The Nicene Creed summarizes the beliefs of Catholic's
from the earliest days of the Church.

	We Believe in One God ……. This is the first article of our faith, a belief in God. But we carry it further and state that we believe in One God. Also notice that the creed states "We believe", not "I believe". Even though my faith in God is a personal act and rooted in my own experience, it is something I share with the community, and it is strengthen and enriched by its contact with the tradition and life of the community.
	The Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and all that is seen and unseen…… This part of the creed is the answer to a question we all ask sometime in our life, "Why am I here", "Is this all I can expect"? When we say we believe in God the maker of all, we are saying we believe in the very first pages of scripture, the book of Genesis. God created us to be happy in a wonderful universe in communion with Him and with each other. Above all we are saying that we believe in the eternal destiny and sacred dignity of each human being. We are saying that life has meaning.
	We believe in one, Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, True God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father. Through Him all things were made............. This whole passage reflects the ancient controversies of the Church as to the precise relationship of Jesus to the Father. The main point here is that we are affirming that Jesus is "One in being with the Father". That Jesus is "Divine". It is our faith in Jesus Christ, who manifests God as Creator and Redeemer of the world, that activates our hope for this world and draws us into the struggle for peace and justice.
	For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven…….. With these words, we are affirming our belief that Jesus, the Son of God, came to us with an offer of eternal salvation. Human history, starting with Adam and Eve, is a history of sin. It is a record of crime, bloodshed, and wars. Even today people are alienated from each other. There is hatred, lying, injustice, oppression, hostility, ignorance, and just plain sheer folly. War after war threatens the very future of our planet. Left to ourselves, our history testifies, the human race is powerless to change the state of affairs. But through the Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ the people have been given the opportunity to get out of this solidarity of evil and come over to a solidarity of love and caring. How did Jesus bring us salvation? To get the answer we have to start with the Bible.
	By the power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man....... The meaning of the virgin birth is clear; Jesus does not belong to the ordinary course of human history. He represents a new beginning for the human race. His being conceived by the Holy Spirit means by the power of God rather then that of humanity.
	For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered, died, and was buried.... The Creed says nothing about Jesus' life or the way that He lived. But in stating that He was crucified, it tells us what is most important; the love God holds for humanity.
	On the third day He rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures……. The resurrection is the center of the Christian faith. The belief that Jesus Christ is truly risen and present among us is the central motivating force of our faith.
	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......... What we are affirming is that the risen Jesus now lives with His Father and watches over and guides his church. We are also affirming that the kingdom of God will be fully realized and His gospel will stand forever as the standard by which we all will be measured.
	We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets.......... With these words we are affirming that the Holy Spirit "dwells" in believers now and in the past. The Holy Spirit gives life to the church and will continue to do so until the return of Christ. Look around, you can see that this is true in so many areas of the Church today. For example the world wide charismatic movement, the many that are taking courageous stands on issues of peace and justice, as well those laboring quietly for unity of the Christian churches, etc.
	We Believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church......... Please note the four qualities of Church we have just stated that we are affirming; one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. We believe that the Catholic church is the one church, founded by Jesus Christ. That is not to say that other Christian churches will not lead one to Christ. What this does say is that we believe we should have one church unified under one visible head, as was true before the reformation. We believe that the Catholic church is holy. That it is guided by the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Catholic church is catholic. That is universal or spread throughout the world. We believe that the Catholic church is apostolic. The Catholic church is the only church that can trace it's leaders back to the apostles.
	We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins....... With these words we are affirming that the sacrament of baptism brings us into a new relationship that has been established between God and the human family through Jesus' saving work. Our sins are forgiven because we become one with the church, which is the body of Christ.
	We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. With these final words we are stating that we believe communion with God will not be broken even by death. As Christians we believe that we shall share in the resurrection and glory of Jesus