By Jenny Koch
Connecting Creed and Life
Editor’s note: For 2025, the weekly Connecting Faith and Life column will be renamed Connecting Creed and Life. To celebrate the 2025 Jubilee Year and the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the columns will consist of reflections on the Nicene Creed, corresponding with related paragraphs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC).
“I believe in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church” (CCC 830-856).
I was really uncomfortable at Mass last weekend. I was squished in my pew and had little room to relax. During the opening prayer, I could hear chairs being brought out. It was loud and distracting. I was overwhelmed with joy.
The Church is growing. The Church is fulfilling her mission. It is one, holy, Catholic and apostolic. But what does it mean to say you are Catholic? This month, hundreds of future parishioners are starting classes across the diocese to enter into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Because I am a teacher for some of those classes, and I get this question all of the time, I thought I would look at the word “Catholic” with OCIA in mind. Why are we Catholic? Where did that word come from, and what does it mean for me?
The simple answer is found in Matthew 28:20: “Then Jesus approached and said to them, ‘All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.’” In this verse, we find the great commission. We as Catholics are meant to be on mission, working to develop a relationship with Jesus and help others become disciples. What is a disciple? A follower of Jesus.
In the Creed every Sunday, we are also reminded of this important Catholic identity. The Marks of the Church — One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic — are recited as a benchmark, a reminder or our ancient faith linked to the apostles. This word “Catholic” was first used around 110 AD in the ancient city of Antioch when St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote a letter to the Smyreneans. In this letter, he is addressing problems in the community — some said the Passion of Christ was a sham, others were staying away from worship, and some were even creating schism. As a response to this, St. Ignatius reminds his readers to focus on what’s important — “Where the bishop is present, there let the congregation gather, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”
In this letter, we are reminded not only of the early presence and importance of bishops, but we also see that the focus is on Jesus. Our Catholic Church, in all of its rites and traditions, is meant to point others to Christ. Signs and sacramentals, devotions and novenas, all of these beautiful, ancient traditions find their purpose in illuminating what really matters — a relationship with Jesus. When we say that we are Catholic, we are stating a belief in the “universal” nature of Christ’s Church. This concept is easily seen if you travel to another Catholic church on vacation. I have even sat through Mass in another language and felt comfortable following along. Unlike many Protestant denominations, every Catholic priest uses the same rubric at Mass. The prayers sound the same. We stand, sit and kneel at predictable times. The term universal, however, is not the same as uniform for local traditions may vary from city to city. It also doesn’t make our faith boring, for our Catholic list of saints keeps growing. Martyrs and millennials make up the list of former Catholics who lived heroic — not boring — lives of virtue. We are not robots; we are meant to be restless. After all, St. Augustine reminds us that, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Over the course of the next seven months (until the Easter Vigil), candidates and catechumens will study the catechism, grow in prayer and dive into scripture together. Together, they will come to learn all of the things that make us a Catholic, Universal Church. During classes and meetings, they come to appreciate the unique nature of what it means to be Catholic, yet realize that in all that we do, our faith and all of its beauty and wisdom should be pointing to Christ. Last year at Easter, the Catholic Church recorded record numbers of new members. At the University of Notre Dame, in particular, they saw the largest group of converts in 25 years. Many cite COVID, a revival in our youth or even the internet for the increased numbers. Whatever it is, let’s continue to pray for continued conversion in our own hearts, our own homes and in our parishes. Together, this Universal Catholic Church can reach “all the nations,” as Jesus commanded.
Jenny Koch is a local publisher at Decided Excellence Catholic Media. Her family attends Corpus Christi Parish in Evansville.