"creed." This apostolic symbol, therefore, is the sworn covenant of the Christians, by which they recognize one another, and which compels them, as Christian soldiers, to strive bravely under the banner of the cross for the kingdom of Jesus Christ, as the soldier of the world strives under the banner or ensign that animates and impels him to struggle and die for his country.

This formula of faith is a plain and simple sign or mark by which Christians are distinguished from nonChristians, who profess either no creed at all or else a false and defective one. This formula of belief is called the Apostles' Creed, because it is highly probable that the apostles themselves compiled it.*

Rufinus, a Church historian of the fourth century, informs us that the apostles, after the descent of the Holy Ghost, when they were about to disperse to preach the Gospel throughout the world, compiled and adopted this formula or creed in order to have a fixed and uniform foundation on which to base their teachings. A certain legend tells us that each apostle made an article, as follows: St. Peter made the first article,

* Beside the Apostles' Creed there are three other creeds, or formulas of belief, authorized by the Church. These are :

1. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, more simply the Nicene Creed. It is a testimony against the errors of Arius concerning the divinity of Christ, and was formulated and adopted at the Council of Nice in the year 325 and at Constantinople in the year 381. It is the creed recited by the priest during Mass and known to us as the Credo.

2. The Athanasian Creed, so called from St. Athanasius, who died in the year 373. It has been inserted in the Roman Brevi

ary.

3. The Creed of the Council of Trent, which, during the sessions of the Council held from 1545 to 1563, was formulated by the assembled Fathers as an exposition of the principal Catholic doctrines in opposition to the new and false teachings of the Protestants. It is the form usually pronounced as a solemn abjuration of Protestantism by converts to the Church.

"I believe in God"; St. Andrew, the second; St. James the Greater, the third; St. John, the fourth; St. Thomas, the fifth; St. James the Less, the sixth; St. Philip, the seventh; St. Bartholomew, the eighth; St. Matthew, the ninth; St. Simon, the tenth; St. Thaddeus, the eleventh; and St. Matthias, the twelfth and last.

The different portions of the Apostles' Creed are termed articles, that is to say, members, for of such members is the body of the Creed composed. And as the human body, when deprived of any one of its members, is seriously disturbed and disabled, so is the whole body of the faith paralyzed when even one article is denied. The name "Creed" is derived from the first word of the formula, "Credo," which is Latin for "I believe."

FIRST ARTICLE OF THE CREED.

"I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth."

I. "I BELIEVE IN GOD."-THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.-HIS NATURE.

There is a God.

A BELIEF in the existence of God is the very foundation of all religion. Hence it is that the Christian believer begins his profession of faith, in the Creed, with the words, "I believe in God," that is to say, "I believe that God exists, and I believe all that He reveals or teaches."

Of this fundamental truth of the existence of God we have many powerful evidences, great in number, and unquestionable. Those unbelievers who, in their

folly, say, "There is no God," have no such proofs or evidence to adduce.

The following are some of the chief evidences of the existence of God:

1. The very existence of the universe.

There must be an almighty and eternal Creator since there is a visible material world. By the "world" we mean not only the earth which we inhabit, but also the sun, moon, stars, the whole vast array of the countless solar systems.

Whence has all this vast creation come? Has it made itself? That is impossible. For inanimate matter (such as stones), which is in itself dead, could not have made or created itself. No house, no watch could have made itself. He would very properly be called a fool who would assert that the smallest and simplest peasant's hut had erected itself. On the contrary, from the mere existence of a house we conclude that there was an architect, or at least a builder. Why, then, from the fact that the world exists should we not draw a similar conclusion—that there must be an almighty, invisible Architect and Maker? That is a poor subterfuge to which the pretending unbeliever is driven when, notwithstanding the existence of the world, he tries to deny the existence of a Creator, saying, "All that exists on the earth has been produced by the forces of nature, which work according to fixed laws." At once arise the questions, "Whence come these forces of nature? Whence comes this material earth with which and through which alone the forces of nature can work? Did the matter exist before the forces, or the forces before the matter?"

How plain it here appears that the theories of the unbeliever present to a thinking mind more endless difficulties than does the simple Catholic belief expressed

in Holy Scriptures in the words, "In the beginning God made heaven and earth." The world exists, therefore an almighty Creator must exist, who is God. There can be no effect without a cause.

Every blade of grass that we see, every flower, every tree, every animal, all created things are so many distinct evidences of God's existence. Suppose we admire a fine oak-tree and ask ourselves whence it has come. The answer is, from the acorn. Where did the acorn come from? The answer is that that, too, came from a tree. Again, this tree came from an acorn which, in its turn, was produced by a tree. Hence, in the beginning, either an oak-tree or an acorn must have had a maker as primal cause of an effect. Now, the Creator who can make something out of nothing must be God.

2. The evidence arising from the order and beauty of creation.

The most careless observer of the universe can not shut his eyes to the fact that there is a preconceived plan, aim, and purpose in all things, from the greatest to the smallest. Lifting our eyes aloft to the starry heavens we see a countless array of celestial bodies, almost every one of which is vaster than our earth. They all revolve about a near central body, and again together with this body all revolve about another more distant central body. Every star steadily pursues its regular course, never interfering with the path of its neighbor. All is law, order, and harmony. Then, looking upon our own earth, what beauty and symmetry meet our eyes in all directions! Constant and sure is the succession of day and night. Winter is followed by Spring, and the hot, dry Summer is followed by the Autumn rich in fruits. The rivers irrigate the earth and moisten the soil, the waters from the depths of the ocean rise up

in vapor, sail gently toward the arid highlands and, dissolving into rain, again refresh the parched ground. Examine the structure of each blade of grass: What a display of wonders, all regulated by fixed laws, is found in the youngest, smallest blade! The rose-leaf is of a different make from the tree-leaf; each butterfly is distinct from the other in beauty and variety of color. By the aid of the microscope the naturalist can descry in an insect, invisible to the naked eye, the most perfect organic system of life. Over and above all these stands the proud form of man who, king-like, lords it over all the rest.

Now, we are forced to the conclusion that where there is law there must be a law-maker, where there is order preexisting intellect only could create and establish such order. Where all tends regularly to a certain purpose there must have been a preexisting wisdom which appointed to each created thing its destiny, purpose, and functions. This first law, this first wisdom or knowledge, this first thought or intellect, must come from that Being whom we call the omnipotent and omniscient God.

3. The moral condition and nature of man.

Each and every one of us feels within himself a law which tells us what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad, what we should do and what we should not do. We call this law conscience. It shows itself in the child and in the grown person, in the poor man and in the rich man, in the good man and in the bad man. Only long years of crime can dull the power of conscience, which wakes up later, usually on the death-bed, and ever with frightful power. Now, whence comes this moral law of nature? Man could not have given it to himself. It exists independent of his will, and only too often, alas! against the will