with the old shema, the Christian creed affirms that this one God—the Holy Trinity—is God over the entire human family and is at the center of every human heart’s deepest longing. Do we approach the Creed at Mass with the same devotion that the Jews gave to the shema? From a biblical standpoint, we must see that the Creed is much more than a routine statement of faith to be recited on Sundays. More to the heart of the matter, the Creed not only defines what we believe; it defines who we are. Indeed,