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.

24th Week in Ordinary Time 2025 - Wednesday - Pillar and foundation of truth (school mass)

 

If someone told you 2 + 2 = 5, would you believe them? Why not? Because you know the truth. Or if someone said the sun is cold, you’d know that’s wrong.

In the first reading today, St. Paul wrote to a young bishop, named Timothy, and explained that the Church—the Church established by Jesus—is the pillar and foundation of truth, meaning the Catholic Church makes sure we don’t get tricked about what is true about God, about love, about how to live rightly in the eyes of God. The Church is like a giant light that shines so we don’t get lost in the dark.

In the Old Testament there is the story of Moses leading the Israelites through the desert on their way to the promised Land. They had to travel hundreds and hundreds of miles, on foot, with no map, no GPS, no google maps to guide them. But God created a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night to guide them, so they wouldn’t get lost.

St. Paul, in calling the Catholic Church the pillar of truth, certainly wants us to think of that Old Testament story. Like that pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night guiding the Israelites through the desert on their way to the promised land, God has erected the Catholic Church as the pillar of truth, so that we may be guided to the promised land of heaven. 

This is why we have priests and bishops and Popes and trained teachers, who teach us about Jesus and what it means to follow Him. Because God doesn’t want us lost in the desert. He wants us to make our way through this life with clarity about how we are to live, with truth to guide our actions and decisions and behavior. 

So when you come to Mass, when you listen to your teachers, when you read the Bible, the Church is helping you learn the truth about God—the truth that God wants you to know.

For, Jesus didn’t want His truth to get lost or forgotten, so He gave us the Church. And just like that pillar of fire—shining with light in the darkness-- the Church shines with the light of God’s truth for the world that Jesus is real, that He loves us, that he truly is the Son of God, that He saves us, and that He is with us. 

In the Gospel today, Jesus described the people of his generation who turned their backs on the truth about who he was. So, too, in our own generation many people turn their back on God. Nonetheless, we have the responsibility of learning the truth, making God’s truth the foundation of our lives, living the truth, teaching the truth, shining with the truth of God for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

24th Week in OT 2019 - Wednesday - Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth

I came across a small booklet at my home parish in Madison, many years ago. It was titled, “Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth”, those two epithets in reference, of course, to the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

As God guided the Israelites on their exodus from Egypt by giving them a pillar of fire to light their way across the dark wilderness  (Exod. 13:21), today God guides us through his Catholic Church.

And in this age of countless competing religions, each clamoring for attention, one voice rises above the din: the Catholic Church, which St. Paul calls “the pillar and foundation of truth” (1 Tim. 3:15) in our first reading today.

“Great is Artemis of Ephesus” cried the rioting crowd of Ephesus when Paul challenged their idolatry with the Gospel. The pagan peoples throughout the centuries have all claimed greatness for their various gods. But Paul counters the pagan cries with “Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion”, that is Christ. For the Christian God does not remain hidden in some unreachable realm, but he has “manifested in the flesh”. He is visible.

So too, his Church, the pillar of fire, the pillar of truth is visible. The power of her holiness can be seen in the saints, the power to transform lives of dissipation into lives of heroic sanctity.

And as pillar of truth, the Church clearly teaches the truth of the Gospel without compromise with the errors of the world. And she has clear, visible structures to oversee and govern this teaching mission: her hierarchical structure, the teaching magisterium, the pope, and the Apostles who order and lead with authority coming from Christ Himself.

Any merely human organization with such members would have collapsed early on. And her vigor, with over a billion members, one sixth of the human race, is not simply a testimony to the cleverness of the Church’s leaders, but to the presence of the Holy Spirit, guiding her and protecting her.
As a pillar of truth, she is often in conflict to those who belong to the world, as the Lord describes in the Gospel today, the people of this generation who, like children in the marketplace yell out calls of mockery and disdain.

But we know that through Holy Church, we have union with God Made Flesh, Jesus Christ, Our Lord, our assurance of eternal life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - - -
 
That our Holy Father, all the bishops, priests, and deacons of the Church will courageously preach the Truth of the Gospel in its fullness.
For the purification of Holy Church from all error and heresy, especially among those who preach and teach.
That the fire of the Holy Spirit may be evident in all members of the Church, and in this parish community.
For mercy and peace for all those who suffer: for the sick and diseased, for those undergoing surgery this week, for the destitute and despairing, for all victims of war, violence, and abuse, and for those who will die today and the consolation of their families.
For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, and for N., for whom this mass is offered.
O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.