We Believe.....

 Bishop Robert Barron's video series on The Creed is packed full of thought-provoking statements.  Last night, after viewing episode 1 of the series, a friend and I were discussing Barron's insights on the first two words of the Creed:  I/we believe...

We used to say "We believe in God...." when I was growing up in the Catholic Church.  Now we say, "I believe...." each Sunday.  Barron argues that the question should remain open as to the most appropriate response.  He agrees that it is good for us to declare, each one of us, that "I" believe -- to make our own statement of belief, regardless of what others believe.  And of course, that stance appeals to our independent, individualistic culture, especially in the West today.

However, the statement "We believe" carries its own justification.  The faith of one not only strengthens that of the other, but it also imparts a particular joy of unification and friendship.  C. S. Lewis' classic essay on Friendship in his book Four Loves cannot help but bring joy to anyone who has experienced the kind of friendship he describes.  

According to Lewis, friendship, unlike erotic love, always welcomes the third, fourth, or fifth person into the relationship.  For friendship is not two people looking at one another, but rather it is two people looking together at a third "thing" which both love and enjoy.  The enjoyment of my friend in stamp collecting, birdwatching, traveling, wine-tasting, or whatever draws us together, enhances my own joy because now I see the object not only from my own perspective but also from the perspective and experience of my friend.  And when my friend dies, I lose not only my friend, but also his/her enjoyment of the third thing which we both enjoyed.

For the past 15 years, a group of about 6 to 12 of us have been meeting on Wednesday mornings to read, study, and talk about our faith.  The group began as a bible study, but eventually merged into a  book study, wherein we read the chosen book together (not individually at home), stopping to comment on, reflect on, question, or discuss what we are reading.  Our current study is Four Witnesses by Rod Barrett, a history of the earliest church reflected in the writings of Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, Ireneus of Lyons, and Justin Martyr.

As we openly discuss our reactions to the faith and experience of the early church, we tend to reveal our own stories and spiritualities.  Here is where "we believe" becomes strength to all of us.  We are absorbing what the Fathers of the Church believed and lived, with considerable impact on our own lives and stories --- but the faith reactions of one person in the group also impacts the faith and reactions of the others.  The insights given to one become the insights of all because we trust and respect one another --- and we are all built up together into one body with "living stones," in the words of Scripture.  The "I believe" eventually, through thoughtful exploration, becomes "We believe..."

For those of us who believe and live the communion of saints, living and dead, the circle widens even further.  Most of us chose patron saints when we were confirmed.  Mine was Therese of Liseux, for no other reason at the time than that I was a sixth-grade girl, and the statue of St. Therese in our church was beautiful.  But grace....grace.... itself went before and behind me.  Now, as an adult, I have discovered that my spirituality matches that of St. Therese, and her "beliefs" have strongly impacted and confirmed my own experience.  When my own spirituality cannot climb to the heights of that of the great saints, I find consolation in the littleness of St. Therese, in the simplicity of her everyday life.  And her reflections often pierce my soul.  

The same might be said of the writings of Padre Pio, Ignatius of Loyola, St. Benedict and so on....their unique faiths, their different approaches to the enjoyment of God, all serve to enhance my own faith and give me joy.  It has been said that the "life of the world to come" included in our credal statement means that as friends at last, we will all enjoy one another's enjoyment of God and of the ways He has worked in our lives.  Something to look forward to, indeed!