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RC DAILY MEDITATIONS
RC DAILY MEDITATIONS

December 17, 2024

Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Ask a Priest

“Ask a Priest: Do the Creeds Used at Mass Contradict Each Other?”

/ Ask a Priest
Q: We say a profession of faith during Mass. But there are two versions, and I find them contradicting each other. For example, the Nicene Creed speaks of “one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages,” while the Apostles’ Creed says, “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary ….” The Nicene Creed says that Jesus was begotten before all ages. But the Apostles’ Creed says that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of Mary — that implies Jesus did not exist before that. There is no mention of Jesus being God. – Lech

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: Rest assured, the creeds don’t contradict each other.

When the Nicene Creed says Jesus was begotten by the Father before all ages, it means that the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, was generated by the Father from all eternity.

Note: The Son is not created but rather generated or begotten. He is of the same nature as the Father and thus is God. Believers would understand the wording in the creed as a declaration of Jesus’ divinity.

When the creeds speak of Jesus as being conceived by the Spirit and born of Mary, they are referring to the Incarnation.

The Incarnation is when the Second Person of the Trinity assumed (took on) a human nature. The event happened at a particular moment in history (in Palestine about 2,000 years ago).

Put another way: The Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, already existed before the Incarnation. He took on a human nature and was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary at a certain time and place (in Palestine about 2,000 years ago). This is who we know as Jesus.

It is understandable that you might be puzzled. After all, we are dealing here with the two core mysteries of the Christian faith: the Trinity and the Incarnation.

In sum: Jesus is a divine Person in whom subsist a divine nature and a human nature. The divine Person (the Son of God) existed from all eternity. But his taking of a human nature occurred about 2,000 years ago.

For further reference, see the more exhaustive Athanasian Creed.

 

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Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Uncle Eddy

St Begga

/ Uncle Eddy

Dear Bridget,

Today begins our final countdown to the great Solemnity of Christmas.  Ah, what joy filled my soul at the mere thought of that first Christmas night when our Lady brought forth the Savior Child!  I do hope you are taking full advantage of this blessed season to fill your heart with its graces.

I meant to answer your last note a while ago, but I lost track of my correspondence and have only now relocated it.  Yes, I agree that there is a desperate need for authentic Christian feminism in this day and age, and I see no reason why you can’t be one of the sparks that gets it burning.  As you do, however, be careful not to downplay the importance of Christian motherhood, which, in the humble opinion of this son of the Church, is the keystone to the entire edifice of authentic feminism.  Due to the gaps in the historical record, we will never in this life be able to appreciate the profound impact of holy mothers on the course of human history (Mary’s is one of the few that God has deigned to open up for our admiration), but if we learn to read between the historical lines, I am sure we’ll be able to discern a bit of its grandeur.  Take today’s saint, for example.

Begga was a Frankish nobleman’s wife with a firm foundation of Christian faith.  She spent almost her entire life “in the world,” tending the affairs of her household and playing her proper role as an elegant and charming noblewoman.  It just so happens, however, that she fulfilled all these duties fully aware that they were the manifestation of God’s will for her. Thus, she filled them to the brim with faith in and love for Christ.  And the world was transformed because of it. Her eldest son, Pepin of Herstal, became the founder of the Carolingian dynasty and the grandfather of Charlemagne, the first of the Frankish emperors and one of the Christian kings who did most for the preservation of western civilization and the spread of the Christian faith among the Germanic tribes.  And I’ll bet that you never once ran into the name of “Begga” in any of your fancy history textbooks – the fruits of her feminine genius (which involved authentic motherhood) have received much more attention than her genius itself. What an injustice.

In any case, I’ll join my prayers to St Begga’s, so that your efforts to initiate a flow of feminist saints will bear abundant fruit.

Your affectionate uncle, Eddy

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Touching the Incarnation

/ Regnum Christi News, Weekly Message, Weekly Message Blog

Dear Friends,

I recently stood on a cliff, overlooking the ocean at night under millions of stars, and the power and majesty of God was palpable. My thoughts centered on the birth of my newest grandchild—so tiny, so perfect—and the mystery of the Incarnation. I thought on how God the Father so loved the Son that he created all things, including you and I, through him. That Son, who seeing his Father so in love with our humanity, willingly left his heavenly throne to become man—a tiny vulnerable baby just like the one I held in my arms a few hours after her birth— to save us.

There under heaven’s canopy, it felt like I could almost reach out and touch the mystery of the King of the Universe who became a baby lying in a manger, and yet the mystery eludes me.

I was reminded of a poem written by St. John of the Cross, one of my favorite saints. He writes of his contemplative prayer experiences as he entered into “unknowing,” and yet he understood great things, things that transcend human knowledge. Mystery. The poem says: “That perfect knowledge was of peace and holiness held at no remove in profound solitude; it was something so secret that I was left stammering, transcending all knowledge” (Stanzas Concerning an Ecstasy Experienced in High Contemplation). And he was so overwhelmed by the prayerful experience that his senses were left deprived of all their sensing; his spirit was given an understanding while not understanding, transcending all knowledge.

The entire story of the birth of our Lord is one we understand, and yet, it transcends our knowledge at the same time. We think we know, but we don’t really understand, the depths of what God did for us. Or we understand, but we don’t really know, a love that pure and that generous. My prayer for all our readers this Christmas is that each of you will reach out and touch the mystery of the Incarnation. Look up at the sky and its millions of stars knowing each one was created and known by our God and then gaze on the face of a little child also created and known by God, and enter the mystery of the greatest love story ever told.

Yours in the Heart of Jesus,

Donna

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The Cause of Our Joy – Day 17

/ Advent 2024

Third Week of Advent: Praying with Joy

In the time of Mary’s advent waiting, she was impelled by her love to go forth to her cousin Elizabeth’s house and sing her Magnificat: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” (Lk 1:46).  

Mentally make a list of all the gifts God has given you today and thank him.

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Alex Kucera

Atlanta

Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.

In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.

Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.

From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.

Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!