What We Believe

"Those who belong to Christ through faith and Baptism must confess their baptismal faith before men. (Mt 10:32 & Rom 10:9)... The profession of faith summarizes the gifts that God gives man: as the Author of all that is good; as Redeemer; and as Sanctifier. It develops these in the three [parts] on our baptismal faith in the one God: the almighty Father, the Creator; his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior; and the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, in the Holy Church."
---the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 14

Catholic belief is succinctly expressed in the profession of faith called the Nicene Creed:

The word "creed" comes from the Latin word, credo, which means "I believe," and it is how the Nicene Creed begins. This set of principle truths of the faith unites the entire Catholic world.

The Nicene Creed is actually the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which gets its name from the First Council of Nicea (325 A.D.) and the first Council of Constantinople (381 A.D.) where it was adopted. It is a formulation of what the Church has always and everywhere believed.

"For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, He suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in according to 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 and His kingdom will have no end."

His death was His perfect and total gift of Himself to God the Father. A gift so pleasing that it more than makes up for all the sin in all the world for all time. A gift that needed to be made by a human on be half of all humans since humans were the ones to sin, and yet, a gift that only an infinite and all loving Divine Person can give since it was an infinite and all love God who was offended by our sins. After rising from the dead He took His place in Heaven, which is important because it means that His Sacred Humanity entered into heaven.



"I believe 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."

The Nicene Creed Explained



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

There is only One God, but this One God is Three Divine Persons. They are One in being, and each is fully God. Yet, they are each distinct Divine Persons with unique attributes.

God the Father is the source of the whole Trinity and as such has the whole work of Creation attributed to Him even though it is the work of all Three Divine Persons.

"I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God of God, Light of Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through Him all things were made. For us men for our salvation,
He came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became made man."

Only God the Son united Himself with humanity in His personhood. The Son of God is begotten or born of the same essence or substance as God the Father, and so since the Father is eternal, He too is eternal. Since the Father is God and He is one in being with the Father, He too is God.

God the Son was incarnate, meaning He became human, while He remained God. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He is fully God and fully human.

God the Holy Spirit is the love that exists between God the Father and God the Son. A love so strong that He is the third Divine Person of the Trinity. He too is equally God with the Father and the Son. It is the Holy Spirit to whom we attribute the protection and guidance of the Catholic Church.

"I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen"

We profess this faith at baptism, which unites us to the Church and to Jesus Christ. The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ (Rom 12:5; 1 Cor 12:12–27; Eph 3:6 & 5:23; Col 1:18, 24). Jesus Christ is understood to be the "head" of the body, while the "members" of the body are the members of the Church. Just as the Head rose from the dead and lives forever in heaven, so too do we believe that the faithful members will be raised from the dead and enjoy life in heaven. United to Christ and to each other through baptism and our common faith, we profess this faith every Sunday and Solemnity, and in doing so, renew our faith.