Our Creed
Do your children know how to say the Apostle’s Creed? My seventh graders do not know. Why do I insist? First of all, it states our beliefs in a nut shell. It also begins the rosary. Many students are more familiar with the longer Nicene Creed said after the homily.
APOSTLES CREED
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
The Nicene Creed was written during the 4th century AD in an attempt to unify the Christian Church under Emperor Constantine. The Apostles Creed was formulated as a refutation of Gnosticism. (It is the belief that humans are divine souls trapped in a material world created by an imperfect god). Gnosticism appeared shortly after the rise of Christianity. There is a 5th century legend that each of the apostles dictated part of the Apostles Creed after Pentecost.
I would like the students to know this prayer, and in fact they should know it by the 4th grade. Remember that the teachers only have your students for a very short time. Basic prayers can be taught by parents. As I have said before, parents are the primary teachers of the faith and it is our primary duty to pass the faith on to our children. They are made for heaven. Let’s help them get there.
To learn how to pray the rosary, go to www.theholyrosoary.org
Or EWTN- The Holy Rosary.
Do your children know they have a Guardian Angel?
Next time….
God bless!
Katie