O my God, I firmly believe that You are one God in three Divine Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe that Your Divine Son became man and died for our sins and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches because You have revealed them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. Amen.
One of the prayers that we were taught as children is known as the Act of Faith (shown above). It focuses upon three basic beliefs: God is a Holy Trinity; Jesus died for all sinners and will come again to bring people of faith to heaven; Jesus established the Catholic Church to protect and proclaim the truths of salvation. This succinct prayer really says it all!
In the Diocese of Lincoln, the Act of Faith is taught in the fourth grade. The fifth grade text is entitled, Credo: I Believe. Not surprisingly, its primary focus is the contents of the Apostles’ Creed, a prayer that was learned back in the third grade. As we know, this ancient prayer outlines the fundamental doctrines of Christianity and serves as a summary of the teachings handed down to us from the Apostles. Perhaps the most obvious "act of faith" is the public profession of what we believe, which takes place on a regular basis when Catholics pray together the Apostles’ Creed at the beginning of the Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet, or when they profess together the more detailed Nicene Creed at Mass.
One of the most noticeable changes in the recent new translation of the Nicene Creed is that the first Latin word of the prayer, "Credo", was translated correctly in the singular tense, "I believe" (replacing the inaccurate rendering, "We believe"). While we typically live out our faith in a public manner, faith itself (what I believe) is a rather personal thing. Thus, it is important for us to take individual ownership of each and every tenet of the creeds we tend to profess as a group. As we know all too well, on Judgment Day we will stand alone before God, and we will be held accountable for our actions based on whether or not they honestly reflected the faith we so often publicly professed.
Catholics are often criticized for not having accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. The answer to the standard question posed by Jehovah’s Witnesses (and others) should be for every Catholic a resounding "Yes!" Those who recite the Act of Faith regularly reiterate their firm belief in the triune personhood of God, salvation in Christ and the establishment of one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. But, are we prepared to explain and defend such beliefs (especially the latter ones) in an articulate and convincing way? If not, then the upcoming Year of Faith can provide an impetus for us to review and renew our faith so that we can effectively and enthusiastically share it with others. After all, such is our duty as followers of Christ!
Jesus emphasized repeatedly that authentic disciples act as they believe. Jesus loathed the hypocrisy of many outwardly "religious" people of His day. He taught that an internalized and personal faith would betray itself in acts of mercy, love and service. Thus, all actions motivated by our belief in Jesus rightly could be considered "acts of faith." May they be many!
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