1.

THE APOSTLES’ CREED: ARTICLE 1

The book is a complete explanation of
the 12 Articles of the Apostles’ Creed.

ARTICLE 1:
I BELIEVE IN GOD, THE FATHER
ALMIGHTY, CREATOR OF
HEAVEN AND EARTH

To purchase the Book, or for theological

inquiries (e-mails only), contact the author:
AUTHOR Rev. Fr. Paolo O. Pirlo, SHMI
EDITION 1st Edition, Manila, May 19, 2013
PUBLISHER Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate
Quality Catholic Publications
Isabella De Rosis St., Multinational
1708 Parañaque City, Philippines
Telefax (02) 828-2338
Tel. (02) 828-9509
sonsmaryphil@yahoo.com

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2. A CATECHIST’S PRAYER
Loving Father, giver of all that is,
help me to remember that every gift
I have comes from you. Expand my
vision so that I can appreciate your
goodness in the world around me.
Jesus, our Redeemer, you are
the path to the treasures of my
heart and soul. Strengthen my
commitment to be a catechist and
deepen my capacity to share your
truth with those in my care.
Holy Spirit, Love Divine, all life
and energy flows from you.
Illuminate my thoughts and
intensify my desire to grow ever
deeper in my faith.
I lift up my prayer to you, God—
Father, Son, and Spirit—in humility
and hope. Amen.
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 3. WHAT ARE THE FIVE PARTS
OF THE 1ST ARTICLE?

The 1st Article of the

Creed is divided into
five parts:

1. The Virtue of Faith,

2. The Holy Trinity,
3. God the Creator,
4. Angels and Demons,
5. Man and Original Sin. The Icon of the Holy Trinity

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 4. THE VIRTUE OF FAITH:
What Is Faith?
 Faith is the theological
virtue by which we
believe in the existence of
God and in his revelation.
 Etymologically, it comes
from the Latin word
fides, which means “the
act of believing.”
 Abraham is the Father of
All Believers, because he
followed the will of God to
the extent of sacrificing
his son Isaac.
The Sacrifice of Isaac.

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 5. THE VIRTUE OF FAITH:
What are the three Theological Virtues?
1. FAITH, by which we believe in the existence of God
and his revelation, is the virtue that concerns the
past.
2. LOVE, or charity, by which we do good deeds for God
and neighbor, is the virtue that concerns the present.
3. HOPE, by which
we desire Eternal
Life as the reward
for our faith and
good works, is
the virtue that
concerns the
future.

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 6. THE VIRTUE OF FAITH:
Are we saved by faith or by good works?
 According to Martin Luther,
who initiated the Protestant
Reformation in 1521,
salvation can be achieved by
faith alone; his motto was:
“By faith alone, by grace
alone, by Scriptures alone.”
 On the contrary, we Catholics
believe that salvation can be
achieved by faith and good
works; and that grace must
be accompanied by the
Sacraments, and Scriptures
by the Church’s Tradition. The
apostle James wrote: “Faith of
itself, if it does not have
works, is dead” (James 2:17).

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 7. THE VIRTUE OF FAITH:
Can we demonstrate God’s existence?
 The existence of God can be
rationally demonstrated by
applying the Principle of
Causality: for every effect
there must be a corresponding
cause. A watch (effect)
requires a watchmaker
(cause); a building, an
architect; the universe, God.
 On the other hand, the truths
of Revelation, such as the
Trinity and the Divinity of
Christ, cannot be rationally
demonstrated but must be
accepted by Faith.
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 8. THE HOLY TRINITY:
What is the Dogma of the Holy Trinity?
 The Dogma of the Holy Trinity says: “God is One Divine Nature in
Three Divine Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
 Although acting as One God, each Person has a specific task: the
Father creates, the Son redeems, the Holy Spirit sanctifies.
 The word Trinity comes from the Latin trinus and unitas, meaning
“three in one.”

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9. THE HOLY TRINITY:
Where in the Bible
can we find the
Trinity?

The Dogma of the

Trinity is based on
Jesus’ proclamation:
“Go, therefore, and
make disciples of all
nations, baptizing
them in the name of
the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy
Spirit” (Matthew
28:19).

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 10. THE HOLY TRINITY:
What are the biblical proofs of the Trinity?
 The divinity of God the Father is evident in Jesus’
words: “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your
name (Luke 11:2).
 The divinity of God the Son is revealed:
A) In the Prologue of the Gospel of John (“In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God” - John 1:1).
B) In the answer given to Philip (“Whoever has seen me
has seen the Father - John 14:9-10).
C) In Thomas’ profession of faith (“My Lord and my God” -
John 20:28).
 The divinity of God the Holy Spirit was revealed on
Pentecost Day: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit
enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2:4).
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 11. THE HOLY TRINITY:
Can we rationally demonstrate the Holy Trinity?
 The Dogma of the Holy
Trinity cannot be
demonstrated with human
reason, but it is accepted
by faith.
 St. Augustine saw a child
scooping water from the
sea into a hole in the sand.
When the Saint laughed at
the impossible task, the
child replied: “It is easier
to empty the ocean in this
small hole, than to place
the mystery of the Trinity
into your small mind.”
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 12. THE HOLY TRINITY:
What are the Trinitarian heresies?
 ARIANISM: This heresy denies the divinity of Christ and,
consequently, the Trinity.
 MACEDONIANISM: This false doctrine rejects the divinity
of the Holy Spirit, by saying that he was created by the
Father.
 MODALISM: This error claims that there is only one God,
and that the three Persons are only different
manifestations of him.
 TRITEISM: This heresy maintains that there are three
gods, represented by the three Persons of the Father, the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

To remain free from Trinitarian heresies, St. John Damascene

formulated the following principle: “The three Persons are
united but not confused; distinct but not divided.”

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 13. THE HOLY TRINITY:
Why is the Holy Family the Icon of the Trinity?
 The Holy Family of
Nazareth, composed of
three persons united in
a relationship of love,
is the closest possible
representation of the
Trinity.
 The Trinity is a
mystery of love,
because “God is love”
(1 John 4:8), and only
those who love, can
understand it.
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14. GOD THE CREATOR:
Who created the
universe?
 The universe was
created by God, as the
Bible says: “In the
beginning God created
the heavens and the
earth” (Genesis 1:1).
 God created out of
nothing, because he
did not use any pre-
existing matter.
 God created out of
love, in order to share
and manifest his
goodness.
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 15. GOD THE CREATOR:
Why is Christ the Alpha and Omega of creation?
 Christ is creation’s
“Alpha and the
Omega”, which are
the first and the last
letters of the Greek
alphabet, because the
creation was done by
him and for him.
 This truth is
expressed at the
Paschal Vigil, during
the blessing of the
Paschal Candle.
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 16. GOD THE CREATOR:
What are the heresies about creation?
 PANTHEISM: this heresy identifies God with the creation.
The Church replies that God is distinct from his creation, as a
painter is distinct from his painting.
 DUALISM: this error believes in the existence of two gods:
the good-god who created goodness, and the bad-god who
created evil. The Church answers that there is only one God,
who is good; and evil is the absence of goodness.
 DEISM: this philosophy states that God, like a watch-maker,
created the universe and then left it to itself. Therefore, any
form of prayer or trust in the divine Providence is useless.
The Church answers that God is not only the creator, but also
the provider for all his creatures.
 MATERIALISM: this philosophy denies the existence of God,
and claims that the universe is an interplay of eternal matter.
The Church replies that order and design cannot originate by
themselves, but require God as supreme designer.
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 17. GOD THE CREATOR:
What is the Problem of Evil?
The Problem of Evil consists of this enigma: “If God
created all things out of nothing, why is there evil in the
world?” The Church gives two answers:
 Evil is the absence of good,
and was not created by God.
For instance, cutting off the
hand of a neighbor is evil; but
it is man’s fault, and not
God’s.
 God allows evil for a
greater good, which is the
freedom of man; because the
gift of freedom is greater than
all the evil man can ever THE MAGUINDANAO
commit. MASSACRE

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 18. GOD THE CREATOR:
What is the Divine Providence?
 The Divine Providence is the disposition by which God cares for
all his creatures. The title El-Shaddai means “God Provides.”
 Although God could provide personally for all his creatures, he
wants man’s cooperation. Thus, we must work to support
ourselves, our family, and make a better world.

The Holy Family doing their daily work.

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 19. GOD THE CREATOR:
Are Creation and Evolution compatible?
Concerning the origin of the universe, and of the species of plants
and animals, there are three basic theories:
 The Theory of Creation believes that they were created by
God directly and out-of-nothing. The main argument is that
their order and design cannot originate spontaneously. This is
the Bible’s teaching.
 The Theory of Evolution speculates that the Universe came
into existence after a Big Bang Explosion, and that life
originated by the random combination of atoms. This theory,
that was proposed by Charles Darwin (1859) and never
demonstrated, is atheistic and cannot be accepted by a
Christian.
 The Theory of Theistic Evolution maintains that God created
the matter from which the Universe and the living beings
evolved. This syncretism of Creation and Evolution, that was
initiated by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), may be
accepted by a Christian, although it was never demonstrated.
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 20. GOD THE CREATOR:
A comparison between Creation and Evolution
 The Theory of Creation, revealed in the Bible, believes that
God created the universe and all species of plants and animals,
and that purpose of man is eternal life in Paradise.
 The Theory of Evolution, proposed by Charles Darwin with his
book On the Origin of Species (1859), believes that God does
not exist, that living beings originated by a random combination
and evolution of bacteria; and that the destiny of man is
extinction.

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 21. GOD THE CREATOR:
Did God create the Universe in six days?
We believe that God
created the universe in
six days; however, there
are two interpretations,
both acceptable:

 Literal
interpretation: God
created the universe
in six days of 24
hours, and rested on
the seventh.
 Day-age
interpretation: The
six days of Genesis
are geological ages of
millions of years.

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 22. ANGELS AND DEMONS:
Who are the angels?
 The angels are
spiritual and immortal
beings created by God.
Angelos in Greek means
“messenger,” because
their office is to serve
God and to announce
his Word to men.
 The Guardian Angel is
the one assigned by
God to each person, to
guide and protect him.

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 23. ANGELS AND DEMONS:
Who are the archangels?
The archangels are angels endowed with
extraordinary gifts, namely:
 RAPHAEL  GABRIEL  MICHAEL
(Medicine-of-God), (Power-of-God), who (Who-is-like-God?),
who was given the has the power of who has the power
gift of healing. actualizing God’s plans. of defeating Satan.

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24. ANGELS AND DEMONS:
Who are the demons?
 The demons are fallen
angels, who disobeyed God
and were cast into Hell; their
leader is Lucifer.
 Lucifer, meaning Bearer-of-
Light, was the brightest
archangel, but he grew proud
and wanted to take the place
of God. After being banished
from Heaven, his name was
changed into Satan, which
means Accuser; Devil,
meaning Divider; and
Beelzebul, which means
God-of-Flies.
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 25. ANGELS AND DEMONS:
How can Demons affect our life?
The demons can interact with men in three ways:
 TEMPTATION  OBSESSION  POSSESSION
is the act of alluring is the act of scaring a is the act of taking
a person to commit person away from God, over the intellect and
sin, by appealing to by affecting external will of a person, and
man’s intellect and objects and appearing can only be removed
will. in visions. by an exorcism.

Jesus tempted St. Anthony Abbot Jesus exorcises the

by the Devil. obsessed by the Devil. possessed man.

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 26. MAN AND ORIGINAL SIN:
Why did God create man in his image and likeness?
 Man was created “in the image and likeness of God”, meaning, he
was endowed with intellect and will, to be able to love God.
 Plants have the vegetative soul (birth, growth, and
reproduction); Animals possess the sensitive soul (internal and
external senses); men have the rational soul (intellect and will).

Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel,

Creation of Adam.

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 27. MAN AND ORIGINAL SIN:
What is the Original Sin?
 The Original Sin is the first act of disobedience committed by Adam
and Eve, who ate the Forbidden Fruit. As a punishment, they lost the
original holiness, acquired the concupiscence, and were destined to die.
 The original sin is transmitted to all men, with the exception of the
Virgin Mary, who is Immaculate, meaning: she was conceived without
the Original Sin.

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28. MAN AND ORIGINAL SIN:
What is the Protoevangelium?

 The Protoevangelium, or
“The First Gospel,” is the
first announcement of the
coming of the Messiah.
 God made a promise to
Adam and Eve: “I will put
enmity between you [the
Devil] and the woman
[Virgin Mary], and between
your offspring and hers
[Jesus]; They will strike at
your head, while you strike
at their heel” (Genesis
3:15).
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