3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026 - Church Unity, Nicene Creed

 

Two months ago, back in November, Pope Leo set out from Rome for his first apostolic journey as Pope, to Turkey and Lebanon. He visited the Christians in places like Ankara, Istanbul, and Beirut, with a significant stop at a city called Iznik in Turkey, which is the new name for an ancient city very significant to Church history and to our faith, the ancient city of Nicaea. In the year 325, the bishops of the Church gathered in Nicaea to address a theological controversy that was causing much division in the Church.

There was a heretical priest named Arius who was teaching that Jesus was not fully God—that Jesus, the Son of God incarnate, was not really of the same substance as the first person of the Trinity, God the Father. And the heresy had spread far and wide throughout the Church. Even some bishops became confused.

And so the Bishops of the Church gathered at Nicaea 1700 years ago to clarify the Church’s faith—that Jesus is fully God—truly of the same substance and equal in divinity with the Father. From the Council of Nicaea comes the Creed we recite every Sunday in which proclaim that Jesus is consubstantial with the Father.

What does it matter? Why did the bishops discern the need to gather and to clarify Church teaching? Because the Church is to be united in faith. As we heard St. Paul in our second reading today, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.”

St. Paul was concerned with Church unity because Jesus Himself was concerned with the unity of his followers. He prayed for the unity of his disciples at the last supper. He prayed, “I pray that they may be one, as you and I Father, are one.” Jesus understood that part of his mission was to unite divided humanity—humanity divided by error.

So the bishops at Nicaea gathered to address the error being spread by the heretic Arius. In addition to directly addressing this error, the bishops composed the Nicene Creed that enunciated the Church’s faith.

Throughout the history of the Church, Creeds have been used to express and hand on the faith. 

The English word ‘Creed’ comes from the Latin word “credo” which means "I believe“, from which we get words like credible and credit. A Creed is a statement, formula, or expression of belief—a list of beliefs.

The Apostle’s Creed was the ancient formula of faith used in Rome.  Those being baptized in Rome in the earliest centuries learned and recited the Apostles’ Creed, which we still use today. It is called the Apostle’s Creed because it is a faithful summary of the faith and teachings of the twelve Apostles of Jesus.

The Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed are formulas of faith which help us to express, learn, celebrate, and share with others, the truths of the faith.  Through the centuries, in so many languages, cultures, and nations, the Church has used the Creeds to help Christians live in unity of faith.

St. Paul writes: “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit” and that is what we are called to: one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.

On the 1700^th Anniversary of the Council of Nicaea Pope Leo traveled to Nicaea and also issued a wonderful Apostolic Letter to the whole Church titled “In Unitate Fidei” in the unity of faith.

He writes, “In the unity of faith, proclaimed since the beginning of the Church, Christians have been called to walk in harmony, guarding and transmitting the gift they have received with love and joy. This is expressed in the words of the Creed, “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God… for our salvation he came down from heaven,” that were formulated 1700 years ago by the Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical gathering in the history of Christianity.

“…during every Sunday Eucharistic celebration,” the Pope writes “we recite the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, the profession of faith that unites all Christians. In these difficult times in which we are living, amid so many concerns and fears, threats of war and violence, natural disasters, grave injustices and imbalances, and the hunger and misery suffered by millions of our brothers and sisters, this Creed gives us hope.”

And this is so true, isn’t it. We live in a very chaotic world, with so many opinions and conflicting ideas about what is most important in life, what is true. The good news is that many people every year from all corners of the globe, many people who were raised without religion, are turning to the Catholic Faith because she is the bastion of truth.

They recognize, and so should we, that in all of the confusion and chaos of modernity, the Church is rooted in something solid, something that has withstood the test of time because it is true. Year after year, century after century, the Church stands firm in what has been received from Christ and passed on to the apostles and spread to us.

Our faith, expressed in the Creed gives us hope, that there is something we can build our lives upon, something that can give us real meaning and purpose, and something that helps us to attain the end for which we were made—eternal life with God in heaven.

Considering the importance of the Creed encourages us to do two things. First, to understand our Faith as best as you can. The better you understand the Catholic faith, the more it will inspires you and guide you.

In the bulletin last weekend, I suggested a number of resources to help you to deepen your understanding of the faith. In this 1700^th anniversary year of Nicaea, I certainly recommend reading through the Holy Father’s Apostolic Letter on the Nicene Creed, and other materials on the scriptural, historical, and theological foundations of the Creed. Even just going through the Catechism’s treatment of the Creed will certainly be helpful.

So, firstly, I encourage you to seek to understand the Creed with greater depth. Secondly, I encourage you to share the Creed. In the Gospel today, Jesus tells Peter and Andrew that he will make them fishers of men. To be fishers of men--this is a task given to all of us—to share the faith, to catch souls for Christ. There are people who are yearning for the truth of Catholicism, but those chaotic waters of our culture are making it hard to find their way here. So we need to do our part, to cast out into the deep, to be courageous in sharing the faith. The better we understand, the better we can help others understand.

In a world that is divided and torn apart by many conflicts, the Church united in faith, is a powerful instrument of peace, and the instrument of salvation. God uses Christians filled with understanding and conviction for the faith to catch souls and set them aflame with divine love for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

May 2 2023 - St. Athanasius - God is accessible through Christ

 Pope Benedict XVI summarized the life of St. Athanasius, whose feast we celebrate today, by saying, “The fundamental idea of Athanasius’ [life] was precisely that God is accessible. … It is through our communion with Christ that we can truly be united to God. He has really become ‘God-with-us.'” 

We might take this fundamental truth of our faith for granted today, but during the times in which St. Athanasius lived, it was not universally acknowledged—that Jesus Christ is truly and fully God.

The first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 was convoked to deal with the teachings of the Egyptian priest named Arius who was claiming that Jesus, as Pope Benedict summarized the position, “was not a true God but a created God, a creature ‘halfway’ between God and man who hence remained forever inaccessible to us.” 

The brilliant Athanasius, still a deacon at the time, helped lead the charge against Arius’ teaching, which he persuaded the Council to condemn. But even with the heresy of Arianism condemned, their false theological ideas were not entirely extinguished. And after Nicaea, the arians gained the upper hand in civil and Church politics—including arian bishops, priests, and emperors. 

The Arians maneuvered to have St. Athanasius, now a bishop, exiled from his diocese—5 times in fact. 17 of his 45 years as Patriarch of Alexandria he spent in exile. 

But Bishop Athanasius continued to teach the fullness of truth about Christ’s Incarnation. As the Lord himself taught in today’s Gospel, “The Father and I are one”. 

Each week, we profess the dogma rightly taught and suffered for by St. Athanasius: that the Son is consubstantial with the Father.

Through Christ, God has truly made himself accessible to us. God didn’t come just symbolically in Jesus, he really came.  God really came in search of the straying sheep.  Man can really find his way to God by coming to Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life. In fact, no one comes to the Father, except through Him. 

Jesus is divine.  If he were not really God, we are not really saved by his death and resurrection.

Even though Arianism was condemned by Nicaea and many times afterwards, still many of our contemporaries struggle with this heresy.  It is nearly impossible to prove that Jesus didn’t exist. Even the atheist has to acknowledge the historicity of the Jesus of Nazareth. And yet, many, even some claiming to be Christian, will claim that Jesus was not God, that he was just a holy man, a preacher, a revolutionary, or an enlightened individual with some ideas worth incorporating into one’s life. 

So may St. Athanasius lend us prudence, wisdom, knowledge, patience, and courage in teaching the fullness of faith, that unbelievers and believers as well, may draw near to God who has made himself accessible in Christ, and come to enjoy eternal life through Him, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

 

Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.

For the shepherds of our souls, the pope, bishops, and clergy, that grounded firmly in the Truth of the Gospel, they will assist the faithful in proclaiming the Truth with humility and conviction.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ.

That our parish may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ, and that the newly initiated hold fast to the faith they have received. 

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

May 2 2017 - St. Athansius & The Lordship of Jesus Christ

In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the ineffable Hebrew name YHWH, by which God revealed himself to Moses, is rendered as Kyrios, "Lord". When we are reading either the Old Testament or the new Testament, when we see that title, “Lord”, it is referring to God’s Divinity.
The New Testament uses the title "Lord" both for the Father and for Jesus. Scripture affirms the divinity of Jesus Christ. You can’t walk away from reading the Scripture without confronting this fact, that Jesus is fully God. This was the teaching of the Apostles. The Apostle Thomas proclaims, “My Lord and My God” when he witnesses the resurrected Christ.

The early Christian Church was persecuted for this faith, for proclaiming not “Caesar is Lord” along with the rest of the Roman Empire, but “Jesus Christ is Lord.”

One group of heretics who denied the Lordship, the divinity of Christ, were the Arians, named after a heretic priest, Arius. As Arianism spread, the Bishops of East and West gathered at the council of Nicea, to confront this problem.

St. Athanasius was a key figure at the council, at which the consubstantiality of Jesus with the Father was clarified.  Though the Council was definitive, Arianism continued to spread, due to the emperor adopting Arianism. Neither emperors nor inflated egos like rival gods!

So many bishops betrayed the faith for political gain, that one historian said, it was as if it were Athanasius contra mundum, Athanasius against the world.

Arianism spreads again in our modern culture, of course. Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are essentially Arian, as are the Muslims. Islamic extremists in a sense are a form of militant Arians. But many modern men deny the Lordship of Christ.

We’ve seen such a decline in Church attendance and religious practice since the so-called “Golden Age” of American Catholicism in the mid-twentieth century, likely because this truth, the consubstantiality of Jesus with the Father, was not passed on to the next generation, it was sort of taken for granted, or traded in for new gods called pleasure, wealth, and power. One can typically see who or what is Lord of one’s life, by what they do on the Lord’s Day.

So we must witness to Christ’s Lordship, to his divinity in word and speech, in everything we do: helping to pass on the true faith to the next generation, to correct the faith of those in error, and strengthen those weak in their faith. May the Lord Jesus Christ, consubstantial with the Father, be with us in spreading the Holy Gospel, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
- - - - - -

God the Father was glorified in the death and resurrection of his Son. Let us pray to him with confidence.

God the Father bathed the world in splendor when Christ rose again in glory, may our minds be filled with the light of faith.

Through the resurrection of His Son, the Father opened for us the way to eternal life, may we be sustained today in our work with the hope of glory.

Through His risen Son, the Father sent the Holy Spirit into the world, may our hearts be set on fire with spiritual love.

May Jesus Christ, who was crucified to set us free, be the salvation of all those who suffer, particularly those who suffer from physical or mental illness, addiction, and grief.

Homily: Dec 6 2016 - St. Nicholas - The 3 loves of Sinterklaas

I mentioned yesterday that the second week of Advent is traditionally associated with love, with charity. Today’s saint is certainly known for his charity. As Bishop of Myra, in Turkey, he is known for his love for the poor, his love for the truth, and his love for Christ.

Perhaps one of the best-known stories about Nicholas concerns his generosity towards a poor man whose daughters were about to be forced into lives of prostitution, threw bags of gold through the poor man’s windows so he could pay for his daughter’s dowries enabling them to be married.

That story, likely, is the source for the legend of Saint Nick carrying bags of toys for all the good little girls and boys.

Bishop Nicholas was also a great lover and defender of truth. Nicholas stood up for the truth at the council of Nicaea. When the heretic priest Arius claimed that Jesus was not of the same substance with the Father, Nicholas corrected Arius….physically. There are pictures of Nicholas slapping Arius in the mouth for the foul errors spewing from it.

Thirdly, Nicholas is known for his love for Christ; he was arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and martyred in the 4^th century persecutions.

Historically, it was on this day that gifts were exchanged. It was only when Martin Luther began preaching against devotion to the saints, that gift giving became associated with Christmas; so perhaps we can blame the over-commercialization of Christmas on the founder of Protestantism.

In order to reclaim devotion to Nicholas, we, like him, should follow his example of love-the three loves of Sinterklaas. Give help to the poor today, bring someone in error to the truth today, and make an offering of your life for Christ today, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.