Lex orandi, lex credendi (the law of prayer is the law of belief).
How we pray is indicative of our Faith and is often a witness to others. We discussed these same principles in the article, “The Five Head Bows During the Gloria of the Mass,” as well as in the article dedicated to the importance of kneeling and prostrations.
Credo in Unum Deum
There are actually multiple Creeds: The Apostles’ Creed, The Nicene Creed, and the lesser known Athanasian Creed – all of which should be familiar to Catholics. The Apostles Creed should be recited at home daily; the Nicene Creed is said during Holy Mass.
The Athanasian Creed, which according to the 1962 rubrics is said during the Divine Office only on Trinity Sunday, formerly used to be said on many other Sundays in the year as well.[1] Catholics should make it a point to familiarize themselves with this Creed and to prayerfully recite it on occasion. It contains the most precise teaching on the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity. It also begins and ends by professing the infallible dogmas of the Catholic Faith that one must hold, whole and entire, to be saved.
The Creed which we have come to know by heart – hopefully in both Latin and the vernacular – is the Nicene-Constantinople Creed. It differs from the original Nicene Creed, as the Catholic Dictionary of Fr. John Hardon explains:
“There are two creeds that have the same name. The original Nicene Creed was issued in A.D. 325 by the Council of Nicaea. It was composed by the Fathers of the Council in their conflict with Arianism and contains the term homoousios (consubstantial). It is comparatively short, ends with the phrase, ‘and in the Holy Spirit,’ and has attached to it four anathemas against Arianism. The more common Nicene Creed is more accurately the Nicene-Constantinople Creed. It came after the First Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (381), is the creed now used in the liturgy, including the added phrases ‘and the Son,’ and ‘died,’ and differs from the preceding in that it: 1. has more about the person of Christ; 2. omits the phrase ‘from the substance of the Father’ after homoousios; 3. says more about the Holy Spirit; 4. adds the articles on the Church, baptism, the Resurrection, and eternal life; and 5. contains no anathemas.”
In previous times, the word “Symbol” was used in some places as a synonym for “Creed.” In fact, the ancient rites of converts preparing for Baptism during Lent involved learning the Creed (i.e., the Symbol). Dom Guéranger mentions this, among other places, in his entry for Wednesday of Holy Week when he quotes the instruction that the catechumens were given on this day – just days before their baptism on Holy Saturday:
“On Saturday next, the Eve of Easter, at such an hour, you will assemble in the Lateran Basilica, for the seventh Scrutiny; you will then recite the Symbol, which you must have learned and lastly, you will receive, by God’s help, the sacred laver of regeneration. Prepare yourselves zealously and humbly, by persevering fasts and prayers, in order that, having been buried, by this holy Baptism, together with Jesus Christ, you may rise again with Him, unto life everlasting. Amen.”
The Creed Recited at Holy Mass
In the Missal of St Pius V, the Creed is said on every Sunday and on several categories of feast days, including all those of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Angels, Apostles, Doctors, and St. Mary Magdalene, who is called by some the “Apostle of the Apostles.”
Across the centuries, the Church made slight changes as to when the Creed is to be recited. For instance, the Ordinal of the Papal Liturgy at the time of Pope Innocent III (1198 – 1216 AD) did not state that the Creed was to be recited on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene.
But as with many other changes involving rituals in the 20th century, drastic changes were made regarding the recitation of the Creed in the years immediately before Vatican II. The Creed ceased being prayed on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene with the revisions introduced in 1955. In 1961, the Creed ceased being prayed on the various feast days for Doctors of the Church throughout the year. Since the Doctors were always understood to be champions of the Faith, the Creed’s omission on these feast days was highly controversial, but quite in sync with the ecumenical winds of change.[2]
The Three Head Bows of the Creed
Just as with the Gloria, the priest prays in both word and through his actions during the profession of the Creed. The priest bows his head three times during the Creed.[3] Those times are at the following words:
- In Unum Deum
- Jesu Christe
- Simul adorator
Why Does the Priest Pray So Physically During the Creed?
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass Dogmatically, Liturgically and Ascetically Explained, by Father Nicholas Gihr and published in 1908,[4] provides a step-by-step understanding of the spirituality of the Holy Mass. On the Creed, he writes
“The rite for the recitation of the Creed is simple. Its recitation in a loud voice invites all present to unite in heart and mind with the priest, and joyfully to repeat the Creed with him. At the first words, the hands of the priest are raised and extended, to evince the joyful, believing, adoring sentiments of the heart.
“During its recitation, the hands remain joined before the breast: this devout attitude corresponds with the humble homage and the confiding abandonment of oneself to the absolute truth and veracity of God, and with the perfect submission of the will and of the understanding to the infinite majesty and sovereignty of God, as enjoined in obedience to faith.
“The three different inclinations of the head at the words Deum — Jesum Christum — simul adoratur, that is, at the confession of faith in the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, express due reverence to the three Divine Persons.
“The words: Et incarnatus … are accompanied by a genuflection, slowly made in order appropriately to revere and glorify the Incarnation, this mystery of God’s inconceivable condescension and self-annihilation.
“At the last words (et vitam venturi saeculi), the priest makes the Sign of the Cross. This Sign of the Cross has been variously interpreted: it can be understood as referring to the entire Symbol, or merely to the words immediately preceding. In the former case it is evident how appropriate it is to conclude and seal the Credo with the Sign of the Cross, because the latter is not only a brief profession of our faith, but also our shield and buckler against all the adversities and dangers of our faith.”
What About Us Laity?
The laity may also pray in these physical forms. While the Creed is recited, keep your hands joined in prayer at the breast. Bow your head at those three moments to honor the Holy Trinity. Genuflect devoutly and intentionally when mention is made of the Incarnation. And sign yourself as the Creed is concluded.
This is the kind of thing Pope Pius X actually meant by “active participation” (it was he who introduced this term which was subsequently corrupted by modernists). You see, it actually takes a fair amount of focused concentration to make all these physical gestures at the appropriate moments. Yet, for he who does make them, it is almost certain that he is praying the Creed well: with attention and reverent piety.
Why not challenge yourself thus the next time you are at Mass?
Et Incarnatus Est
Whenever the Creed is recited, the priest (and people) will kneel for the words: “Et incarnátus est de Spíritu Sancto ex María Vírgine: Et homo factus est” (And became incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary: and was made man).
The people will genuflect at the same time as the priest during a Low Mass; but when the choir is singing the Creed during a High Mass, the people will genuflect when the choir recites these holy words. The priest, if he is still standing, will also genuflect (he will frequently not sit until after this genuflection) However, an important exception from the pre-1955 rubrics mentions how the priest, even if he is already seated, will kneel again with the choir on the feast of the Annunciation and on Christmas Day:
“He likewise kneels on the Annunciation of Our Lady and in the three Masses of Christmas when the choir sings the verse Et incarnátus est, &c. On other days, if he is seated when those words are sung, he does not kneel, but only makes a profound inclination of the head. If he is not already seated, he always kneels.”
Sadly, one of the innovations of the Novus Ordo Mass was to further reduce not only when the Creed is said but to change this time-honored custom of kneeling in honor of the Incarnation. This is the moment for which all the patriarchs longed. This is the moment promised following Adam and Eve’s disobedience. This is the moment which changed the history of the world. This is the moment when God came to live amongst men. And the revolutionary liturgists had the audacity to eliminate our collective reverence for it!? This is the kind of deletion one could expect from someone who did not believe Jesus was God and man, not from someone who claims to profess being Catholic.
The rubrics for the Novus Ordo only call for a profound bow during these words – but sadly few Catholics ever practice or even know of this. The only two exceptions when the Novus Ordo calls for kneeling during these verses are on the feast of the Annunciation (which few Catholics attend Mass on this day, even though it used to be a Holy Day of Obligation in the United States until 1884) and Christmas Day.
Conclusion
God Himself became man. He took on a human nature and, not losing any of His Divinity, chose to become like us and suffer to redeem us according to His Divine Plan.
May we feel in our hearts such love for the Incarnation of Our Lord in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary every time we hear the Creed. May we feel within us a heartfelt love for the Three Divine Persons when we see the three bows of the head during the Creed next time we’re at Mass.
Let us join the priest and bow our heads at these same words. And may we triumphantly sign ourselves with the Sign of Salvation at the end of the Creed to publicly profess our own belief in the Symbol of our Faith.
ENDNOTES
[1]Before the changes to the Divine Office in 1955/1956, the rubrics in place under Divinu Afflatu promulgated by Pope St. Pius X were in force. And per those rubrics, the Athanasian Creed was said on all Sundays after Epiphany and those Sundays after Pentecost which did not fall within Octaves or on which a feast day of a rank of Double or higher was celebrated or commemorated, in addition to being prayed on Trinity Sunday.
[2] The General Rubrics of the Roman Missal, promulgated by Pope Clement VIII in the 1604 edition of the Roman Missal, with some minimal changes made in 1920, specify exactly when the Creed is to be recited according to the rubrics in place prior to 1955. (You may view these rubrics by clicking here, see pages 7-8.) You will notice some interesting rubrics, such as: “Likewise the Credo is said in Votive Masses celebrated solemnly for a grave matter, or for a public cause of the Church, even if it be said in violet vestments on Sunday.” The 1962 rubrics (which you may view by clicking here, see page 88) illustrate a smaller number of days, including the omission of the Creed even on Holy Thursday.
[3] The prayer is:
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things, visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. And born of the Father, before all ages. God of God: Light of Light: true God of true God. Begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven. And became incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary: and was made man. He was crucified also for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, of whose kingdom there shall be no end. And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life, proceeding from the Father and the Son. Who, together with the Father and the Son, is adored and glorified: Who spoke by the prophets. And in one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the world to come. Amen.
Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipoténtem, factórem cæli et terræ, visibílium ómnium et invisibílium. Et in unum Dóminum Iesum Christum, Fílium Dei unigénitum. Et ex Patre natum ante ómnia sǽcula. Deum de Deo, lumen de lúmine, Deum verum de Deo vero. Génitum, non factum, consubstantiálem Patri: per quem ómnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos hómines et propter nostram salútem descéndit de cælis. Et incarnátus est de Spíritu Sancto ex María Vírgine: Et homo factus est. Crucifíxus étiam pro nobis: sub Póntio Piláto passus, et sepúltus est. Et resurréxit tértia die, secúndum Scriptúras. Et ascéndit in cælum: sedet ad déxteram Patris. Et íterum ventúrus est cum glória iudicáre vivos et mórtuos: cuius regni non erit finis. Et in Spíritum Sanctum, Dóminum et vivificántem: qui ex Patre Filióque procédit. Qui cum Patre et Fílio simul adorátur et conglorificátur: qui locútus est per Prophétas. Et unam sanctam cathólicam et apostólicam Ecclésiam. Confíteor unum baptísma in remissiónem peccatórum. Et exspécto resurrectiónem mortuórum. Et vitam ventúri sæculi. Amen.
[4] The book can be read freely online at https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Holy_Sacrifice_of_the_Mass/uSJPuNzdo14C?hl