On the Creed:

 1. Receive, my children, the Rule of Faith, which is called the Symbol (or Creed ). And when ye have received it, write it in your heart, and be daily

 2. Of this, then, ye have now received, have meditated, and having meditated have held, that ye should say, “I believe in God the Father Almighty.” Go

 3. For this reason we believe also in His Son, that is to say, God the Father Almighty’s, “His Only Son, our Lord.” When thou hearest of the Only Son

 4. We do not bring in two Gods as some do, who say, “God the Father and God the Son, but greater God the Father and lesser God the Son.” They both are

 5. The Father doeth what He will, and what He will doeth the Son. Do not imagine an Almighty Father and a not Almighty Son: it is error, blot it out w

 6. But this Only Son of God, the Father Almighty, let us see what He did for us, what He suffered for us. “Born of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Ma

 7. What next? “Suffered under Pontius Pilate.” He was in office as governor and was the judge, this same Pontius Pilate, what time as Christ suffered.

 8. He was begotten before all times, before all worlds. “Begotten before.” Before what, He in Whom is no before? Do not in the least imagine any time

 9. Of His cross what shall I speak, what say? This extremest kind of death He chose, that not any kind of death might make His Martyrs afraid. The doc

 10. Scripture saith, “Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord.” When we read what great trials Job endured, it makes o

 11. “He ascended into heaven:” believe. “He sitteth at the right hand of the Father:” believe. By sitting, understand dwelling: as [in Latin] we say o

 12. “Thence He shall come to judge the quick and dead.” The quick, who shall be alive and remain the dead, who shall have gone before. It may also be

 13. It follows in the Creed, “And in the Holy Ghost.” This Trinity, one God, one nature, one substance, one power highest equality, no division, no d

 14. It follows after commendation of the Trinity, “The Holy Church.” God is pointed out, and His temple. “For the temple of God is holy,” says the Apo

 15. “Forgiveness of sins.” Ye have [this article of] the Creed perfectly in you when ye receive Baptism. Let none say, “I have done this or that sin:

 16. In three ways then are sins remitted in the Church by Baptism, by prayer, by the greater humility of penance yet God doth not remit sins but to

 17. We believe also “the resurrection of the flesh,” which went before in Christ: that the body too may have hope of that which went before in its Hea

15. “Forgiveness of sins.” Ye have [this article of] the Creed perfectly in you when ye receive Baptism. Let none say, “I have done this or that sin: perchance that is not forgiven me.” What hast thou done? How great a sin hast thou done? Name any heinous thing thou hast committed, heavy, horrible, which thou shudderest even to think of: have done what thou wilt: hast thou killed Christ? There is not than that deed any worse, because also than Christ there is nothing better. What a dreadful thing is it to kill Christ! Yet the Jews killed Him, and many afterwards believed on Him and drank His blood: they are forgiven the sin which they committed. When ye have been baptized, hold fast a good life in the commandments of God, that ye may guard your Baptism even unto the end. I do not tell you that ye will live here without sin; but they are venial, without which this life is not. For the sake of all sins was Baptism provided; for the sake of light sins, without which we cannot be, was prayer provided.42    Inventus What hath the Prayer? “Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.”43    Matt. vi. 12. [See R.V.] Once for all we have washing in Baptism, every day we have washing in prayer. Only, do not commit those things for which ye must needs be separated from Christ’s body: which be far from you! For those whom ye have seen doing penance,44    “Agere pœnitentiam.” have committed heinous things, either adulteries or some enormous crimes: for these they do penance. Because if theirs had been light sins, to blot out these daily prayer would suffice.

CAPUT VII.

15. Peccata etiam immania dimittuntur in Baptismo; et venialia, in oratione dominica. Poenitentiae publicae actio propter immania peccata, non 0636propter levia. Remissionem peccatorum. Habetis Symbolum perfecte in vobis, quando baptizamini. Nemo dicat: Illud feci, forte non mihi dimittitur. Quid fecisti? quantum fecisti? Dic immane aliquid quod commisisti, grave, horrendum, quod etiam cogitare horres: quidquid vis feceris, numquid Christum occidisti? Non est isto facto aliquid pejus, quia et Christo nihil est melius. Quantum nefas est occidere Christum? Judaei tamen eum occiderunt, et multi in eum postea crediderunt, et biberunt ejus sanguinem: dimissum est illis peccatum quod commiserunt. Cum baptizati fueritis, tenete vitam bonam in praeceptis Dei, ut Baptismum custodiatis usque in finem. Non vobis dico quia sine peccato hic vivetis; sed sunt venialia, sine quibus vita ista non est. Propter omnia peccata Baptismus inventus est; propter levia, sine quibus esse non possumus, oratio inventa. Quid habet oratio? Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris (Id. VI, 12). Semel abluimur Baptismate, quotidie abluimur oratione. Sed nolite illa committere, pro quibus necesse est ut a Christi corpore separemini: quod absit a vobis. Illi enim quos videtis agere poenitentiam, scelera commiserunt, aut adulteria, aut aliqua facta immania: inde agunt poenitentiam. Nam si levia peccata ipsorum essent, ad haec quotidiana oratio delenda sufficeret.