he is the master of our prayer. On the other, as Word incarnate, he knows in his human heart the needs of his human brothers and sisters and reveals them to us: he is the model of our prayer

Today's video is a more contemporary version of the Our Father that includes images and quotes from the Bible.

5 Our Father: The Lord's Prayer

Jesus taught us this Christian prayer when one of his disciples saw him praying and asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray,” (Luke 11:1).  It is found in Matthew and Luke's Gospels although the Church uses Matthew's version.

(Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4):

 

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

The Lord's Prayer has been called 'the perfect prayer' (Saint Thomas Aquinas) and we use it every time we celebrate Mass at the start of the Communion Rite.

CCC 2761 The Lord's Prayer "is truly the summary of the whole gospel." "Since the Lord . . . after handing over the practice of prayer, said elsewhere, 'Ask and you will receive,' and since everyone has petitions which are peculiar to his circumstances, the regular and appropriate prayer [the Lord's Prayer] is said first, as the foundation of further desires.

Our Father

This week we will feature a number of videos with versions of the Our Father.  If anyone wishes to send us a link to one they like we'd be pleased to hear from them.