A Journey through the Mass
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The Creed is a summary of the Church’s faith, not an addition to Scripture nor a comprehensive catechism. The rite of Baptism incorporates key points in the Creed thus emphasizing the commitment made by the baptized and sponsors (and parents if it is a child baptism). The Creed is built around the Trinity: I believe in God the Father, in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Spirit. Trinity is relationship, which is central to our faith. Relationship brings us into Oneness with God, with each other and all of creation. We are catholic (universal) in that all people come into the single voice of the Church. We stand as we declare that we have carefully listened to the Word of God and then proclaim a resounding AMEN as we are about to enter the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
The Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful stands as a hinge swinging us into the next part of the liturgy. The priest acting as a sacrament of Christ at the head of his body opens the prayer indicating how our prayers come to the Father through Christ. A deacon, or other minister representing the assembly, articulates the prayers on behalf of the assembly with the assembly adding its own affirmation after each prayer. These broadly composed prayers embrace all the needs of the local community and the world. It is precisely our life in the world, enlightened and shaped by what we have heard today in the Word of God, that equips the people with knowledge to form their prayers. These prayers are a response to the Word of God on the part of the Church and for the sake of the world as well as for personal and community needs. Through these prayers, the Church gives voice to her relationship with the entire world.
These prayers will be brought forward with the bread and wine as we ask for ourselves and the world to be transformed into God’s Oneness.