In this post, we will take a close look at the Act of Faith:
O my God, I firmly believe that You are one God in three Divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; I believe that Your Divine Son became man, and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths the Holy Catholic Church teaches because You have revealed them, Who can neither deceive nor be deceived. Amen.
1. O my God – With these three little words, we are claiming God as our own. We are saying that we have a personal relationship with Him. We are not, of course, asserting that we can control God or that we somehow possess Him. Quite the opposite is true. When we claim God, we submit to His will and His loving control of our lives, and we allow Him to possess us.
2. I firmly believe – The Catechism says that faith “is a personal act - the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals Himself” (#166). Faith is both “a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by Him” (#153) and “an authentically human act” (#154). When we say that we believe, we are not merely assenting to a set of intellectual truths, although that is certainly part of the equation. We are also accepting the Person Who has revealed those truths. The Catechism sums this up nicely in #176: “Faith is a personal adherence of the whole man to God who reveals Himself. It involves an assent of the intellect and will to the self-revelation God has made through His deeds and words.”
3. You are one God in three Divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – God is both Unity and Trinity. He has one divine nature but three distinct Persons. As Father William Most explains, “The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, yet we do not speak of three Gods, but only one God. They have the same nature, substance, and being.” The Blessed Trinity is profound mystery that humans could never have discovered on their own. God Himself has revealed it, and we accept it in faith and seek to understand it as much as we can with our limited human minds.
4. Your Divine Son became man – The second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Divine Son, became man. Jesus Christ is God incarnate. He took on human flesh, but He did not leave behind His divinity. He is truly both God and man.
5. and died for our sins – Jesus died on the cross to save us. With the greatest love, He sacrificed Himself for us. The Catechism explains, “This sacrifice of Christ is unique; it completes and surpasses all other sacrifices. First, it is a gift from God the Father Himself, for the Father handed His Son over to sinners in order to reconcile us with Himself. At the same time it is the offering of the Son of God made man, who in freedom and love offered His life to His Father through the Holy Spirit in reparation for our disobedience” (#614). Sin separated us from God. Jesus took our sins upon Himself and suffered the penalty for sin, which is death, so that we may be reunited with God both on earth (for He dwells within our souls) and in Heaven (where we will see Him face to face for all eternity).
6. He will come to judge the living and the dead – Jesus promised that He will return at the end of time and proclaim a final judgment on the whole world. Everything that is hidden will be revealed. The current Heaven and earth will pass away and be replaced by a new Heaven and a new earth. We will receive resurrected bodies that will be like Jesus' resurrected body. This is a great mystery, but we believe that it will happen, for Jesus Himself has said so.
7. I believe these and all the truths the Holy Catholic Church teaches – The Catholic Church possesses and teaches the fullness of truth. The Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, and her soul is the Holy Spirit. She is also the Bride of Christ, and she faithfully listens to, guards, and explains the fullness of His Divine Revelation in both Scripture and Tradition.
8. You have revealed them – Divine Revelation comes from God. That's why it can never be changed. No human being has the right to add anything to or take anything away from God's Word. Truth is objective and absolute.
9. Who can neither deceive nor be deceived – God is omniscient. He knows all. What's more, He is truth itself. He cannot lie. Therefore His Divine Revelation is true. We may not always grasp the depths of its meaning. It may confront us with mysteries beyond our ability to understand. But it is truth because God is truth.
10. Amen – With this little word, we give our firm assent to everything we have just prayed. We once again affirm our faith in God and in everything He reveals.
O my God, I firmly believe that You are one God in three Divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; I believe that Your Divine Son became man, and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths the Holy Catholic Church teaches because You have revealed them, Who can neither deceive nor be deceived. Amen.
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