Saturday, November 12, 2011

Consubstantial with the Father

Excerpts from the book, A Guide to the New Translation of The Mass written by Edward Sri, S.T.D. and printed by Ascension Press in 2011.

The revised translation of the Creed aims at helping us more precisely profess a concept about the nature of the Son and his relationship with God the Father. We now speak of Jesus as being “consubstantial with the Father” instead of “one in being with the Father”. This difference is subtle, but the new wording more closely reflects the theological language of the bishops at the Council of Nicea who wanted to safeguard that Jesus was acknowledged as the eternal Son of God, equal to the Father.

The Council taught that the Son is “God from God, light from light, true God from true God” and “of the same substance” as the Father. Although the term consubstantial might not roll easily off the tongue, its use preserves the theological tradition of the Council of Nicea and invites us to reflect more on the divine nature of Christ and the mystery of this Trinity.

I've been advertising that, beginning on the 5th of November, I'd present an in-depth look at the Mass in a new section below the Written Assignments section in the right hand column. Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as I expected, but I've figured out a work around and will present it beginning today.

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