It is on this day, before the Great Paschal Vigil, that I am filled with pride at being a Catholic Christian. I have studied – and in some cases, lived – every major non-Catholic denomination and even non-Christian religions. Nothing have I ever found fits the Biblical, Patristic, historical, rational, experiential, and aesthetic reality than the Catholic Church as a whole. I hold no ill-will, obviously, for non-Catholics, but there is nothing in this world as wonderful, awe-inspiring, and fulfilling as having embraced the Christian Faith in its original & unabridged entirety. So, today, before the Most Holy Vigil of the Resurrection, I offer my public profession, based on that which was promulgated by Pope St. John Paul the Great in A.D. MCMLXXXIX, the year of my natural birth: I, Anthony James John Mathison, with firm faith believe and profess everything that is contained in the Symbol of faith, namely: I believe in One God, the Father, the Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through Him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, He suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures. 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. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. Who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the Prophets. I believe in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. With firm faith, I also believe everything contained in the Word of God, whether written or handed down in Tradition, which the Church, either by a solemn judgement or by the ordinary and universal Magisterium, sets forth to be believed as divinely revealed. I also firmly accept and hold each and everything definitively proposed by the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals. Moreover, I adhere with religious submission of will and intellect to the teachings which either the Roman Pontiff or the College of Bishops enunciate when they exercise their authentic Magisterium, even if they do not intend to proclaim these teachings by a definitive act. In this faith, I will live and die. Amen!
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 13:30:44 +0000
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