Signed, Sealed, and Delivered
by Pat Gohn in Faith on Friday, March 19, 2010 6:00 AM
As a young girl, (in the ancient days before the internet), I was an avid pen pal. I cherished all the tools went with it: personalized stationery, a stamp collection, and the sealing wax. I remember dripping hot wax onto the closed envelope flap. Then carefully placing my identifiable letter “P” stamp in the hardening warm lump. Signed and sealed, I trotted my letters to the post box for delivery.
Years later, in history classes, I learned of popes and kings and military leaders who pressed signet rings onto wax seals. Their imprints authenticated the truthful identity of who and whose authority stood behind the contents of the delivered letter or marching orders. Today we can think of similar seals, such as the papal coat of arms – unique to each pope – or the official seal of the President of the United States.
Christians, too, have a sign, a profound symbol of their faith with which their identity is sealed: the Profession of Faith.
We, the baptized, pray the most common one at Mass: the Nicene Creed. Many of us also know the older, more succinct Apostles Creed. It is used in many prayerful devotions, as well as an outline for Part One of The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) that summarizes Catholic beliefs.
A Profession of Faith, or creed, is a formulaic summary of what we believe, synthesizing the principal truths of faith. It is at once personal and communal.
CCC 185 and 186:
Whoever says “I believe” says “I pledge myself to what we believe.” Communion in faith needs a common language of faith, normative for all and uniting all in the same confession of faith.
From the beginning, the apostolic Church expressed and handed on her faith… [gathering] the essential elements… into organic and articulated summaries, intended especially for candidates for Baptism.
The first and foremost profession of faith is made in Baptism. This sacrament is imparted to us in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This baptismal profession of faith, like the Creed we pray at Mass, tells us who we are, and whose we are.
In baptism we are personally sealed with the sign of our faith by the tracing of the cross on our brow, as we were named and baptized. So, too, when we pray the Creed aloud communally, our proclamation is the symbol of what we have been sealed with.
CCC 189 and 190:
The truths of faith professed during Baptism are articulated in terms of their reference to the three persons of the Holy Trinity.
And so the Creed is divided into three parts: the first part speaks of the first divine Person and the wonderful work of creation; the next speaks of the second divine Person and the mystery of his redemption of men; the final part speaks of the third divine Person, the origin and source of our sanctification. These are the three chapters of our [baptismal] seal.
Recall the authenticity an official seal? Consider another example of symbol of authenticity offered by the Catechism in CCC 188:
The Greek word symbolon meant half of a broken object, for example, a seal presented as a token of recognition. The broken parts were placed together to verify the bearer’s identity. The symbol of faith, then, is a sign of recognition and communion between believers. Symbolon also means a gathering, collection or summary.
The next time you stand to recite the Creed at Mass, bear in mind that you stand with others who, though they may be broken, are acknowledging their true identity in God. In Mass, we bring many individual parts into communion with one another. We recognize one another as marked with the sign of our faith.
And the most fantastic thing is, that as Mass progresses, we are invited to true communion with Jesus Christ… the one who puts all the broken pieces together and makes them one.
So the next time you pronounce the creed, remember the good news message that you are sending: You are signed, sealed, and delivered… by God!
Want to read more?
CCC 197:
As on the day of our Baptism, when our whole life was entrusted to the “standard of teaching”, [Rom 6:17] let us embrace the Creed of our life-giving faith. To say the Credo with faith is to enter into communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and also with the whole Church which transmits the faith to us and in whose midst we believe:
[St Ambrose taught,] “This Creed is the spiritual seal, our heart’s meditation and an ever-present guardian; it is, unquestionably, the treasure of our soul.”
—Pat Gohn is a wife & mother celebrating 27 years of Catholic family life. Her Catholic writing, podcasting, and ministry life are found at PatGohn.com.
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