THE

CREED

S T U DY G U I D E
 THE
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S T U DY G U I D E

A Cat holic Study Progra m prese nted by

BISHO P R OBER T BAR R ON

Study Guide writte n by

PEG GY PANDALE ON

www.WORDONFIRE.org
© 2021 Word on Fire Catholic Ministries
 THE
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TA B L E O F C ON T E N T S

LESSON ONE: I Believe 1

LESSON TWO: God, the Father Almighty 9
LESSON THREE: Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son 18
LESSON FOUR: He Suffered Death 27
LESSON FIVE: Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life 35
LESSON SIX: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic 44

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION 53
GLOSSARY 55
 THE
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LESSON ONE
I Believe

Ambrogio Bergognone, Coronation of Mary, 1515, Alamy.

 L ES S ON ON E
•
I Beli e ve
L ESSON ON E V IDEO OU T L IN E
(Chapter 1 in Light From Light book)

I. INTRODUCTION
A. Why the Nicene Creed, and where did it come from?
B. Professed by almost all Christians

II. TO BELIEVE
A. “I believe” vs. “We believe”
B. Nothing to do with acceptance based on no evidence; faith is supra-rational
C. St. John Henry Newman’s views on faith and reason
1. We assent to religious claims in a similar way as we assent to other claims
2. Assent comes from a combination of testimonies, historical records, intuitions,
hunches, etc.
3. To “believe” rather than “to know”

III. “IN GOD”

A. In Latin, “in” also means moving toward. We never experience or know God totally.
B. “God” is not one being among many, not even the supreme being
C. God is the sheer act of “to be” itself, and the cause of bringing all of finite reality into
being

IV. TWO PATHS TO THE EXISTENCE OF GOD BY THE LIGHT

OF NATURAL REASON
A. Intelligibility
1. Every science is predicated on the supposition that the world is marked by form,
pattern, and understandability (i.e., “intelligiblility”).
2. The world is not God. God is something like a great intelligence that embedded
discoverable patterns into the structure of the universe.
3. Science analyzes created things in the universe, but since God is not a created
thing, he cannot be known fully by science.

T H E C REE D 2
 B. Contingency
1. Things in the world exist, but do not have to exist.
2. Things do not contain the reason for their own existence, so you have to look for the
cause that makes each thing exist. Then, you look for the cause of the cause, and the
cause of that cause, and so on.
3. Ultimately, there has to be the existence of some noncontingent reality that explains
contingent being. Thomas Aquinas referred to this reality as the “uncaused cause”
or the “necessary being”—what people mean by “God.”

Nicene Creed - Living text

best way to understand what Christians believe

We believe - as a community; support each other in our belief

I belief - serves as an oath; strong stance

Believe:
Authentic belief is never infra-rational; its always supra-rational

Side of believer
Faith is not opposed to reason

object of belief
God is the object of our belief
God is that power...
God is always seen indirectly at best

In unum deum = motion toward; i believe into God

signposts on the way; guard posts to lead us in the way to God.

God and the things of God

God is the reason why there is something rather than to nothing.

Everything in the universe is marked by intellegibility

Being is knowable;

Creative intelligence
Recognizing certain truths;
re-cognizing = thinking again what has been already thought
ALL REALITY IS MARKED BY INTELLIGIBILITY

CONTINGENCY

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 L ES S ON ON E
•
I Beli e ve
L ESSON ON E
QU EST IONS fo r U N DER STA N DING

1. Why is the Nicene Creed important? How does it serve as a point of contact among
Christians?

It is our profession of faith to the Holy Trinity and the church.

It sums our historical faith from creation up to the time of our death and resurrection.

Because of the largely growing population of those who dont believe in God or doesnt know God.

2. What is the tension between the early introductory words, “We believe” and the current
form from the Latin, “I believe”? How is each statement appropriate in expressing the
doctrine of Christianity?

It somewhat differs in the expression; we believe may be communal but it allows someone to escape the
personal responsibility. While I believe is more convicting since it is a personally coming from the
believer itself.

I believe is more of a personal profession from each believer. While "We belive" can be a profession by
an assembly of believers.

T H E C REE D 4
 3. Is faith accepting things without evidence? How is St. John Henry
Newman’s explanation of how we come to assent to a proposition
relevant to this question?

No.

He argues that faith is based on a combination of arguments,

testimonies of others, gut feeling, intuition and personal experiences.
It is believing rather than knowing.

4. What is the Christian understanding of the word “God”? Why is “know-

ing God” not like knowing anything else? (Exod. 3:14; CCC 198, 206)

that which brought (and brings) the whole of finite reality into being, that which
transcends even as it remains intimately close to all that can possibly be. seen or
measured

Our profession of faith begins with God, He is the First and the Last.
His divine name is mysterious just as God is mystery. He is infinitely above
everything that we can understand or say.

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 L ES S ON ON E
5. What principles of science and rationality support belief in God as Creator?

6. What is the “moral” argument for God’s existence?

T H E C REE D 6
 L ESSON ON E
QU EST IONS fo r A PPL IC AT ION
1. Reflect on the fact that just about every Christian in the world professes
the same Nicene Creed, yet there are deep divisions among Christians.
How can you stress the “common ground” in your relationships with
non-Catholic Christians?

2. In your own words, how would you explain that faith and science are not
mutually exclusive?

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 L ES S ON ON E
3. Do you have any agnostics or atheists in your circle of family or friends? What, if anything,
in this first lesson has helped you better understand and potentially communicate who God
is and the truth that he exists?

T H E C REE D 8
 THE
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LESSON TWO
G o d , t h e Fa t h e r A l m i g h t y

Giovani Battista Guarinoni d’Averara, God the Creator, 1577, Alamy.

 •
G od , th e Fath er Almight y
L ESSON T WO V IDEO OU T L IN E
(Chapter 2 in Light From Light book)

L ES S ON T WO
I. “ONE GOD”
A, To profess that there is only one God means that nothing else is of ultimate
importance
B. God is actus purus (pure act), existing through no extrinsic cause but through the
power of his own essence
C. God is simple in that he is marked by an identity of essence (what he is) and
existence (that he is).
D. Via positive attributes: God is good, personal, loving, intelligent
E. Via negative attributes: God is not finite, not material, unchanging, and eternal
F. God’s name—“I am”—means God is unlike anything in the world but also closer to
the world that it is to itself. He cannot be grasped and cannot be avoided.

II. “THE FATHER ALMIGHTY”

A, Describes the manner in which God relates to those outside himself
B. A father generates something other, and cherishes the other whom he generates.
God creates out of a desire to share his goodness and as an act of love
(willing the good of the other)
C. God is continually creating
D. All things in universe connected as they come from the same Source

III. GOD’S PROVIDENCE

A, God is involved in the world and is directing it toward a good end
B. God’s providence does not negate our freedom
C. Problem of evil
1. Evil is the absence of good
2. Why does God allow evil?

T H E C REE D 10
 IV. “MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, OF ALL THINGS VISIBLE
AND INVISIBLE”
A, Heaven is God’s realm and earth is our realm
B. Both visible and invisible realities are creatures of God
C. Spiritual or invisible realm is more metaphysically simple
1. Can come down to humans but humans cannot go up to the spiritual order
on their own
2. Some angels turned against God, but are not rivals of God
D. The diversity of creation iconically represents the fullness of God’s existence

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 •
G od , th e Fath er Almight y
L ESSON T WO
QU EST IONS fo r U N DER STA N DING

L ES S ON T WO
1. What does saying “I believe in one God” imply for all who profess it in the Creed? (CCC
2097)

To adore God is to acknowledge, in respect and absolute submission, the "nothingness of the
creature" who would not exist but for God. To adore God is to praise and exalt him and to humble
oneself, as Mary did in the Magnificat, confessing with gratitude that he has done great things and
holy is his name. The worship of the one God sets man free from turning in on himself, from the
slavery of sin and the idolatry of the world.

- It implies the nothingness of those who profess who would not exist but for God.

2. According to Bishop Barron, what are the attributes that undergird the statement “one
God” in the Creed? How would you explain each attribute?

We speak of God as infinite-which is to say, without any limit to his being.

Much the same protocol is in place when we speak of God as immaterial,

as not marked by matter. Since matter by its very nature is malleable,
capable of assuming a practically infinite variety of forms, it cannot mark
the existence of what by its nature is utterly actual.

Another standard attribution is that God is immutable or unchanging.

God does not change in the creaturely mode; he does not get better or
come to be a new way.
God does not "react" to events in the world, but this is not because he is
coldly indifferent to them, but rather because he stands to them as ground
and cause.

God is eternal, which does not mean that God endures everlastingly, but
rather that he subsists outside of time.

T H E C REE D 12
 3. Why does God create? (CCC 239, 295)

239 By calling God "Father", the language of faith indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and
transcendent authority; and that he is at the same time goodness and loving care for all his children. God's parental tenderness can
also be expressed by the image of motherhood, which emphasizes God's immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature.
The language of faith thus draws on the human experience of parents, who are in a way the first representatives of God for man. But
this experience also tells us that human parents are fallible and can disfigure the face of fatherhood and motherhood. We ought
therefore to recall that God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: he is God. He also
transcends human fatherhood and motherhood, although he is their origin and standard: no one is father as God is Father.

295 We believe that God created the world according to his wisdom. It is not the product of any necessity whatever, nor of blind fate
or chance. We believe that it proceeds from God's free will; he wanted to make his creatures share in his being, wisdom and
goodness: "For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." Therefore the Psalmist exclaims: "O LORD,
how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all"; and "The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all
that he has made."

4. What did St. Augustine mean when he said that God is higher than
anything we can imagine, yet closer to us that we are to ourselves?
(CCC 300)

Gods's glory is above the heavens and greater than all his works. Yet he is present to all creation's inmost being.

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5. What is God’s “noncoercive providence” and how does it relate to freedom? What is the
difference between the modern concept of freedom and biblical freedom? (CCC 302, 321,
1730–1733)
302 Creation has its own goodness and proper perfection, but it did not spring forth complete from the hands of the Creator. The universe was created "in a state of
journeying" (in statu viae) toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained, to which God has destined it. We call "divine providence" the dispositions by which God guides his
creation toward this perfection:

By his providence God protects and governs all things which he has made, "reaching mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and ordering all things well". For "all are
open and laid bare to his eyes", even those things which are yet to come into existence through the free action of creatures.161

L ES S ON T WO
321 Divine providence consists of the dispositions by which God guides all his creatures with wisdom and love to their ultimate end.

1730 God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. "God willed that man should be 'left in the hand of
his own counsel,' so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him."26

Man is rational and therefore like God; he is created with free will and is master over his acts.27

1731 Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility. By free will one
shapes one's own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude.

1732 As long as freedom has not bound itself definitively to its ultimate good which is God, there is the possibility of choosing between good and evil, and thus of growing in
perfection or of failing and sinning. This freedom characterizes properly human acts. It is the basis of praise or blame, merit or reproach.

1733 The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse
of freedom and leads to "the slavery of sin."

Biblical freedom should be in the service of what is good and just. While the modern concept involves the choice between doing good or bad.

6. Why does evil exist in a universe that the infinitely good and loving God has created and
continually directs? (Job 40:3–5; 42:1–6; CCC 312)

T H E C REE D 14
 7. What is meant by the statement that God creates “heaven and earth, all
things visible and invisible”? (CCC 326–327)

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 L ESSON T WO
QU EST IONS fo r A PPL IC AT ION
1. Is God the Father your ultimate authority or do you have other gods before him, such as
wealth, pleasure, power, or honor?

L ES S ON T WO
2. What examples of God’s “noncoercive providence” have been evident in your life?

T H E C REE D 16
 3. What sense of the “invisible” realm have you experienced, if any?

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 THE
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LESSON THREE
Je s u s C h r i s t , t h e O n l y B e g o t t e n S o n

Fresco depicting Christ surrounded by angels, interior, Church of St. Augustine, 13th century,
San Gimignano, Siena, Alamy.
 •
Jesu s Chri s t, th e Only Begot ten So n
L ESSON T H R EE V IDEO OU T L IN E
(Chapter 3, Parts I & II, “The Sons of God” and “The Sons of Man,”
in Light From Light book)

I. “I BELIEVE IN ONE LORD, JESUS CHRIST”

A. Meaning of the name “Jesus” and of “Savior”
B. Meaning of the name “Christ”
C. In the Old Testament, Messiah referred to as a human figure and also as God

L ES S ON T H R EE
himself saving his people. Jesus fulfills both these expectations.

II. “THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD”

A. Jesus, as Son of God, speaks and acts in the very person of the God of Israel.
B. Other children or “sons” of God have a close rapport and friendship with God,
but are not God.
C. “I am” statements in the Gospel of John show Jesus as one with the God of
Israel
D. Jesus is “sent” on a mission by God the Father.

III. “BORN OF THE FATHER BEFORE ALL AGES. GOD FROM GOD, LIGHT
FROM LIGHT, TRUE GOD FROM TRUE GOD, BEGOTTEN, NOT MADE,
CONSUBSTANTIAL WITH THE FATHER; THROUGH HIM ALL THINGS
WERE MADE.”
A. Council of Nicaea summoned to respond to Arius’ Christology
1. Arius: “There was a time when he was not.”
2. The phrases added to the Creed were included as a direct condemnation
of the Arian view.
B. “Begotten, not made” confirms the full divinity of Jesus and speaks to his
relationship to the Father
C. “Consubstantial” means “one in being” with the Father
D. St. Augustine’s analogy of the Trinity characterizes God as a relationship of love
1. “Elemental mind”—mens in Latin
2. Self-knowledge—notitia sui
3. Self-love—amor sui

T H E C REE D 19
 4. Father is mens; Son is notitia sui; and Holy Spirit is amor sui

IV. “FOR US MEN AND FOR OUR SALVATION HE CAME DOWN FROM
HEAVEN”
A. Israel expected God to act
1. To set things right and establish a lasting peace
2. Life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus meets this expectation
B. Salvation is be-all and end-all of human endeavor; “ultimate concern”
1. Forgiveness of sin
2. Being raised up in Christ to participate in the divine life of the Trinity
C. “Came down from heaven” speaks to God entering into human history

V. “AND BY THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS INCARNATE OF THE VIRGIN MARY,

AND BECAME MAN”
A. Virginity of Mary indicates God, not man, is involved in Mary’s pregnancy and
that she is a fit vessel for the divine Messiah
B. Son of God becomes incarnate (“enfleshed”) through the power of the Holy
Spirit
C. God the Son took to himself a human nature, so he is one person with two
natures: fully human and fully divine
D. Implication: humans now can participate in the divine life of the Trinity

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 •
Jesu s Chri s t, th e Only Begot ten So n
L ESSON T H R EE
QU EST IONS fo r U N DER STA N DING

1. How does St. Augustine define “sin”? When tempted by the serpent, how did Adam and
Eve’s actions characterize this definition and what was the result? (CCC 1849–1850; Gen.
3:1–6, 17–19)

Sin is turning from God to creatures.

Adam and Eve turn to themselves (they thought of hiding under the bush when they

L ES S ON T H R EE
realized they were naked) rather than to God, and the result-in the evocative rendering
of the author of Genesis-is an animosity among themselves, and between them and
nature.

2. Why can’t we fix the consequences of sin ourselves? What is needed? What was promised in
the Old Testament? (Ps. 51:10–12, Ps. 79:9; CCC 430–431)

Since the compromised will is the problem, more human willing will not be the solution; since the
fallen mind is the problem, more human thinking will not ultimately solve anything.

Rather, some power has to come radically from without the fallen situation, but at the same time it
has to enter fully into it.

Salvation from sins of human being.

T H E C REE D 21
 3. How is Jesus different from others who are in close friendship with God
and often called sons or children of God? How is this difference reflected
in the Creed’s phrase “only begotten Son of God”? (Exod. 3:14; John 3:16,
18; 10:36; Matt 26:63–64; CCC 444, 454)

Jesus consistently speaks and acts in the very person of the God of Isra­ el-and
examples of this abound in the Gospels. Some years ago, it was a commonly
accepted view that the divinity of Jesus was stressed particularly, even exclusively,
in the Gospel of John and that the synoptic Gospels present­ ed a more
straightforwardly human Jesus. The "high" Christology of John was contrasted
with the "low" Christology of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But this simply is
untenable.

Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, the messiah.

4. Why were these lines of the Creed included: “. . . born of the Father
before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true
God”? (CCC 465)

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5. How does the belief that “God is love” support the doctrine of the Trinity? (CCC 221)

L ES S ON T H R EE
6. What is the meaning of “salvation”? (Eph. 1:7–10, CCC 1066)

T H E C REE D 23
 7. What belief are we stating when we say “and by the Holy Spirit he was
incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man”? (Luke 1:26–35; CCC
467, 484–485)

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 L ESSON T H R EE
QU EST IONS fo r A PPL IC AT ION
1. What would you say to someone who does not believe he/she needs salvation?

L ES S ON T H R EE
2. What in your life is a tangible experience of the Christian belief that “God is love”?

T H E C REE D 25
 3. Does your perspective on Jesus’ identity skew toward his humanity or
to his divinity? If so, for what reasons? Reflect in prayer about both the
divine and human natures of Jesus.

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 THE
CREED
LESSON FOUR
He Su f f e r e d D e a t h

Taddeo Gaddi, The Crucifixion of Christ, 1366, Alamy.

 •
He Suf fered Death
L ESSON FOU R V IDEO OU T L IN E
(Chapter 3, Parts III & IV, “The Descent” and “The Rise,”
in Light From Light book)

I. “FOR OUR SAKE HE WAS CRUCIFIED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE

A. Mentioning Pilate grounds Jesus in human history
B. Throughout his life, Jesus, the one who speaks and acts in the very person of
God and is violently opposed, precisely because a fallen world resists its own
correction.
C. Entire array of God’s enemies swept Jesus to the cross

II. “HE SUFFERED DEATH AND WAS BURIED”

A. Crucifixion was an agonizing, tortuous, and humiliating death
B. Embarrassment for Jesus’ disciples because looks like failure
C. “Christ the Victor” theory
D. Burial signals the finality and irreversibility of death

L ES S ON FOU R
III. “AND ROSE AGAIN ON THE THIRD DAY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
SCRIPTURES.”
A. All Christian faith depends on Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead
1. Hardest doctrine to accept
2. Not resuscitated, but risen and still alive
B. Risen Christ is embodied, but changed, not entirely of this world
C. Implications of the Resurrection
1. Ratifies Jesus’ claim that he is God
2. Gives meaning to Jesus’ Crucifixion
3. Shows God has not given up on his material creation as Jesus is raised
bodily

T H E C REE D 28
 IV. “HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND
OF THE FATHER”
A. Jesus ascended, or moved vertically, back into the realm of God
B. He did not abandon his followers, but moved to a higher vantage point to direct
“operations” on earth

V. “HE WILL COME AGAIN IN GLORY TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE
DEAD AND HIS KINGDOM WILL HAVE NO END.”
A. Jesus’ coming again involves the perfection and glorification of all of God’s
creation
B. Many have difficulty thinking of Jesus returning to “judge”
1. The faithful should see vindication and comfort with Jesus’ judgment
2. If God’s judgement were removed, all values would become unmoored
3. Final resolution to a dark, violent, and unjust world
C. Professing God’s “kingdom will have no end” signals the new way of ordering
things in the eternity of God

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 •
He Suf fered Death
L ESSON FOU R
QU EST IONS fo r U N DER STA N DING

1. Why is Pontius Pilate mentioned in the Creed? (CCC 597–600)

2. Historically, why would the Crucifixion be a source of embarrassment for the disciples of

L ES S ON FOU R
Jesus and a source of confusion for later generations? What is the only way to make sense of
it, according to Bishop Barron? (1 Cor. 15:14; CCC 651, 653)

T H E C REE D 30
 3. Explain the perspectives from the early Church that show the meaning
of Jesus’ death – Jesus as victor and Jesus as sacrifice. (Isa. 53:4–5; Mark
10:45; Rom. 3:24–25; Eph. 5:1–2)

4. What are the implications of the Resurrection of Jesus? (2 Cor. 1:20, 1

Cor. 15:20–22; CCC 652, 655)

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5. What is the Ascension? What is Jesus doing now? (Dan. 7:14; CCC 663–664)

L ES S ON FOU R
6. When Jesus comes to earth again (the Second Coming), what will happen? (Matt. 25:31–46;
Rev. 20:11–15; CCC 1038–1041, 1046–1048)

T H E C REE D 32
 L ESSON FOU R
QU EST IONS fo r A PPL IC AT ION
1. What do Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection mean to you, personally?

2. Reflect on the fact that God gives his grace to all or, as Bishop Barron says
in his book Light from Light, “To the ugly and the beautiful, the lowly and the
noble, the morally corrupt and the saintly.” How does this encourage you
to follow Jesus’ command to “love your enemies”?

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3. What troubles or excites you about Jesus coming at the end of the world to “judge the
living and the dead”?

L ES S ON FOU R

T H E C REE D 34
 THE
CREED
LESSON FIVE
Ho l y Sp i r i t , t h e G i v e r o f Li f e

Dove fresco from Notre Dame de l’Assomption de Cordon in France, Alamy.

 •
Holy Spirit, G iver of Life
L ESSON FI V E V IDEO OU T L IN E
(Chapter 4 in Light From Light book)

I. “I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE LORD, THE GIVER OF LIFE”

A. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity; he is called “Lord” just as
Jesus is called “Lord”
B. The Holy Spirit, or “holy breath,” is the creative power which gives rise to the
universe in all its complexity, and the divine source of all life
C. Holy Spirit is given to the disciples at Pentecost after Jesus’ Ascension
1. Stirred disciples to life and made them a powerful army
2. Holy Spirit is main actor in the life of the early Church

II. “WHO PROCEEDS FROM THE FATHER AND THE SON, WHO WITH
THE FATHER AND THE SON IS ADORED AND GLORIFIED”
A. Since the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son, he is God himself, and
is worthy of worship and adoration.
B. We refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as “persons”
1. Thomas Aquinas called them “subsistent relations”
2. Immanent relations
a. Active generation (Father to Son)
b. Passive generation (Son to Father)
c. Active spiration (Father and Son to Spirit)
d. Passive spiration (Spirit to Father and Son)

L ES S ON FI V E
C. Question as to whether the Spirit proceeds from the Father or from the Father
and the Son (filioque controversy)
D. At the Last Supper, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to his disciples
E. St. John Henry Newman on development of doctrine

T H E C REE D 36
 III. “WHO HAS SPOKEN THROUGH THE PROPHETS”
A. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, true prophets speak in the name
of God and under his authority. A prophet feels the feelings of God, thinks the
thoughts of God. The prophet speaks God’s judgment on the affairs of the world
from the perspective of God and his purposes.
B. Relationship between prophecy and institution in the Church (e.g., Peter and
John running to the tomb)

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 •
Holy Spirit, G iver of Life
L ESSON FI V E
QU EST IONS fo r U N DER STA N DING

1. Who or what is the Holy Spirit? (CCC 685)

2. Why is the Holy Spirit called “the Giver of life”? (Gen. 1:2; Ezek. 37:4–5; 1 Sam. 16:13; Luke
1:35; John 20:22–23; Acts 2:1–2, 4; CCC 691)

L ES S ON FI V E

T H E C REE D 38
 3. How did the Holy Spirit influence the early Church? How does the
Spirit act in the contemporary Church? (Acts 2:1–4, 14–36; 1 Cor. 2:4;
CCC 1108, 1988)

4. What is meant by saying the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and
the Son”? (CCC 246–248, 689)

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5. What is it about the Holy Spirit that leads Christians to profess in the Creed that he has
“spoken through the prophets”? (John 14:25–26; John 16:13; CCC 2465–2466)

6. Is the Church a democracy? Why or why not? (CCC 85, 119)

L ES S ON FI V E

T H E C REE D 40
 L ESSON FI V E
QU EST IONS fo r A PPL IC AT ION
1. What new insight did you receive about the Trinity from this section?

2. How often do you think about the Holy Spirit? What does or can he do
for you?

41 ©2021 Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

3. Reflect on Bishop Barron’s statement that “the doctrine of Christianity does not come ‘from
below,’ but rather ‘from above.’” What role does the Church have, then, as the “receiver” of true
doctrine?

L ES S ON FI V E

T H E C REE D 42
43 ©2021 Word on Fire Catholic Ministries
 THE
CREED
LESSON SIX
O n e , Ho l y, C a t h o l i c , a n d A p o s t o l i c

Fresco of Holy Trinity and saints in the glory in cupola of Chiesa di Santa Maria del Quartiere,
Parma, Italy, Alamy.
 •
On e , Holy, Cath oli c , a n d Apos toli c
L ESSON SI X V IDEO OU T L IN E
(Chapters 5 & 6 in Light From Light book)

I. CHURCH IS THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST

A. Not a human organization, but an organism made up of all the baptized with
Christ as the Head
B. The instrument through which Christ continues his work in the world
C. The Church is drawn into the inner life of the Trinity
D. All members are connected to each other in Christ

II. CHURCH IS EKKLESIA

A. Called out from the sinful world by Jesus
1. The stories of Noah, Abraham, and Moses are representative of the
Church
2. Called not for their own sake but called for others
B. Called into mission on earth and, ultimately, into the fullness of life and love in
heaven

III. “ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC, AND APOSTOLIC”

A. “One” because God is one and uses the Church to draw all into the unity of the
divine life
B. “Holy” because the Church is set apart
1. Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church and makes it holy
2. All Church members, aside from the Virgin Mary, have been sinners
3. The Church does not depend upon the moral excellence of its members
to be holy, but upon the Holy Spirit
C. “Catholic” because the Church is universal or all-embracing
1. Not limited to any one nation, region, ethnicity, or language
2. Where the full wealth of Christ (“all the gifts he wants to give”) is found
D. “Apostolic” because the Church is grounded on the twelve Apostles and is
perpetuated by “apostolic succession”
L ES S ON SI X

T H E C REE D 45
 IV. “I CONFESS ONE BAPTISM FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS”
A. Baptism is the door to the spiritual life
B. The baptized are configured to Christ and begin to share in the divine life
C. Baptism forgives all sins, which is necessary if we are to be share in the purest
love of the inner life of the Trinity

V. “AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD AND

THE LIFE OF THE WORLD TO COME”
A. Believe God will not abandon his creation and we all will rise as Jesus did,
negating the finality of death
B. Doctrine declares all who have died will rise bodily on the last day. Those bodies
will be elevated, transfigured, and spiritualized as Jesus’ body was after his
Resurrection
C. “The world to come” is the joining of heaven and earth eternally (“life on high”),
which is accomplished at Jesus’ Second Coming.
1. Beatific vision: seeing God face-to-face and seeing all things in God
2. Image of the city: new city of Jerusalem coming down from heaven that
becomes a temple, the place of right praise.

46 ©2021 Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

 •
On e , Holy, Cath oli c , a n d Apos toli c
L ESSON SI X
QU EST IONS fo r U N DER STA N DING

1. How can we “believe in” the Church, if it is only an institution or an organization? (Eph.
1:22–23; CCC 789)

2. At the Last Supper, Jesus prayed, “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of
those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father,
are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you
have sent me” (John 17:20–21). What does Jesus’ prayer tell us about the nature of the
Church? (CCC 788)

L ES S ON SI X

T H E C REE D 47
 3. If the Church is the Body and Christ is the Head, what role does the
Holy Spirit have? What role do the members of the Mystical Body have?
(CCC 871, 790–791, 798, 1267)

4. In Greek, the Church is called Ekklesia, which means to “call out from.”
Who does the calling? What are its members being called out of, and
what are they being called into? (John 15:16)

48 ©2021 Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

5. How is Noah’s Ark a particularly rich symbol of the Church and its mission? (Gen. 6–8)

6. How is the Church “one” and “holy”? How would you explain the holiness of the Church
in the midst of the corruption and scandals that have occurred over the centuries? (Eph.
1:20–23; CCC 749, 813, 827, 1426)

L ES S ON SI X

T H E C REE D 49
 7. How is the Church “catholic” and “apostolic”? (Gal. 3:27–28; CCC 830,
857)

8. Why does the Creed mention the sacrament of Baptism: “I confess one
baptism for the forgiveness of sins”? (Matt 28:19; CCC 1213, 1263)

50 ©2021 Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

 L ESSON SI X
QU EST IONS fo r A PPL IC AT ION
1. What is your role in the Mystical Body of Christ?

2. How does belief in the holiness of the Church, regardless of its members’ sinfulness, affect you
and your opinion of the Church?

L ES S ON SI X

T H E C REE D 51
 3. What does the Christian belief in the “resurrection of the dead and the
life of the world to come” mean to you? How does it affect your daily life?

52 ©2021 Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

 BIOGR A PHIC A L INFOR M ATION

BISHOP ROBERT BARRON

Bishop Robert Barron is an acclaimed author, speaker, and theologian. He is also the founder of the
global media ministry Word on Fire, which reaches millions of people by utilizing the tools of new
media to draw people into or back to the Catholic faith. Francis Cardinal George has described him
as “one of the Church’s best messengers.”

Bishop Barron is the creator and host of CATHOLICISM (2011), a groundbreaking, award-winning
documentary series about the Catholic faith. The series has aired on hundreds of PBS stations
across the world and has been used by parishes, universities, and schools as an essential resource.
Since then, Bishop Barron and Word on Fire also released the follow-up documentaries CATHOLI-
CISM: The New Evangelization (2013) and CATHOLICISM: The Pivotal Players (2016–2020), a film
series on the mystics, scholars, artists, and saints who shaped the Church and changed the world.

Bishop Barron’s website, WordOnFire.org, reaches millions of people each year. The site hosts daily
blog posts, weekly articles and video commentaries, and an extensive audio archive of over 500
homilies. In addition, Bishop Barron also sends out daily email reflections on the Gospel to hun-
dreds of thousands of readers, and episodes of his podcast, The Word on Fire Show, have been down-
loaded over two million times.

L ES S ON FOU R
EWTN (The Eternal Word Television Network) and CatholicTV broadcast Bishop Barron’s
videos and documentaries to a worldwide audience of over 150 million people. His weekly homilies
and podcasts air on multiple radio stations to millions of listeners.

Bishop Barron works with NBC News in New York as an on-air contributor and analyst. He is also
a frequent commentator for the Chicago Tribune, FOX News, CNN, EWTN, Our Sunday Visitor, the
Catholic Herald in London, and Catholic News Agency.

He has published numerous essays and articles on theology and the spiritual life, which appear fre-
quently online and in numerous journals. He is a #1 Amazon bestselling author and has
published sixteen books.

On July 21, 2015, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Barron to be Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese
of Los Angeles. He was ordained bishop on September 8, 2015. He previously served as the Rec-
tor/President of Mundelein Seminary/University of St. Mary of the Lake from 2012 until 2015. He
was appointed to the theological faculty of Mundelein Seminary in 1992, and has also served as a
visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas

T H E C REE D 53
 Aquinas. He was twice scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American
College at the Vatican.

Ordained in 1986 in the Archdiocese of Chicago, Bishop Barron received a

master’s degree in philosophy from the Catholic University of America in 1982
and a doctorate in sacred theology from the Institut Catholique de Paris in
1992.

54 ©2021 Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

 •
GLOSSA RY
ANGELISM: A theological concept referring to ideas and philosophies which regard the
human being as essentially angelic, and therefore without sin in actual nature.

ARIAN HER ESY: The belief that Jesus was created by God as the “highest creature” but
did not share in the divine nature of God, which was promulgated by Arius, a priest from Alexandria
in the fourth century,

ASCENSION OF JESUS: The end of Jesus’ physical time on earth and his definitive
entry into the realm of God or “heaven,” which is the reality of existence that stands outside of time
and space.

BEATIFIC VISION: Seeing God face-to-face and knowing the very essence of God. This
all-inclusive seeing is obviously impossible to achieve in this life and is only available to those in
heaven.

“BEGOTTEN NOT MADE”: Conceived by or from God the Father, but not created by
God the Father. Jesus Christ eternally comes forth from the Father, but he comes forth precisely as
one who shares totally in the being of the one from whom he comes.

CATHOLIC: Derived from the Greek kata holos (according to the whole) and designates
something universal or all-embracing.

CHIMER A: Something that is hoped or wished for, but in fact is an illusion or cannot be
realized

CHTHONIC: From the Greek chthōn (earth) and is associated with things that dwell in or
under the earth

COINHER ENCE: Existing one in the other

GLOS S A RY

CONGERIES: An aggregation or collection

T H E C REE D 55
 CONSUBSTANTIAL: Of the same essence or substance

CONTINGENT: Requires an explanation outside of itself for its existence; something that
exists that doesn’t have to exist

COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM: A meeting of some of the apostles in Jerusalem around

49 AD that was convened to discuss and resolve the process of receiving Gentiles into the Christian
faith. At issue was whether Gentiles needed to follow Jewish ritual law to become Christians.
Reference to this council can be found in Acts 15.

COUNCIL OF NICAEA: Gathering in 325 AD of the pope and bishops to discuss the
teaching of Arius, which was condemned as heresy as a result of this council. The Christian profession
of faith or Nicene Creed was developed during this and the following council (Constantinople 381
AD)

DESIDER ATUM: Something that is needed or wanted

DISTANTIATION: The establishment or creation a mental or emotional distance

ECONOMY OF THE TRINITY: The missions in salvation history of the three

persons of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)

ECUMENICAL COUNCIL: A gathering of all the bishops in the world, usually called
by the pope, to discuss a serious issue or concern in the Church at that time.

EKKLESIA: Derived from two Greek terms ek (from) and kalein (to call). An ekklesia is a
group that has been called out from something into something else. In its earliest uses, it indicated
simply a gathering or a society, and later was used for the Church.

EPISTEMIC/EPISTEMOLOGICAL: Of or relating to knowledge; cognitive

ENTROPHY: lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder

ESCHATOLOGY: The part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final
destiny of the soul and of humankind.

56 ©2021 Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

EUANGELION: Greek for “glad tidings” or “good news.” When Caesar won a victory,
messengers were sent out with the euangelion, the glad tidings that Rome had triumphed. The first
Christians turned this term around for their own purposes, declaring a victory not of Caesar but of
Christ. The term “evangelist” (bearers of the good news) comes from this word.

EVIL: the lack or privation of a good that ought to be present -- not a negative force opposing the
good

EXEGETES: those who engage in critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of

Scripture

FILIOQUE: In the local Third Council of Toledo (589), the Latin phrase filioque (“and from
the Son”) was added to the Nicene Creed. This caused a dispute within the Church as it changed the
Creed’s proclamation that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father” to the statement that the Holy
Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.” There is still debate on this wording today.

FR EEDOM (biblical): disciplining of desire so as to make the achievement of the good first
possible, and then effortless

HEAVEN: the eternal, spiritual realm, set apart from the material world

IMMANENT TRINITY: The eternal relationships of the persons of the Trinity (Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit)

INCARNATION: Literally means “enfleshment;” God the Son took to himself a human
nature in order to use it as an icon of his presence and action in the world.

INFINITE: Boundless, endless, without limits

INFR A-R ATIONAL: The powers of consciousness that are below the range of reason

IMMANENT: Inherent or indwelling

IMMATERIAL: Not consisting of matter; incorporeal

GLOS S A RY

IMMUTABLE: Not changing as created things do

T H E C REE D 57
 INTELLIGIBILITY: Capacity to be known; comprehensible; marked by form, pattern,
and understandability

KING HEROD (ANTIPAS): The tetrarch (governor of one of four divisions of a country
or province in the Roman Empire,) who ruled Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to 39 AD, throughout
the life of Jesus. Antipas was the son of Herod the Great who was raised Jewish, but found favor with
the Roman emperor and was awarded the kingship of Judea (37 to 4 BC).

LOGOS: The mind or interior Word of God; the principle of divine reason and creative order

LOVE: Not a sentiment, but an act of the will. Love is to will the good of the other, as other. To
love is to break out of the gravitational pull of the ego, truly and sincerely wanting what is best for the
other.

MENS (Latin): mind, reason, intellect, judgment

METAPHYSICS: The philosophical study of what cannot be reached through objective

analysis of material reality. While science seeks to answer the questions of “what” and “how,”
metaphysics seeks to answer the question of “why.”

MULTIVERSE THEORY: The proposal that there are a variety of separate universes in
existence

MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST: The Church is known as the Mystical Body of

Christ, sharing in the oneness enjoyed by the three persons of God. The Mystical Body of Christ, the
Church, is the body Jesus took to himself after his Ascension that carries on his work in the world
through the grace of the Holy Spirit.

NEUR ALGIC: Causing or feeling very strong, painful emotions

NEW JERUSALEM: Reference to the fully realized kingdom of God that will “come down
from heaven” at the end of the world. This true, holy city is symbolized by the earthly Jerusalem, but
is not that city. It will be a new place of glory where the redeemed will live with God, worshipping
him eternally.

58 ©2021 Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

NONCONTINGENT R EALITY: What ultimately explains contingent being. St.
Thomas Aquinas referred to this reality as the “uncaused cause” or the “necessary being.” This is what
Christian theologians call “God.”

ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD: Jesus is the only son of God who shares divinity
with the Father and was with him from all eternity. The only begotten Son of God is fully divine and
of the same essence (“consubstantial”) as the Father from whom he proceeds. At the same time, Jesus
is unique from the Father as he is the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity.

ONTOLOGICAL: Relating to the branch of metaphysics that studies the nature of being

PAR ACLETE: From the Greek parakletos, which has the literal sense of “calling to one’s side.”
Translated as helper, advocate or someone who will speak on behalf of another in the manner of a
lawyer.

PENTECOST: The day Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples who were gathered in
Jerusalem for the Jewish feast, originally called the feast of Weeks or of Harvest. Pentecost occurred
50 days after Passover each year and Christians now celebrate Pentecost seven Sundays after Easter.
It is considered the “official” birth of the Church as the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and
gave them the power to proclaim the good news of salvation through Jesus.

PROPHET: Someone who speaks the word of God or “God’s judgment on things” (per Yves
Congar). A prophet receives a gift from the Holy Spirit that allows him/her to evaluate the affairs of
the world from the perspective of God. A prophet does not necessarily foretell the future, although
this can be a function of a prophetic mission.

PROTOLOGY: The study of origins or of the beginning of things

PROVIDENCE: The dispositions by which God guides his creation toward its perfection yet
to be attained; the protection and governance of God over all creation (CCC)

R ESURR ECTION OF JESUS: After his death and burial, Jesus comes alive again in
his human body, albeit with supernatural characteristics (called a “glorified body”). He remains alive
in heaven now and for all eternity in this bodily form, still fully God and fully man.
GLOS S A RY

RUACH YAHWEH (Hebrew): the spirit or breath of the Lord

T H E C REE D 59
 SENT (biblically): Biblical designation for those who have been entrusted with a mission from
God

SIMPLICITY OF GOD: Theological doctrine that aids in understanding the difference

between God and his creatures. Defining God as simple means he is wholly contained within himself,
never changes, and is not dependent on anything. In God, both essence and existence are one and the
same. All that is in God is God; he does not have parts. God, being His own existence and essence,
and so not derived from causes as are all other beings, is alone adequate to ultimately account for all
that is created.

SPIRITUAL: A mode of existence at a higher pitch than the material/physical. Angels are one
example of purely spiritual beings. Humans are both physical (body) and spiritual (soul).

SON OF GOD: Identifier that carries the sense of close rapport or deep friendship with God.
Also designates a familial belonging to him.

SUBJECTIVELY SATISFYING VS OBJECTIVELY VALUABLE:

The first is something that gives pleasure to the ego and takes its bearing entirely from the side
of subjectivity. The second contrasts with subjectivity in its objectivity, which engenders an
acknowledgement from everyone that it is “good.”

SUPR A-R ATIONAL: The powers of consciousness that are above the range of the reason

THEIOSIS (Greek) or divinisatio (Latin): To make something or someone a god or divine

(deification and divinization)

TOHU-VA-BOHU (Hebew): Description of the state of the earth as empty, without form,
and void in the beginning before the creation of light

TR ANSCENDENT: Beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human

experience; existing apart from and not subject to the limitations of the material universe.

TRINITARIAN GOD OR TRINITY: The Christian concept of God as a

relationship of three persons with one, divine nature: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

WELTANSCHAUUNG (German): a particular philosophy or view of life; the worldview

of an individual or group

60 ©2021 Word on Fire Catholic Ministries