Church of Santa Claus in Jail

 Santa Claus is our American version of Saint Nicholas.  St. Nicholas was Bishop of Myra.  In 325 the Emperor called together a Council in Nicea, because some important questions were creating some pretty hot debates among the Bishops.  It was over the nature of God.  The main theological issues were about Jesus: was He more human than divine, or more divine than human, was He equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit?

A priest, Arius, claimed that Jesus was not eternal, He was created by the Father. This was a much debated issue.  So much so, that Nicholas had had enough.  He got up and crossed the room and punched Arius in the nose.  Yes, he assaulted him.  Yes, the Bishop Myra punched the Bishop of Alexendria in the face.  Yes, Nicholas punched Arius.  

Hence, Bishop Nicholas was put in jail for the rest of the Council.  For Nicholas, he had to pay a fine and was apologetic.  Embarrassed to say the least.  However, he had the satisfaction of knowing that the bishops agreed with him and condemned Arius' claims as heresy and incorporated the nonscriptural word homoousios (of one substance) in a creed to signify the absolute equality of the Son with the Father.  It is called the Nicene Creed.  

The Apostles Creed is said more often.  The Nicene Creed is prayed during Lent and Easter, probably because that's the time focused on Jesus' death and resurrection.

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
 of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
 the Only Begotten Son of God,
 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.
 For us men and for our salvation
 he came down from heaven,
 and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
 and became man.
 For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
 he suffered death and was buried,
 and rose again on the third day
 in accordance with 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.

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.

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.

Where Did the Nicene Creed Come From?

Where Did the Nicene Creed Cf-ae From? | What is the Origin of the Nicene Creed? - Beliefnet  This is a link to Beliefnet. It's an internet multi-faith new source. This article will give you the background to the Nicene Creed.

Catholic as an Adjective

A discussion arose on Facebook regarding the use of the Nicene Creed or the Apostle's Creed.  I've often wondered myself why sometimes we pray one and sometimes the other.  The dilemma wasn't solved but the commentary was interesting, I thought.

A question for my Catholic Facebook friends. Why do some priests insist on saying the Apostles Creed at Mass, never the Nicene Creed? Do they have an objection to the latter?

One poster commentated that the Apostle's Creed was something every Christian could pray since the word Catholic was used with a small "c", meaning the universal church, meaning universal Christian faith. Every tenet in the Apostle's Creed was acceptable to all Christians so the prayer is ecumenical.  

I always knew that the word catholic meant universal but I never noticed before today's Mass (Feast of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, January 1) that in the church missal, the word catholic had a small "c".  I thought we prayed the Apostle's Creed because it was shorter than the Nicene Creed.  Of course, that may very well be true, too.

Person to Person

Teaching in small groups is much more comfortable than larger classes.  Last month, we taught the Mass to the entire church.  It seemed to me that everyone stared at me with hostile expressions.  They didn't want to be there.  They spaced out.  They couldn't wait for it to be over.

This month we divided the people up.  There are four of us formation leaders.  So the group was small, at least smaller than last month.  Because the group was smaller, the interaction was exponentially better.  I even got questions!

And I'm not even mentioning the material.  I had one lady in the group that knew more than I do, about other religions.  She was very helpful.  There was a grandmother in the group who told us "how it was."  Her experience was interesting.  One couple said that last month they went home and looked around and decided to make their home more Catholic!  Hooray!!!!

Oh.  My lesson was on the Nicene Creed.  The last section, "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."  proved to elicit the most discussion.

I was asked why Protestants say this when they don't believe in Catholicism.  I explained that catholic meant universal.  But I couldn't explain why they say they believe in apostolic succession, when their church was formed by someone in a later century than the apostles.

One more thing.  This smaller group appreciated my sense of humor.  Unlike the group last month, this group laughed at my jokes.

Trinity Sunday

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity is pretty special to me. In fact, the name I chose to inspire and dedicate myself to is the Blessed Trinity. My religious name is Sister Faith in the Blessed Trinity. Coincidentally, I recently learned (thank you Sister Vivian, RJM)that my great Aunt Blanche's religious name was Mother Mary of the Trinity.

I love the fact that we are celebrating a doctrine and not an event or a saint. That makes it a special day. Today we honor God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

History shows us that the Trinity is controversial. Not every religion is Trinitarian. And I can see that the concept of three distinct persons into one is mind boggling. But so is quantum physics. What of it? What good would be a religion without mystery. And by mystery, I don't mean puzzle, but rather beyond comprehension. If you understood God, would He still be God?

It has been said that mystery is not a wall to run up against, but an ocean in which to swim. The common wisdom is that if you talk about the Trinity for longer than a few minutes you will slip into heresy because you are probing the depths of God too deeply.

The Trinity is defined in the Nicene Creed. Basically the Trinity is the belief that God is one in essence, but distinct in person. He is an individual reality. We believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are somehow distinct from one another (not divided though), yet completely united in will and essence. How can this be? Well, think of the sight of two eyes. The eyes are distinct, yet one and undivided in their sight. Another illustration to explain the Trinity is St. Patrick's description of the three leaf clover. One flower made up of three separate leaves.

The Nicene definition of the Trinity developed over time, based on Scripture and Tradition. The Scriptures call the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit "God," yet the three are also clearly distinct. For instance, St. John gives Jesus the titles theos and monogenes theos (God and Only-Begotten God) and has Jesus saying that the Father and Son are one, yet in his gospel Jesus also states that the Father and Son are not one witness, but two (John 1:1, 18; 8:17-18; 10:30). So John tells us that Jesus is God but not God the Father? Jesus is one with the Father, but they constitute two witnesses? It is scriptures such as these that led to the development of the Trinity doctrine. The Church had to reconcile the Divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit with Jewish monotheism. Over time, and with the aid of the Holy Spirit, the Church reflected on the implications of God's nature, and even began using the word Trinity by the middle of the 2nd century to describe the relationship between the Father, Son, and Spirit. When in the 4th century a presbyter named Arius denied the Father and Son were both true God and co-eternal, his bishop Alexander of Alexandria challenged him and deposed him. Eventually the Arian controversy spread, and the emperor Constantine, newly fascinated with Christianity, convened a council of bishops in AD 325 in Nicaea to deal with Arianism. It is there that the Church drew up the beginnings of the current Nicene Creed. In the latter half of the 4th century the Church dealt with those who specifically denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit, adding more text to the creed.

The implications of believing in Arius' God, a God unwilling to involve himself in our redemption, but who instead sent an angel of the highest order, did not escape the earliest Christians. As St. Athanasius was fond of saying "that which has not been assumed has not been redeemed," meaning that unless God truly became completely human, we could not be fully redeemed, because only God Himself is capable of truly redeeming humanity; an angel does not have this ability. Thus, the Trinity is not about Greek philosophy or pointless metaphysical speculation, but about the heart of our salvation.

I repeat: "The Trinity is not about Greek or pagan philosophy, or pointless metaphysicl speculation, but about the heart of our salvation." Amen!
(Info from Churchyear.net)