The new profession of faith

  • Thread starter Thread starter mary46
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A new question about the profession of faith. I just read that “the only begotten Son of God born of the Father before all ages” means that “Jesus was not merely born in Bethlehem, but that he is eternally begotten by the Father. The Son is always being born of the Father and the Father is always begetting the Son”. This is quoted from Bishop Boyea. I have never heard it explained like this before. What is your take on this?
Mary46
Perhaps Bishop Boyea’s explanation falls under the heading, “All God’s Works are Eternal.”
As time bound creatures, we have a very fragile understanding of things eternal. God is, always has been, always will be. God does not change. Neither do His works. As God is, His works are.
 
Could it be that the Incarnation is an event outside of time, like the Crucifixion re-presented during Mass?
 
The translations shown from Latin to English looks very similar to what I have in my 1962 Roman Missal. I am sure parishes will keep out cards or something for the responses so people can follow along when Advent comes.
 
The translations shown from Latin to English looks very similar to what I have in my 1962 Roman Missal.
That may be true but it’s really irrelevant. Those translations are/were just a guide to follow the Latin and vary from handmissal to handmissal. They work for some and bother others like me. And FWIW, it’s almost certain that a first-year Latin student would have probably translated some of the Latin (like “Dominus vobiscum,” “sursum corda,” etc.) differently.
 
old.usccb.org/romanmissal/samples-people.shtml

Click where it says “commentary” by the line you want explained.

If you go up to the “General Resources” you will find the same thing for the Priest Parts - as well as many other valuable free resources from our Bishops.

There is a booklet published by Magnificat that is very good.
 
Once again I thank all of you who responded to my question. You give me lots to think about. I am grateful to have found a forum where I can ask questions like this.
Thank you again!
Mary46
 
The problem I’m having is explaining the " the only begotten Son of God" with the following “born of the Father before all ages” and “begotten not made”.
The first thing we need to understand is why the Creed uses the word “begotten” and expressly avoids the word “created.” The verb beget is traditionally used of a father, and it means “to father a child.” God the Father begat God the Son. It is not the same as creating. A father begets a child who is of the same nature and substance as the father: man begets man, horse begets horse. A man creates something unlike him in nature and substance: man creates a statue, a car, a house.

Because the Father begat the Son, that means the Son is of the same nature and substance as the Father: the Son is divine like the Father is divine, and because the Son is divine and the nature of divinity is eternal, the Father begat the Son eternally. If the Father had created the Son, the Son would not – could not – be divine, could not be God, because God is uncreated and eternal, and created things have an origin in time. We really cannot fathom this first amazing mystery of the Trinity: the Father begat the Son eternally, so there was no time (since time did not even exist yet) before the Father begat the Son: the Father was never without the Son. This is what we mean when we say “born of the Father before all ages,” or, as we used to say, “eternally begotten of the Father.” We, on the other hand, were not begotten by God, we were created by God. God begets eternally, He creates temporally. We are not His begotten children, we are His created and adopted children. Jesus is the Son of God by nature and we are sons and daughters of God by grace. This is why we confess Jesus as the only begotten Son of God.

From Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the People, chapter 7
 
Does anyone know where I could get a line by line explanation of the new profession of faith? I am only having some difficulty with 5 lines, but I’m stopped dead in my tracks. I can’t order a book and wait for it to get here, and I don’t have a kindle or a nook.
I know I’m impatient, but I’m trying to organize a class around this.
there are on-line downloadable articles on this and all aspects of the changes, including the side-by-side old and new, on the bishop’s website, ussccb.org, click on new Roman Missal. it takes some navigation and investigating to see if each article is what you want, and the tab titles are confusing, but browse around.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top