This time, I’m not here to share a reflection, but rather an explanation of a topic that all Christians should hold dear: the Creed.

This prayer, which we recite every Sunday—in its complete form or the short version of the Apostles’ Creed—summarizes the essential truths of our faith. But why pause to meditate on it? Because what we say is not just a formula, but the heart of our identity as believers.

The origin of the Creed

When Jesus ascended to heaven, the first Christians began to formulate in a simple way what they believed: in God, in the Holy Spirit, in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. However, with the passage of time and the expansion of the Church, especially after the persecutions, it became urgent to define the fundamental truths in writing clearly. Heresies and divisions arose—such as those of Simon Magus or the partisanship between Paul, Peter, and Apollos—and it was necessary to answer: what do we believe?

This is how councils are born. First, the Council of Jerusalem, and later the decisive ones: Ephesus, Nicaea, and Constantinople. These were intense encounters, marked by moments of tension, heated arguments, exiles, and even beard-pulling among the bishops. The reason: to define whether Jesus is God or only man, whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father or also from the Son… But it was in the light of the Holy Spirit, and after these councils, that the Church formulated the Creed we recite today.

A mystery that surpasses reason

The Creed begins with a statement that is already a mystery:  “I believe in one God.” One God in three persons. The Jews accuse us of being polytheists, but we are not. The mystery of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—cannot be fully understood.

There’s an anecdote attributed to Saint Augustine: a boy was trying to fit the sea into a hole in the sand. When someone told him it was impossible, the boy replied: “It’s easier for me to fit the whole sea into this hole than for you to understand the mystery of the Trinity.” It’s not about understanding everything, but about believing. As Saint Paul says: “For now we see, as in a mirror, darkly… but then face to face.”

What we believe

“I believe in one God, the Father almighty.”

God can do all things. As the Archangel Gabriel said to Mary:  “Nothing is impossible for God.”  He is the creator of heaven and earth, of the visible and the invisible. The invisible: like the angels, like our soul. We don’t see it, but we know it’s there. The visible: millions of galaxies, animals, plants… all the creation.

Today, science recognizes that the universe had a beginning. The Bible has said this for centuries:  “Let there be light.”  The universe is not eternal. Only God is eternal. Nothing can arise from nothing by itself. Not even a lemon squeezer makes itself, much less a human being. Every life, every detail, is a gift from God.

“I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God.”

Here’s another great truth: Jesus is the only Son, born of the Father before all ages. We are children by adoption. And that’s no small thing. It’s a gift. God adopted us as his own, but Jesus is of the same divine nature.

During the rise of the Roman Empire and under the influence of the Greeks, many ideas circulated about gods descending to mingle with humans. But in the Creed, we affirm something quite different: that Jesus is not a mythological demigod, but the true God of true God.

Reciting the Creed is more than repeating words. It is humbly affirming the truths that sustain our faith. It is remembering that, even if we don’t understand everything, we believe because we trust in God. Our lives, our history, and our destiny are in His hands.

So the next time you pray it, do it with an awake heart. You are proclaiming your Christian identity. You are telling the world, “I believe.”