"I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church..."
God is God and God is a triune God--One God in three distinct Persons. The Holy Spirit often is considered the most misunderstood, or at least the most mysterious. One day when I was in seminary, the question was asked by our pastoral care professor, "When you think about God, which one of the Trinity comes to mind first, or which do you most often think about in your prayers?" This was a real good question. Jesus seemed to be the one who was most often considered first. However, when one thought about the "power" of God, the Holy Spirit was the most popular in the class.
The Holy Spirit is seen when God acts in our world. We call upon the Holy Spirit to bring about God's will. The Creed is short and sweet when it comes to the Holy Spirit. Stated simply, "I believe in the Holy Spirit." Ask yourself, who is the Holy Spirit to you?
The Holy Catholic Church is included in the Creed. When I was in my Protestant days as a pastor, the explanation of this part of the Creed was downplayed by reminding the congregation that the word "catholic" meant "universal." In fact, catholic does mean universal, however, we are saying that we hold to the belief of the Holy Catholic Church of Rome. We hold to the teachings of the Church that was founded by Jesus Christ through Saint Peter. Sure, there are problems with many things in the church today--many scandals. But, in the history of the Church, there have been many scandals. Yet, it is because of our belief in God, our Trinity that we can have faith in our Church. God will protect His Church. We can trust in this.
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