"Amen"
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The Creed, like the last book of the Bible,644 ends with the Hebrew
word amen. This word frequently concludes prayers in the New Testament. the
Church likewise ends her prayers with "Amen."
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In Hebrew, amen comes from the same root as the word "believe." This
root expresses solidity, trustworthiness, faithfulness. and so we can
understand why "Amen" may express both God's faithfulness towards us
and our trust in him.
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In the book of the prophet Isaiah, we find the expression "God of
truth" (literally "God of the Amen"), that is, the God who is
faithful to his promises: "He who blesses himself in the land shall bless
himself by the God of truth [amen]."645 Our Lord often used the
word "Amen," sometimes repeated,646 to emphasize the
trustworthiness of his teaching, his authority founded on God's truth.
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Thus the Creed's final "Amen" repeats and confirms its first words:
"I believe." To believe is to say "Amen" to God's words,
promises and commandments; to entrust oneself completely to him who is the
"Amen" of infinite love and perfect faithfulness. the Christian's
everyday life will then be the "Amen" to the "I believe" of
our baptismal profession of faith:
May your Creed be for you as a
mirror. Look at yourself in it, to see if you believe everything you say you
believe. and rejoice in your faith each day.647
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Jesus Christ himself is the "Amen."648 He is the definitive
"Amen" of the Father's love for us. He takes up and completes our
"Amen" to the Father: "For all the promises of God find their
Yes in him. That is why we utter the Amen through him, to the glory of
God":649
Through him, with him, in him,
in the unity of the Holy
Spirit,
all glory and honor is yours,
almighty Father,
God, for ever and ever.
AMEN.
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