If the twelve apostles had a website, their “About Us” page would read a lot like the words of The Apostles’ Creed. It would say that they are followers of Christ on a mission to spread the Gospel and that each of them believes in:

God, the Father almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; He descended into hell; on the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

The word creed comes from the Latin word credo, meaning to believe, trust, entrust. Much like The Nicene Creed, The Apostles’ Creed, states the main tenets of the Catholic faith and all that we as followers of Jesus believe.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church compares the impact of the creed to the mustard seed: “…Just as the mustard seed contains a great number of branches in a tiny grain, so too this summary of faith encompassed in a few words the whole knowledge of the true religion contained in the Old and the New Testaments.”

What are the origins of The Apostles’ Creed?

Unlike The Nicene Creed, The origins of The Apostles’ Creed are not clear. Many have long believed that the creed (as the name implies) was drafted by the apostles. According to catholiceducation.org tradition held that on the day of Pentecost, the apostles wrote the creed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Each apostle was believed to have written one of the twelve parts of faith that are expressed in the creed.

This idea has since been disputed. Instead, scholars believe The Apostles’ Creed came about from interrogations made by the bishop to catechumens (those preparing to be baptized) in the early church. The bishop would ask, “Dost thou believe in God the Father Almighty?” “Dost thou believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?” and so on. The Apostles’ Creed is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome.

This baptismal creed was eventually replaced by the Apostles’ Creed during baptisms and it was recognized as the official statement of faith of the entire Catholic Church in the West by 1198–1216.

So while the apostles may not have actually drafted The Apostles’ Creed, it summarizes their teachings and beliefs, thus making the name of the creed appropriate.

What’s the difference between the two creeds?

The Apostles’ Creed is the earlier, abridged version of The Nicene Creed. In the 4th century, heretics were questioning Jesus’ divinity and doubting the Holy Trinity. Disturbed by these rumors spreading around, bishops assembled twice—in Nicea and at the Council of Constantinople—to refute any doubts that there is One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. From these meetings was born The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (Nicene Creed) an expanded version of The Apostles’ Creed. The Nicene Creed explains the Catholic faith in greater detail.

When is each creed said?

The Nicene Creed is said during Sunday mass, while The Apostles’ Creed is usually said at mass where children will be present as it is shorter and easier to understand. The Apostles’ Creed is also used in such devotions as the Rosary and The Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

How to measure for a first communion dress by the Catholic Faith Store.

A few things you will need are a soft tape measure and have your daughter in tight fitting clothes or her undergarments.

Bust Measurement

We are going to take a bust or chest measurement first. So you will need to take the tape measure and wrap it around the widest part of the chest. Be sure to keep your finger behind the tape measure when taking the measurement.

Waist Measurement

For the waist, you’ll want to put your tape measure just above the belly button. Wrap the tape measure around the body with your finger behind the tape. Not too tight, not too loose. If you have a girl with a bit of a tummy, instead of measuring at the top of the belly button, you will need to measure at the very widest part of her mid-section. This way you will be sure to get a dress that fits all the way through.

Tea or Floor Length Measurement

If you are measuring for a tea length dress, you will want that dress to fit just about mid calf. Take your tape measure measurement at the shoulder and go to where you want the hem to fall. When measuring for a floor length dress, measure to the heel.

Hollow to Hem Measurement

If the size chart uses hollow of the neck, take the tape measure and start at the neck bone and measure all the way down to where the size chart states for length.

Size Charts

Manufacturers size charts provide the finished measurement for the dress. When you put your finger behind the tape, you are correctly adding the extra room you need. Take your finger behind the tape measurement and use that measurement to compare to the size chart.

Here is another great resource to find out even more information about First Communion, from how to pick a style of dress to timing on when to buy the dress to be prepared for your First Communion.

The word novena comes from the Latin word, “novem,” which means nine. A novena is nine-day period of prayer (private or public) to “obtain special graces, to implore special favors, or to make special petitions” for yourself or for others. The practice of praying a novena goes back to the days of the Apostles when they along with the Virgin Mary, prayed for a period of nine days until the coming of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost).

Why Nine Days?

As illustrated so many times throughout the Bible, Jesus instructs us on how He wants us to live, act, and even pray.

Jesus instituted the first novena when He commanded His Apostles to remain in the city of Jerusalem for nine days after He ascended into Heaven, to pray and wait patiently for the Holy Spirit to appear and to descend upon them. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command:
[quote]“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.” [/quote] (Acts 1:4)

That first novena was an example of praying to obtain a special grace: preparing for the feast of Pentecost and praying to make a special petition: pleading for the Holy Spirit to come.

Different Novenas

As USCatholic.org explains, novenas usually consist of “a brief scripture passage, a novena-specific prayer that is repeated every day, some type of litany or petition/response prayer, and often a hymn or canticle.”

There are four main types of novenas:

1. Novenas of mourning
2. Novenas of preparation, for upcoming celebrations such as Christmas, Easter, or feast days
3. Novenas of petition
4. Novenas of penance

Which Novena Should I Pray?

Depending on your need, you can select from a great number of different novenas. Novenas are typically prayed to Jesus, Blessed Mary, saints, the Blessed Trinity, and angels.

There are many reasons why people choose to pray a novena. Some choose to pray prior to a feast or holiday such as Christmas, the Feast of the Assumption, or the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Others in need of a miracle or a special intercession pray a novena to a certain patron saint to help fulfill their specialized needs.

Still others pray for a deceased loved one, for their health, to help them find employment, and the list goes on.

Here you can find just one sampling of some of the many novenas you can pray, including Marian, Sacred Heart, Saint, and Special novenas.

Novenas Aren’t a Quick Fix

As Jesus told His disciples, we must pray constantly and never give up (Luke 18:1).

It’s important to remember that just because we say a novena for nine days, doesn’t mean our prayers will be answered on the tenth day, or the twentieth or hundredth day. Like any prayer, a novena is a spiritual exercise and a way for us to draw closer to God, not a bartering system.

When we expect immediate results, we treat novenas as if they’re an old-fashioned juke box. Unlike juke boxes, where we insert money and immediately get something in return, praying a novena doesn’t necessarily produce instant results. Sometimes we have to pray for a long period before we see any results.

Why?

We don’t know. What we do know is that Jesus always has our back and He knows what’s best. We mustn’t become disheartened or give up saying novenas because we don’t immediately see the fruits of our labor.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.

James 5:16

Forgive Others

If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.

– Matthew 6:14

 

Saint Francis Xavier

Apostle to the Far East

See some great Catholic gifts for Saint Francis Xavier

Where Does True Strength Come From?

I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.

Philippians 4:13

Philippians 4:6 – Make Your Requests Know to HIM

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.

Have No Fear

Be Strong and steadfast;

have no fear or dread of them,

for it is the LORD,

your God,

who marches with you;

he will never fail you or forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Renew Yourself in Christ

So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.

He Provides The Way Out

No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial He will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

What does giving someone the thumbs up, the o.k. sign, and making the sign of the cross have in common? They’re all frequently used gestures that we perform countless times throughout our lifetime. Unlike the first two gestures, the sign of the cross is steeped with religious symbolism.

When is the last time you made the sign of the cross and stopped to think about what you’re doing? Do you make the gesture consciously and piously? Do you think about the meaning behind each gesture, or is it something you do haphazardly at the beginning and the end of your daily prayers, before meals, and as you enter and leave the church? If you answered yes to the latter, you definitely are not alone. Many of us go through our autopilot moments in life, when we’re suddenly reminded to stop and smell the proverbial roses.

Let’s take a moment to stop and reflect on the meaning of the sign of the cross. When did Catholics first adopt this practice? Why do the Eastern Orthodox Churches do the sign of the cross differently? Hopefully, going forward we’ll all stop and be in the moment each time we cross ourselves.

History of Making The Sign of the Cross

Historians trace this practice back to 211 AD, when one of the early church fathers, Tertullian, stated in his writings how people would regularly sign themselves throughout their daily lives: “In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting on our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupies us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross.”

Much like Tertullian, most of the early Christians during that time traced the cross on their foreheads (usually with their thumb) in recognition of Christ dying on the cross for our salvation, and as a symbol that they were baptized Christians. They also believed the sign protected them from the devil and all his temptations.

[quote]In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.[/quote]

Eventually, the way the early believers made the sign of the cross evolved into how we do it today: with our right hand, we touch our forehead (the Father), our breast (the Son), and our shoulders, left to right (the Holy Spirit). This change took centuries to unfold. Let’s see how this transformation came to be.

Jesus Is Both Divine and Human

In the 5th century, a heretic group called the Monophysites rejected the belief the early Christians held that Jesus was both human and divine. They believed Jesus was only divine, without having a human presence. In staunch protest against the heretics, many Christians began to make the sign of the cross using two fingers (to represent Jesus as both divine and human) and felt compelled to emphasize their belief by making a much larger sign than previously, thus they involved their forehead, breast, and eventually the shoulders, right to left.
Throughout the next few centuries, emphasis was also given to recognizing the Holy Spirit in addition to the divine and human nature of Christ. To represent the Trinity, the use of three fingers (the thumb, pointer, and middle finger pressed together) was introduced.

Right Shoulder First vs. Left Shoulder First

For more than 1,200 years, Christians from both the Eastern Orthodox and Western Church made the sign of the cross in the same manner: with three fingers touching the forehead, chest, and their shoulders, going right to left. There were several rationales for touching the right shoulder first, one of which comes from the Scriptures (Mark 16:19) that says that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father: “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” The right side, therefore, represents the light and all that is good.

The Orthodox Church also stresses that because the Lord separated the sheep from the goats, putting the faithful sheep on His right side, and the goats on the left, the Church regards the right side as the favored side. In addition, the early followers got into the habit of imitating how the priest gave his blessing over the congregation: from the viewpoint of the parishioners, the priest blesses them right to left.

A Shift in the Western Church

By the end of the Middle Ages, the Catholics from the Western Church changed how they made the sign of the cross, using their hand instead of three fingers and touching their left shoulder first. It’s believed this change was inspired by a 15th-century devotion used by the nuns of the Brigittine Monastery of Sion in Isleworth, England, which stated that “one should begin with the head and move downward, then to the left side, and then to the right.” The reason, the nuns said, is because “Jesus came down from the Father (forehead), was born as man (breast), suffered on the Cross (left shoulder), and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father (right shoulder).”

Till this day, this method is the standard throughout the Western Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church continues to use three fingers to make the Sign of the Cross and most notably to touch their right shoulder first.
The Goal

Whether you sign yourself using three fingers or your hand, the most important aspect of making the sign of the cross is doing it while you are fully present in the moment. In the words of Pope Benedict XVI,

[quote]The Sign of the Cross is the fundamental act of our prayer, of Christian prayer. Making the Sign of the Cross—as we will do during the blessing—means saying a visible and public ‘yes’ to the One who died and rose for us, to God who in the humility and weakness of his love is the Almighty, stronger than all the power and intelligence of the world.[/quote]