Bowing Before the Mystery

Each Sunday, as we proclaim the Nicene Creed together, we profess the very heart of our faith — a statement that unites us with the Church across time and space. But there is one moment in that Creed that invites us to pause, bow, and let our hearts be filled with awe: when we say the words, “and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”

This gesture — a simple bow — is so much more than routine. It is an act of deep reverence. At that moment, we acknowledge the mystery that the eternal Son of God humbled Himself to become one of us. The infinite entered the finite. The Creator stepped into His creation. The Almighty took on the weakness of a child. When we bow, our bodies express what our souls feel: gratitude, wonder, and love.

Sadly, many have forgotten the meaning of that bow. We might rush through the Creed or recite it by habit. But when we truly understand what happens at that line, it can change the way we pray. We bow not simply because the Church tells us to, but because the Word became flesh — God Himself stooped low to lift us high.

That act of humility from Christ calls forth humility from us. Each bow reminds us that God’s love is not distant or abstract. It is personal. It took on human skin, walked our roads, wept our tears, and carried our sins. In bowing, we echo Mary’s own “yes” — her willing surrender to God’s plan.

The Nicene Creed, formed in the early centuries of the Church, guards the truth that Jesus is both fully   divine and fully human. Those few words — “became man” — summarize the entire mystery of salvation. Without the Incarnation, there would be no Cross, no Resurrection, no Eucharist. Every time we bow, we honor that moment when heaven kissed earth.

When I serve at Mass and reach that line, I make a deliberate bow. There’s a weight in those words. I think back to that moment in Bethlehem, the quiet of the stable, and the love that came to dwell among us. That same love comes to us again and again in the Eucharist — God still becoming present under humble signs.

My hope is that each of us will reclaim the meaning of that gesture. Next Sunday, when you pray the Creed and come to those sacred words, slow down. Let your body express your faith. Bow deeply — not out of obligation, but out of love. For in that bow, you are saying with your whole being: “Lord, I believe. You became man for me.”

May every bow remind us that the glory of God is revealed not in power, but in humility — in the Word made flesh, who came to dwell among us.

Blessings,

Deacon Mike