THE MEDAL

Man find himself alone and lost in this vast universe.
And he is full of fears.

Good religion makes him fearless. Bad religion increases his fears.

A mother could not get little son to
come home from his games before dusk. So
she frightened him: she told him that the
path leading to their house was haunted
by ghost who came out as soon as the sun
went down. She had no more trouble making
him come home in time each evening.
But when the boy grew up he was so afraid
of the dark and ghosts that he refused
to get out of the house at night. So she
gave him a medal to wear and convinced him
that as long as he wore his medal the ghosts
would have no power to harm him.

So now he ventures forth into the dark
clutching his medal.

Bad religion strengthens his faith in the medal.
Good religion gets him to see that there are no ghosts.

from THE SONG OF THE BIRD
by Anthony de Mello, S.J.

NICENE CREED

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
one in Being with the Father.
Through Him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
He came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
He became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
He suffered death and was buried.
On the third day He rose again
in accordance to the Scriptures;
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come back again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and His kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy Catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.