I BELIEVE

When Catholics profess the Creed, or
Profession of Faith, during Mass, the
first change in the translation will be
immediately
apparent. We have been
beginning the Creed with the words,
“We believe . . . .” With the new text,
we will profess, “I believe . . . .”
Many may wonder why this change
has been made.
In its original form, as approved
by the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople
in the year 381, the Nicene
Creed (or Niceno-Constantinopolitan
Creed, to be precise) begins “We
believe.” The Council Fathers were
establishing a rule of faith, a criterion
that helps us interpret Sacred
Scripture correctly and to preach and
theologize correctly; it was a bulwark
against many of the heresies of the
day (Arianism, for example). It was
not written to be recited during the Mass. An abbreviated version
of the Creed was, however, used for Baptisms. Before
being plunged into the water, the catechumen would be presented
the Creed in question and answer form. The response
to each question was “I believe.”
And, of course, more baptismal water would follow.
Thus the initial use of the Creed in the liturgy was in the context
of Baptism, employing the words, “I believe.” It wasn’t
until the year 1014 that Rome began to use the Creed within
the Mass on a regular basis. This broader liturgical use of the
Creed followed the form used in Baptism, and thus the opening
word, Credo (meaning “I believe”), was employed. In the
centuries since then, additional reasons for using “I,” instead
of “we,” have been put forth. Saint Thomas Aquinas (Summa
Theologiae IIa IIae 1, 9) says that the Church proclaims the
Creed as a single person, made one by faith. Whereas the
original
baptismal context calls us to take personal responsibility
for our faith by the use of the singular “I,” Saint Thomas
complements this idea by observing that the singular “I” also
demonstrates the united, corporate
nature of the Church. Each of us singly
also speaks as the one body of
Christ in crying out, “I believe.” In
professing the faith, we acquire, in
the words of Saint Paul, “the mind of
the Lord” (1 Corinthians 2:16,
NRSV) and speak as his one body.
There are two additional reasons
for this change to the form of
the Creed. First, every other major
liturgical language either already uses
the singular “I” or soon will. This
change will unite English-speaking
Catholics more closely to the rest of
the Catholic world. Secondly, the
Latin text of the Creed in The Roman
Missal uses Credo (“I believe”) rather
than Credimus (“We believe”).
Some of the prayers of the
Mass employ the first person plural,
for example, the Gloria (“we praise you . . . we give you
thanks. . .” [emphasis added]); the prayer at the Preparation
of the Gifts: “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your
hands . . . for our good . . .” (emphasis added); the Preface
Dialogue: “Lift up your hearts. / We lift them up to the Lord”
(emphasis added); the Our Father; and the Lamb of God:
“have mercy on us” (emphasis added). Also, a number of
prayers use the first person singular, for example, the
Confiteor: “I confess to almighty God,” and the response to the
Invitation to Communion: “Lord, I am not worthy to receive
you . . .” (emphasis added) — and now the Creed.
The emergent pattern seems to be that when we confess
our sins and when we confess our faith, the Church wants us
to use the “I.” When we otherwise say or sing prayers of praise
or mercy, it is rather “we.” In a beautiful way, when a Catholic
prays the Mass, we are both one and many: many parts, one
body; many grains, one loaf; many minds, united in one faith,
in the one mind of Christ.

Preparing Your Parish for the Revised Roman Missal: Homilies and Reproducibles for Faith Formation © 2011 Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training
Publications, 3949 South Racine Avenue, Chicago IL 60609; 1-800-933-1800; www.LTP.org. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973,
2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL). All rights reserved. Photo © John Zich. This image may be reproduced for personal
or parish use. The copyright notice must appear with the text. Published with Ecclesiastical Approval (Canon 823, 1).