We Believe: The Creed of the People of God

It was a time of great disquiet in the world and in the Church. Many long-held beliefs were being disputed and disparaged. Catholics followed this rebellious spirit of the world, eager for change and novelty instead of holding fast to the faith entrusted to them by Christ himself. In short, everybody was shaken by spirits of confusion and destruction. It seemed that “through some crack, the smoke of Satan has entered the Church of God.” (Pope Paul VI)

It might sound like today to us; but it was how Pope Paul VI described the year 1968. He took the opportunity to renew his own unshakable confidence in the Holy Spirit, the soul of the Church which is the Mystical Body of Christ. He knew that people waited eagerly for him to offer a word as the Vicar of Christ to stir up and renew their faith. And so he spoke, saying ‘I believe.’ And it wasn’t just ‘I believe,’ but ‘We believe,’ as he confessed once again the faith of God’s People to the whole world.

Did it do any good? Well, here we are, over 50 years later. While the relative health of the Catholic Church can certainly be debated, her very existence is undeniable. Christ’s promise still rings true, “The gates of hell will not prevail against her,” even as some of her worst attacks have come from within (Matthew 16:17-19). Who are these people, these Catholics, these Christians, who still belief that Christ has revealed himself in his fullness to them? Pope Paul said,

We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is always [attentive] to our prayers. (Paul VI, Credo of the People of God, 30).

We find our place in this communion, this community, this fellowship of faith. We are ‘the pilgrims on earth,’ in the words of Pope Paul. We are those who are journeying closer to heaven day by day. We also find our Catholic saints here, those called ‘the blessed in heaven.’ We celebrate them as a group on All Saints Day each November 1. Throughout the year we honor them personally, as their feast days pop up on our church calendar. We are connected to them by the bonds of grace. We believe that the merciful love of God and his saints are always attentive to our prayers. Lastly, we also find in this communion the dead who are being purified. These are our family and friends whom we remember in prayer on the feast of All the Faithful Departed on November 2. We pray for them, that purified by God’s mercy they may live forever in his perfect love. The pilgrims on earth, the souls in purgatory, the saints in heaven: together we form the one Church of Jesus Christ.

Here are your opportunities at St. Petronille to celebrate this family of faith. All Saints Day has a vigil Mass on Thursday, October 31 at 7pm. On Friday, November 1, there are Masses at 6:15am, 8:00am, 12pm, and 7pm. Our usual school Mass will be moved to that, day but at its usual 9:30am time. Please remember that All Saints Day is a Holy Day of Obligation.

All Souls Day, is Saturday, November 2, and we have the usual 8:00am Mass. The special Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Monday, November 4 at 7:00pm. This is to allow greater participation, especially by those who have experienced the loss of a loved one in the past year.

God is always attentive to our prayers. His saints are always bringing our prayers up to him and bringing his graces down upon us. We are called to do the same for the souls in Purgatory, to help them by our prayers and acts of love. The whole month of November can be filled this way: offering your daily Rosary for those who have died, especially those in most need of God’s mercy. It is a good month to go to Mass and receive Holy Communion for them even beyond our usual Sunday Mass. We can go to Confession to make sure we are staying close to Christ, so that we may receive him well. It’s also an excellent time to visit the cemetery, praying for those who have died. Their buried remains await the resurrection of the body on the last day. “An indulgence is granted the Christian faithful who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, if only mentally, for the dead.” (from The Handbook of Indulgences 13)

You might think the world is going from bad to worse. Instead, let us offer a prayer of thanks to God, grateful that he has sustained us through difficult days of history, difficult days in our lives and in the world. Let us renew our faith that Jesus will continue to guide us in the days ahead. Pope Paul VI believed this. He saw it happen. Despite the pain of sin in the world, he saw God continue to guide the church and that he, Paul, got to be part of that. Did you know that this pope is now a saint in our church? May he pray for us, that our faith may grow and spread in these days. Pope St. Paul the VI, pray for us!

With my prayers,

Fr. Jerome