FFC CATECHISM
SERAPHIM HOME . . FFC . . YOUTH . . CATECHISM
. . CCC
MHII.190110
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (CCC)
Compendium
OF THE
CATECHISM
OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH
© Copyright 2005 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
PART ONE
THE
PROFESSION OF FAITH
Section
One: "I Believe" — "We Believe"
Chapter
One: Man's Capacity for God
Chapter
Two: God Comes to Meet Man
The Revelation of God
The Transmission of Divine Revelation
Sacred Scripture
Chapter
Three: Man's Response to God
I Believe
We Believe
Section
Two: The Profession of the Christian Faith
The Creed
Chapter
One: I Believe in God the Father
The Symbols of Faith
"I Believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and
Earth"
Heaven and Earth
Man
The Fall
Chapter
Two: I Believe in Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God
"And In Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord"
"Jesus Christ Was Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit,
and Was Born of the Virgin Mary"
"Jesus Christ Suffered Under Pontius Pilate, Was Crucified,
Died, and Was Buried"
"Jesus Christ Descended into Hell; On the Third Day He Rose
Again from the Dead"
"Jesus Ascended into Heaven and Is Seated at the Right Hand
of God the Father Almighty"
"From Thence He Shall Come to Judge the Living and the
Dead"
Chapter
Three: I Believe in the Holy Spirit
"I Believe in the Holy Catholic Church"
The Church in the plan of God
The Church: people of God, body of Christ,
temple of the Spirit
The Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic
The Faithful: hierarchy, laity, consecrated life
I believe in the communion of saints
Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church
"I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins"
"I Believe in the Resurrection of the Body"
"I Believe in Life Everlasting"
"Amen"
PART TWO
THE
CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY
Section
One: The Sacramental Economy
Chapter
One: The Paschal Mystery in the Age of the Church
The Liturgy — Work of the Most Holy Trinity
The Paschal Mystery in the Sacraments of the Church
Chapter
Two: The Sacramental Celebration of the Paschal Mystery
Celebrating the Liturgy of the Church
Who celebrates?
How is the liturgy celebrated?
When is the liturgy celebrated?
Where is the liturgy celebrated?
Liturgical Diversity and the Unity of the Mystery
Section
Two: The Seven Sacraments of the Church
Chapter
One: The Sacraments of Christian Initiation
The Sacrament of Baptism
The Sacrament of Confirmation
The Sacrament of the Eucharist
Chapter
Two: The Sacraments of Healing
The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation
The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick
Chapter
Three: The Sacraments at the Service of Communion and Mission
The Sacrament of Holy Orders
The Sacrament of Matrimony
Chapter
Four: Other Liturgical Celebrations
The Sacramentals
Christian Funerals
PART THREE
LIFE
IN CHRIST
Section
One: Man's Vocation — Life In the Spirit
Chapter
One: The Dignity of the Human Person
Man, the Image of God
Our Vocation to Beatitude
Man's Freedom
The Morality of the Passions
The Moral Conscience
The Virtues
Sin
Chapter
Two: The Human Community
The Person and Society
Participation in Social Life
Social Justice
Chapter
Three: God's Salvation — Law and Grace
The Moral Law
Grace and Justification
The Church, Mother and Teacher
Section
Two: The Ten Commandments
Chapter
One: "You Shall Love the Lord Your God With All Your Heart, With All Your
Soul, and With All Your Mind"
The First Commandment: I Am the Lord Your God, You Shall Not Have
Other Gods Before Me
The Second Commandment: You Shall Not Take the Name of the Lord
Your God in Vain
The Third Commandment: Remember to Keep Holy the Lord's Day
Chapter
Two: "You Shall Love Your Neighbour as Yourself"
The Fourth Commandment: Honour Your Father and Your Mother
The Fifth Commandment: You Shall Not Kill
The Sixth Commandment: You Shall Not Commit Adultery
The Seventh Commandment: You Shall Not Steal
The Eighth Commandment: You Shall Not Bear False Witness Against
Your Neighbour
The Ninth Commandment: You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbour's Wife
The Tenth Commandment: You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbour's
Possessions
PART FOUR
CHRISTIAN
PRAYER
Section
One: Prayer in the Christian Life
Chapter
One: The Revelation of Prayer
The Revelation of Prayer in the Old Testament
Prayer is Fully Revealed and Realized in Jesus
Prayer in the Age of the Church
Chapter
Two: The Tradition of Prayer
At the Wellsprings of Prayer
The Way of Prayer
Guides for Prayer
Chapter
Three: The Life of Prayer
Expressions of Prayer
The Battle of Prayer
Section
Two: The Lord's Prayer — "Our Father"
"The Summary of the Whole Gospel"
"Our Father Who Art in Heaven"
The Seven Petitions
A.
Common Prayers
B.
Formulas of Catholic Doctrine
for the approval and publication
of the Compendium
of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
To my Venerable Brothers the Cardinals,
Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Deacons and to all the People of
God.
Twenty years ago, work began on the Catechism
of the Catholic Church that had been requested by the extraordinary
Assembly of the Synod of Bishops held on the occasion of the twentieth
anniversary of the close of the Second Vatican Council.
I am filled with heartfelt thanks to the Lord
God for having given the Church this Catechism, promulgated in 1992 by
my venerated and beloved Predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
The great value and beauty of this gift are
confirmed above all by the extensive and positive reception of the Catechism
among Bishops, to whom it was primarily addressed as a sure and authentic
reference text for teaching Catholic doctrine and, in particular, for
formulating local catechisms. But it was also confirmed by its vast
favourable reception in all segments of the People of God, who have come to
know and appreciate it in more than fifty translations which to date have been
published.
It is with great joy that I now approve and
promulgate the Compendium of that Catechism.
The Compendium had been fervently
desired by the participants in the International Catechetical Congress of
October 2002, which gave voice to a need widely felt in the Church. My
beloved Predecessor, recognizing this desire, decided in February 2003 to begin
preparation of the text by entrusting the work to a Commission of Cardinals,
over which I presided, and which was assisted by various experts. In the
course of the work, a draft of the Compendium was submitted to all the
Cardinals and the Presidents of Conferences of Bishops, the vast majority of
whom evaluated the text favourably.
The Compendium, which I now present to
the Universal Church, is a faithful and sure synthesis of the Catechism of
the Catholic Church. It contains, in concise form, all the essential
and fundamental elements of the Church’s faith, thus constituting, as my
Predecessor had wished, a kind of vademecum which allows believers and
non-believers alike to behold the entire panorama of the Catholic faith.
In its structure, contents and language, the Compendium
faithfully reflects the Catechism of the Catholic Church and will thus
assist in making the Catechism more widely known and more deeply
understood.
I entrust this Compendium above all to
the entire Church and, in particular, to every Christian, in order that it may
awaken in the Church of the third millennium renewed zeal for evangelization
and education in the faith, which ought to characterize every community in the
Church and every Christian believer, regardless of age or nationality.
But this Compendium, with its brevity,
clarity and comprehensiveness, is directed to every human being, who, in a
world of distractions and multifarious messages, desires to know the Way of
Life, the Truth, entrusted by God to His Son’s Church.
Through the intercession of Mary Most Holy,
Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church, may everyone who reads this
authoritative text recognize and embrace ever more fully the inexhaustible
beauty, uniqueness and significance of the incomparable Gift which God has made
to the human race in His only Son, Jesus Christ, the “Way, the Truth, and the
Life” (Jn 14:6).
Given on 28 June 2005, the vigil of the
Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, in the first year of my
Pontificate.
BENEDICTUS
PP. XVI
1. On 11 October 1992, Pope John Paul II
presented the Catechism of the Catholic Church to the faithful of the
whole world, describing it as a “reference text”[1] for a catechesis renewed at the living sources of the
faith. Thirty years after the opening of the Second Vatican Council
(1962-1965), the desire for a catechism of all Catholic doctrine on faith and
morals, which had been voiced in 1985 by the extraordinary Assembly of the
Synod of Bishops, came to fulfilment.
Five years later, on 15 August 1997, the Pope
promulgated the editio typica of the Catechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae
and confirmed its fundamental purpose “as a full, complete exposition of
Catholic doctrine, enabling everyone to know what the Church professes,
celebrates, lives and prays in her daily life”.[2]
2. In order to realize more fully the Catechism’s
potential and in response to the request that had emerged at the International
Catechetical Congress of October 2002, Pope John Paul II, in 2003, established
a Commission under the presidency of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which was given the task of
drafting a Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as
a more concise formulation of its contents of faith. After two years of
work, a draft compendium was prepared and distributed among the
Cardinals and the Presidents of Conferences of Bishops for their
consultation. The draft, as a whole, was evaluated positively in the great
majority of the responses that were received. Therefore, the Commission
proceeded to revise the draft and, taking account of the proposals for
improvement that had been submitted, prepared the final text.
3. There are three principal characteristics
of the Compendium: the close reliance on the Catechism of the Catholic
Church; the dialogical format; the use of artistic images in the
catechesis.
The Compendium is not a work that
stands alone, nor is it intended in any way to replace the Catechism of the
Catholic Church: instead, it refers constantly to the Catechism by
means of reference numbers printed in the margins, as well as by consistent
reliance on its structure, development and contents. In fact, the Compendium
is meant to reawaken interest in and enthusiasm for the Catechism, which,
in the wisdom of its presentation and the depth of its spirituality, always
remains the basic text for catechesis in the Church today.
Like the Catechism, the Compendium has
four parts, corresponding to the fundamental laws of life in Christ.
The first part, entitled “The Profession of
Faith”, contains a synthesis of the lex credendi, the faith professed by
the Catholic Church, as expressed in the Apostles’ Creed which is further
elaborated by the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. In the liturgical profession
of the Creed, the Christian assembly keeps the principal truths of the faith
alive in memory.
The second part, entitled “The Celebration of
the Christian Mystery”, presents the essential elements of the lex
celebrandi. The proclamation of the Gospel finds its authentic response in the
sacramental life, through which Christians experience and witness, in every
moment of their existence, the saving power of the paschal mystery by which
Christ has accomplished our redemption.
The third part, entitled “Life in Christ”,
recalls the lex vivendi, through which the baptized manifest their
commitment to the faith they have professed and celebrated, through their
actions and ethical choices. The Christian faithful are called by the Lord
Jesus to act in a way which befits their dignity as children of the Father in
the charity of the Holy Spirit.
The fourth part, entitled “Christian Prayer”,
summarizes the lex orandi, the life of prayer. Following the example of
Jesus, the perfect model of one who prays, the Christian too is called to the
dialogue with God in prayer. A privileged expression of prayer is the Our
Father, the prayer that Jesus has taught us.
4. A second characteristic of the Compendium
is its dialogical format, reflecting the ancient catechetical literary genre of
questions and answers. The idea is to reproduce an imaginary dialogue
between master and disciple, through a series of incisive questions that invite
the reader to go deeper in discovering ever new aspects of his faith. The
dialogical format also lends itself to brevity in the text, by reducing it to
what is essential. This may help the reader to grasp the contents and
possibly to memorize them as well.
5. A third characteristic is the inclusion of
some artistic images which mark the elaboration of the Compendium. These
are drawn from the rich patrimony of Christian iconography. The centuries-old
conciliar tradition teaches us that images are also a preaching of the Gospel.
Artists in every age have offered the principal facts of the mystery of
salvation to the contemplation and wonder of believers by presenting them in
the splendour of colour and in the perfection of beauty. It is an indication of
how today more than ever, in a culture of images, a sacred image can express
much more than what can be said in words, and be an extremely effective and
dynamic way of communicating the Gospel message.
6. Forty years after the close of the Second
Vatican Council and in the year of the Eucharist, this Compendium
represents an additional resource for satisfying the hunger for truth among the
Christian faithful of all ages and conditions, as well as the hunger for truth
and justice among those who are without faith. The publication of the Compendium
will take place on the solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul,
pillars of the Church universal and exemplary evangelizers of the ancient
world. These apostles saw what they preached and witnessed to the truth
of Christ even unto martyrdom. Let us imitate them in their missionary
zeal and pray to the Lord that the Church may always follow the teaching of the
apostles, from whom she first received the glorious proclamation of the faith.
20 March 2005, Palm Sunday.
Joseph
Cardinal Ratzinger
President of the Special Commission
[1] John
Paul II, Apostolic Constitution Fidei
depositum, 11 October 1992.
[2]John Paul
II, Apostolic Letter Laetarum
magnopere, 15 August 1997.
Part One
Section One
“I believe” – “We believe”
1. What is the plan of God for man?
1-25
God, infinitely perfect and blessed in
himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in
his own blessed life. In the fullness of time, God the Father sent his Son as
the Redeemer and Savior of mankind, fallen into sin, thus calling all into his
Church and, through the work of the Holy Spirit, making them adopted children
and heirs of his eternal happiness.
CHAPTER ONE
30
“You are great, O Lord, and
greatly to be praised [...] You have made us for yourself and our heart is
restless until it rests in you.” (Saint Augustine)
2. Why does man have a desire for God?
27-30
44-45
God himself, in creating man in his own
image, has written upon his heart the desire to see him. Even if this desire is
often ignored, God never ceases to draw man to himself because only in God will
he find and live the fullness of truth and happiness for which he never stops
searching. By nature and by vocation, therefore, man is a religious being,
capable of entering into communion with God. This intimate and vital bond with
God confers on man his fundamental dignity.
3. How is it possible to know God with
only the light of human reason?
31-36
46-47
Starting from creation, that is from the
world and from the human person, through reason alone one can know God with certainty
as the origin and end of the universe, as the highest good and as infinite
truth and beauty.
4. Is the light of reason alone sufficient
to know the mystery of God?
37-38
In coming to a knowledge of God by the light
of reason alone man experiences many difficulties. Indeed, on his own he is
unable to enter into the intimacy of the divine mystery. This is why he stands
in need of being enlightened by God’s revelation, not only about those things
that exceed his understanding, but also about those religious and moral truths
which of themselves are not beyond the grasp of human reason, so that even in
the present condition of the human race, they can be known by all with ease,
with firm certainty and with no admixture of error.
5. How can we speak about God?
39-43
48-49
By taking as our starting point the
perfections of man and of the other creatures which are a reflection, albeit a
limited one, of the infinite perfection of God, we are able to speak about God
with all people. We must, however, continually purify our language insofar as
it is image-bound and imperfect, realizing that we can never fully
express the infinite mystery of God.
CHAPTER TWO
The Revelation of God
6. What does God reveal to man?
50-53
68-69
God in his goodness and wisdom reveals
himself. With deeds and words, he reveals himself and his plan of loving
goodness which he decreed from all eternity in Christ. According to this plan,
all people by the grace of the Holy Spirit are to share in the divine life as
adopted “sons” in the only begotten Son of God.
7. What are the first stages of God's
Revelation?
54-58
70-71
From the very beginning, God manifested
himself to our first parents, Adam and Eve, and invited them to intimate
communion with himself. After their fall, he did not cease his
revelation to them but promised salvation for all their descendants. After the
flood, he made a covenant with Noah, a covenant between himself and all living
beings.
8. What are the next stages of God's
Revelation?
59-64
72
God chose Abram, calling him out of his
country, making him “the father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis
17:5), and promising to bless in him “all the nations of the earth” (Genesis
12:3). The people descended from Abraham would be the trustee of the divine promise
made to the patriarchs. God formed Israel as his chosen people, freeing them
from slavery in Egypt, establishing with them the covenant of Mount Sinai, and,
through Moses, giving them his law. The prophets proclaimed a radical
redemption of the people and a salvation which would include all nations in a
new and everlasting covenant. From the people of Israel and from the house of
King David, would be born the Messiah, Jesus.
9. What is the full and definitive stage
of God's Revelation?
65-66
73
The full and definitive stage of God’s
revelation is accomplished in his Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, the mediator
and fullness of Revelation. He, being the only-begotten Son of God made man, is
the perfect and definitive Word of the Father. In the sending of the Son and
the gift of the Spirit, Revelation is now fully complete, although the
faith of the Church must gradually grasp its full significance over the course
of centuries.
“In giving us his Son, his
only and definitive Word, God spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word,
and he has no more to say.”
(Saint John of the Cross)
10. What is the value of private
revelations?
67
While not belonging to the deposit of faith,
private revelations may help a person to live the faith as long as they lead us
to Christ. The Magisterium of the Church, which has the duty of evaluating such
private revelations, cannot accept those which claim to surpass or correct that
definitive Revelation which is Christ.
The Transmission of Divine Revelation
11. Why and in what way is divine
revelation transmitted?
74
God “desires all men to be saved and to come
to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4), that is, of Jesus
Christ. For this reason, Christ must be proclaimed to all according to his own
command, “Go forth and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19). And this is
brought about by Apostolic Tradition.
12. What is Apostolic Tradition?
75-79,
83,
96, 98
Apostolic Tradition is the transmission of
the message of Christ, brought about from the very beginnings of Christianity
by means of preaching, bearing witness, institutions, worship, and inspired
writings. The apostles transmitted all they received from Christ and learned
from the Holy Spirit to their successors, the bishops, and through them to all
generations until the end of the world.
13. In what ways does Apostolic Tradition
occur?
76
Apostolic Tradition occurs in two ways:
through the living transmission of the word of God (also simply called
Tradition) and through Sacred Scripture which is the same proclamation of
salvation in written form.
14. What is the relationship between
Tradition and Sacred Scripture?
80-82
97
Tradition and Sacred Scripture are bound
closely together and communicate one with the other. Each of them makes present
and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ. They flow out of the same
divine well-spring and together make up one sacred deposit of faith from
which the Church derives her certainty about revelation.
15. To whom is the deposit of faith
entrusted?
84, 91
94, 99
The Apostles entrusted the deposit of faith
to the whole of the Church. Thanks to its supernatural sense of faith the
people of God as a whole, assisted by the Holy Spirit and guided by the
Magisterium of the Church, never ceases to welcome, to penetrate more deeply
and to live more fully from the gift of divine revelation.
16. To whom is given the task of
authentically interpreting the deposit of faith?
85-90
100
The task of giving an authentic
interpretation of the deposit of faith has been entrusted to the living teaching
office of the Church alone, that is, to the successor of Peter, the Bishop of
Rome, and to the bishops in communion with him. To this Magisterium, which in
the service of the Word of God enjoys the certain charism of truth, belongs
also the task of defining dogmas which are formulations of the truths contained
in divine Revelation. This authority of the Magisterium also extends to those
truths necessarily connected with Revelation.
17. What is the relationship between
Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium?
95
Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium are
so closely united with each other that one of them cannot stand without the
others. Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy
Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.
Sacred Scripture
18. Why does Sacred Scripture teach the
truth?
105-108
135-136
Because God himself is the author of Sacred
Scripture. For this reason it is said to be inspired and to teach without error
those truths which are necessary for our salvation. The Holy Spirit inspired
the human authors who wrote what he wanted to teach us. The Christian faith,
however, is not a “religion of the Book”, but of the Word of God – “not a
written and mute word, but incarnate and living” (Saint Bernard of Clairvaux).
19. How is Sacred Scripture to be read?
109-119
137
Sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted
with the help of the Holy Spirit and under the guidance of the Magisterium of
the Church according to three criteria: 1) it must be read with attention to
the content and unity of the whole of Scripture; 2) it must be read
within the living Tradition of the Church; 3) it must be read with attention to
the analogy of faith, that is, the inner harmony which exists among the truths
of the faith themselves.
20. What is the Canon of Scripture?
120
138
The Canon of Scripture is the complete
list of the sacred writings which the Church has come to recognize through
Apostolic Tradition. The Canon consists of 46 books of the Old Testament
and 27 of the New.
21. What is the importance of the Old
Testament for Christians?
121-123
Christians venerate the Old Testament as the
true word of God. All of the books of the Old Testament are divinely
inspired and retain a permanent value. They bear witness to the divine pedagogy
of God's saving love. They are written, above all, to prepare for the coming of
Christ the Savior of the universe.
22. What importance does the New Testament
have for Christians?
124-127
139
The New Testament, whose central
object is Jesus Christ, conveys to us the ultimate truth of divine Revelation.
Within the New Testament the four Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John are
the heart of all the Scriptures because they are the principle witness to the
life and teaching of Jesus. As such, they hold a unique place in the Church.
23. What is the unity that exists between
the Old and the New Testaments?
128-130
140
Scripture is one insofar as the Word of God
is one. God’s plan of salvation is one, and the divine inspiration of both
Testaments is one. The Old Testament prepares for the New and the New Testament
fulfills the Old; the two shed light on each other.
24. What role does Sacred Scripture play
in the life of the Church?
131-133
141-142
Sacred Scripture gives support and vigor to
the life of the Church. For the children of the Church, it is a confirmation of
the faith, food for the soul and the fount of the spiritual life. Sacred
Scripture is the soul of theology and of pastoral preaching. The Psalmist says
that it is “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
The Church, therefore, exhorts all to read Sacred Scripture frequently
because “ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (Saint
Jerome).
CHAPTER THREE
I Believe
25. How does man respond to God who
reveals himself?
142-143
Sustained by divine grace, we respond to
God with the obedience of faith, which means the full surrender of ourselves to
God and the acceptance of his truth insofar as it is guaranteed by the One who
is Truth itself.
26. Who are the principal witnesses of the
obedience of faith in the Sacred Scriptures?
144-149
There are many such witnesses, two in
particular: One is Abraham who when put to the test “believed in God” (Romans
4:3) and always obeyed his call. For this reason he is called “the Father of
all who believe” (Romans 4:11-18). The other is the Virgin Mary
who, throughout her entire life, embodied in a perfect way the obedience of
faith: “Let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
27. What does it mean in practice for a
person to believe in God?
150-152
176-178
It means to adhere to God himself, entrusting
oneself to him and giving assent to all the truths which God has revealed
because God is Truth. It means to believe in one God in three Persons, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit.
28. What are the characteristics of faith?
153-165
179-180
183-184
Faith is the supernatural virtue which is necessary
for salvation. It is a free gift of God and is accessible to all who
humbly seek it. The act of faith is a human act, that is, an act of the
intellect of a person - prompted by the will moved by God - who freely assents
to divine truth. Faith is also certain because it is founded on the Word
of God; it works “through charity” (Galatians 5:6); and it
continually grows through listening to the Word of God and through
prayer. It is, even now, a foretaste of the joys of heaven.
29. Why is there no contradiction between
faith and science?
159
Though faith is above reason, there can never
be a contradiction between faith and science because both originate in God. It
is God himself who gives to us the light both of reason and of faith.
“I believe, in order to
understand; and I understand, the better to believe.” (Saint Augustine)
We Believe
30. Why is faith a personal act, and at
the same time ecclesial?
166-169
181
Faith is a personal act insofar as it is the
free response of the human person to God who reveals himself. But at the
same time it is an ecclesial act which expresses itself in the proclamation,
“We believe”. It is in fact the Church that believes: and thus by the grace of
the Holy Spirit precedes, engenders and nourishes the faith of each
Christian For this reason the Church is Mother and Teacher.
“No one can have God as
Father who does not have the Church as Mother.” (Saint Cyprian)
31. Why are the formulas of faith
important?
170-171
The formulas of faith are important because
they permit one to express, assimilate, celebrate, and share together with
others the truths of the faith through a common language.
32. In what way is the faith of the Church
one faith alone?
172-175
182
The Church, although made up of persons who
have diverse languages, cultures, and rites, nonetheless professes with a
united voice the one faith that was received from the one Lord and that was
passed on by the one Apostolic Tradition. She confesses one God alone, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, and points to one way of salvation. Therefore we believe
with one heart and one soul all that is contained in the Word of God, handed
down or written, and which is proposed by the Church as divinely
revealed.
Section Two
The Profession of the Christian Faith
The Creed
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son,
our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell; the third day
He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sits at
the right hand of God the Father
almighty, from thence He shall come
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body
and life everlasting.
Amen.
Symbolum Apostolicum
Credo in Deum Patrem omnipoténtem,
Creatorem cæli et terræ, et in Iesum Christum, Filium Eius unicum,
Dominum nostrum, qui concéptus est de Spíritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine,
passus sub Póntio Piláto, crucifixus, mórtuus, et sepúltus, descéndit ad
ínferos, tértia die resurréxit a mórtuis, ascéndit ad cælos, sedet ad déxteram
Dei Patris omnipoténtis, inde ventúrus est iudicáre vivos et mórtuos.
Et in Spíritum Sanctum,
sanctam Ecclésiam cathólicam,
sanctórum communiónem,
remissiónem peccatórum,
carnis resurrectiónem,
vitam ætérnam. Amen.
The
Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed
I believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
I believe one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
one in Being with the Father.
Through Him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation,
He came down from heaven: by the
power of the Holy Spirit He was
born of the Virgin Mary,
and became Man.
For our sake He was crucified
under Pontius Pilate;
He suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day He rose again
in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father. He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and His kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the Giver of life,
Who proceeds from the Father and
the Son. With the Father and the Son
He is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic,
and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one Baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Symbolum Nicænum Costantinopolitanum
Credo in unum Deum,
Patrem omnipoténtem,
Factorem cæli et terræ,
visibílium ómnium et invisibilium
Et in unum Dóminum Iesum
Christum,
Filium Dei unigénitum
et ex Patre natum
ante ómnia sǽcula:
Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lúmine,
Deum verum de Deo vero,
génitum, non factum, consubstantiálem Patri: per quem ómnia
facta sunt;
qui propter nos hómines
et propter nostram salútem,
descéndit de cælis, et incarnátus est
de Spíritu Sancto ex Maria Víirgine
et homo factus est, crucifíxus étiam
pro nobis sub Póntio Piláto, passus
et sepúltus est, et resurréxit tértia
die secúndum Scriptúras,
et ascéndit in cælum, sedet ad
déxteram Patris, et íterum ventúrus
est cum glória, iudicáre vivos et
mórtuos, cuius regni non erit finis.
Credo in Spíritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificántem, qui ex Patre
Filióque procédit, qui cum Patre et
Fílio simul adorátur et conglorificátur, qui locútus est per prophétas.
Et unam sanctam cathólicam
et apostólicam Ecclésiam.
Confíteor unum Baptísma
in remissiónem peccatórum.
Et exspécto resurrectiónem mortuórum,
et vitam ventúri sæculi.
Amen.
CHAPTER ONE
The Symbols of Faith
33. What are the symbols of faith?
185-188
192, 197
The symbols of faith are composite formulas,
also called “professions of faith” or “Creeds”, with which the Church from her
very beginning has set forth synthetically and handed on her own faith in a
language that is normative and common to all the faithful.
34. What are the most ancient symbols
(professions) of faith?
189-191
The most ancient symbols of faith are the baptismal
creeds. Because Baptism is conferred “in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), the truths of faith
professed at Baptism are articulated in reference to the three Persons of the
Most Holy Trinity.
35. What are the most important symbols of
the faith?
193-195
They are the Apostles' Creed which is
the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan
Creed which stems from the first two ecumenical Councils, that of
Nicea (325 A.D.) and that of Constantinople (381 A.D.) and which even to this
day are common to all the great Churches of the East and the West.
“I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.”
36. Why does the Profession of Faith begin
with the words, “I believe in God”?
198-199
The Profession of Faith begins with these
words because the affirmation “I believe in God” is the most important, the
source of all the other truths about man and about the world, and about the
entire life of everyone who believes in God.
37. Why does one profess belief that there
is only one God?
200-202
228
Belief in the one God is professed because he
has revealed himself to the people of Israel as the only One when he said,
“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4) and
“there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22). Jesus himself confirmed that God is
“the one Lord” (Mark 12:29). To confess that Jesus and the Holy Spirit
are also God and Lord does not introduce any division into the one God.
38. With what name does God reveal
Himself?
203-209
230-231
God revealed himself to Moses as the living
God, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob” (Exodus
3:6). God also revealed to Moses his mysterious name “I Am Who I Am (YHWH)”.
Already in Old Testament times this ineffable name of God was replaced by the
divine title Lord. Thus in the New Testament, Jesus who was called Lord
is seen as true God.
39. Is God the only One who “is”?
2112-213
Since creatures have received everything they
are and have from God, only God in himself is the fullness of being and
of every perfection. God is “He who is” without origin and without end.
Jesus also reveals that he bears the divine name “I Am” (John 8:28).
40. Why is the revelation of God's name
important?
206-213
In revealing his name, God makes known the
riches contained in the ineffable mystery of his being. He alone is from
everlasting to everlasting. He is the One who transcends the world and history.
It is he who made heaven and earth. He is the faithful God, always close to his
people, in order to save them. He is the highest holiness, “rich in mercy” (Ephesians
2:4), always ready to forgive. He is the One who is spiritual, transcendent,
omnipotent, eternal, personal, and perfect. He is truth and love.
“God is the infinitely
perfect being who is the most Holy Trinity.” (Saint Turibius of Montenegro)
41. In what way is God the truth?
214-217
231
God is Truth itself and as such he can
neither deceive nor be deceived. He is “light, and in him there is no darkness”
(1 John 1:5). The eternal Son of God, the incarnation of wisdom, was
sent into the world “to bear witness to the Truth” (John 18:37).
42. In what way does God reveal that he is
love?
218-221
God revealed himself to Israel as the One who
has a stronger love than that of parents for their children or of husbands and
wives for their spouses. God in himself “is love” (1 John 4: 8.16), who
gives himself completely and gratuitously, who “so loved the world that he gave
his only Son so that the world might be saved through him” (John
3:16-17). By sending his Son and the Holy Spirit, God reveals that he himself
is an eternal exchange of love.
43. What does it mean to believe in only
one God?
222-227
229
To believe in the one and only God involves
coming to know his greatness and majesty. It involves living in
thanksgiving and trusting always in him, even in adversity. It involves knowing
the unity and true dignity of all human beings, created in his image. It
involves making good use of the things which he has created.
44. What is the central mystery of Christian
faith and life?
232-237
The central mystery of Christian faith and
life is the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity. Christians are baptized in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
45. Can the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity
be known by the light of human reason alone?
237
God has left some traces of his trinitarian
being in creation and in the Old Testament but his inmost being as the Holy
Trinity is a mystery which is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel’s
faith before the Incarnation of the Son of God and the sending of the Holy
Spirit. This mystery was revealed by Jesus Christ and it is the source of all
the other mysteries.
46. What did Jesus Christ reveal to us
about the mystery of the Father?
240-242
Jesus Christ revealed to us that God is
“Father”, not only insofar as he created the universe and the mankind, but
above all because he eternally generated in his bosom the Son who is his Word,
“ the radiance of the glory of God and the very stamp of his nature” (Hebrews
1:3).
47. Who is the Holy Spirit revealed to us
by Jesus Christ?
243-248
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the
Most Blessed Trinity. He is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son. He
“proceeds from the Father” (John 15:26) who is the principle without a
principle and the origin of all trinitarian life. He proceeds also from the Son
(Filioque) by the eternal Gift which the Father makes of him to the Son.
Sent by the Father and the Incarnate Son, the Holy Spirit guides the Church “to
know all truth” (John 16:13).
48. How does the Church express her
trinitarian faith?
249-256
266
The Church expresses her trinitarian faith by
professing a belief in the oneness of God in whom there are three Persons:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three divine Persons are only one God because
each of them equally possesses the fullness of the one and indivisible divine
nature. They are really distinct from each other by reason of the relations
which place them in correspondence to each other. The Father generates the Son;
the Son is generated by the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father
and the Son.
49. How do the three divine Persons work?
257-260
267
Inseparable in their one substance, the three
divine Persons are also inseparable in their activity. The Trinity has one
operation, sole and the same. In this one divine action, however, each Person
is present according to the mode which is proper to him in the Trinity.
“O my God, Trinity whom I
adore...grant my soul peace; make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling, and
the place of your rest. May I never abandon you there, but may I be there,
whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly
given over to your creative action.” (Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity)
50. What does it mean to say that God is
almighty?
268-278
God reveals himself as “the strong One, the
mighty One” (Psalm 24:8), as the One “to whom nothing is impossible” (Luke
1:37). His omnipotence is universal, mysterious and shows itself in the
creation of the world out of nothing and humanity out of love; but above all it
shows itself in the Incarnation and the Resurrection of his Son, in the gift of
filial adoption and in the forgiveness of sins. For this reason, the Church
directs her prayers to the “almighty and eternal God” (“Omnipotens
sempiterne Deus...”).
51. What is the importance of affirming
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1)?
279-289
315
The significance is that creation is the
foundation of all God’s saving plans. It shows forth the almighty and wise love
of God, and it is the first step toward the covenant of the one God with
his people. It is the beginning of the history of salvation which culminates in
Christ; and it is the first answer to our fundamental questions regarding our
very origin and destiny.
52. Who created the world?
290-292
316
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are
the one and indivisible principle of creation even though the work of creating
the world is particularly attributed to God the Father.
53. Why was the world created?
293-294
319
The world was created for the glory of God
who wished to show forth and communicate his goodness, truth and beauty. The
ultimate end of creation is that God, in Christ, might be “all in all” (1
Corinthians 15:28) for his glory and for our happiness.
“The glory of God is man
fully alive; moreover man’s life is the vision of God.” (Saint Irenaeus)
54. How did God create the universe?
295-301
317-320
God created the universe freely with wisdom
and love. The world is not the result of any necessity, nor of blind fate, nor
of chance. God created “out of nothing” (ex nihilo) (2 Maccabees
7:28) a world which is ordered and good and which he infinitely transcends. God
preserves his creation in being and sustains it, giving it the capacity to
act and leading it toward its fulfillment through his Son and the Holy Spirit.
55. What is divine providence?
302-306
321
Divine Providence consists in the
dispositions with which God leads his creatures toward their ultimate end. God
is the sovereign Master of his own plan. To carry it out, however, he also
makes use of the cooperation of his creatures. For God grants his creatures the
dignity of acting on their own and of being causes for each other.
56. How do we collaborate with divine
Providence?
307-308
323
While respecting our freedom, God asks us to
cooperate with him and gives us the ability to do so through actions, prayers
and sufferings, thus awakening in us the desire “to will and to work for his
good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
57. If God is omnipotent and provident,
why then does evil exist?
309-310
324, 400
To this question, as painful and mysterious
as it is, only the whole of Christian faith can constitute a response.
God is not in any way - directly or indirectly - the cause of evil. He
illuminates the mystery of evil in his Son Jesus Christ who died and rose in
order to vanquish that great moral evil, human sin, which is at the root of all
other evils.
58. Why does God permit evil?
311-314
324
Faith gives us the certainty that God would
not permit evil if he did not cause a good to come from that very evil. This
was realized in a wondrous way by God in the death and resurrection of Christ.
In fact, from the greatest of all moral evils (the murder of his Son) he has
brought forth the greatest of all goods (the glorification of Christ and our
redemption).
Heaven and Earth
59. What did God create?
325-327
Sacred Scripture says, “In the beginning, God
created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The Church in her
profession of faith proclaims that God is the Creator of everything, visible
and invisible, of all spiritual and corporeal beings, that is, of angels and of
the visible world and, in a special way, of man.
60. Who are the angels?
328-333
350-351
The angels are purely spiritual creatures,
incorporeal, invisible, immortal, and personal beings endowed with intelligence
and will. They ceaselessly contemplate God face-to-face and they glorify him.
They serve him and are his messengers in the accomplishment of his
saving mission to all.
61. In what way are angels present in the
life of the Church?
334-336
352
The Church joins with the angels in adoring
God, invokes their assistance and commemorates some in her liturgy.
“ Beside each believer
stands an angel as a protector and shepherd leading him to life.” (Saint Basil the Great)
62. What does Sacred Scripture teach about
the creation of the visible world?
337-344
Through the account of the “six days” of
creation Sacred Scripture teaches us the value of the created world and its
purpose, namely, to praise God and to serve humanity. Every single thing owes
its very existence to God from whom it receives its goodness and perfection,
its proper laws and its proper place in the universe.
63. What is the place of the human person
in creation?
343-344
353
The human person is the summit of visible
creation in as much as he or she is created in the image and likeness of God.
64. What kind of bond exists between
created things?
342
354
There exist an interdependence and a
hierarchy among creatures as willed by God. At the same time, there is also a
unity and solidarity among creatures since all have the same Creator, are loved
by him and are ordered to his glory. Respecting the laws inscribed in creation
and the relations which derive from the nature of things is, therefore, a
principle of wisdom and a foundation for morality.
65. What is the relationship between the
work of creation and the work of redemption?
345-349
The work of creation culminates in the still
greater work of redemption, which in fact gives rise to a new creation
in which everything will recover its true meaning and fulfillment.
Man
66. In what sense do we understand man and
woman as created “in the image of God”?
355-357
The human person is created in the image
of God in the sense that he or she is capable of knowing and of loving their
Creator in freedom. Human beings are the only creatures on earth that God has
willed for their own sake and has called to share, through knowledge and love,
in his own divine life. All human beings, in as much as they are created in the
image of God, have the dignity of a person. A person is not something but
someone, capable of self-knowledge and of freely giving himself and entering
into communion with God and with other persons.
67. For what purpose did God create man
and woman?
358-359
380-381
God has created everything for them; but he
has created them to know, serve and love God, to offer all of creation in this
world in thanksgiving back to him and to be raised up to life with him in
heaven. Only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of the human
person come into true light. Man and woman are predestined to reproduce the
image of the Son of God made Man, who is the perfect “image of the invisible
God” (Colossians 1:15).
68. Why does the human race form a unity?
360-361
All people form the unity of the human race
by reason of the common origin which they have from God. God has made “from one
ancestor all the nations of men” (Acts 17:26). All have but one Savior
and are called to share in the eternal happiness of God.
69. How do the soul and body form a unity
in the human being?
362-365
382
The human person is a being at once corporeal
and spiritual. In man spirit and matter form one nature. This unity is so
profound that, thanks to the spiritual principle which is the soul, the body
which is material, becomes a living human body and participates in the dignity
of the image of God.
70. Where does the soul come from?
366-368
382
The spiritual soul does not come from one’s
parents but is created immediately by God and is immortal. It does not perish
at the moment when it is separated from the body in death and it will be once
again reunited with the body at the moment of the final resurrection.
71. What relationship has God established
between man and woman?
369-373
383
Man and woman have been created by God in
equal dignity insofar as they are human persons. At the same time, they have
been created in a reciprocal complementarity insofar as they are masculine and
feminine. God has willed them one for the other to form a communion of
persons. They are also called to transmit human life by forming in matrimony
“one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). They are likewise called to subdue the earth
as “stewards” of God.
72. What was the original condition of the
human person according to the plan of God?
374-379
384
In creating man and woman God had given them
a special participation in his own divine life in holiness and justice. In the
plan of God they would not have had to suffer or die. Furthermore, a perfect
harmony held sway within the human person, a harmony between creature and
Creator, between man and woman, as well as between the first human couple and
all of creation.
The Fall
73. How should we understand the reality
of sin?
385-389
Sin is present in human history. This reality
of sin can be understood clearly only in the light of divine revelation and
above all in the light of Christ the Savior of all. Where sin abounded, he made
grace to abound all the more.
74. What was the fall of the angels?
391-395
414
This expression indicates that Satan and the
other demons, about which Sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Church
speak, were angels, created good by God. They were, however, transformed into
evil because with a free and irrevocable choice they rejected God and his
Kingdom, thus giving rise to the existence of hell. They try to associate human
beings with their revolt against God. However, God has wrought in Christ a sure
victory over the Evil One.
75. What was the first human sin?
396-403
415-417
When tempted by the devil, the first man and
woman allowed trust in their Creator to die in their hearts. In their
disobedience they wished to become “like God” but without God and not in
accordance with God (Genesis 3:5). Thus, Adam and Eve immediately lost
for themselves and for all their descendants the original grace of holiness and
justice.
76. What is original sin?
404
419
Original sin, in which all human beings are
born, is the state of deprivation of original holiness and justice. It
is a sin “contracted” by us not “committed”; it is a state of birth and not a
personal act. Because of the original unity of all human beings, it is
transmitted to the descendants of Adam “not by imitation, but by propagation”. This
transmission remains a mystery which we cannot fully understand.
77. What other consequences derive from
original sin?
405-409
418
In consequence of original sin human nature,
without being totally corrupted, is wounded in its natural powers. It is
subject to ignorance, to suffering, and to the dominion of death and is
inclined toward sin. This inclination is called concupiscence.
78. After the first sin, what did God do?
410-412
420
After the first sin the world was inundated
with sin but God did not abandon man to the power of death. Rather, he foretold
in a mysterious way in the “Protoevangelium” (Genesis 3:15) that evil
would be conquered and that man would be lifted up from his fall. This
was the first proclamation of the Messiah and Redeemer. Therefore, the fall
would be called in the future a “happy fault” because it “gained for us
so great a Redeemer” (Liturgy of the Easter Vigil).
CHAPTER TWO
I Believe in Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God
79. What is the Good News for humanity?
422-424
It is the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the
“Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16), who died and rose from
the dead. In the time of King Herod and the Emperor Caesar Augustus, God
fulfilled the promises that he made to Abraham and his descendants. He sent
“his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under
the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians
4:4-5).
80. How is the Good News spread?
425-429
From the very beginning the first disciples
burned with the desire to proclaim Jesus Christ in order to lead all to
faith in him. Even today, from the loving knowledge of Christ there springs up
in the believer the desire to evangelize and catechize, that is, to
reveal in the Person of Christ the entire design of God and to put humanity in
communion with him.
“And in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord”
81. What is the meaning of the name
“Jesus”?
430-435
452
Given by the angel at the time of the
Annunciation, the name “Jesus” means “God saves”. The name expresses his
identity and his mission “because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew
1:21). Peter proclaimed that “there is no other name under heaven given to men
by which we can be saved” (Acts 4:12).
82. Why is Jesus called “Christ”?
436-440
453
“Christ” in Greek, “Messiah” in Hebrew, means
the “anointed one”. Jesus is the Christ because he is consecrated by God and
anointed by the Holy Spirit for his redeeming mission. He is the Messiah
awaited by Israel, sent into the world by the Father. Jesus accepted the title
of Messiah but he made the meaning of the term clear: “come down
from heaven” (John 3:13), crucified and then risen , he is the Suffering
Servant “who gives his life as a ransom for the many” (Matthew
20:28). From the name Christ comes our name of Christian.
83. In what sense is Jesus the Only
Begotten Son of God?
441-445
454
Jesus is the Son of God in a unique and
perfect way. At the time of his Baptism and his Transfiguration, the voice of
the Father designated Jesus as his “beloved Son”. In presenting himself as the
Son who “knows the Father” (Matthew 11:27), Jesus affirmed his singular
and eternal relationship with God his Father. He is “the Only Begotten Son of
God” (1 John 4:9), the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. He is the
central figure of apostolic preaching. The apostles saw “his glory as of the
Only Begotten of the Father” (John 1:14).
84. What is the meaning of the title
“Lord”?
446-451
455
In the Bible this title regularly designates
God as Sovereign. Jesus ascribed this title to himself and revealed his divine
sovereignty by his power over nature, over demons, over sin, and over death,
above all by his own Resurrection. The first Christian creeds proclaimed that
the power, the honor, and the glory that are due to God the Father also belong
to Jesus: God “has given him the name which is above every other name” (Philippians
2:9). He is the Lord of the world and of history, the only One to whom we must
completely submit our personal freedom.
“Jesus Christ was conceived by the power
of the Holy Spirit, and was born of the Virgin Mary”
85. Why did the Son of God become man?
456-460
For us men and for our salvation, the Son of
God became incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy
Spirit. He did so to reconcile us sinners with God, to have us learn of God’s
infinite love, to be our model of holiness and to make us “partakers of the
divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
86. What does the word “Incarnation” mean?
461-463
483
The Church calls the mystery of the wonderful
union of the divine and human natures in the one divine Person of the
Word the “Incarnation”. To bring about our salvation the Son of God was made
“flesh” (John 1:14) and became truly man. Faith in the Incarnation is a
distinctive sign of the Christian faith.
87. In what way is Jesus Christ true God
and true man?
464-467
469
Jesus is inseparably true God and true man in
the unity of his divine Person. As the Son of God, who is “begotten, not made,
consubstantial with the Father,” he was made true man, our brother, without
ceasing to be God, our Lord.
88. What does the Council of Chalcedon (in
the year 451) teach in this regard?
467
The Council of Chalcedon teaches us to
confess “one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, perfect in his humanity,
true God and true man, composed of rational soul and body, consubstantial with
the Father by his divinity, and consubstantial with us by his humanity, ‘like
us in all things but sin’ (Hebrews 4:15), begotten from the Father
before all ages as to his divinity, and in these last days, for us and for our
salvation, born of Mary, the Virgin and Mother of God, as to his humanity.”
89. How does the Church set forth the
Mystery of the Incarnation?
464-470
479-481
The Church confesses that Jesus Christ is
true God and true man, with two natures, a divine nature and a human nature,
not confused with each other but united in the Person of the Word. Therefore,
in the humanity of Jesus all things - his miracles, his suffering, and his
death - must be attributed to his divine Person which acts by means of his
assumed human nature.
“O Only-begotten Son and
Word of God you who are immortal, you who deigned for our salvation to become
incarnate of the holy Mother of God and ever Virgin Mary (...) You who are one
of the Holy Trinity, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us!” (Byzantine Liturgy of Saint John
Chrysostom)
90. Did the incarnate Son of God have a
soul with human knowledge?
470-474
482
The Son of God assumed a body animated by a
rational human soul. With his human intellect Jesus learned many things by way
of experience; but also as man the Son of God had an intimate and
immediate knowledge of God his Father. He likewise understood people’s secret
thoughts and he knew fully the eternal plans which he had come to reveal.
91. How did the two wills of the incarnate
Word cooperate?
475
482
Jesus had a divine will and a human will. In
his earthly life the Son of God humanly willed all that he had divinely decided
with the Father and the Holy Spirit for our salvation. The human will of Christ
followed without opposition or reluctance the divine will or, in other words,
it was subject to it.
92. Did Christ have a true human body?
476-477
Christ assumed a true human body by means of
which the invisible God became visible. This is the reason why Christ can be
represented and venerated in sacred images.
93. What does the heart of Jesus
exemplify?
478
Jesus knew us and loved us with a human
heart. His Heart, pierced for our salvation, is the symbol of that infinite
love with which he loves the Father and each one of us.
94. What is the meaning of the expression
“conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit...”?
484-486
This expression means that the Virgin Mary
conceived the eternal Son in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit without
the cooperation of a man. The angel told her at the Annunciation that “the Holy
Spirit will come upon you” (Luke 1:35).
95. “...Born of the Virgin Mary”: Why is
Mary truly the Mother of God?
495
509
Mary is truly the Mother of God
because she is the Mother of Jesus (John 2:1, John 19:25). The
One who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and became truly her Son
is actually the eternal Son of God the Father. He is God himself.
96. What does the “Immaculate Conception”
mean?
487-492
508
God freely chose Mary from all eternity to be
the Mother of his Son. In order to carry out her mission she herself was conceived
immaculate. This means that, thanks to the grace of God and in anticipation
of the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary was preserved from original sin from the
first instant of her conception.
97. How does Mary cooperate in the divine
plan of salvation?
493-494
508-511
By the grace of God Mary was kept free from
every personal sin her whole life long. She is the one who is “full of grace” (Luke
1:28), “the all holy”. When the angel announced to her that she would give
birth to “the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32), she freely gave her
consent with “the obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5). Mary thus gave
herself entirely to the person and work of her Son Jesus, espousing
wholeheartedly the divine will regarding salvation.
98. What does the virginal conception of
Jesus mean?
496-498
503
The virginal conception of Jesus means that
Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Virgin solely by the power of the Holy
Spirit without the intervention of a man. He is the Son of the heavenly Father
according to his divine nature and the Son of Mary according to his human
nature. He is, however, truly the Son of God in both natures since there is in
him only one Person who is divine.
99. In what sense is Mary “ever Virgin”?
499-507
510-511
Mary is ever virgin in the sense that she
“remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to him, a
virgin in carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a virgin”
(Saint Augustine). Therefore, when the Gospels speak of the “brothers and
sisters of Jesus”, they are talking about the close relations of Jesus,
according to the way of speaking used in Sacred Scripture.
100. In what way is the spiritual motherhood
of Mary universal?
501-507
511
Mary had only one Son, Jesus, but in him her
spiritual motherhood extends to all whom he came to save. Obediently standing
at the side of the new Adam, Jesus Christ, the Virgin is the new Eve,
the true mother of all the living, who with a mother's love cooperates in their
birth and their formation in the order of grace. Virgin and Mother, Mary is the
figure of the Church, its most perfect realization.
101. In what sense is the life of Christ a
Mystery?
512-521
561-562
The entire life of Christ is a revelation.
What was visible in the earthly life of Jesus leads us to the invisible
mystery of his divine sonship: “whoever has seen me has seen the
Father” (John 14:9). Furthermore, even though salvation comes completely
from the cross and the resurrection, the entire life of Christ is a mystery
of redemption because everything that Jesus did, said, and suffered had for
its aim the salvation of fallen human beings and the restoration of their
vocation as children of God.
102. How did God prepare the world for the
mystery of Christ?
522-524
God prepared for the coming of his Son over
the centuries. He awakened in the hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of
this coming and he prepared for it specifically through the Old Testament,
culminating with John the Baptist who was the last and greatest of the
prophets. We relive this long period of expectancy in the annual liturgical
celebration of the season of Advent.
103. What does the Gospel teach about the
mysteries of the birth and infancy of Jesus?
525-530
563-564
At Christmas the glory of heaven is
shown forth in the weakness of a baby; the circumcision of Jesus is a
sign of his belonging to the Hebrew people and is a prefiguration of our
Baptism; the Epiphany is the manifestation of the Messiah King of Israel
to all the nations; at the presentation in the temple, Simeon and Anna
symbolise all the anticipation of Israel awaiting its encounter with its
Savior; the flight into Egypt and the massacre of the innocents
proclaim that the entire life of Christ will be under the sign of
persecution; the departure from Egypt recalls the exodus and presents
Jesus as the new Moses and the true and definitive liberator.
104. What does the hidden life of Jesus in
Nazareth teach us?
533-534
564
In the course of his hidden life in
Nazareth Jesus stayed in the silence of an ordinary existence. This allows us
to enter into fellowship with him in the holiness to be found in a daily
life marked by prayer, simplicity, work and family love. His obedience to Mary
and to Joseph, his foster father, is an image of his filial obedience to the
Father. Mary and Joseph accepted with faith the mystery of Jesus even though
they did not always understand it.
105. Why did Jesus receive from John the
“baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3)?
535-537
565
To inaugurate his public life and to
anticipate the “Baptism” of his death, he who was without sin accepted to be
numbered among sinners. He was “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world” (John 1:29). The Father proclaimed him to be “his beloved Son” (Matthew
3:17) and the Spirit descended upon him. The baptism of Jesus is a prefiguring
of our baptism.
106. What do we learn from the temptations
of Jesus in the desert?
538-540
566
The temptations of Jesus in the desert
recapitulate the temptation of Adam in Paradise and the temptations of Israel
in the desert. Satan tempts Jesus in regard to his obedience to the mission
given him by the Father. Christ, the new Adam, resists and his victory
proclaims that of his passion which is the supreme obedience of his filial
love. The Church unites herself to this mystery in a special way in the
liturgical season of Lent.
107. Who is invited to come into the
Kingdom of God proclaimed and brought about by Jesus?
541-546
567
All are invited by Jesus to enter the Kingdom
of God. Even the worst of sinners is called to convert and to accept the
boundless mercy of the Father. Already here on earth, the Kingdom belongs to
those who accept it with a humble heart. To them the mysteries of the Kingdom
are revealed.
108. Why did Jesus manifest the Kingdom by
means of signs and miracles?
547-550
567
Jesus accompanied his words with signs
and miracles to bear witness to the fact that the Kingdom is present in
him, the Messiah. Although he healed some people, he did not come to abolish
all evils here below but rather to free us especially from the slavery of sin.
The driving out of demons proclaimed that his cross would be victorious over
“the ruler of this world” (John 12:31).
109. In the Kingdom, what authority did
Jesus bestow upon his Apostles?
551-553
567
Jesus chose the twelve, the future
witnesses of his Resurrection, and made them sharers of his mission and of his
authority to teach, to absolve from sins, and to build up and govern the
Church. In this college, Peter received “the keys of the Kingdom” (Matthew
16:19) and assumed the first place with the mission to keep the faith in its
integrity and to strengthen his brothers.
110. What is the meaning of the
Transfiguration?
554-556
568
Above all the Transfiguration shows forth the
Trinity: “the Father in the voice, the Son in the man Jesus, the Spirit in the
shining cloud” (Saint Thomas Aquinas). Speaking with Moses and Elijah about his
“departure” (Luke 9:31), Jesus reveals that his glory comes by way of
the cross and he anticipates his resurrection and his glorious coming “which
will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Philippians
3:21).
“You were transfigured on
the mountain and your disciples, as much as they were capable of it, beheld
your glory, O Christ our God, so that when they should see you crucified they
would understand that your passion was voluntary, and proclaim to the world
that you truly are the splendor of the Father.” (Byzantine Liturgy)
111. How did the messianic entrance into
Jerusalem come about?
557-560
569-570
At the established time Jesus chose to go up
to Jerusalem to suffer his passion and death, and to rise from the dead. As the
Messiah King who shows forth the coming of the Kingdom, he entered into his
city mounted on a donkey. He was acclaimed by the little children whose shout
of joyful praise is taken up in the Sanctus of the Eucharistic liturgy:
“Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna (save us!)” (Matthew
21:9). The liturgy of the Church opens Holy Week by celebrating this
entry into Jerusalem.
“Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate
was crucified, died, and was buried.”
112. What is the importance of the Paschal
Mystery of Jesus?
571-573
The Paschal Mystery of Jesus, which comprises
his passion, death, resurrection, and glorification, stands at the center of
the Christian faith because God's saving plan was accomplished once for all by
the redemptive death of his Son Jesus Christ.
113. What were the accusations by which
Jesus was condemned to death?
574-576
Some of the leaders of Israel accused Jesus
of acting against the law, the temple in Jerusalem, and in particular against
faith in the one God because he proclaimed himself to be the Son of God. For
this reason they handed him over to Pilate so that he might condemn him to
death.
114. How did Jesus conduct himself in
regard to the Law of Israel?
577-582
592
Jesus did not abolish the Law given by God to
Moses on Mount Sinai but he fulfilled it by giving it its definitive
interpretation. He himself was the divine Legislator who fully carried out this
Law. Furthermore, as the faithful Servant, he offered by means of his expiatory
death the only sacrifice capable of making atonement for all the
“transgressions committed by men under the first Covenant” (Hebrews
9:15).
115. What was the attitude of Jesus toward
the temple in Jerusalem?
583-586
593
Jesus was accused of hostility to the temple.
On the contrary, he venerated it as “the house of his Father” (John
2:16); and it was there that he imparted an important part of his teaching.
However, he also foretold its destruction in connection with his own death and
he presented himself as the definitive dwelling place of God among men.
116. Did Jesus contradict Israel's faith
in the one God and savior?
587-591
594
Jesus never contradicted faith in the one
God, not even when he performed the stupendous divine work which fulfilled the
messianic promises and revealed himself as equal to God, namely the pardoning
of sins. However, the call of Jesus to believe in him and to be converted makes
it possible to understand the tragic misunderstanding of the Sanhedrin which
judged Jesus to be worthy of death as a blasphemer.
117. Who is responsible for the death of
Jesus?
595-598
The passion and death of Jesus cannot be
imputed indiscriminately either to all the Jews that were living at that time
or to their descendants. Every single sinner, that is, every human being is
really the cause and the instrument of the sufferings of the Redeemer; and the
greater blame in this respect falls on those above all who are Christians and
who the more often fall into sin or delight in their vices.
118. Why was the death of Jesus part of
God's plan?
599-605
619
To reconcile to himself all who were destined
to die because of sin God took the loving initiative of sending his Son that he
might give himself up for sinners. Proclaimed in the Old Testament, especially
as the sacrifice of the Suffering Servant, the death of Jesus came about “in
accordance with the Scriptures”.
119. In what way did Christ offer himself
to the Father?
606-609
620
The entire life of Christ was a free offering
to the Father to carry out his plan of salvation. He gave “his life as a ransom
for many” (Mark 10:45) and in this way he reconciled all of humanity
with God. His suffering and death showed how his humanity was the free and
perfect instrument of that divine love which desires the salvation of all
people.
120. How is Jesus’ offering expressed at
the Last Supper?
610-611
621
At the Last Supper with his apostles on the
eve of his passion Jesus anticipated, that is, both symbolized his free
self-offering and made it really present: “This is my Body which is given
for you” (Luke 22:19), “This is my Blood which is poured out...”
(Matthew 26:28) Thus he both instituted the Eucharist as the “memorial”
(1 Corinthians 11:25) of his sacrifice and instituted his apostles as
priests of the new covenant.
121. What happened in the Agony in the
Garden of Gethsemane?
612
Despite the horror which death represented
for the sacred humanity of Jesus “who is the Author of Life” (Acts
3:15), the human will of the Son of God remained faithful to the will of the
Father for our salvation. Jesus accepted the duty to carry our sins in his Body
“becoming obedient unto death” (Philippians 2:8).
122. What are the results of the sacrifice
of Christ on the cross?
613-617
622-623
Jesus freely offered his life as an expiatory
sacrifice, that is, he made reparation for our sins with the full obedience of
his love unto death. This love “to the end” (John 13:1) of the Son of
God reconciled all of humanity with the Father. The paschal sacrifice of
Christ, therefore, redeems humanity in a way that is unique, perfect, and
definitive; and it opens up for them communion with God.
123. Why does Jesus call upon his
disciples to take up their cross?
618
By calling his disciples to take up their
cross and follow him Jesus desires to associate with his redeeming sacrifice
those who are to be its first beneficiaries.
124. In what condition was the body of
Christ while it lay in the tomb?
624-630
Christ underwent a real death and a true
burial. However, the power of God preserved his body from corruption.
“Jesus Christ descended into hell;
on the third day He rose again from the dead.”
125. What is the “hell” into which Jesus
descended?
632-637
This “hell” was different from the hell
of the damned. It was the state of all those, righteous and evil, who died
before Christ. With his soul united to his divine Person Jesus went down to the
just in hell who were awaiting their Redeemer so they could enter at last into
the vision of God. When he had conquered by his death both death and the devil
“who has the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14), he freed the just who
looked forward to the Redeemer and opened for them the gates of heaven.
126. What place does the Resurrection of
Christ occupy in our faith?
631, 638
The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning
truth of our faith in Christ and represents along with his cross an essential
part of the Paschal Mystery.
127. What are the signs that bear witness
to the Resurrection of Jesus?
639-644
656-657
Along with the essential sign of the empty
tomb, the Resurrection of Jesus is witnessed to by the women who first encountered
Christ and proclaimed him to the apostles. Jesus then “appeared to Cephas
(Peter) and then to the Twelve. Following that he appeared to more than five
hundred of the brethren at one time” (1 Corinthians 15:5-6) and to
others as well. The apostles could not have invented the story of the
resurrection since it seemed impossible to them. As a matter of fact, Jesus
himself upbraided them for their unbelief.
128. Why is the Resurrection at the same
time a transcendent occurrence?
647
656-657
While being an historical event, verifiable
and attested by signs and testimonies, the Resurrection, insofar as it is the
entrance of Christ's humanity into the glory of God, transcends and surpasses
history as a mystery of faith. For this reason the risen Christ did not
manifest himself to the world but to his disciples, making them his witnesses
to the people.
129. What is the condition of the risen
body of Jesus?
645-646
The Resurrection of Christ was not a return
to earthly life. His risen body is that which was crucified and bears the marks
of his passion. However it also participates in the divine life, with the
characteristics of a glorified body. Because of this the risen Jesus was
utterly free to appear to his disciples how and where he wished and under
various aspects.
130. How is the Resurrection the work of
the Most Holy Trinity?
648-650
The Resurrection of Christ is a transcendent
work of God. The three Persons act together according to what is proper to
them: the Father manifests his power; the Son “takes again” the life which he
freely offered (John 10:17), reuniting his soul and his body which the
Spirit brings to life and glorifies.
131. What is the saving meaning of the
Resurrection?
651-655
658
The Resurrection is the climax of the
Incarnation. It confirms the divinity of Christ and all the things which he did
and taught. It fulfills all the divine promises made for us. Furthermore the
risen Christ, the conqueror of sin and death, is the principle of our
justification and our Resurrection. It procures for us now the grace of filial
adoption which is a real share in the life of the only begotten Son. At the end
of time he will raise up our bodies.
“Jesus Ascended into Heaven
and Is Seated at the Right Hand of
God the Father Almighty”
132. What does the Ascension mean?
659-667
After forty days during which Jesus showed
himself to the apostles with ordinary human features which veiled his glory as
the Risen One, Christ ascended into heaven and was seated at the right hand of
the Father. He is the Lord who now in his humanity reigns in the everlasting
glory of the Son of God and constantly intercedes for us before the Father. He
sends us his Spirit and he gives us the hope of one day reaching the place he
has prepared for us.
“From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead”
133. How does the Lord Jesus now reign?
668-674
680
As the Lord of the cosmos and of history, the
Head of his Church, the glorified Christ mysteriously remains on earth where
his kingdom is already present in seed and in its beginning in the Church. One
day he will return in glory but we do not know the time. Because of this we
live in watchful anticipation, praying “Come, Lord” (Revelation 22:20).
134. How will the coming of the Lord in
glory happen?
675-677
680
After the final cosmic upheaval of this
passing world the glorious coming of Christ will take place. Then will come the
definitive triumph of God in the parousia and the Last Judgment. Thus the
Kingdom of God will be realized.
135. How will Christ judge the living and
the dead?
678-679
681-682
Christ will judge with the power he has
gained as the Redeemer of the world who came to bring salvation to all. The
secrets of hearts will be brought to light as well as the conduct of each one
toward God and toward his neighbor. Everyone, according to how he has lived,
will either be filled with life or damned for eternity. In this way, “the
fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13) will come about in which “God will
be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).
CHAPTER THREE
136. What does the Church mean when she
confesses: “I believe in the Holy Spirit”?
683-686
To believe in the Holy Spirit is to profess
faith in the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity who proceeds from the Father
and the Son and “is worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son”. The
Spirit is “sent into our hearts” (Galatians 4:6) so that we might
receive new life as sons of God.
137. Why are the missions of the Son and
the Holy Spirit inseparable?
687-690
742-743
In the indivisible Trinity, the Son and the
Spirit are distinct but inseparable. From the very beginning until the end of
time, when the Father sends his Son he also sends his Spirit who unites us to
Christ in faith so that as adopted sons we can call God “Father” (Romans
8:15). The Spirit is invisible but we know him through his actions, when he
reveals the Word to us and when he acts in the Church.
138. What are the names of the Holy
Spirit?
691-693
“The Holy Spirit” is the proper name of the
third Person of the Most Holy Trinity. Jesus also called him the Paraclete
(Consoler or Advocate) and the Spirit of Truth. The New Testament also refers
to him as the Spirit of Christ, of the Lord, of God - the Spirit of Glory and
the Spirit of the Promise.
139. What symbols are used to represent
the Holy Spirit?
694-701
There are many symbols of the Holy Spirit: living
water which springs from the wounded Heart of Christ and which quenches the
thirst of the baptized; anointing with oil, which is the sacramental
sign of Confirmation; fire which transforms what it touches; the cloud,
dark or luminous, in which the divine glory is revealed; the imposition of
hands by which the Holy Spirit is given; the dove which descended on
Christ at his baptism and remained with him.
140. What does it mean that the Spirit
“has spoken through the prophets”?
687-688
702-716
743
The term “prophets” means those who
were inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak in the name of God. The Spirit brings
the prophecies of the Old Testament to their complete fulfillment in Christ
whose mystery he reveals in the New Testament.
141. What did the Holy Spirit accomplish
in John the Baptist?
717-720
The Spirit filled John the Baptist, who was
the last prophet of the Old Testament. Under his inspiration John was sent to
“prepare for the Lord a people well disposed” (Luke 1:17). He was to
proclaim the coming of Christ, the Son of God, upon whom he saw the Spirit
descend and remain, the one who “baptizes with the Spirit” (John 1:33).
142. What is the work of the Spirit in
Mary?
721-726
744
The Holy Spirit brought to fulfillment in
Mary all the waiting and the preparation of the Old Testament for the coming of
Christ. In a singular way he filled her with grace and made her virginity
fruitful so that she could give birth to the Son of God made flesh. He made her
the Mother of the “whole Christ”, that is, of Jesus the Head and of the Church
his body. Mary was present with the twelve on the day of Pentecost when the
Holy Spirit inaugurated the “last days with the manifestation of the Church.
143. What is the relationship between the
Spirit and Christ Jesus in his earthly mission?
727-730
745-746
Beginning with his Incarnation, the Son of
God was consecrated in his humanity as the Messiah by means of the anointing of
the Spirit. He revealed the Spirit in his teaching, fulfilled the promises made
to the Fathers, and bestowed him upon the Church at its birth when he breathed
on the apostles after the Resurrection.
144. What happened at Pentecost?
731-732
738
Fifty days after the Resurrection at Pentecost
the glorified Jesus Christ poured out the Spirit in abundance and revealed him
as a divine Person so that the Holy Trinity was fully manifest. The mission of
Christ and of the Spirit became the mission of the Church which is sent to
proclaim and spread the mystery of the communion of the Holy Trinity.
“We have seen the true
Light, we have received the heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith: we
adore the indivisible Trinity, who has saved us.” (Byzantine Liturgy, Troparion of Vespers
of Pentecost)
145. What does the Spirit do in the
Church?
733-741
747
The Spirit builds, animates and sanctifies
the Church. As the Spirit of Love, he restores to the baptized the divine
likeness that was lost through sin and causes them to live in Christ the very
life of the Holy Trinity. He sends them forth to bear witness to the Truth of
Christ and he organizes them in their respective functions so that all might
bear “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22).
146. How do Christ and his Spirit act in
the hearts of the faithful?
738-741
Christ communicates his Spirit and the grace
of God through the sacraments to all the members of the Church, who thus
bear the fruits of the new life of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also
the Master of prayer.
“I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH”
The Church in the Plan of God
147. What does the word Church
mean?
751-752
777,804
The word Church refers to the people
whom God calls and gathers together from every part of the earth. They form the
assembly of those who through faith and Baptism have become children of God,
members of Christ, and temples of the Holy Spirit.
148. Are there other names and images with
which the Bible speaks about the Church?
753-757
In Sacred Scripture we find many images which
bring out various complementary aspects of the mystery of the Church. The Old
Testament favors those images that are bound to the people of God. The
New Testament offers images that are linked to Christ as the Head of this
people which is his Body. Other images are drawn from pastoral life (sheepfold,
flock, sheep), from agriculture (field, olive grove, vineyard), from
construction (dwelling place, stone, temple), and from family life (spouse,
mother, family).
149. What is the origin and the
fulfillment of the Church?
758-766
778
The Church finds her origin and fulfillment
in the eternal plan of God. She was prepared for in the Old Covenant with the
election of Israel, the sign of the future gathering of all the nations.
Founded by the words and actions of Jesus Christ, fulfilled by his redeeming
death and Resurrection, the Church has been manifested as the mystery of
salvation by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. She will be
perfected in the glory of heaven as the assembly of all the redeemed of the
earth.
150. What is the mission of the Church?
767-769
The mission of the Church is to proclaim and
establish the Kingdom of God begun by Jesus Christ among all peoples. The
Church constitutes on earth the seed and beginning of this salvific Kingdom.
151. In what way is the Church a mystery?
770-773
779
The Church is a mystery in as much as in her
visible reality there is present and active a divine spiritual reality which
can only be seen with the eyes of faith.
152. What does it mean to say that the
Church is the universal sacrament of salvation?
774-776
780
This means that she is the sign and
instrument both of the reconciliation and communion of all of humanity with God
and of the unity of the entire human race.
The Church: people of God,
body of Christ, temple of the Spirit
153. Why is the Church the ‘people of
God’?
781
802-804
The Church is the ‘people of God’ because it
pleased God to sanctify and save men not in isolation but by making them into
one people gathered together by the unity of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit.
154. What are the characteristics of the
people of God?
782
804
One becomes a member of this people through
faith in Christ and Baptism. This people has for its origin God the
Father; for its head Jesus Christ; for its hallmark the dignity
and freedom of the sons of God; for its law the new commandment of love;
for its mission to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world;
and for its destiny the Kingdom of God, already begun on earth.
155. In what way does the people of God
share in the three functions of Christ as Priest, Prophet and King?
783-786
The people of God participate in Christ's priestly
office insofar as the baptized are consecrated by the Holy Spirit to offer
spiritual sacrifices. They share in Christ’s prophetic office when with
a supernatural sense of faith they adhere unfailingly to that faith and deepen
their understanding and witness to it. The people of God share in his kingly
office by means of service, imitating Jesus Christ who as King of the universe
made himself the servant of all, especially the poor and the suffering.
156. In what way is the Church the body of
Christ?
787-791
805-806
The risen Christ unites his faithful people
to himself in an intimate way by means of the Holy Spirit. In this way, those who
believe in Christ, in as much as they are close to him especially in the
Eucharist, are united among themselves in charity. They form one body, the
Church, whose unity is experienced in the diversity of its members and its
functions.
157. Who is the Head of this body?
792-795
807
Christ “is the Head of the body, the Church”
(Colossians 1:18). The Church lives from him, in him and for him. Christ
and the Church make up the “whole Christ” (Saint Augustine); “Head and members
form, as it were, one and the same mystical person” (Saint Thomas Aquinas).
158. Why is the Church called the “Bride
of Christ”?
796
808
She is called the “Bride of Christ” because
the Lord himself called himself her “Spouse” (Mark 2:19). The Lord has
loved the Church and has joined her to himself in an everlasting covenant. He
has given himself up for her in order to purify her with his blood and
“sanctify her” (Ephesians 5:26), making her the fruitful mother of all
the children of God. While the term “body” expresses the unity of the “head”
with the members, the term “bride” emphasizes the distinction of the two in
their personal relationship.
159. Why is the Church called the temple
of the Holy Spirit?
797-798
809-810
She is so called because the Holy Spirit
resides in the body which is the Church, in her Head and in her members. He
also builds up the Church in charity by the Word of God, the sacraments, the
virtues, and charisms.
“What the soul is to the
human body, the Holy Spirit is to the members of Christ, that is, the body of
Christ, which is the Church.” (Saint Augustine)
160. What are charisms?
799-801
Charisms are special gifts of the Holy Spirit
which are bestowed on individuals for the good of others, the needs of the
world, and in particular for the building up of the Church. The discernment of
charisms is the responsibility of the Magisterium.
The Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic
161. Why is the Church one?
813-815
866
The Church is one because she has as her
source and exemplar the unity of the Trinity of Persons in one God. As her
Founder and Head, Jesus Christ re-established the unity of all people in one
body. As her soul, the Holy Spirit unites all the faithful in communion with
Christ. The Church has but one faith, one sacramental life, one apostolic succession,
one common hope, and one and the same charity.
162. Where does the one Church of Christ
subsist?
816
870
The one Church of Christ, as a society
constituted and organized in the world, subsists in (subsistit in) the
Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter and the bishops in
communion with him. Only through this Church can one obtain the fullness of the
means of salvation since the Lord has entrusted all the blessings of the New
Covenant to the apostolic college alone whose head is Peter.
163. How are non-Catholic Christians to be
considered?
817-819
870
In the churches and ecclesial communities
which are separated from full communion with the Catholic Church, many elements
of sanctification and truth can be found. All of these blessings come from
Christ and lead to Catholic unity. Members of these churches and communities
are incorporated into Christ by Baptism and we so we recognize them as
brothers.
164. How does one commit oneself to work
for the unity of Christians?
820-822
866
The desire to restore the unity of all
Christians is a gift from Christ and a call of the Spirit. This desire involves
the entire Church and it is pursued by conversion of heart, prayer, fraternal
knowledge of each other and theological dialogue.
165. In what way is the Church holy?
823-829
867
The Church is holy insofar as the Most Holy
God is her author. Christ has given himself for her to sanctify her and make
her a source of sanctification. The Holy Spirit gives her life with charity. In
the Church one finds the fullness of the means of salvation. Holiness is the
vocation of each of her members and the purpose of all her activities. The
Church counts among her members the Virgin Mary and numerous Saints who are her
models and intercessors. The holiness of the Church is the fountain of
sanctification for her children who here on earth recognize themselves as
sinners ever in need of conversion and purification.
166. Why is the Church called “Catholic”?
830-831
868
The Church is catholic, that is universal,
insofar as Christ is present in her: “Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the
Catholic Church” (Saint Ignatius of Antioch). The Church proclaims the fullness
and the totality of the faith; she bears and administers the fullness of the
means of salvation; she is sent out by Christ on a mission to the whole of the
human race.
167. Is the particular Church catholic?
832-835
Every particular Church (that is, a diocese
or eparchy) is catholic. It is formed by a community of Christians who
are in communion of faith and of the sacraments both with their Bishop, who is
ordained in apostolic succession, and with the Church of Rome which “presides
in charity” (Saint Ignatius of Antioch).
168. Who belongs to the Catholic Church?
836-838
All human beings in various ways belong to or
are ordered to the Catholic unity of the people of God. Fully incorporated into
the Catholic Church are those who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, are joined
to the Church by the bonds of the profession of faith, the sacraments,
ecclesiastical government and communion. The baptized who do not enjoy full
Catholic unity are in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the
Catholic Church.
169. What is the relationship of the
Catholic Church with the Jewish people?
839-840
The Catholic Church recognizes a particular
link with the Jewish people in the fact that God chose them before all others
to receive his Word. To the Jewish people belong “the sonship, the glory, the
covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, the promises, and the patriarchs;
and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ” (Romans 9:4, 5). The
Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to
the revelation of God in the Old Covenant.
170. What is the bond that exists between
the Catholic Church and non-Christian religions?
841-845
There is a bond between all peoples which
comes especially from the common origin and end of the entire human race. The
Catholic Church recognizes that whatever is good or true in other religions
comes from God and is a reflection of his truth. As such it can prepare for the
acceptance of the Gospel and act as a stimulus toward the unity of humanity in
the Church of Christ.
171. What is the meaning of the
affirmation “Outside the Church there is no salvation”?
846-848
This means that all salvation comes from
Christ, the Head, through the Church which is his body. Hence they cannot be
saved who, knowing the Church as founded by Christ and necessary for salvation,
would refuse to enter her or remain in her. At the same time, thanks to Christ
and to his Church, those who through no fault of their own do not know the
Gospel of Christ and his Church but sincerely seek God and, moved by grace, try
to do his will as it is known through the dictates of conscience can attain
eternal salvation.
172. Why must the Church proclaim the
Gospel to the whole world?
849-851
The Church must do so because Christ has
given the command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew
28:19). This missionary mandate of the Lord has its origin in the eternal love
of God who has sent his Son and the Holy Spirit because “he desires all men to
be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).
173. In what sense is the Church
missionary?
852-856
The Church, guided by the Holy Spirit,
continues the mission of Christ himself in the course of history. Christians
must, therefore, proclaim to everyone the Good News borne by Christ; and,
following his path, they must be ready for self-sacrifice, even unto martyrdom.
174. Why is the Church apostolic?
857
869
The Church is apostolic in her origin
because she has been built on “the foundation of the Apostles” (Ephesians
2:20). She is apostolic in her teaching which is the same as that of the
Apostles. She is apostolic by reason of her structure insofar as she is
taught, sanctified, and guided until Christ returns by the Apostles through
their successors who are the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter.
175. In what does the mission of the
Apostles consist?
858-861
The Word “Apostle” means “one who is
sent”. Jesus, the One sent by the Father, called to himself twelve of his
disciples and appointed them as his Apostles, making them the chosen witnesses
of his Resurrection and the foundation of his Church. He gave them the command
to continue his own mission saying, “As the Father has sent me, so I also send
you” (John 20:21); and he promised to remain with them until the end of
the world.
176. What is apostolic succession?
861-865
Apostolic succession is the transmission by
means of the sacrament of Holy Orders of the mission and power of the Apostles
to their successors, the bishops. Thanks to this transmission the Church
remains in communion of faith and life with her origin, while through the
centuries she carries on her apostolate for the spread of the Kingdom of Christ
on earth.
The Faithful: hierarchy, laity, consecrated life
177. Who are the faithful?
871-872
The Christian faithful are those who,
inasmuch as they have been incorporated in Christ through Baptism, have been
constituted as the people of God; for this reason, since they have become
sharers in Christ’s priestly, prophetic and royal office in their own manner,
they are called to exercise the mission which God has entrusted to the Church.
There exists a true equality among them in their dignity as children of God.
178. How are the people of God formed?
873
934
Among the faithful by divine institution
there exist sacred ministers who have received the sacrament of Holy
Orders and who form the hierarchy of the Church. The other members of the
Church are called the laity. In both the hierarchy and the laity there
are certain of the faithful who are consecrated in a special manner to
God by the profession of the evangelical counsels: chastity or celibacy,
poverty, and obedience.
179. Why did Christ institute an
ecclesiastical hierarchy?
874-876
935
Christ instituted an ecclesiastical hierarchy
with the mission of feeding the people of God in his name and for this purpose
gave it authority. The hierarchy is formed of sacred ministers,; bishops,
priests, and deacons. Thanks to the sacrament of Orders, bishops and priests
act in the exercise of their ministry in the name and person of Christ the
Head. Deacons minister to the people of God in the diakonia (service) of
word, liturgy, and charity.
180. How is the collegial dimension of
Church ministry carried out?
876-877
After the example of the twelve Apostles who
were chosen and sent out together by Christ, the unity of the Church’s
hierarchy is at the service of the communion of all the faithful. Every bishop
exercises his ministry as a member of the episcopal college in communion with
the Pope and shares with him in the care of the universal Church. Priests
exercise their ministry in the presbyterate of the local Church in communion
with their own bishop and under his direction.
181. Why does ecclesial ministry also have
a personal character?
878-879
Ecclesial ministry also has a personal
character in as much as each minister, in virtue of the sacrament of Holy
Orders, is responsible before Christ who called him personally and conferred on
him his mission.
182. What is the mission of the Pope?
880-882
936-937
The Pope, Bishop of Rome and the Successor of
Saint Peter, is the perpetual, visible source and foundation of the unity of
the Church. He is the vicar of Christ, the head of the College of bishops and
pastor of the universal Church over which he has by divine institution full, supreme,
immediate, and universal power.
183. What is the competence of the college
of bishops?
883-885
The college of bishops in union with the
Pope, and never without him, also exercises supreme and full authority over the
Church.
184. How do the bishops carry out their
mission of teaching?
888-890
939
Since they are authentic witnesses of the
apostolic faith and are invested with the authority of Christ, the bishops in
union with the Pope have the duty of proclaiming the Gospel faithfully and
authoritatively to all. By means of a supernatural sense of faith, the people
of God unfailingly adhere to the faith under the guidance of the living
Magisterium of the Church.
185. When is the infallibility of the
Magisterium exercised?
890-891
Infallibility is exercised when the Roman
Pontiff, in virtue of his office as the Supreme Pastor of the Church, or the
College of Bishops, in union with the Pope especially when joined together in
an Ecumenical Council, proclaim by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to
faith or morals. Infallibility is also exercised when the Pope and Bishops in
their ordinary Magisterium are in agreement in proposing a doctrine as
definitive. Every one of the faithful must adhere to such teaching with the
obedience of faith.
186. How do Bishops exercise their
ministry of sanctification?
893
Bishops sanctify the Church by dispensing the
grace of Christ by their ministry of the word and the sacraments, especially
the Holy Eucharist, and also by their prayers, their example and their work.
187. How do the Bishops exercise their
function of governing?
894-896
Every bishop, insofar as he is a member of
the college of bishops, bears collegially the care for all particular Churches
and for the entire Church along with all the other bishops who are united to
the Pope. A bishop to whom a particular Church has been entrusted governs that
Church with the authority of his own sacred power which is ordinary and
immediate and exercised in the name of Christ, the Good Shepherd, in communion
with the entire Church and under the guidance of the Successor of Peter.
188. What is the vocation of the lay
faithful?
897-900
940
The lay faithful have as their own vocation
to seek the Kingdom of God by illuminating and ordering temporal affairs
according to the plan of God. They carry out in this way their call to holiness
and to the apostolate, a call given to all the baptized.
189. How do the lay faithful participate
in the priestly office of Christ?
901-903
They participate in it especially in the
Eucharist by offering as a spiritual sacrifice “acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ” (1 Peter 2:5) their own lives with all of their works, their
prayers, their apostolic undertakings, their family life, their daily work and
hardships borne with patience and even their consolations of spirit and body.
In this way, even the laity, dedicated to Christ and consecrated by the Holy
Spirit, offer to God the world itself.
190. How does the laity participate in the
prophetic office?
904-907
942
They participate in it by welcoming evermore
in faith the Word of Christ and proclaiming it to the world by the witness of
their lives, their words, their evangelizing action, and by catechesis. This
evangelizing action acquires a particular efficacy because it is accomplished
in the ordinary circumstances of the world.
191. How do they participate in the kingly
office?
908-913
943
The laity participate in the kingly function
of Christ because they have received from him the power to overcome sin in
themselves and in the world by self-denial and the holiness of their lives.
They exercise various ministries at the service of the community and they imbue
temporal activities and the institutions of society with moral values.
192. What is the consecrated life?
914-916
944
The consecrated life is a state of life
recognized by the Church. It is a free response to a special call from Christ
by which those consecrated give themselves completely to God and strive for the
perfection of charity moved by the Holy Spirit. This consecration is
characterized by the practice of the evangelical counsels.
193. What can the consecrated life give to
the mission of the Church?
931-933
945
The consecrated life participates in the
mission of the Church by means of a complete dedication to Christ and to one’s
brothers and sisters witnessing to the hope of the heavenly Kingdom.
I believe in the communion of saints
194. What is the meaning of the “communion
of saints”?
946-953
960
This expression indicates first of all the
common sharing of all the members of the Church in holy things (sancta):
the faith, the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, the charisms, and the
other spiritual gifts. At the root of this communion is love which “does not
seek its own interests” (1 Corinthians 13:5) but leads the faithful to
“hold everything in common” (Acts 4:32), even to put one’s own material
goods at the service of the most poor.
195. What else does “the communion of
saints” mean?
954-959
961-962
This expression also refers to the communion
between holy persons (sancti); that is, between those who by grace are
united to the dead and risen Christ. Some are pilgrims on the earth; others,
having passed from this life, are undergoing purification and are helped also
by our prayers. Others already enjoy the glory of God and intercede for us. All
of these together form in Christ one family, the Church, to the praise and
glory of the Trinity.
Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church
196. In what sense is the Blessed Virgin
Mary the Mother of the Church?
963-964
973
The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of the
Church in the order of grace because she gave birth to Jesus, the Son of God,
the Head of the body which is the Church. When he was dying on the cross Jesus
gave his mother to his disciple with the words, “Behold your mother” (John
19:27).
197. How does the Virgin Mary help the
Church?
965-970
974-975
After the Ascension of her Son, the Virgin
Mary aided the beginnings of the Church with her prayers. Even after her
Assumption into heaven, she continues to intercede for her children, to be a
model of faith and charity for all, and to exercise over them a salutary
influence deriving from the superabundant merits of Christ. The faithful see in
Mary an image and an anticipation of the resurrection that awaits them and they
invoke her as advocate, helper, benefactress and mediatrix.
198. What kind of devotion is directed to
the holy Virgin?
971
It is a singular kind of devotion which
differs essentially from the cult of adoration given only to the Most Holy
Trinity. This special veneration directed to Mary finds particular expression
in the liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and in Marian prayers
such as the holy Rosary which is a compendium of the whole Gospel.
199. In what way is the Blessed Virgin
Mary the eschatological icon of the Church?
972
Looking upon Mary, who is completely holy and
already glorified in body and soul, the Church contemplates in her what she
herself is called to be on earth and what she will be in the homeland of
heaven.
“I BELIEVE IN THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS”
200. How are sins remitted?
976-980
984-985
The first and chief sacrament for the
forgiveness of sins is Baptism. For those sins committed after Baptism, Christ
instituted the sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance through which a baptized
person is reconciled with God and with the Church.
201. Why does the Church have the power to
forgive sins?
981-983
986-987
The Church has the mission and the power to
forgive sins because Christ himself has conferred it upon her: “Receive the
Holy Spirit, if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain
the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:22-23).
“I BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY”
202. What is the meaning of the term
“body” (or “flesh”) and what importance does it have?
990
1015
The resurrection of the flesh is the
literal formulation in the Apostles Creed for the resurrection of the body. The
term “flesh” refers to humanity in its state of weakness and mortality. “The
flesh is the hinge of salvation” (Tertullian). We believe in God the Creator of
the flesh; we believe in the Word made flesh in order to redeem flesh; and we
believe in the resurrection of flesh which is the fulfillment of both the
creation and the redemption of the flesh.
203. What is meant by the “resurrection of
the body”?
990
This means that the definitive state of man
will not be one in which his spiritual soul is separated from his body. Even
our mortal bodies will one day come to life again.
204. What is the relationship between the
Resurrection of Christ and our resurrection?
998
1002-1003
Just as Christ is truly risen from the dead
and now lives forever, so he himself will raise everyone on the last day with
an incorruptible body: “Those who have done good will rise to the resurrection
of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation” (John
5:29).
205. What happens to our body and our soul
after death?
992-1004
1016-1018
After death, which is the separation of the
body and the soul, the body becomes corrupt while the soul, which is immortal,
goes to meet the judgment of God and awaits its reunion with the body when it
will rise transformed at the time of the return of the Lord. How the
resurrection of the body will come about exceeds the possibilities of our
imagination and understanding.
206. What does it mean to die in Christ
Jesus?
1005-1014
1019
Dying in Christ Jesus means to die in the
state of God's grace without any mortal sin. A believer in Christ, following
his example, is thus able to transform his own death into an act of obedience
and love for the Father. “This saying is sure: if we have died with him, we
will also live with him” (2 Timothy 2:11).
“I BELIEVE IN LIFE EVERLASTING”
207. What is life everlasting?
1020
1051
Eternal life is that life which begins
immediately after death. It will have no end. It will be preceded for each
person by a particular judgment at the hands of Christ who is the Judge of the
living and the dead. This particular judgement will be confirmed in the final
judgment.
208. What is the particular judgment?
1021-1022
1051
It is the judgment of immediate retribution
which each one after death will receive from God in his immortal soul in accord
with his faith and his works. This retribution consists in entrance into the
happiness of heaven, immediately or after an appropriate purification, or entry
into the eternal damnation of hell.
209. What is meant by the term “heaven”?
1023-1026
1053
By “heaven” is meant the state of supreme and
definitive happiness. Those who die in the grace of God and have no need of
further purification are gathered around Jesus and Mary, the angels and the
saints. They thus form the Church of heaven, where they see God “face to face”
(1 Corinthians 13:12). They live in a communion of love with the Most
Blessed Trinity and they intercede for us.
“True and subsistent life
consists in this: the Father, through the Son and in the Holy Spirit, pouring
out his heavenly gifts on all things without exception. Thanks to his mercy, we
too, men that we are, have received the inalienable promise of eternal life.” (Saint Cyril of Jerusalem)
210. What is purgatory?
1030-1031
1054
Purgatory is the state of those who die in
God’s friendship, assured of their eternal salvation, but who still have need
of purification to enter into the happiness of heaven.
211. How can we help the souls being
purified in purgatory?
1032
Because of the communion of saints, the
faithful who are still pilgrims on earth are able to help the souls in
purgatory by offering prayers in suffrage for them, especially the Eucharistic
sacrifice. They also help them by almsgiving, indulgences, and works of
penance.
212. In what does hell consist?
1033-1035
1056-1057
Hell consists in the eternal damnation of
those who die in mortal sin through their own free choice. The principal
suffering of hell is eternal separation from God in whom alone we can have the
life and happiness for which we were created and for which we long. Christ
proclaimed this reality with the words, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the
eternal fire” (Matthew 25:41).
213. How can one reconcile the existence
of hell with the infinite goodness of God?
1036-1037
God, while desiring “all to come to
repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), nevertheless has created the human person to
be free and responsible; and he respects our decisions. Therefore, it is the
human person who freely excludes himself from communion with God if at the
moment of death he persists in mortal sin and refuses the merciful love of God.
214. In what does the final judgment
consist?
1038-1041
1058-1059
The final or universal judgment consists in a
sentence of happiness or eternal condemnation, which the Lord Jesus will issue
in regard to the “just and the unjust” (Acts 24:15) when he returns as
the Judge of the living and the dead. After the last judgment, the resurrected
body will share in the retribution which the soul received at the particular
judgment.
215. When will this judgment occur?
1040
This judgment will come at the end of the
world and only God knows the day and the hour.
216. What is the hope of the new heavens
and the new earth?
1042-1050
1060
After the final judgment the universe itself,
freed from its bondage to decay, will share in the glory of Christ with the
beginning of “the new heavens” and a “new earth” (2 Peter 3:13). Thus,
the fullness of the Kingdom of God will come about, that is to say, the
definitive realization of the salvific plan of God to “unite all things in
Christ, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). God will
then be “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28) in eternal life.
“Amen”
217. What is the meaning of the word “Amen”
with which we conclude our profession of faith?
1061-1065
The Hebrew word “Amen”, which also
concludes the last book of Sacred Scripture, some of the prayers of the New
Testament, and the liturgical prayers of the Church, expresses our confident
and total “yes” to what we professed in the Creed, entrusting ourselves
completely to him who is the definitive “Amen” (Revelation 3:14),
Christ the Lord.
Part Two
The Celebration of the Christian Mystery
Section One
The Sacramental Economy
218. What is the liturgy?
1066-1070
The liturgy is the celebration of the mystery
of Christ and in particular his paschal mystery. Through the exercise of the
priestly office of Jesus Christ the liturgy manifests in signs and brings about
the sanctification of humankind.
The public worship which is due to God is
offered by the Mystical Body of Christ, that is, by its head and by its
members.
219. What place does the liturgy occupy in
the life of the Church?
1071-1075
The liturgy as the sacred action par
excellence is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is
directed and it is likewise the font from which all her power flows. Through
the liturgy Christ continues the work of our redemption in, with and through
his Church.
220. In what does the sacramental economy
consist?
1076
The sacramental economy consists in the
communication of the fruits of Christ’s redemption through the celebration of
the sacraments of the Church, most especially that of the Eucharist, “until he
comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
CHAPTER ONE
The Paschal Mystery in the Age of the Church
THE LITURGY - WORK OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
221. In what way is the Father the source
and the goal of the liturgy?
1077-1083
1110
Through the liturgy the Father fills us
with his blessings in the Word made flesh who died and rose for us and pours
into our hearts the Holy Spirit. At the same time, the Church blesses the
Father by her worship, praise, and thanksgiving and begs him for the gift of
his Son and the Holy Spirit.
222. What is the work of Christ in the
liturgy?
1084-1090
In the liturgy of the Church, it is his own
paschal mystery that Christ signifies and makes present. By giving the Holy
Spirit to his apostles he entrusted to them and their successors the power to
make present the work of salvation through the Eucharistic sacrifice and the
sacraments, in which he himself acts to communicate his grace to the faithful
of all times and places throughout the world.
223. How does the Holy Spirit work in the
liturgy of the Church?
1091-1109
1112
The very closest cooperation is at work in
the liturgy between the Holy Spirit and the Church. The Holy Spirit prepares
the Church to encounter her Lord. He recalls and manifests Christ to the faith
of the assembly. He makes the mystery of Christ really present. He unites the
Church to the life and mission of Christ and makes the gift of communion bear
fruit in the Church.
THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IN THE SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
224. What are the sacraments and which are
they?
1113-1131
The sacraments, instituted by Christ and
entrusted to the Church, are efficacious signs of grace perceptible to the
senses . Through them divine life is bestowed upon us. There are seven
sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the
Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.
225. What is the relationship of the
sacraments to Christ?
1114-1116
The mysteries of Christ’s life are the
foundations of what he would henceforth dispense in the sacraments, through the
ministers of his Church.
“What was visible in our
Savior has passed over into his mysteries.” (Saint Leo the Great)
226. What is the link between the
sacraments and the Church?
1117-1119
Christ has entrusted the sacraments to his
Church. They are the sacraments “of the Church” in a twofold sense: they are
“from her” insofar as they are actions of the Church which is the sacrament of
Christ’s action; and they are “for her” in as much as they build up the Church.
227. What is the sacramental
character?
1121
It is a spiritual “seal” bestowed by
the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders. It is a promise and
guarantee of divine protection. By virtue of this seal the Christian is
configured to Christ, participates in a variety of ways in his priesthood and
takes his part in the Church according to different states and functions. He
is, therefore, set apart for divine worship and the service of the Church.
Because this character is indelible the sacraments that impress it on the soul
are received only once in life.
228. What is the relationship between the
sacraments and faith?
1122-1126
1133
The sacraments not only presuppose faith but
with words and ritual elements they nourish, strengthen, and express it. By
celebrating the sacraments, the Church professes the faith that comes from the
apostles. This explains the origin of the ancient saying, “lex orandi, lex
credendi,” that is, the Church believes as she prays.
229. Why are the sacraments efficacious?
1127-1128
1131
The sacraments are efficacious ex opere
operato (“by the very fact that the sacramental action is performed”)
because it is Christ who acts in the sacraments and communicates the grace they
signify. The efficacy of the sacraments does not depend upon the personal
holiness of the minister. However, the fruits of the sacraments do depend on
the dispositions of the one who receives them.
230. For what reason are the sacraments
necessary for salvation?
1129
For believers in Christ the sacraments, even
if they are not all given to each of the faithful, are necessary for salvation
because they confer sacramental grace, forgiveness of sins, adoption as
children of God, conformation to Christ the Lord and membership in the Church.
The Holy Spirit heals and transforms those who receive the sacraments.
231. What is sacramental grace?
1129, 1131
1134, 2003
Sacramental grace is the grace of the Holy
Spirit which is given by Christ and is proper to each sacrament. This grace
helps the faithful in their journey toward holiness and so assists the Church
as well to grow in charity and in her witness to the world.
232. What is the relationship between the
sacraments and everlasting life?
1130
In the sacraments the Church already receives
a foretaste of eternal life, while “awaiting in blessed hope, the appearing in
glory of our great God and saviour Christ Jesus” (Titus 2:13).
CHAPTER TWO
The Sacramental Celebration of the Paschal Mystery
CELEBRATING THE LITURGY OF THE CHURCH
Who celebrates?
233. Who acts in the liturgy?
1135-1137
1187
In the liturgy it is the whole Christ
(Christus Totus) who acts, Head and Body. As our High Priest he
celebrates with his body, which is the Church in heaven and on earth.
234. Who celebrates the heavenly liturgy?
1138-1139
The heavenly liturgy is celebrated by the
angels, by the saints of the Old and New Testament, particularly the Mother of
God, by the Apostles, by the martyrs, and by the “great multitude which no one
could number from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” (Revelation
7:9). When we celebrate the mystery of our salvation in the sacraments we
participate in this eternal liturgy.
235. How does the Church on earth
celebrate the liturgy?
1140-1144
1188
The Church on earth celebrates the liturgy as
a priestly people in which each one acts according to his proper function in
the unity of the Holy Spirit. The baptized offer themselves in a spiritual
sacrifice; the ordained ministers celebrate according to the Order they
received for the service of all the members of the Church; the bishops and
priests act in the Person of Christ the Head.
How is the liturgy celebrated?
236. How is the liturgy celebrated?
1145
The celebration of the liturgy is interwoven
with signs and symbols whose meaning is rooted in creation and in human
culture. It is determined by the events of the Old Testament and is fully
revealed in the Person and work of Christ.
237. From where do the sacramental signs
come?
1146-1152
1189
Some come from created things (light, water,
fire, bread, wine, oil); others come from social life (washing, anointing, breaking
of bread). Still others come from the history of salvation in the Old Covenant
(the Passover rites, the sacrifices, the laying on of hands, the
consecrations). These signs, some of which are normative and unchangeable, were
taken up by Christ and are made the bearers of his saving and sanctifying
action.
238. What is the link between the actions
and the words in the celebration of the sacraments?
1153-1155
1190
Actions and words are very closely linked in
the celebration of the sacraments. Indeed, even if the symbolic actions are
already in themselves a language, it is necessary that the words of the rite
accompany and give life to these actions. The liturgical words and actions are
inseparable both insofar as they are meaningful signs and insofar as they bring
about what they signify.
239. What are the criteria for the proper
use of singing and music in liturgical celebrations?
1156-1158
1191
Since song and music are closely connected
with liturgical action they must respect the following criteria. They should
conform to Catholic doctrine in their texts, drawn preferably from Sacred
Scripture and liturgical sources. They should be a beautiful expression of
prayer. The music should be of a high quality. Song and music should encourage
the participation of the liturgical assembly. They should express the cultural
richness of the People of God and the sacred and solemn character of the
celebration. “He who sings, prays twice” (Saint Augustine).
240. What is the purpose of holy images?
1159-1161
1192
The image of Christ is the liturgical icon par
excellence. Other images, representations of Our Lady and of the Saints,
signify Christ who is glorified in them. They proclaim the same Gospel message
that Sacred Scripture communicates by the word and they help to awaken and
nourish the faith of believers.
When is the liturgy celebrated?
241. What is the center of the liturgical
season?
1163-1167
1193
The center of the liturgical season is Sunday
which is the foundation and kernel of the entire liturgical year and has its
culmination in the annual celebration of Easter, the feast of feasts.
242. What is the function of the
liturgical year?
1168-1173
1194-1195
In the liturgical year the Church celebrates
the whole mystery of Christ from his Incarnation to his return in glory. On set
days the Church venerates with special love the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother
of God. The Church also keeps the memorials of saints who lived for Christ, who
suffered with him, and who live with him in glory.
243. What is the Liturgy of the Hours?
1174-1178
1196
The Liturgy of the Hours, which is the public
and common prayer of the Church, is the prayer of Christ with his body, the
Church. Through the Liturgy of the Hours the mystery of Christ, which we
celebrate in the Eucharist, sanctifies and transforms the whole of each day. It
is composed mainly of psalms, other biblical texts, and readings from the
Fathers and spiritual masters.
Where is the liturgy celebrated?
244. Does the Church need places in order
to celebrate the liturgy?
1179-1181
1197-1198
The worship “in spirit and truth” (John
4:24) of the New Covenant is not tied exclusively to any place because Christ
is the true temple of God. Through him Christians and the whole Church become
temples of the living God by the action of the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless, the
people of God in their earthly condition need places in which the community can
gather to celebrate the liturgy.
245. What are sacred buildings?
1181
1198-1199
They are the houses of God, a symbol of the
Church that lives in that place as well as of the heavenly Jerusalem. Above all
they are places of prayer in which the Church celebrates the Eucharist and
worships Christ who is truly present in the tabernacle.
246. What are the privileged places inside
sacred buildings?
1182-1186
They are: the altar, the tabernacle, the
place where the sacred Chrism and other holy oils are kept, the chair of the
bishop (cathedra) or the chair of the priest, the ambo, the baptismal font, and
the confessional.
LITURGICAL DIVERSITY AND THE UNITY OF THE MYSTERY
247. Why is the one Mystery of Christ
celebrated by the Church according to various liturgical traditions?
1200-1204
1207-1209
The answer is that the unfathomable richness
of the mystery of Christ cannot be exhausted by any single liturgical
tradition. From the very beginning, therefore, this richness found expression
among various peoples and cultures in ways that are characterized by a
wonderful diversity and complementarity.
248. What is the criterion that assures
unity in the midst of plurality?
1209
It is fidelity to the Apostolic Tradition,
that is, the communion in the faith and in the sacraments received from the
apostles, a communion that is both signified and guaranteed by apostolic
succession. The Church is Catholic and therefore can integrate into her unity
all the authentic riches of cultures.
249. Is everything immutable in the
liturgy?
1205-1206
In the liturgy, particularly in that of the
sacraments, there are unchangeable elements because they are of divine
institution. The Church is the faithful guardian of them. There are also,
however, elements subject to change which the Church has the power and on
occasion also the duty to adapt to the cultures of diverse peoples.
Section Two
The Seven Sacraments of the Church
The seven sacraments are:
Baptism
Confirmation
Holy Eucharist
Penance
Anointing of the Sick
Holy Orders
Matrimony
Septem Ecclesiae Sacramenta
Baptísmum
Confirmátio
Eucharístia,
Paeniténtia,
Únctio infirmórum
Ordo
Matrimónium.
250. How are the sacraments of the Church
divided?
1210-1211
The sacraments are divided into: the
sacraments of Christian initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist);
the sacraments of healing (Penance and Anointing of the Sick);, and the
sacraments at the service of communion and mission (Holy Orders and Matrimony).
The sacraments touch all the important moments of Christian life. All of the
sacraments are ordered to the Holy Eucharist “as to their end” (Saint Thomas
Aquinas).
CHAPTER ONE
The sacraments of Christian initiation
251. How is Christian initiation brought
about?
1212
1275
Christian initiation is accomplished by means
of the sacraments which establish the foundations of Christian life. The
faithful born anew by Baptism are strengthened by Confirmation and are then
nourished by the Eucharist.
THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
252. What names are given to the first
sacrament of initiation?
1213-1216
1276-1277
This sacrament is primarily called Baptism
because of the central rite with which it is celebrated. To baptize means to
“immerse” in water. The one who is baptized is immersed into the death of
Christ and rises with him as a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This
sacrament is also called the “bath of regeneration and renewal in the Holy
Spirit” (Titus 3:5); and it is called “enlightenment” because the
baptized becomes “a son of light” (Ephesians 5:8).
253. How is Baptism prefigured in the Old
Covenant?
1217-1222
In the Old Covenant Baptism was pre-figured
in various ways: water, seen as source of life and of death; in the
Ark of Noah, which saved by means of water; in the passing through the
Red Sea, which liberated Israel from Egyptian slavery; in the crossing
of the Jordan River, that brought Israel into the promised land which is
the image of eternal life.
254. Who brought to fulfillment those
prefigurations?
1223-1224
All the Old Covenant prefigurations find
their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. At the beginning of his public life Jesus
had himself baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan. On the cross, blood and
water, signs of Baptism and the Eucharist, flowed from his pierced side. After
his Resurrection he gave to his apostles this mission: “Go forth and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
255. Starting when and to whom has the
Church administered Baptism?
1226-1228
From the day of Pentecost, the Church has
administered Baptism to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ.
256. In what does the essential rite of
Baptism consist?
1229-1245
1278
The essential rite of this sacrament consists
in immersing the candidate in water or pouring water over his or her head while
invoking the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
257. Who can receive Baptism?
1246-1252
Every person not yet baptized is able to
receive Baptism.
258. Why does the Church baptize infants?
1250
The Church baptizes infants because they are
born with original sin. They need to be freed from the power of the Evil One
and brought into that realm of freedom which belongs to the children of God.
259. What is required of one who is to be
baptized?
1253-1255
Everyone who is to be baptized is required to
make a profession of faith. This is done personally in the case of an adult or
by the parents and by the Church in the case of infants. Also the godfather or
the godmother and the whole ecclesial community share the responsibility for
baptismal preparation (catechumenate) as well as for the development and
safeguarding of the faith and grace given at baptism.
260. Who can baptize?
1256
1284
The ordinary ministers of Baptism are the
bishop and the priest. In the Latin Church the deacon also can baptize. In case
of necessity any person can baptize provided he has the intention of doing what
the Church does. This is done by pouring water on the head of the candidate
while saying the Trinitarian formula for Baptism: “I baptize you in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.
261. Is Baptism necessary for salvation?
1257
Baptism is necessary for salvation for all
those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility
of asking for this sacrament.
262. Is it possible to be saved without
Baptism?
1258-1261
1281-1283
Since Christ died for the salvation of all,
those can be saved without Baptism who die for the faith (Baptism of blood).
Catechumens and all those who, even without knowing Christ and the Church,
still (under the impulse of grace) sincerely seek God and strive to do his will
can also be saved without Baptism (Baptism of desire). The Church in her
liturgy entrusts children who die without Baptism to the mercy of God.
263. What are the effects of Baptism?
1262-1274
1279-1280
Baptism takes away original sin, all personal
sins and all punishment due to sin. It makes the baptized person a participant
in the divine life of the Trinity through sanctifying grace, the grace of
justification which incorporates one into Christ and into his Church. It gives
one a share in the priesthood of Christ and provides the basis for communion with
all Christians. It bestows the theological virtues and the gifts of the Holy
Spirit. A baptized person belongs forever to Christ. He is marked with the
indelible seal of Christ (character).
264. What is the meaning of the Christian
name received at Baptism?
2156-2159
2167
The name is important because God knows each
of us by name, that is, in our uniqueness as persons. In Baptism a Christian
receives his or her own name in the Church. It should preferably be the name of
a saint who might offer the baptized a model of sanctity and an assurance of
his or her intercession before God.
THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION
265. What place does Confirmation have in
the divine plan of salvation?
1285-1288
1315
In the Old Testament the prophets announced
that the Spirit of the Lord would rest on the awaited Messiah and on the entire
messianic people. The whole life and mission of Jesus were carried out in total
communion with the Holy Spirit. The apostles received the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost and proclaimed “the great works of God” (Acts 2:11). They gave
the gift of the same Spirit to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands.
Down through the centuries, the Church has continued to live by the Spirit and
to impart him to her children.
266. Why is this sacrament called Chrismation
or Confirmation?
1289
It is called Chrismation (in the
Eastern Churches: Anointing with holy myron or chrism) because the essential
rite of the sacrament is anointing with chrism. It is called Confirmation
because it confirms and strengthens baptismal grace.
267. What is the essential rite of
Confirmation?
1290-1301
1318
1320-1321
The essential rite of Confirmation is the
anointing with Sacred Chrism (oil mixed with balsam and consecrated by the
bishop), which is done by the laying on of the hand of the minister who
pronounces the sacramental words proper to the rite. In the West this anointing
is done on the forehead of the baptized with the words, “Be sealed with the
gift of the Holy Spirit”. In the Eastern Churches of the Byzantine rite this anointing
is also done on other parts of the body with the words, “The seal of the gift
of the Holy Spirit”.
268. What is the effect of Confirmation?
1302-1305
1316-1317
The effect of Confirmation is a special
outpouring of the Holy Spirit like that of Pentecost. This outpouring impresses
on the soul an indelible character and produces a growth in the grace of
Baptism. It roots the recipient more deeply in divine sonship, binds him more
firmly to Christ and to the Church and reinvigorates the gifts of the Holy
Spirit in his soul. It gives a special strength to witness to the Christian
faith.
269. Who can receive this sacrament?
1306-1311
1319
Only those already baptized can and should
receive this sacrament which can be received only once. To receive Confirmation
efficaciously the candidate must be in the state of grace.
270. Who is the minister of Confirmation?
1312-1314
The original minister of Confirmation is the
bishop. In this way the link between the confirmed and the Church in her
apostolic dimension is made manifest. When a priest confers this sacrament, as
ordinarily happens in the East and in special cases in the West, the link with
the bishop and with the Church is expressed by the priest who is the
collaborator of the bishop and by the Sacred Chrism, consecrated by the bishop
himself.
THE SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST
271. What is the Eucharist?
1322-1323
1409
The Eucharist is the very sacrifice of the
Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus which he instituted to perpetuate the
sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until his return in glory. Thus he
entrusted to his Church this memorial of his death and Resurrection. It is a
sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet, in which Christ is
consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given
to us.
272. When did Jesus Christ institute the
Eucharist?
1323
1337-1340
Jesus instituted the Eucharist on Holy
Thursday “the night on which he was betrayed” (1 Corinthians 11:23), as
he celebrated the Last Supper with his apostles.
273. How did he institute the Eucharist?
1337-1340
1365, 1406
After he had gathered with his apostles in
the Cenacle, Jesus took bread in his hands. He broke it and gave it to them
saying, “Take this and eat it, all of you; this is my Body which will be given
up for you”. Then, he took the cup of wine in his hands and said, “Take this
and drink of this, all of you. This is the cup of my Blood, the Blood of the
new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins
may be forgive. Do this in memory of me”.
274. What does the Eucharist represent in
the life of the Church?
1324-1327
1407
It is the source and summit of all Christian
life. In the Eucharist, the sanctifying action of God in our regard and our
worship of him reach their high point. It contains the whole spiritual good of
the Church, Christ himself, our Pasch. Communion with divine life and the unity
of the People of God are both expressed and effected by the Eucharist. Through
the eucharistic celebration we are united already with the liturgy of heaven
and we have a foretaste of eternal life.
275. What are the names for this
sacrament?
1328-1332
The unfathomable richness of this sacrament
is expressed in different names which evoke its various aspects. The most
common names are: the Eucharist, Holy Mass, the Lord’s Supper, the Breaking of
the Bread, the Eucharistic Celebration, the Memorial of the passion, death and
Resurrection of the Lord, the Holy Sacrifice, the Holy and Divine Liturgy, the
Sacred Mysteries, the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, and Holy Communion.
276. Where does the Eucharist fit in the
divine plan of salvation?
1333-1344
The Eucharist was foreshadowed in the Old
Covenant above all in the annual Passover meal celebrated every year by the
Jews with unleavened bread to commemorate their hasty, liberating departure
from Egypt. Jesus foretold it in his teaching and he instituted it when he
celebrated the Last Supper with his apostles in a Passover meal. The Church,
faithful to the command of her Lord, “Do this in memory of me” (1
Corinthians 11:24), has always celebrated the Eucharist, especially on
Sunday, the day of the Resurrection of Jesus.
277. How is the celebration of the Holy
Eucharist carried out?
1345-1355
1408
The Eucharist unfolds in two great parts
which together form one, single act of worship. The Liturgy of the Word
involves proclaiming and listening to the Word of God. The Liturgy of the
Eucharist includes the presentation of the bread and wine, the prayer or the
anaphora containing the words of consecration, and communion.
278. Who is the minister for the
celebration of the Eucharist?
1348
1411
The celebrant of the Eucharist is a validly
ordained priest (bishop or priest) who acts in the Person of Christ the Head
and in the name of the Church.
279. What are the essential and necessary
elements for celebrating the Eucharist?
1412
The essential elements are wheat bread and
grape wine.
280. In what way is the Eucharist a memorial
of the sacrifice of Christ?
1362-1367
The Eucharist is a memorial in the
sense that it makes present and actual the sacrifice which Christ offered to
the Father on the cross, once and for all on behalf of mankind. The sacrificial
character of the Holy Eucharist is manifested in the very words of institution,
“This is my Body which is given for you” and “This cup is the New Covenant in
my Blood that will be shed for you” (Luke 22:19-20). The sacrifice of the cross
and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one and the same sacrifice. The
priest and the victim are the same; only the manner of offering is different:
in a bloody manner on the cross, in an unbloody manner in the Eucharist.
281. In what way does the Church
participate in the eucharistic sacrifice?
1368-1372
1414
In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ
becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the
faithful, their praise, their suffering, their prayers, their work, are united
to those of Christ. In as much as it is a sacrifice, the Eucharist is likewise
offered for all the faithful, living and dead, in reparation for the sins of
all and to obtain spiritual and temporal benefits from God. The Church in
heaven is also united to the offering of Christ.
282. How is Christ present in the
Eucharist?
1373-1375
1413
Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist in a
unique and incomparable way. He is present in a true, real and substantial way,
with his Body and his Blood, with his Soul and his Divinity. In the Eucharist,
therefore, there is present in a sacramental way, that is, under the
Eucharistic species of bread and wine, Christ whole and entire, God and Man.
283. What is the meaning of transubstantiation?
1376-1377
1413
Transubstantiation means the change of the whole substance of bread
into the substance of the Body of Christ and of the whole substance of wine
into the substance of his Blood. This change is brought about in the
eucharistic prayer through the efficacy of the word of Christ and by the action
of the Holy Spirit. However, the outward characteristics of bread and wine,
that is the “eucharistic species”, remain unaltered.
284. Does the breaking of the bread divide
Christ?
1377
The breaking of the bread does not divide
Christ. He is present whole and entire in each of the eucharistic species and
in each of their parts.
285. How long does the presence of Christ
last in the Eucharist?
1377
The presence of Christ continues in the
Eucharist as long as the eucharistic species subsist.
286. What kind of worship is due to the
sacrament of the Eucharist?
1378-1381
1418
The worship due to the sacrament of the
Eucharist, whether during the celebration of the Mass or outside it, is the
worship of latria, that is, the adoration given to God alone. The Church
guards with the greatest care Hosts that have been consecrated. She brings them
to the sick and to other persons who find it impossible to participate at Mass.
She also presents them for the solemn adoration of the faithful and she bears
them in processions. The Church encourages the faithful to make frequent visits
to adore the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the tabernacle.
287. Why is the Holy Eucharist the paschal
banquet?
1382-1384
1391-1396
The Holy Eucharist is the paschal banquet in
as much as Christ sacramentally makes present his Passover and gives us his
Body and Blood, offered as food and drink, uniting us to himself and to one
another in his sacrifice.
288. What is the meaning of the altar?
1383
1410
The altar is the symbol of Christ
himself who is present both as sacrificial victim (the altar of the sacrifice)
and as food from heaven which is given to us (the table of the Lord).
289. When does the Church oblige her
members to participate at Holy Mass?
1389
1417
The Church obliges the faithful to
participate at Holy Mass every Sunday and on holy days of obligation. She
recommends participation at Holy Mass on other days as well.
290. When must one receive Holy Communion?
1389
The Church recommends that the faithful, if
they have the required dispositions, receive Holy Communion whenever they
participate at Holy Mass. However, the Church obliges them to receive Holy
Communion at least once a year during the Easter season.
291. What is required to receive Holy
Communion?
1385-1389
1415
To receive Holy Communion one must be fully
incorporated into the Catholic Church and be in the state of grace, that is,
not conscious of being in mortal sin. Anyone who is conscious of having
committed a grave sin must first receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before
going to Communion. Also important for those receiving Holy Communion are a
spirit of recollection and prayer, observance of the fast prescribed by the
Church, and an appropriate disposition of the body (gestures and dress) as a
sign of respect for Christ.
292. What are the fruits of Holy
Communion?
1391-1397
1416
Holy Communion increases our union with
Christ and with his Church. It preserves and renews the life of grace received
at Baptism and Confirmation and makes us grow in love for our neighbor. It
strengthens us in charity, wipes away venial sins and preserves us from mortal
sin in the future.
293. When is it possible to give Holy
Communion to other Christians?
1398-1401
Catholic ministers may give Holy Communion
licitly to members of the Oriental Churches which are not in full communion
with the Catholic Church whenever they ask for it of their own will and possess
the required dispositions. Catholic ministers may licitly give Holy Communion
to members of other ecclesial communities only if, in grave necessity, they ask
for it of their own will, possess the required dispositions, and give evidence of
holding the Catholic faith regarding the sacrament.
294. Why is the Eucharist a “pledge of
future glory”?
1402-1405
The Eucharist is a pledge of future glory
because it fills us with every grace and heavenly blessing. It fortifies us for
our pilgrimage in this life and makes us long for eternal life. It unites us
already to Christ seated at the right hand of the Father, to the Church in
heaven and to the Blessed Virgin and all the saints.
In the Eucharist, we “break
the one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death
and the food that makes us live forever in Jesus Christ.” (Saint Ignatius of Antioch)
CHAPTER TWO
295. Why did Christ institute the
sacraments of Penance and the Anointing of the Sick?
1420-1421
1426
Christ, the physician of our soul and body,
instituted these sacraments because the new life that he gives us in the
sacraments of Christian initiation can be weakened and even lost because of
sin. Therefore, Christ willed that his Church should continue his work of
healing and salvation by means of these two sacraments.
THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION
296. What is the name of this sacrament?
1422-1424
It is called the sacrament of Penance, the
sacrament of Reconciliation, the sacrament of Forgiveness, the sacrament of
Confession, and the sacrament of Conversion.
297. Why is there a sacrament of
Reconciliation after Baptism?
1425-1426
1484
Since the new life of grace received in
Baptism does not abolish the weakness of human nature nor the inclination to
sin (that is, concupiscence), Christ instituted this sacrament for the
conversion of the baptized who have been separated from him by sin.
298. When did he institute this sacrament?
1485
The risen Lord instituted this sacrament on
the evening of Easter when he showed himself to his apostles and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if
you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:22-23).
299. Do the baptized have need of conversion?
1427-1429
The call of Christ to conversion continues to
resound in the lives of the baptized. Conversion is a continuing obligation for
the whole Church. She is holy but includes sinners in her midst.
300. What is interior penance?
1430-1433
1490
It is the movement of a “contrite heart” (Psalm
51:19) drawn by divine grace to respond to the merciful love of God. This
entails sorrow for and abhorrence of sins committed, a firm purpose not to sin
again in the future and trust in the help of God. It is nourished by hope in
divine mercy.
301. What forms does penance take in the
Christian life?
1434-1439
Penance can be expressed in many and various
ways but above all in fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. These and many other
forms of penance can be practiced in the daily life of a Christian,
particularly during the time of Lent and on the penitential day of Friday.
302. What are the essential elements of
the sacrament of Reconciliation?
1440-1449
The essential elements are two: the acts of
the penitent who comes to repentance through the action of the Holy Spirit, and
the absolution of the priest who in the name of Christ grants forgiveness and
determines the ways of making satisfaction.
303. What are the acts of the penitent?
1450-1460
1487-1492
They are: a careful examination of
conscience; contrition (or repentance), which is perfect when it is
motivated by love of God and imperfect if it rests on other motives and which
includes the determination not to sin again; confession, which consists
in the telling of one’s sins to the priest; and satisfaction or the
carrying out of certain acts of penance which the confessor imposes upon the
penitent to repair the damage caused by sin.
304. Which sins must be confessed?
1456
All grave sins not yet confessed, which a
careful examination of conscience brings to mind, must be brought to the
sacrament of Penance. The confession of serious sins is the only ordinary way
to obtain forgiveness.
305. When is a person obliged to confess
mortal sins?
1457
Each of the faithful who has reached the age
of discretion is bound to confess his or her mortal sins at least once a year
and always before receiving Holy Communion.
306. Why can venial sins also be the
object of sacramental confession?
1458
The confession of venial sins is strongly
recommended by the Church, even if this is not strictly necessary, because it
helps us to form a correct conscience and to fight against evil tendencies. It
allows us to be healed by Christ and to progress in the life of the Spirit.
307. Who is the minister of this
sacrament?
1461-1466
1495
Christ has entrusted the ministry of
Reconciliation to his apostles, to the bishops who are their successors and to
the priests who are the collaborators of the bishops, all of whom become
thereby instruments of the mercy and justice of God. They exercise their power
of forgiving sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
308. To whom is the absolution of some
sins reserved?
1463
The absolution of certain particularly grave
sins (like those punished by excommunication) is reserved to the Apostolic See
or to the local bishop or to priests who are authorized by them. Any priest,
however, can absolve a person who is in danger of death from any sin and
excommunication.
309. Is a confessor bound to secrecy?
1467
Given the delicacy and greatness of this
ministry and the respect due to people every confessor, without any exception
and under very severe penalties, is bound to maintain “the sacramental seal”
which means absolute secrecy about the sins revealed to him in confession.
310. What are the effects of this
sacrament?
1468-1470
1496
The effects of the sacrament of Penance are:
reconciliation with God and therefore the forgiveness of sins; reconciliation
with the Church; recovery, if it has been lost, of the state of grace;
remission of the eternal punishment merited by mortal sins, and remission, at
least in part, of the temporal punishment which is the consequence of sin;
peace, serenity of conscience and spiritual consolation; and an increase of
spiritual strength for the struggle of Christian living.
311. Can this sacrament be celebrated in
some cases with a general confession and general absolution?
1480-1484
In cases of serious necessity (as in imminent
danger of death) recourse may be had to a communal celebration of
Reconciliation with general confession and general absolution, as long as the
norms of the Church are observed and there is the intention of individually
confessing one’s grave sins in due time.
312. What are indulgences?
1471-1479
1498
Indulgences are the remission before God of
the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. The
faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains the indulgence under prescribed
conditions for either himself or the departed. Indulgences are granted through
the ministry of the Church which, as the dispenser of the grace of redemption,
distributes the treasury of the merits of Christ and the Saints.
THE SACRAMENT OF ANOINTING OF THE SICK
313. How was sickness viewed in the Old
Testament?
1499-1502
In the Old Testament sickness was experienced
as a sign of weakness and at the same time perceived as mysteriously bound up
with sin. The prophets intuited that sickness could also have a redemptive
value for one’s own sins and those of others. Thus sickness was lived out in
the presence of God from whom people implored healing.
314. What is the significance of Jesus’
compassion for the sick?
1503-1505
The compassion of Jesus toward the sick and
his many healings of the infirm were a clear sign that with him had come the
Kingdom of God and therefore victory over sin, over suffering, and over death.
By his own passion and death he gave new meaning to our suffering which, when
united with his own, can become a means of purification and of salvation for us
and for others.
315. What is the attitude of the Church
toward the sick?
1506-1513
1526-1527
Having received from the Lord the charge to
heal the sick, the Church strives to carry it out by taking care of the sick
and accompanying them with her prayer of intercession. Above all, the Church
possesses a sacrament specifically intended for the benefit of the sick. This
sacrament was instituted by Christ and is attested by Saint James: “Is anyone
among you sick? Let him call in the presbyters of the Church and let them pray
over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord” (James
5:14-15).
316. Who can receive the sacrament of the
anointing of the sick?
1514-1515
1528-1529
Any member of the faithful can receive this
sacrament as soon as he or she begins to be in danger of death because of
sickness or old age. The faithful who receive this sacrament can receive it
several times if their illness becomes worse or another serious sickness
afflicts them. The celebration of this sacrament should, if possible, be
preceded by individual confession on the part of the sick person.
317. Who administers this sacrament?
1516
1530
This sacrament can be administered only by
priests (bishops or presbyters).
318. How is this sacrament celebrated?
1517-1519
1531
The celebration of this sacrament consists
essentially in an anointing with oil which may be blessed by the bishop.
The anointing is on the forehead and on the hands of the sick person (in the
Roman rite) or also on other parts of the body (in the other rites) accompanied
by the prayer of the priest who asks for the special grace of this
sacrament.
319. What are the effects of this
sacrament?
1520-1523
1532
This sacrament confers a special grace which
unites the sick person more intimately to the Passion of Christ for his good
and for the good of all the Church. It gives comfort, peace, courage, and even
the forgiveness of sins if the sick person is not able to make a confession.
Sometimes, if it is the will of God, this sacrament even brings about the
restoration of physical health. In any case this Anointing prepares the sick
person for the journey to the Father’s House.
320. What is Viaticum?
1524-1525
Viaticum is the Holy Eucharist received by
those who are about to leave this earthly life and are preparing for the
journey to eternal life. Communion in the body and blood of Christ who died and
rose from the dead, received at the moment of passing from this world to the
Father, is the seed of eternal life and the power of the resurrection.
CHAPTER THREE
The Sacraments at the Service of Communion and Mission
321. What are the sacraments at the
service of communion and mission?
1533-1535
Two sacraments, Holy Orders and Matrimony,
confer a special grace for a particular mission in the Church to serve and
build up the People of God. These sacraments contribute in a special way to
ecclesial communion and to the salvation of others.
THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS
322. What is the sacrament of Holy Orders?
1536
It is the sacrament through which the mission
entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church
until the end of time.
323. Why is this sacrament called Holy
Orders?
1537-1538
Orders designates an ecclesial body into which one enters by means of a
special consecration (ordination). Through a special gift of the Holy Spirit,
this sacrament enables the ordained to exercise a sacred power in the
name and with the authority of Christ for the service of the People of God.
324. What place does the sacrament of Holy
Orders have in the divine plan of salvation?
1539-1546
1590-1591
This sacrament was prefigured in the Old
Covenant in the service of the Levites, in the priesthood of Aaron, and in the
institution of the seventy “Elders” (Numbers 11:25). These
prefigurations find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus who by the sacrifice of
the cross is the “one mediator between God and man” (1 Timothy 2:5), the
“High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:10). The
one priesthood of Christ is made present in the ministerial priesthood.
“Only Christ is the true
priest, the others being only his ministers.” (Saint Thomas Aquinas)
325. What are the degrees that make up the
sacrament of Holy Orders?
1554
1593
The sacrament of Holy Orders is composed of
three degrees which are irreplaceable for the organic structure of the Church:
the episcopate, the presbyterate and the diaconate.
326. What is the effect of episcopal
ordination?
1557-1558
Episcopal ordination confers the fullness of
the sacrament of Holy Orders. It makes the bishop a legitimate successor of the
apostles and integrates him into the episcopal college to share with the Pope
and the other bishops care for all the churches. It confers on him the offices
of teaching, sanctifying, and ruling.
327. What is the office confided to a
Bishop in a particular Church?
1560-1561
The bishop to whom the care of a
particular Church is entrusted is the visible head and foundation of unity for
that Church. For the sake of that Church, as vicar of Christ, he fulfills the
office of shepherd and is assisted by his own priests and deacons.
328. What is the effect of ordination to
the priesthood?
1562-1567
1595
The anointing of the Spirit seals the priest
with an indelible, spiritual character that configures him to Christ the priest
and enables him to act in the name of Christ the Head. As a co-worker of the
order of bishops he is consecrated to preach the Gospel, to celebrate divine
worship, especially the Eucharist from which his ministry draws its strength,
and to be a shepherd of the faithful.
329. How does a priest carry out his
proper ministry?
1568
A priest, although ordained for a universal
mission, exercises his ministry in a particular Church. This ministry is
pursued in sacramental brotherhood with other priests who form the
“presbyterate”. In communion with the bishop, and depending upon him, they bear
responsibility for the particular Church.
330. What is the effect of the ordination
to the diaconate?
1569-1571
1596
The deacon, configured to Christ the servant
of all, is ordained for service to the Church. He carries out this service
under the authority of his proper bishop by the ministry of the Word, of divine
worship, of pastoral care and of charity.
331. How is the sacrament of Holy Orders
celebrated?
1572-1574
1597
The sacrament of Holy Orders is conferred, in
each of its three degrees, by means of the imposition of hands on the
head of the ordinand by the Bishop who pronounces the solemn prayer of
consecration. With this prayer he asks God on behalf of the ordinand for the
special outpouring of the Holy Spirit and for the gifts of the Spirit proper to
the ministry to which he is being ordained.
332. Who can confer this sacrament?
1575-1576
1600
Only validly ordained bishops, as successors
of the apostles, can confer the sacrament of Holy Orders.
333. Who can receive this sacrament?
1577-1578
1598
This sacrament can only be validly received
by a baptized man. The Church recognizes herself as bound by this choice made
by the Lord Himself. No one can demand to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders,
but must be judged suitable for the ministry by the authorities of the Church.
334. Is it necessary to be celibate to
receive the sacrament of Holy Orders?
1579-1580
1599
It is always necessary to be celibate for the
episcopacy. For the priesthood in the Latin Church men who are practicing
Catholics and celibate are chosen, men who intend to continue to live a
celibate life “for the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:12). In the
Eastern Churches marriage is not permitted after one has been ordained. Married
men can be ordained to the permanent diaconate.
335. What are the effects of the sacrament
of Holy Orders?
1581-1589
This sacrament yields a special outpouring of
the Holy Spirit which configures the recipient to Christ in his triple office
as Priest, Prophet, and King, according to the respective degrees of the
sacrament. Ordination confers an indelible spiritual character and therefore
cannot be repeated or conferred for a limited time.
336. With what authority is the priestly ministry
exercised?
1547-1553
1592
Ordained priests in the exercise of their
sacred ministry speak and act not on their own authority, nor even by mandate
or delegation of the community, but rather in the Person of Christ the Head and
in the name of the Church. Therefore, the ministerial priesthood differs
essentially and not just in degree from the priesthood common to all the
faithful for whose service Christ instituted it.
THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY
337. What is the plan of God regarding man
and woman?
1601-1605
God who is love and who created man and woman
for love has called them to love. By creating man and woman he called them to
an intimate communion of life and of love in marriage: “So that they are no
longer two, but one flesh” (Matthew 19:6). God said to them in blessing
“Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28).
338. For what ends has God instituted
Matrimony?
1659-1660
The marital union of man and woman, which is
founded and endowed with its own proper laws by the Creator, is by its very
nature ordered to the communion and good of the couple and to the generation
and education of children. According to the original divine plan this conjugal
union is indissoluble, as Jesus Christ affirmed: “What God has joined together,
let no man put asunder” (Mark 10:9).
339. How does sin threaten marriage?
1606-1608
Because of original sin, which caused a
rupture in the God-given communion between man and woman, the union of marriage
is very often threatened by discord and infidelity. However, God in his infinite
mercy gives to man and woman the grace to bring the union of their lives into
accord with the original divine plan.
340. What does the Old Testament teach
about marriage?
1609-1611
God helped his people above all through the
teaching of the Law and the Prophets to deepen progressively their
understanding of the unity and indissolubility of marriage. The nuptial
covenant of God with Israel prepared for and prefigured the new covenant
established by Jesus Christ the Son of God, with his spouse, the Church.
341. What new element did Christ give to
Matrimony?
1612-1617
1661
Christ not only restored the original order
of matrimony but raised it to the dignity of a sacrament, giving spouses a
special grace to live out their marriage as a symbol of Christ’s love for his
bride the Church: “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loves the Church” (Ephesians
5:25).
342. Are all obliged to get married?
1618-1620
Matrimony is not an obligation for everyone,
especially since God calls some men and women to follow the Lord Jesus in a
life of virginity or of celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.
These renounce the great good of Matrimony to concentrate on the things of the
Lord and seek to please him. They become a sign of the absolute supremacy of
Christ’s love and of the ardent expectation of his glorious return.
343. How is the sacrament of Matrimony
celebrated?
1621-1624
Since Matrimony establishes spouses in a
public state of life in the Church, its liturgical celebration is public,
taking place in the presence of a priest (or of a witness authorized by the
Church) and other witnesses.
344. What is matrimonial consent?
1625-1632
1662-1663
Matrimonial consent is given when a man and a
woman manifest the will to give themselves to each other irrevocably in order to
live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love. Since consent constitutes
Matrimony, it is indispensable and irreplaceable. For a valid marriage the
consent must have as its object true Matrimony, and be a human act which is
conscious and free and not determined by duress or coercion.
345. What is required when one of the
spouses is not a Catholic?
1633-1637
A mixed marriage (between a Catholic
and a baptized non-Catholic) needs for liceity the permission of
ecclesiastical authority. In a case of disparity of cult (between a
Catholic and a non-baptized person) a dispensation is required for validity. In
both cases, it is essential that the spouses do not exclude the acceptance of
the essential ends and properties of marriage. It is also necessary for the
Catholic party to accept the obligation, of which the non-Catholic party has
been advised, to persevere in the faith and to assure the baptism and Catholic
education of their children.
346. What are the effects of the sacrament
of Matrimony?
1638-1642
The sacrament of Matrimony establishes a
perpetual and exclusive bond between the spouses. God himself seals the
consent of the spouses. Therefore, a marriage which is ratified and consummated
between baptized persons can never be dissolved. Furthermore, this sacrament
bestows upon the spouses the grace necessary to attain holiness in their
married life and to accept responsibly the gift of children and provide for
their education.
347. What sins are gravely opposed to the
sacrament of Matrimony?
1645-1648
Adultery and polygamy are opposed to the
sacrament of matrimony because they contradict the equal dignity of man and
woman and the unity and exclusivity of married love. Other sins include the
deliberate refusal of one’s procreative potential which deprives conjugal love
of the gift of children and divorce which goes against the indissolubility of
marriage.
348. When does the Church allow the
physical separation of spouses?
1629
1649
The Church permits the physical separation of
spouses when for serious reasons their living together becomes practically
impossible, even though there may be hope for their reconciliation. As long as
one’s spouse lives, however, one is not free to contract a new union, except if
the marriage be null and be declared so by ecclesiastical authority.
349. What is the attitude of the Church
toward those people who are divorced and then remarried?
1650-1651
1665
The Church, since she is faithful to her
Lord, cannot recognize the union of people who are civilly divorced and
remarried. “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery
against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits
adultery” (Mark 10:11-12). The Church manifests an attentive solicitude
toward such people and encourages them to a life of faith, prayer, works of
charity and the Christian education of their children. However, they cannot
receive sacramental absolution, take Holy Communion, or exercise certain
ecclesial responsibilities as long as their situation, which objectively contravenes
God's law, persists.
350. Why is the Christian family called a domestic
church?
1655-1658
1666
The Christian family is called the domestic
church because the family manifests and lives out the communal and familial
nature of the Church as the family of God. Each family member, in accord with
their own role, exercises the baptismal priesthood and contributes toward
making the family a community of grace and of prayer, a school of human and
Christian virtue and the place where the faith is first proclaimed to children.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE SACRAMENTALS
351. What are the sacramentals?
1667-1672
1677-1678
These are sacred signs instituted by the
Church to sanctify different circumstances of life. They include a prayer accompanied
by the sign of the cross and other signs. Among the sacramentals which occupy
an important place are: blessings, which are the praise of God and a prayer to
obtain his gifts, the consecration of persons and the dedication of things for
the worship of God.
352. What is an exorcism?
1673
When the Church asks with its authority in
the name of Jesus that a person or object be protected against the power of the
Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called an exorcism. This is
done in ordinary form in the rite of Baptism. A solemn exorcism, called a major
exorcism, can be performed only by a priest authorized by the bishop.
353. What forms of popular piety accompany
the sacramental life of the Church?
1674-1676
1679
The religious sense of the Christian people
has always found expression in the various forms of piety which accompany the
sacramental life of the Church such as the veneration of relics, visits to
sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross and the
rosary. The Church sheds the light of faith upon and fosters authentic forms of
popular piety.
CHRISTIAN FUNERALS
354. What is the relationship between the
sacraments and the death of a Christian?
1680-1683
The Christian who dies in Christ reaches at
the end of his earthly existence the fulfillment of that new life which was
begun in Baptism, strengthened in Confirmation, and nourished in the Eucharist,
the foretaste of the heavenly banquet. The meaning of the death of a Christian
becomes clear in the light of the death and Resurrection of Christ our only
hope. The Christian who dies in Christ Jesus goes “away from the body to be at
home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).
355. What do funeral rites express?
1684-1685
Although celebrated in different rites in
keeping with the situations and traditions of various regions, funerals express
the paschal character of Christian death in hope of the resurrection. They also
manifest the meaning of communion with the departed particularly through prayer
for the purification of their souls.
356. What are the main moments in
funerals?
1686-1690
Usually, funeral rites consist of four
principal parts: welcoming the body of the deceased by the community with words
of comfort and hope, the liturgy of the Word, the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and
the farewell in which the soul of the departed is entrusted to God, the Source
of eternal life, while the body is buried in the hope of the resurrection.
Part Three
Section One
Man's Vocation: Life in the Spirit
357. How is the Christian moral life bound
up with faith and the sacraments?
1691-1698
What the symbol of faith professes, the
sacraments communicate. Indeed, through them the faithful receive the grace of
Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit which give them the capability of living
a new life as children of God in Christ whom they have received in faith.
“O Christian, recognize your
dignity.” (Saint Leo
the Great)
CHAPTER ONE
The Dignity of the Human Person
MAN THE IMAGE OF GOD
358. What is the root of human dignity?
1699-1715
The dignity of the human person is rooted in
his or her creation in the image and likeness of God. Endowed with a spiritual
and immortal soul, intelligence and free will, the human person is ordered to
God and called in soul and in body to eternal beatitude.
OUR VOCATION TO BEATITUDE
359. How do we attain beatitude?
1716
We attain beatitude by virtue of the
grace of Christ which makes us participants in the divine life. Christ in the
Gospel points out to his followers the way that leads to eternal happiness: the
beatitudes. The grace of Christ also is operative in every person who,
following a correct conscience, seeks and loves the true and the good and
avoids evil.
360. Why are the beatitudes important for
us?
1716-1717
1725-1726
The beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus’
preaching and they take up and fulfill the promises that God made starting with
Abraham. They depict the very countenance of Jesus and they characterize
authentic Christian life. They reveal the ultimate goal of human activity,
which is eternal happiness.
361. What is the relationship between the
beatitudes and our desire for happiness?
1718-1719
The beatitudes respond to the innate desire
for happiness that God has placed in the human heart in order to draw us to
himself. God alone can satisfy this desire.
362. What is eternal happiness?
1720-1724
1727-1729
It is the vision of God in eternal life in
which we are fully “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), of the glory
of Christ and of the joy of the trinitarian life. This happiness surpasses
human capabilities. It is a supernatural and gratuitous gift of God just as is
the grace which leads to it. This promised happiness confronts us with decisive
moral choices concerning earthly goods and urges us to love God above all
things.
MAN'S FREEDOM
363. What is freedom?
1730-1733
1743-1744
Freedom is the power given by God to act or
not to act, to do this or to do that, and so to perform deliberate actions on
one's own responsibility. Freedom characterizes properly human acts. The more
one does what is good, the freer one becomes. Freedom attains its proper
perfection when it is directed toward God, the highest good and our beatitude.
Freedom implies also the possibility of choosing between good and evil. The
choice of evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to the slavery of sin.
364. What is the relationship between
freedom and responsibility?
1734-1737
1745-1746
Freedom makes people responsible for their
actions to the extent that they are voluntary, even if the imputability and
responsibility for an action can be diminished or sometimes cancelled by
ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, inordinate attachments, or habit.
365. Why does everyone have a right to
exercise freedom?
1738
1747
The right to the exercise of freedom belongs
to everyone because it is inseparable from his or her dignity as a human
person. Therefore this right must always be respected, especially in moral and
religious matters, and it must be recognized and protected by civil authority
within the limits of the common good and a just public order.
366. What place does human freedom have in
the plan of salvation?
1739-1742
1748
Our freedom is weakened because of original
sin. This weakness is intensified because of successive sins. Christ, however,
set us free “so that we should remain free” (Galatians 5:1). With his
grace, the Holy Spirit leads us to spiritual freedom to make us free co-workers
with him in the Church and in the world.
367. What are the sources of the morality
of human acts?
1749-1754
1757-1758
The morality of human acts depends on three
sources: the object chosen, either a true or apparent good; the
intention of the subject who acts, that is, the purpose for which the
subject performs the act; and the circumstances of the act, which
include its consequences.
368. When is an act morally good?
1755-1756
1759-1760
An act is morally good when it assumes
simultaneously the goodness of the object, of the end, and of the circumstances.
A chosen object can by itself vitiate an act in its entirety, even if the
intention is good. It is not licit to do evil so that good may result from it.
An evil end corrupts the action, even if the object is good in itself. On the
other hand, a good end does not make an act good if the object of that act is
evil, since the end does not justify the means. Circumstances can increase or
diminish the responsibility of the one who is acting but they cannot change the
moral quality of the acts themselves. They never make good an act which is in
itself evil.
369. Are there acts which are always
illicit?
1756
1761
There are some acts which, in and of
themselves, are always illicit by reason of their object (for example,
blasphemy, homicide, adultery). Choosing such acts entails a disorder of the
will, that is, a moral evil which can never be justified by appealing to the
good effects which could possibly result from them.
THE MORALITY OF THE PASSIONS
370. What are the passions?
1762-1766
1771-1772
The passions are the feelings, the emotions
or the movements of the sensible appetite - natural components of human
psychology - which incline a person to act or not to act in view of what is
perceived as good or evil. The principal passions are love and hatred, desire and
fear, joy, sadness, and anger. The chief passion is love which is drawn by the
attraction of the good. One can only love what is good, real or apparent.
371. Are the passions morally good or bad?
1767-1770
1773-1775
The passions insofar as they are movements of
the sensible appetite are neither good nor bad in themselves. They are good
when they contribute to a good action and they are evil in the opposite case.
They can be taken up into the virtues or perverted by the vices.
THE MORAL CONSCIENCE
372. What is the moral conscience?
1776-1780
1795-1797
Moral conscience, present in the heart of the
person, is a judgment of reason which at the appropriate moment enjoins him to
do good and to avoid evil. Thanks to moral conscience, the human person
perceives the moral quality of an act to be done or which has already been
done, permitting him to assume responsibility for the act. When attentive to
moral conscience, the prudent person can hear the voice of God who speaks to
him or her.
373. What does the dignity of the human
person imply for the moral conscience?
1780-1782
1798
The dignity of a human person requires the
uprightness of a moral conscience (which is to say that it be in accord with
what is just and good according to reason and the law of God). Because of this
personal dignity, no one may be forced to act contrary to conscience; nor,
within the limits of the common good, be prevented from acting according to it,
especially in religious matters.
374. How is a moral conscience formed to
be upright and truthful?
1783-1788
1799-1800
An upright and true moral conscience is
formed by education and by assimilating the Word of God and the teaching of the
Church. It is supported by the gifts of the Holy Spirit and helped by the
advice of wise people. Prayer and an examination of conscience can also greatly
assist one’s moral formation.
375. What norms must conscience always
follow?
1789
There are three general norms: 1) one may
never do evil so that good may result from it; 2) the so-called Golden Rule,
“Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them” (Matthew
7:12); 3) charity always proceeds by way of respect for one’s neighbor and his
conscience, even though this does not mean accepting as good something that is
objectively evil.
376. Can a moral conscience make erroneous
judgments?
1790-1794
1801-1802
A person must always obey the certain
judgment of his own conscience but he could make erroneous judgments for
reasons that may not always exempt him from personal guilt. However, an evil
act committed through involuntary ignorance is not imputable to the person,
even though the act remains objectively evil. One must therefore work to
correct the errors of moral conscience.
THE VIRTUES
377. What is a virtue?
1803
1833
A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition
to do the good. “The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God” (Saint
Gregory of Nyssa). There are human virtues and theological virtues.
378. What are the human virtues?
1804
1810-1811
1834
1839
The human virtues are habitual and stable
perfections of the intellect and will that govern our actions, order our
passions and guide our conduct according to reason and faith. They are acquired
and strengthened by the repetition of morally good acts and they are purified
and elevated by divine grace.
379. What are the principal human virtues?
1805
1834
The principal human virtues are called the cardinal
virtues, under which all the other virtues are grouped and which are the hinges
of a virtuous life. The cardinal virtues are: prudence, justice, fortitude, and
temperance.
380. What is prudence?
1806
1835
Prudence disposes reason to discern in every
circumstance our true good and to choose the right means for achieving it.
Prudence guides the other virtues by pointing out their rule and measure.
381. What is justice?
1807
1836
Justice consists in the firm and constant
will to give to others their due. Justice toward God is called “the virtue of
religion.”
382. What is fortitude?
1808
1837
Fortitude assures firmness in difficulties
and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It reaches even to the ability of
possibly sacrificing one’s own life for a just cause.
383. What is temperance?
1809
1838
Temperance moderates the attraction of
pleasures, assures the mastery of the will over instincts and provides balance
in the use of created goods.
384. What are the theological virtues?
1812-1813
1840-1841
The theological virtues have God himself as
their origin, motive and direct object. Infused with sanctifying grace, they
bestow on one the capacity to live in a relationship with the Trinity. They are
the foundation and the energizing force of the Christian’s moral activity and
they give life to the human virtues. They are the pledge of the presence and
action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being.
385. What are the theological virtues?
1813
The theological virtues are faith, hope, and
charity.
386. What is the virtue of faith?
1814-1816
1842
Faith is the theological virtue by which we
believe in God and all that he has revealed to us and that the Church proposes
for our belief because God is Truth itself. By faith the human person freely
commits himself to God. Therefore, the believer seeks to know and do the will
of God because “faith works through charity” (Galatians 5:6).
387. What is hope?
1817-1821
1843
Hope is the theological virtue by which we
desire and await from God eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in
Christ's promises and relying on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit to
merit it and to persevere to the end of our earthly life.
388. What is charity?
1822-1829
1844
Charity is the theological virtue by which we
love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.
Jesus makes charity the new commandment, the fullness of the law. “It is the
bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14) and the foundation of the other
virtues to which it gives life, inspiration, and order. Without charity “I am
nothing” and “I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
389. What are the gifts of the Holy
Spirit?
1830-1831
1845
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are permanent
dispositions which make us docile in following divine inspirations. They are
seven: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of
the Lord.
390. What are the fruits of the Holy Spirit?
1832
The fruits of the Holy Spirit are
perfections formed in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of
the Church lists twelve of them: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and
chastity (Galatians 5:22-23, Vulgate).
SIN
391. What does the acceptance of God’s
mercy require from us?
1846-1848
1870
It requires that we admit our faults and
repent of our sins. God himself by his Word and his Spirit lays bare our sins and
gives us the truth of conscience and the hope of forgiveness.
392. What is sin?
1849-1851
1871-1872
Sin is “a word, an act, or a desire contrary
to the eternal Law” (Saint Augustine). It is an offense against God in
disobedience to his love. It wounds human nature and injures human solidarity.
Christ in his passion fully revealed the seriousness of sin and overcame it
with his mercy.
393. Is there a variety of sins?
1852-1853
1873
There are a great many kinds of sins. They
can be distinguished according to their object or according to the virtues or
commandments which they violate. They can directly concern God, neighbor, or
ourselves. They can also be divided into sins of thought, of word, of deed, or
of omission.
394. How are sins distinguished according
to their gravity?
1854
A distinction is made between mortal and
venial sin.
395. When does one commit a mortal sin?
1855-1861
1874
One commits a mortal sin when there are
simultaneously present: grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent.
This sin destroys charity in us, deprives us of sanctifying grace, and, if
unrepented, leads us to the eternal death of hell. It can be forgiven in the
ordinary way by means of the sacraments of Baptism and of Penance or
Reconciliation.
396. When does one commit a venial sin?
1862-1864
1875
One commits a venial sin, which is
essentially different from a mortal sin, when the matter involved is less
serious or, even if it is grave, when full knowledge or complete consent are
absent. Venial sin does not break the covenant with God but it weakens charity
and manifests a disordered affection for created goods. It impedes the progress
of a soul in the exercise of the virtues and in the practice of moral good. It
merits temporal punishment which purifies.
397. How does sin proliferate?
1865
1876
Sin creates a proclivity to sin ; it
engenders vice by repetition of the same acts.
398. What are vices?
1866-1867
Vices are the opposite of virtues. They are
perverse habits which darken the conscience and incline one to evil. The vices
can be linked to the seven, so-called, capital sins which are: pride,
avarice, envy, anger, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia.
399. Do we have any responsibility for
sins committed by others?
1868
We do have such a responsibility when we culpably
cooperate with them.
400. What are structures of sin?
1869
Structures of sin are social situations or institutions
that are contrary to the divine law. They are the expression and effect of
personal sins.
CHAPTER TWO
THE PERSON AND SOCIETY
401. In what does the social dimension of
man consist?
1877-1880
1890-1891
Together with the personal call to beatitude,
the human person has a communal dimension as an essential component of his
nature and vocation. Indeed, all are called to the same end, God himself. There
is a certain resemblance between the communion of the divine Persons and the
fraternity that people are to establish among themselves in truth and love.
Love of neighbor is inseparable from love for God.
402. What is the relationship between the
person and society?
1881-1882
1892-1893
The human person is and ought to be
the principle, the subject and the end of all social institutions. Certain
societies, such as the family and the civic community, are necessary for the
human person. Also helpful are other associations on the national and
international levels with due respect for the principle of subsidiarity.
403. What is the principle of
subsidiarity?
1883-1885
1894
The principle of subsidiarity states that a
community of a higher order should not assume the task belonging to a community
of a lower order and deprive it of its authority. It should rather support it
in case of need.
404. What else is required for an
authentic human society?
1886-1889
1895-1896
Authentic human society requires respect
for justice, a just hierarchy of values, and the subordination of material and
instinctual dimensions to interior and spiritual ones. In particular, where sin
has perverted the social climate, it is necessary to call for the conversion of
hearts and for the grace of God to obtain social changes that may really serve
each person and the whole person. Charity, which requires and makes possible
the practice of justice, is the greatest social commandment.
PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL LIFE
405. What is the foundation of the
authority of society?
1897-1902
1918-1920
Every human community needs a legitimate
authority that preserves order and contributes to the realization of the common
good. The foundation of such authority lies in human nature because it
corresponds to the order established by God.
406. When is authority exercised in a
legitimate way?
1901-1904
1921-1922
Authority is exercised legitimately when it
acts for the common good and employs morally licit means to attain it.
Therefore, political regimes must be determined by the free decision of their
citizens. They should respect the principle of the “rule of law” in which the
law, and not the arbitrary will of some, is sovereign. Unjust laws and measures
contrary to the moral order are not binding in conscience.
407. What is the common good?
1905-1906
1924
By the common good is meant the sum total of
those conditions of social life which allow people as groups and as individuals
to reach their proper fulfillment.
408. What is involved in the common good?
1907-1909
1925
The common good involves: respect for and
promotion of the fundamental rights of the person, the development of the
spiritual and temporal goods of persons and society, and the peace and security
of all.
409. Where can one find the most complete
realization of the common good?
1910-1912
1927
The most complete realization of the common
good is found in those political communities which defend and promote the good
of their citizens and of intermediate groups without forgetting the universal
good of the entire human family.
410. How does one participate in bringing
about the common good?
1913-1917
1926
All men and women according to the place and
role that they occupy participate in promoting the common good by respecting
just laws and taking charge of the areas for which they have personal
responsibility such as the care of their own family and the commitment to their
own work. Citizens also should take an active part in public life as far as
possible.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
411. How does society ensure social
justice?
1928-1933
1943-1944
Society ensures social justice when it
respects the dignity and the rights of the person as the proper end of society
itself. Furthermore, society pursues social justice, which is linked to the
common good and to the exercise of authority, when it provides the conditions
that allow associations and individuals to obtain what is their due.
412. On what is human equality based?
1934-1935
1945
All persons enjoy equal dignity and
fundamental rights insofar as they are created in the image of the one God, are
endowed with the same rational soul, have the same nature and origin, and are
called in Christ, the one and only Savior, to the same divine beatitude.
413. How are we to view social
inequalities?
1936-1938
1946-1947
There are sinful social and economic
inequalities which affect millions of human beings. These inequalities are in
open contradiction to the Gospel and are contrary to justice, to the dignity of
persons, and to peace. There are , however, differences among people caused by
various factors which enter into the plan of God. Indeed, God wills that each
might receive what he or she needs from others and that those endowed with
particular talents should share them with others. Such differences encourage
and often oblige people to the practice of generosity, kindness and the sharing
of goods. They also foster the mutual enrichment of cultures.
414. How is human solidarity manifested?
1939-1942
1948
Solidarity, which springs from human and
Christian brotherhood, is manifested in the first place by the just
distribution of goods, by a fair remuneration for work and by zeal for a more
just social order. The virtue of solidarity also practices the sharing
of the spiritual goods of faith which is even more important than sharing
material goods.
CHAPTER THREE
God's Salvation: Law and Grace
THE MORAL LAW
415. What is the moral law?
1950-1953
1975-1978
The moral law is a work of divine Wisdom. It
prescribes the ways and the rules of conduct that lead to the promised
beatitude and it forbids the ways that turn away from God.
416. In what does the natural moral law
consist?
1954-1960
1978-1979
The natural law which is inscribed by the
Creator on the heart of every person consists in a participation in the wisdom
and the goodness of God. It expresses that original moral sense which enables
one to discern by reason the good and the bad. It is universal and immutable
and determines the basis of the duties and fundamental rights of the person as
well as those of the human community and civil law.
417. Is such a law perceived by everyone?
1960
Because of sin the natural law is not always
perceived nor is it recognized by everyone with equal clarity and immediacy.
For this reason God “wrote
on the tables of the Law what men did not read in their hearts.” (Saint Augustine)
418. What is the relationship between the
natural law and the Old Law?
1961-1962
1980
The Old Law is the first stage of revealed
Law. It expresses many truths naturally accessible to reason and which are thus
affirmed and authenticated in the covenant of salvation. Its moral
prescriptions, which are summed up in the Ten Commandments of the Decalogue,
lay the foundations of the human vocation, prohibit what is contrary to the
love of God and neighbor, and prescribe what is essential to it.
419. What place does the Old Law have in
the plan of salvation?
1963-1964
1982
The Old Law permitted one to know many truths
which are accessible to reason, showed what must or must not be done and, above
all, like a wise tutor, prepared and disposed one for conversion and for the
acceptance of the Gospel. However, while being holy, spiritual, and good, the
Old Law was still imperfect because in itself it did not give the strength and
the grace of the Spirit for its observance.
420. What is the New Law or the Law of the
Gospel?
1965-1972
1983-1985
The New Law or the Law of the Gospel,
proclaimed and fulfilled by Christ, is the fullness and completion of the
divine law, natural and revealed. It is summed up in the commandment to love
God and neighbor and to love one another as Christ loved us. It is also an
interior reality: the grace of the Holy Spirit which makes possible such love.
It is “the law of freedom” (Galatians 1:25) because it inclines us to
act spontaneously by the prompting of charity.
“The New Law is mainly the
same grace of the Holy Spirit which is given to believers in Christ.” (Saint Thomas Aquinas)
421. Where does one find the New Law?
1971-1974
1986
The New Law is found in the entire life and
preaching of Christ and in the moral catechesis of the apostles. The Sermon on
the Mount is its principal expression.
GRACE AND JUSTIFICATION
422. What is justification?
1987-1995
2017-2020
Justification is the most excellent work of
God's love. It is the merciful and freely-given act of God which takes away our
sins and makes us just and holy in our whole being. It is brought about by
means of the grace of the Holy Spirit which has been merited for us by the
passion of Christ and is given to us in Baptism. Justification is the beginning
of the free response of man, that is, faith in Christ and of cooperation with
the grace of the Holy Spirit.
423. What is the grace that justifies?
1996-1998
2005
2021
That grace is the gratuitous gift that God
gives us to make us participants in his trinitarian life and able to act by his
love. It is called habitual, sanctifying or deifying grace because it
sanctifies and divinizes us. It is supernatural because it depends
entirely on God’s gratuitous initiative and surpasses the abilities of the
intellect and the powers of human beings. It therefore escapes our experience.
424. What other kinds of grace are there?
1999-2000
2003-2004
2023-2024
Besides habitual grace, there are actual
graces (gifts for specific circumstances), sacramental graces (gifts proper to
each sacrament), special graces or charisms (gifts that are intended for the
common good of the Church) among which are the graces of state that accompany
the exercise of ecclesial ministries and the responsibilities of life.
425. What is the relationship between
grace and human freedom?
2001-2002
Grace precedes, prepares and elicits our free
response. It responds to the deep yearnings of human freedom, calls for its
cooperation and leads freedom toward its perfection.
426. What is merit?
2006-2010
2025-2026
In general merit refers to the right to
recompense for a good deed. With regard to God, we of ourselves are not able to
merit anything, having received everything freely from him. However, God gives
us the possibility of acquiring merit through union with the love of Christ,
who is the source of our merits before God. The merits for good works,
therefore must be attributed in the first place to the grace of God and then to
the free will of man.
427. What are the goods that we can merit?
2010-2011
2027
Moved by the Holy Spirit, we can merit for
ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification and for the
attainment of eternal life. Even temporal goods, suitable for us, can be
merited in accordance with the plan of God. No one, however, can merit the initial
grace which is at the origin of conversion and justification.
428. Are all called to Christian holiness?
2012-2016
2028-2029
All the faithful are called to Christian
holiness. This is the fullness of Christian life and the perfection of charity
and it is brought about by intimate union with Christ and, in him, with the
most Holy Trinity. The path to holiness for a Christian goes by way of the
cross and will come to its fulfillment in the final resurrection of the just,
in which God will be all in all.
THE CHURCH MOTHER AND TEACHER
429. How does the Church nourish the moral
life of a Christian?
2030-2031
2047
The Church is the community in which the
Christian receives the Word of God, the teachings of the “Law of Christ” (Galatians
6:2), and the grace of the sacraments. Christians are united to the Eucharistic
sacrifice of Christ in such a way that their moral life is an act of spiritual
worship; and they learn the example of holiness from the Virgin Mary and the
lives of the Saints.
430. Why does the Magisterium of the
Church act in the field of morality?
2032-2040
2049-2051
It is the duty of the Magisterium of the
Church to preach the faith that is to be believed and put into practice in
life. This duty extends even to the specific precepts of the natural law
because their observance is necessary for salvation.
431. What purpose do the precepts of the
Church have?
2041
2048
The five precepts of the Church are meant to
guarantee for the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer,
the sacramental life, moral commitment and growth in love of God and neighbor.
432. What are the precepts of the Church?
2042-2043
They are: 1) to attend Mass on Sundays and
other holy days of obligation and to refrain from work and activities which
could impede the sanctification of those days; 2) to confess one's sins,
receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation at least once each year; 3) to
receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season; 4) to
abstain from eating meat and to observe the days of fasting established by the
Church; and 5) to help to provide for the material needs of the Church, each
according to his own ability.
433. Why is the Christian moral life
indispensable for the proclamation of the Gospel?
2044-2046
Because their lives are conformed to the
Lord Jesus, Christians draw others to faith in the true God, build up the
Church, inform the world with the spirit of the Gospel, and hasten the coming
of the Kingdom of God.
Section Two
The Ten Commandments
Exodus 20:2-17
I am the LORD your God,
who brought you out
of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage.
You shall have no other gods before
me. You shall not make for yourself
a graven image, or any likeness of
anything that is in heaven above,
or that is in the earth beneath, or
that is in the water under the earth;
you shall not bow down to them
or serve them; for I the LORD your
God am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the
children to the third and the fourth
generation of those who hate me,
but showing steadfast love to
thousands of those who love me
and keep my commandments.
You shall not take
the name of the LORD
your God in vain;
for the LORD will not hold him
guiltless who takes his name in vain.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it
holy. Six days you shall labor, and
do all your work; but the seventh day
is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in
it you shall not do any work, you, or
your son, or your daughter, your
manservant, or your maidservant, or
your cattle, or the sojourner who is
within your gates; for in six days the
LORD made heaven and earth, the sea,
and all that is in them, and rested the
seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed
the sabbath day and hallowed it.
Honor your father and your
mother, that your days may
be long in the land which
the LORD your God
gives you.
You shall not kill.
You shall not
commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false
witness against your
neighbor.
You shall not covet your
neighbor’s house; you shall not
covet your neighbor’s wife, or his
manservant, or his maidservant,
or his ox, or his ass, or anything
that is your neighbor’s.
Deuteronomy 5:6-21
I am the LORD
your God, who
brought you out of
the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage.
You shall have no other
gods before me...
You shall not take
the name of the
LORD your God in
vain:...
Observe the sabbath
day, to keep it holy...
Honor your father
and your mother...
You shall not kill.
Neither shall you
commit adultery.
Neither shall you steal.
Neither shall you bear
false witness against
your neighbor.
Neither shall you covet
your neighbor’s wife...
You shall not desire...
anything that is your
neighbor’s.
A Traditional Catechetical Formula
1. I am the LORD
your God: you
shall not have
strange Gods before me.
2. You shall not
take the name of
the LORD your
God in vain.
3. Remember to
keep holy the
LORD’S day.
4. Honor your father
and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not
commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear
false witness against
your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet
your neighbor’s wife.
10. You shall not covet
your neighbor’s goods.
434. “Teacher, what good must I do to have
eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16).
2052-2054
2075-2076
To the young man who asked this question,
Jesus answered, “If you would enter into life, keep the commandments”, and then
he added, “Come, follow Me” (Matthew 19:16-21). To follow Jesus involves
keeping the commandments. The law has not been abolished but man is invited to
rediscover it in the Person of the divine Master who realized it perfectly in
himself, revealed its full meaning and attested to its permanent validity.
435. How did Jesus interpret the Law?
2055
Jesus interpreted the Law in the light of the
twofold yet single commandment of love, the fullness of the Law: “You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like
it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend
all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).
436. What does “Decalogue” mean?
2056-2057
Decalogue means “ten words” (Exodus
34:28). These words sum up the Law given by God to the people of Israel in the
context of the Covenant mediated by Moses. This Decalogue, in presenting the
commandments of the love of God (the first three) and of one's neighbor (the
other seven), traces for the chosen people and for every person in particular
the path to a life freed from the slavery of sin.
437. What is the bond between the
Decalogue and the Covenant?
2058-2063
2077
The Decalogue must be understood in the light
of the Covenant in which God revealed himself and made known his will. In
observing the commandments, the people manifested their belonging to God and
they answered his initiative of love with thanksgiving.
438. What importance does the Church give
to the Decalogue?
2064-2068
The Church, in fidelity to Scripture and to
the example of Christ, acknowledges the primordial importance and significance
of the Decalogue. Christians are obliged to keep it.
439. Why does the Decalogue constitute an
organic unity?
2069
2079
The Ten Commandments form an organic and indivisible
whole because each commandment refers to the other commandments and to the
entire Decalogue. To break one commandment, therefore, is to violate the entire
law.
440. Why does the Decalogue enjoin serious
obligations?
2072-2073
2081
It does so because the Decalogue expresses
the fundamental duties of man towards God and towards his neighbor.
441. Is it possible to keep the Decalogue?
2074
2082
Yes, because Christ without whom we can do
nothing enables us to keep it with the gift of his Spirit and his grace.
CHAPTER ONE
“You Shall Love the Lord Your God
With All Your Heart, With All Your Soul,
and With All Your Mind”
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT: I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD,
YOU SHALL NOT HAVE OTHER GODS BEFORE ME
442. What is implied in the affirmation of
God: “I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2)?
2083-2094
2133-2134
This means that the faithful must guard and
activate the three theological virtues and must avoid sins which are opposed to
them. Faith believes in God and rejects everything that is opposed to it,
such as, deliberate doubt, unbelief, heresy, apostasy, and schism. Hope
trustingly awaits the blessed vision of God and his help, while avoiding
despair and presumption. Charity loves God above all things and
therefore repudiates indifference, ingratitude, lukewarmness, sloth or
spiritual indolence, and that hatred of God which is born of pride.
443. What is the meaning of the words of
our Lord, “Adore the Lord your God and worship Him alone” (Matthew
4:10)?
2095-2105
2135-2136
These words mean to adore God as the Lord of
everything that exists; to render to him the individual and community worship
which is his due; to pray to him with sentiments of praise, of thanks, and of
supplication; to offer him sacrifices, above all the spiritual sacrifice of one’s
own life, united with the perfect sacrifice of Christ; and to keep the promises
and vows made to him.
444. In what way does a person exercise
his or her proper right to worship God in truth and in freedom?
2104-2109
2137
Every person has the right and the moral duty
to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and his Church. Once
the truth is known, each person he has the right and moral duty to embrace it,
to guard it faithfully and to render God authentic worship. At the same time,
the dignity of the human person requires that in religious matters no one may
be forced to act against conscience nor be restrained, within the just limits
of public order, from acting in conformity with conscience, privately or
publicly, alone or in association with others.
445. What does God prohibit by his
command, “You shall not have other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2)?
2110-2128
2138-2140
This commandment forbids:
446. Does the commandment of God, “You
shall not make for yourself a graven image” (Exodus 20:3), forbid the
cult of images?
2129-2132
2141
In the Old Testament this commandment forbade
any representation of God who is absolutely transcendent. The Christian
veneration of sacred images, however, is justified by the incarnation of the
Son of God (as taught by the Second Council of Nicea in 787AD) because such
veneration is founded on the mystery of the Son of God made man, in whom the
transcendent God is made visible. This does not mean the adoration of an image,
but rather the veneration of the one who is represented in it: for example,
Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Angels and the Saints.
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT:
YOU SHALL NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD YOUR GOD IN VAIN
447. How does one respect the holiness of
the Name of God?
2142-2149
2160-2162
One shows respect for the holy Name of God by
blessing it, praising it and glorifying it. It is forbidden, therefore, to call
on the Name of God to justify a crime. It is also wrong to use the holy Name of
God in any improper way as in blasphemy (which by its nature is a grave
sin), curses, and unfaithfulness to promises made in the Name of
God.
448. Why is a false oath forbidden?
2150-2151
2163-2164
It is forbidden because one calls upon God
who is truth itself to be the witness to a lie.
“Do not swear, whether by
the Creator or by any creature, except truthfully, of necessity and with
reverence.” (Saint
Ignatius of Loyola)
449. What is perjury?
2152-2155
Perjury is to make a promise under oath with
the intention of not keeping it or to violate a promise made under oath. It is
a grave sin against God who is always faithful to his promises.
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT:
REMEMBER TO KEEP HOLY THE LORD'S DAY
450. Why did God “bless the Sabbath day
and declare it sacred” (Exodus 20:11)?
2168-2172
2189
God did so because on the Sabbath day one
remembers God’s rest on the seventh day of creation, and also the
liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt and the Covenant which God
sealed with his people.
451. How did Jesus act in regard to the
Sabbath?
2173
Jesus recognized the holiness of the Sabbath
day and with divine authority he gave this law its authentic interpretation:
“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27).
452. For what reason has the Sabbath been
changed to Sunday for Christians?
2174-2176
2190-2191
The reason is because Sunday is the day of
the Resurrection of Christ. As “the first day of the week” (Mark 16:2)
it recalls the first creation; and as the “eighth day”, which follows the
sabbath, it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by the Resurrection of
Christ. Thus, it has become for Christians the first of all days and of all
feasts. It is the day of the Lord in which he with his Passover
fulfilled the spiritual truth of the Jewish Sabbath and proclaimed man’s
eternal rest in God.
453. How does one keep Sunday holy?
2177-2185
2192-2193
Christians keep Sunday and other days of
obligation holy by participating in the Eucharist of the Lord and by refraining
from those activities which impede the worship of God and disturb the joy
proper to the day of the Lord or the necessary relaxation of mind and body.
Activities are allowed on the Sabbath which are bound up with family needs or
with important social service, provided that they do not lead to habits
prejudicial to the holiness of Sunday, to family life and to health.
454. Why is the civil recognition of
Sunday as a feast day important?
2186-2188
2194-2195
It is important so that all might be given
the real possibility of enjoying sufficient rest and leisure to take care of
their religious, familial, cultural and social lives. It is important also to
have an opportune time for meditation, for reflection, for silence, for study,
and a time to dedicate to good works, particularly for the sick and for the
elderly.
CHAPTER TWO
“You Shall Love Your Neighbour as Yourself”
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT:
HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER
455. What does the fourth commandment
require?
2196-2200
2247-2248
It commands us to honor and respect our
parents and those whom God, for our good, has vested with his authority.
456. What is the nature of the family in
the plan of God?
2201-2205
2249
A man and a woman united in marriage form a
family together with their children. God instituted the family and endowed it
with its fundamental constitution. Marriage and the family are ordered to the
good of the spouses and to the procreation and education of children. Members
of the same family establish among themselves personal relationships and
primary responsibilities. In Christ the family becomes the domestic church
because it is a community of faith, of hope, and of charity.
457. What place does the family occupy in
society?
2207-2208
The family is the original cell of human
society and is, therefore, prior to any recognition by public authority. Family
values and principles constitute the foundation of social life. Family life is
an initiation into the life of society.
458. What are the duties that society has
toward the family?
2209-2213
2250
Society, while respecting the principle of
subsidiarity, has the duty to support and strengthen marriage and the family.
Public authority must respect, protect and foster the true nature of marriage
and the family, public morality, the rights of parents, and domestic
prosperity.
459. What are the duties of children
toward their parents?
2214-2220
2251
Children owe respect (filial piety), gratitude,
docility and obedience to their parents. In paying them respect and in
fostering good relationships with their brothers and sisters, children
contribute to the growth in harmony and holiness in family life in general.
Adult children should give their parents material and moral support whenever
they find themselves in situations of distress, sickness, loneliness, or old
age.
460. What are the duties of parents toward
their children?
2221-2231
Parents, in virtue of their participation in
the fatherhood of God, have the first responsibility for the education of their
children and they are the first heralds of the faith for them. They have the
duty to love and respect their children as persons and as children of
God and to provide, as far as is possible, for their physical and spiritual
needs. They should select for them a suitable school and help them with prudent
counsel in the choice of their profession and their state of life. In
particular they have the mission of educating their children in the Christian
faith.
461. How are parents to educate their
children in the Christian faith?
2252-2253
Parents do this mainly by example, prayer,
family catechesis and participation in the life of the Church.
462. Are family bonds an absolute good?
2232-2233
Family ties are important but not absolute,
because the first vocation of a Christian is to follow Jesus and love him: “He
who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; whoever loves son
or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). Parents
must support with joy their children's choice to follow Jesus in whatever state
of life, even in the consecrated life or the priestly ministry.
463. How should authority be exercised in
the various spheres of civil society?
2234-2237
2254
Authority should always be exercised as
a service, respecting fundamental human rights, a just hierarchy of values,
laws, distributive justice, and the principle of subsidiarity. All those who
exercise authority should seek the interests of the community before their own
interest and allow their decisions to be inspired by the truth about God, about
man and about the world.
464. What are the duties of citizens in
regard to civil authorities?
2238-2241
2255
Those subject to authority should regard
those in authority as representatives of God and offer their loyal
collaboration for the right functioning of public and social life. This
collaboration includes love and service of one's homeland, the right and duty
to vote, payment of taxes, the defense of one's country, and the right to
exercise constructive criticism.
465. When is a citizen forbidden to obey
civil authorities?
2242-2243
2256
A citizen is obliged in conscience not to
obey the laws of civil authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the
moral order: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts of the Apostles
5:29).
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT:
YOU SHALL NOT KILL
466. Why must human life be respected?
2258-2262
2318-2320
Human life must be respected because it is sacred.
From its beginning human life involves the creative action of God and it
remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole
end. It is not lawful for anyone directly to destroy an innocent human being.
This is gravely contrary to the dignity of the person and the holiness of the
Creator. “Do not slay the innocent and the righteous” (Exodus 23:7).
467. Why is the legitimate defense of
persons and of society not opposed to this norm?
2263-2265
Because in choosing to legitimately defend
oneself one is respecting the right to life (either one’s own right to life or
that of another) and not choosing to kill. Indeed, for someone responsible for
the life of another, legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave
duty, provided only that disproportionate force is not used.
468. What is the purpose of punishment?
2266
A punishment imposed by legitimate public
authority has the aim of redressing the disorder introduced by the offense, of
defending public order and people’s safety, and contributing to the correction
of the guilty party.
469. What kind of punishment may be
imposed?
2267
The punishment imposed must be proportionate
to the gravity of the offense. Given the possibilities which the State now has
for effectively preventing crime by rendering one who has committed an offense
incapable of doing harm, the cases in which the execution of the offender is an
absolute necessity “are very rare, if not practically non-existent.” (Evangelium
Vitae). When non-lethal means are sufficient, authority should limit itself
to such means because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the
common good, are more in conformity with the dignity of the human person, and
do not remove definitively from the guilty party the possibility of reforming
himself.
470. What is forbidden by the fifth
commandment?
2268-2283
2321-2326
The fifth commandment forbids as gravely
contrary to the moral law:
471. What medical procedures are permitted
when death is considered imminent?
2278-2279
When death is considered imminent the
ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted.
However, it is legitimate to use pain-killers which do not aim at in death and
to refuse “over-zealous treatment”, that is the utilization of disproportionate
medical procedures without reasonable hope of a positive outcome.
472. Why must society protect every
embryo?
2273-2274
The inalienable right to life of every human
individual from the first moment of conception is a constitutive element of
civil society and its legislation. When the State does not place its power at
the service of the rights of all and in particular of the more vulnerable,
including unborn children, the very foundations of a State based on law are
undermined.
473. How does one avoid scandal?
2284-2287
Scandal, which consists in inducing others to
do evil, is avoided when we respect the soul and body of the person. Anyone who
deliberately leads others to commit serious sins himself commits a grave
offense.
474. What duty do we have toward our body?
2288-2291
We must take reasonable care of our own
physical health and that of others but avoid the cult of the body
and every kind of excess. Also to be avoided are the use of drugs which cause
very serious damage to human health and life, as well as the abuse of food,
alcohol, tobacco and medicine.
475. When are scientific, medical, or
psychological experiments on human individuals or groups morally legitimate?
2292-2295
They are morally legitimate when they are at
the service of the integral good of the person and of society, without
disproportionate risks to the life and physical and psychological integrity of
the subjects who must be properly informed and consenting.
476. Are the transplant and donation of
organs allowed before and after death?
2296
The transplant of organs is morally
acceptable with the consent of the donor and without excessive risks to him or
her. Before allowing the noble act of organ donation after death, one must
verify that the donor is truly dead.
477. What practices are contrary to
respect for the bodily integrity of the human person?
2297-2298
They are: kidnapping and hostage taking,
terrorism, torture, violence, and direct sterilization. Amputations and
mutilations of a person are morally permissible only for strictly therapeutic
medical reasons.
478. What care must be given to the dying?
2299
The dying have a right to live the last
moments of their earthly lives with dignity and, above all, to be sustained
with prayer and the sacraments that prepare them to meet the living God.
479. How are the bodies of the deceased to
be treated?
2300-2301
The bodies of the departed must be treated
with love and respect. Their cremation is permitted provided that it does not
demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body.
480. What does the Lord ask of every
person in regard to peace?
2302-2303
The Lord proclaimed “Blessed are the
peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). He called for peace of heart and denounced
the immorality of anger which is a desire for revenge for some evil suffered.
He also denounced hatred which leads one to wish evil on one’s neighbor. These
attitudes, if voluntary and consented to in matters of great importance, are
mortal sins against charity.
481. What is peace in this world?
2304-2305
Peace in this world, which is required for
the respect and development of human life, is not simply the absence of war or
a balance of power between adversaries. It is “the tranquility of order” (Saint
Augustine), “the work of justice” (Isaiah 32:17) and the effect of
charity. Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ.
482. What is required for earthly peace?
2304
2307-2308
Earthly peace requires the equal distribution
and safeguarding of the goods of persons, free communication among human
beings, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous
practice of justice and fraternity.
483. When is it morally permitted to use
military force?
2307-2310
The use of military force is morally
justified when the following conditions are simultaneously present:
484. In danger of war, who has the
responsibility for the rigorous evaluation of these conditions?
2309
This responsibility belongs to the prudential
judgment of government officials who also have the right to impose on citizens
the obligation of national defense. The personal right to conscientious
objection makes an exception to this obligation which should then be carried
out by another form of service to the human community.
485. In case of war, what does the
moral law require?
2312-2314
2328
Even during a war the moral law always
remains valid. It requires the humane treatment of noncombatants, wounded
soldiers and prisoners of war. Deliberate actions contrary to the law of
nations, and the orders that command such actions are crimes, which blind
obedience does not excuse. Acts of mass destruction must be condemned and
likewise the extermination of peoples or ethnic minorities, which are most
grievous sins. One is morally bound to resist the orders that command such
acts.
486. What must be done to avoid war?
2315-2317
2327-2330
Because of the evils and injustices that all
war brings with it, we must do everything reasonably possible to avoid it. To
this end it is particularly important to avoid: the accumulation and sale of
arms which are not regulated by the legitimate authorities; all forms of
economic and social injustice; ethnic and religious discrimination; envy,
mistrust, pride and the spirit of revenge. Everything done to overcome these
and other disorders contributes to building up peace and avoiding war.
THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT:
YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY
487. What responsibility do human persons
have in regard to their own sexual identity?
2331-2336
2392-2393
God has created human beings as male and
female, equal in personal dignity, and has called them to a vocation of love
and of communion. Everyone should accept his or her identity as male or female,
recognizing its importance for the whole of the person, its specificity and complementarity.
488. What is chastity?
2337-2338
Chastity means the positive integration of
sexuality within the person. Sexuality becomes truly human when it is
integrated in a correct way into the relationship of one person to another.
Chastity is a moral virtue, a gift of God, a grace, and a fruit of the Holy
Spirit.
489. What is involved in the virtue of
chastity?
2339-2341
The virtue of chastity involves an
apprenticeship in self-mastery as an expression of human freedom directed
towards self-giving. An integral and continuing formation, which is brought
about in stages, is necessary to achieve this goal.
490. What are the means that aid the
living of chastity?
2340-2347
There are many means at one's disposal: the
grace of God, the help of the sacraments, prayer, self-knowledge, the practice
of an asceticism adapted to various situations, the exercise of the moral
virtues, especially the virtue of temperance which seeks to have the passions
guided by reason.
491. In what way is everyone called
to live chastity?
2348-2350
2394
As followers of Christ, the model of all
chastity, all the baptised are called to live chastely in keeping with their
particular states of life. Some profess virginity or consecrated celibacy which
enables them to give themselves to God alone with an undivided heart in a
remarkable manner. Others, if they are married live in conjugal chastity, or if
unmarried practise chastity in continence.
492. What are the principal sins against
chastity?
2351-2359
2396
Grave sins against chastity differ according
to their object: adultery, masturbation, fornication, pornography,
prostitution, rape, and homosexual acts. These sins are expressions of the vice
of lust. These kinds of acts committed against the physical and moral integrity
of minors become even more grave.
493. Although it says only “you shall not
commit adultery” why does the sixth commandment forbid all sins against
chastity?
2336
Although the biblical text of the Decalogue
reads “you shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14), the Tradition of
the Church comprehensively follows the moral teachings of the Old and New
Testaments and considers the sixth commandment as encompassing all sins against
chastity.
494. What is the responsibility of civil
authority in regard to chastity?
2354
Insofar as it is bound to promote respect for
the dignity of the person, civil authority should seek to create an environment
conducive to the practice of chastity. It should also enact suitable
legislation to prevent the spread of the grave offenses against chastity
mentioned above, especially in order to protect minors and those who are the
weakest members of society.
495. What are the goods of conjugal love
to which sexuality is ordered?
2360-2361
2397-2398
The goods of conjugal love, which for those
who are baptized is sanctified by the sacrament of Matrimony, are unity,
fidelity, indissolubility, and an openness to the procreation of life.
496. What is the meaning of the conjugal
act?
2362-2367
The conjugal act has a twofold meaning:
unitive (the mutual self-giving of the spouses) and procreative (an openness to
the transmission of life). No one may break the inseparable connection which
God has established between these two meanings of the conjugal act by excluding
one or the other of them.
497. When is it moral to regulate births?
2368-2369
2399
The regulation of births, which is an aspect
of responsible fatherhood and motherhood, is objectively morally acceptable
when it is pursued by the spouses without external pressure; when it is
practiced not out of selfishness but for serious reasons; and with methods that
conform to the objective criteria of morality, that is, periodic continence and
use of the infertile periods.
498. What are immoral means of birth
control?
2370-2372
Every action - for example, direct
sterilization or contraception - is intrinsically immoral which (either in
anticipation of the conjugal act, in its accomplishment or in the development
of its natural consequences) proposes, as an end or as a means, to hinder
procreation.
499. Why are artificial insemination and
artificial fertilization immoral?
2373-2377
They are immoral because they dissociate
procreation from the act with which the spouses give themselves to each other
and so introduce the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of
the human person. Furthermore, heterologous insemination and fertilization with
the use of techniques that involve a person other than the married couple
infringe upon the right of a child to be born of a father and mother known to
him, bound to each other by marriage and having the exclusive right to become
parents only through each another.
500. How should children be considered?
2378
A child is a gift of God, the supreme
gift of marriage. There is no such thing as a right to have children (e.g. “a
child at any cost”). But a child does have the right to be the fruit of the
conjugal act of its parents as well as the right to be respected as a person
from the moment of conception.
501. What can spouses do when they do not
have children?
2379
Should the gift of a child not be given to
them, after exhausting all legitimate medical options, spouses can show their
generosity by way of foster care or adoption or by performing meaningful
services for others. In this way they realize a precious spiritual
fruitfulness.
502. What are the offenses against the
dignity of marriage?
2380-2391
2400
These are: adultery, divorce, polygamy,
incest, free unions (cohabitation, concubinage), and sexual acts before or
outside of marriage.
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT:
YOU SHALL NOT STEAL
503. What is set forth by the seventh
commandment?
2401-2402
The seventh commandment requires respect for
the universal destination and distribution of goods and the private ownership
of them, as well as respect for persons, their property, and the integrity of
creation. The Church also finds in this Commandment the basis for her social
doctrine which involves the correct way of acting in economic, social and
political life, the right and the duty of human labor, justice and solidarity among
nations, and love for the poor.
504. Under what conditions does the right
to private property exist?
2403
The right to private property exists provided
the property is acquired or received in a just way and that the universal
destination of goods for the satisfaction of the basic needs of all takes
precedence.
505. What is the purpose of private
property?
2404-2406
The purpose of private property is to
guarantee the freedom and dignity of individual persons by helping them to meet
the basic needs of those in their charge and also of others who are in need.
506. What does the seventh commandment
require?
2407
2450-2451
The seventh commandment requires respect for
the goods of others through the practice of justice and charity, temperance and
solidarity. In particular it requires respect for promises made and
contracts agreed to, reparation for injustice committed and
restitution of stolen goods, and respect for the integrity of creation
by the prudent and moderate use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources
of the universe with special attention to those species which are in danger of
extinction.
507. What attitude should people have
toward animals?
2416-2418
2457
People must treat animals with kindness
as creatures of God and avoid both excessive love for them and an
indiscriminate use of them especially by scientific experiments that go beyond
reasonable limits and entail needless suffering for the animals.
508. What is forbidden by the seventh
commandment?
2408-2413
2453-2455
Above all, the seventh commandment forbids
theft, which is the taking or using of another’s property against the
reasonable will of the owner. This can be done also by paying unjust wages; by
speculation on the value of goods in order to gain an advantage to the detriment
of others; or by the forgery of checks or invoices. Also forbidden is tax
evasion or business fraud; willfully damaging private or public property ;
usury; corruption; the private abuse of common goods; work deliberately done
poorly; and waste.
509. What is the content of the social
doctrine of the Church?
2419-2423
The social doctrine of the Church is an
organic development of the truth of the Gospel about the dignity of the human
person and his social dimension offering principles for reflection, criteria
for judgment, and norms and guidelines for action.
510. When does the Church intervene in
social areas?
2420
2458
The Church intervenes by making a moral
judgment about economic and social matters when the fundamental rights of the
person, the common good, or the salvation of souls requires it.
511. How should social and economic life
be pursued?
2459
It should be pursued according to its own
proper methods within the sphere of the moral order, at the service of the
whole human being and of the entire human community in keeping with social
justice. Social and economic life should have the human person as its author,
center, and goal.
512. What would be opposed to the social
doctrine of the Church?
2424-2425
Opposed to the social doctrine of the Church
are economic and social systems that sacrifice the basic rights of persons or
that make profit their exclusive norm or ultimate end. For this reason the
Church rejects the ideologies associated in modern times with Communism or with
atheistic and totalitarian forms of socialism. But in the practice of
capitalism the Church also rejects self centered individualism and an absolute
primacy of the laws of the marketplace over human labor.
513. What is the meaning of work?
2426-2428
2460-2461
Work is both a duty and a right through which
human beings collaborate with God the Creator. Indeed, by working with
commitment and competence we fulfil the potential inscribed in our nature,
honor the Creator’s gifts and the talents received from him, provide for
ourselves and for our families, and serve the human community. Furthermore, by
the grace of God, work can be a means of sanctification and collaboration with
Christ for the salvation of others.
514. To what type of work does every
person have a right?
2429
2433-2434
Access to secure and honest employment must
be open to all without unjust discrimination and with respect for free economic
initiative and fair compensation.
515. What responsibility does the State
have in regard to labor?
2431
It is the role of the State to guarantee
individual freedom and private property, as well as a stable currency and
efficient public services. It is also the State’s responsibility to oversee and
direct the exercise of human rights in the economic sector. According to
circumstances, society must help citizens to find work.
516. What is the task of business
management?
2432
Business managers are responsible for the
economic and ecological effects of their operations. They must consider the
good of persons and not only the increase of profits, even though profits are
necessary to assure investments, the future of the business, employment, and
the good progress of economic life.
517. What are the duties of workers?
2435
They must carry out their work in a
conscientious way with competence and dedication, seeking to resolve any
controversies with dialogue. Recourse to a non-violent strike is morally
legitimate when it appears to be the necessary way to obtain a proportionate
benefit and it takes into account the common good.
518. How is justice and solidarity among
nations brought about?
2437-2441
On the international level, all nations and
institutions must carry out their work in solidarity and subsidiarity for the
purpose of eliminating or at least reducing poverty, the inequality of resources
and economic potential, economic and social injustices, the exploitation of
persons, the accumulation of debts by poor countries, and the perverse
mechanisms that impede the development of the less advanced countries.
519. In what way do Christians participate
in political and social life?
2442
The lay faithful take part directly in
political and social life by animating temporal realities with a Christian
spirit and collaborating with all as authentic witnesses of the Gospel and
agents of peace and justice.
520. By what is love for the poor
inspired?
2443-2449
2462-2463
Love for the poor is inspired by the Gospel
of the Beatitudes and by the example of Jesus in his constant concern for the
poor. Jesus said, “Whatever you have done to the least of my brethren, you have
done to me” (Matthew 25:40). Love for the poor shows itself through the
struggle against material poverty and also against the many forms of cultural,
moral, and religious poverty. The spiritual and corporal works of mercy and the
many charitable institutions formed throughout the centuries are a concrete
witness to the preferential love for the poor which characterizes the disciples
of Jesus.
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT:
YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST YOUR NEIGHBOR
521. What is one’s duty toward the truth?
2464-2470
2504
Every person is called to sincerity and
truthfulness in acting and speaking. Everyone has the duty to seek the truth,
to adhere to it and to order one’s whole life in accordance with its demands.
In Jesus Christ the whole of God’s truth has been made manifest. He is “the
truth”. Those who follow him live in the Spirit of truth and guard against
duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.
522. How does one bear witness to the
truth?
2471-2474
2505-2506
A Christian must bear witness to the truth of
the Gospel in every field of his activity, both public and private, and also if
necessary, with the sacrifice of his very life. Martyrdom is the supreme
witness given to the truth of the faith.
523. What is forbidden by the eighth commandment?
2475-2487
2507-2509
The eighth commandment forbids:
A sin committed against truth demands
reparation if it has caused harm to others.
524. What is required by the eighth
commandment?
2488-2492
2510-2511
The eighth commandment requires respect for
the truth accompanied by the discretion of charity in the field of communication
and the imparting of information, where the personal and common
good, the protection of privacy and the danger of scandal must all be taken
into account; in respecting professional secrets which must be kept,
save in exceptional cases for grave and proportionate reasons; and also in
respecting confidences given under the seal of secrecy.
525. How is one to use the means of social
communication?
2493-2499
2512
The information provided by the media must be
at the service of the common good. Its content must be true and – within the
limits of justice and charity – also complete. Furthermore, information must be
communicated honestly and properly with scrupulous respect for moral laws and
the legitimate rights and dignity of the person.
526. What relationship exists between
truth, beauty and sacred art?
2500-2503
2513
The truth is beautiful, carrying in itself
the splendour of spiritual beauty. In addition to the expression of the truth
in words there are other complementary expressions of the truth, most
specifically in the beauty of artistic works. These are the fruit both of
talents given by God and of human effort. Sacred art by being true and
beautiful should evoke and glorify the mystery of God made visible in Christ,
and lead to the adoration and love of God, the Creator and Savior, who is the
surpassing, invisible Beauty of Truth and Love.
THE NINTH COMMANDMENT:
YOU SHALL NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBOR'S WIFE
527. What is required by the ninth
commandment?
2514-2516
2528-2530
The ninth commandment requires that one
overcome carnal concupiscence in thought and in desire. The struggle against
such concupiscence entails purifying the heart and practicing the virtue of
temperance.
528. What is forbidden by the ninth
commandment?
2517-2519
2531-2532
The ninth commandment forbids cultivating
thoughts and desires connected to actions forbidden by the sixth commandment.
529. How does one reach purity of heart?
2520
In the battle against disordered desires the
baptised person is able, by the grace of God, to achieve purity of heart
through the virtue and gift of chastity, through purity of intention, purity of
vision (both exterior and interior), discipline of the imagination and of
feelings and by prayer.
530. What are the other requirements for purity?
2521-2527
2533
Purity requires modesty which, while
protecting the intimate center of the person, expresses the sensitivity of
chastity. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in
conformity with the dignity of persons and their communion. Purity frees one
from wide-spread eroticism and avoids those things which foster morbid
curiosity. Purity also requires a purification of the social climate by
means of a constant struggle against moral permissiveness which is founded on
an erroneous conception of human freedom.
THE TENTH COMMANDMENT:
YOU SHALL NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBOR’S POSSESSIONS
531. What is required and what is
forbidden by the tenth commandment?
2534-2540
2551-2554
This commandment, which completes the
preceding commandment, requires an interior attitude of respect for the
property of others and forbids greed, unbridled covetousness for
the goods of others, and envy which is the sadness one experiences at
the sight of another’s goods and the immoderate desire to acquire them for
oneself.
532. What does Jesus call for in poverty
of spirit?
2544-2547
2556
Jesus calls his disciples to prefer him to
everything and everyone. Detachment from riches – in the spirit of evangelical
poverty – and self-abandonment to divine providence free us from anxiety about
the future and prepare us for the blessedness of the “poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mathew 5:3).
533. What is the greatest human desire?
2548-2550
2557
The greatest desire of the human person is to
see God. “I want to see God” is the cry of our whole being. We realize our true
and full happiness in the vision and beatitude of the One who created us out of
love and draws us to himself with infinite love.
“Whoever sees God has
obtained all the goods of which he can conceive.” (Saint Gregory of Nyssa)
Part Four
Section One
Prayer in the Christian Life
534. What is prayer?
2558-2565
2590
Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart
to God, or the petition of good things from him in accord with his will. It is
always the gift of God who comes to encounter man. Christian prayer is the
personal and living relationship of the children of God with their Father who
is infinitely good, with his Son Jesus Christ, and with the Holy Spirit who
dwells in their hearts.
CHAPTER ONE
535. Why is there a universal call to prayer?
2566-2567
Because through creation God first calls
every being from nothingness. Even after the Fall man continues to be capable
of recognizing his Creator and retains a desire for the One who has called him
into existence. All religions, and the whole history of salvation in
particular, bear witness to this human desire for God. It is God first of all,
however, who ceaselessly draws every person to the mysterious encounter known
as prayer.
THE REVELATION OF PRAYER
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
536. How is Abraham a model of prayer?
2570-2573
2592
Abraham is a model of prayer because he
walked in the presence of God, heard and obeyed him. His prayer was a battle of
faith because he continued to believe in the fidelity of God even in times of
trial. Besides, after having received in his own tent the visit of the Lord who
confided his plan to him, Abraham dared to intercede for sinners with bold
confidence.
537. How did Moses pray?
2574-2577
2593
The prayer of Moses was typical of
contemplative prayer. God, who called to Moses from the burning bush, lingered
in conversation with him often and at length, “face to face, like a man with
his friend” (Exodus 33:11). In this intimacy with God, Moses attained
the strength to intercede tenaciously for his people: his prayer thus
prefigured the intercession of the one mediator, Christ Jesus.
538. In the Old Testament, what relationship do the king and
the temple have to prayer?
2578-2580
2594
The prayer of the People of God developed in
the shadow of the dwelling place of God – the Ark of the Covenant, then the
Temple – under the guidance of their shepherds. Among them there was David, the
King “after God’s own heart,” the shepherd who prayed for his people. His
prayer was a model for the prayer of the people because it involved clinging to
the divine promise and a trust filled with love for the One who is the only
King and Lord.
539. What is the role of prayer in the mission of the prophets?
2581-2584
The prophets drew from prayer the light and
strength to exhort the people to faith and to conversion of heart. They entered
into great intimacy with God and interceded for their brothers and sisters to
whom they proclaimed what they had seen and heard from the Lord. Elijah was the
father of the prophets, of those who sought the face of God. On Mount Carmel he
achieved the return of the people to the faith, thanks to the intervention of
God to whom he prayed: “Answer me, O Lord, answer me!” (1 Kings 18:37).
540. What is the importance of the Psalms in prayer?
2579
2585-2589
2596-2597
The Psalms are the summit of prayer in the
Old Testament: the Word of God become the prayer of man. Inseparably both
personal and communal, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, this prayer sings of
God’s marvelous deeds in creation and in the history of salvation. Christ
prayed the Psalms and brought them to fulfillment. Thus they remain an
essential and permanent element of the prayer of the Church suited to people of
every condition and time.
PRAYER IS FULLY REVEALED AND REALIZED IN JESUS
541. From whom did Jesus learn how to pray?
2599
2620
Jesus, with his human heart, learned how to
pray from his mother and from the Jewish tradition. But his prayer sprang from
a more secret source because he is the eternal Son of God who in his holy
humanity offers his perfect filial prayer to his Father.
542. When did Jesus pray?
2600-2604
2620
The Gospel often shows Jesus at prayer. We
see him draw apart to pray in solitude, even at night. He prays before the
decisive moments of his mission or that of his apostles. In fact, all his life
is a prayer because he is in a constant communion of love with the Father.
543. How did Jesus pray during his passion?
2605-2606
2620
The prayer of Jesus during his agony in the
garden of Gethsemani and his last words on the cross reveal the depth of his
filial prayer. Jesus brings to completion the loving plan of the Father and
takes upon himself all the anguish of humanity and all the petitions and intercessions
of the history of salvation. He presents them to the Father who accepts them
and answers them beyond all hope by raising his Son from the dead.
544. How does Jesus teach us to pray?
2608-2614
2621
Jesus teaches us to pray not only with the Our
Father but also when he prays. In this way he teaches us, in addition to
the content, the dispositions necessary for every true prayer: purity of heart
that seeks the Kingdom and forgives one’s enemies, bold and filial faith that
goes beyond what we feel and understand, and watchfulness that protects the
disciple from temptation.
545. Why is our prayer efficacious?
2615-2616
Our prayer is efficacious because it is
united in faith with the prayer of Jesus. In him Christian prayer becomes a
communion of love with the Father. In this way we can present our petitions to
God and be heard: “Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full” (John
16:24).
546. How did the Virgin Mary pray?
2617, 2618
2622, 2674
2679
Mary’s prayer was characterized by faith and
by the generous offering of her whole being to God. The Mother of Jesus is also
the new Eve, the “Mother of all the living”. She prays to Jesus for the needs
of all people.
547. Is there a prayer of Mary in the Gospel?
2619
Along with the prayer of Mary at Cana in
Galilee, the Gospel gives us the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) which
is the song both of the Mother of God and of the Church, the joyous
thanksgiving that rises from the hearts of the poor because their hope is met
by the fulfillment of the divine promises.
PRAYER IN THE AGE OF THE CHURCH
548. How did the first Christian community in Jerusalem pray?
2623-2624
At the beginning of the Acts of the
Apostles it is written that in the first community of Jerusalem, educated
in the life of prayer by the Holy Spirit, the faithful “devoted themselves to
the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the
bread, and to the prayers” (Acts 2:42).
549. How does the Holy Spirit intervene in the Church’s prayer?
2623
2625
The Holy Spirit, the interior Master of
Christian prayer, forms the Church in the life of prayer and allows her to
enter ever more deeply into contemplation of and union with the unfathomable
mystery of Christ. The forms of prayer expressed in the apostolic and canonical
writings remain normative for Christian prayer.
550. What are the essential forms of Christian prayer?
2643-2644
They are blessing and adoration, the prayer
of petition and intercession, thanksgiving and praise. The Eucharist contains
and expresses all the forms of prayer.
551. What is “blessing”?
2626-2627
2645
The prayer of blessing is man’s response to
God’s gifts: we bless the Almighty who first blesses us and fills us with his
gifts.
552. How can adoration be defined?
2628
Adoration is the humble acknowledgement by
human beings that they are creatures of the thrice-holy Creator.
553. What are the different forms of the prayer of petition?
2629-2633
2646
It can be a petition for pardon or also a
humble and trusting petition for all our needs either spiritual or material.
The first thing to ask for, however, is the coming of the Kingdom.
554. In what does the prayer of intercession consist?
2634-2636
2647
Intercession consists in asking on behalf of
another. It conforms us and unites us to the prayer of Jesus who intercedes
with the Father for all, especially sinners. Intercession must extend even to
one’s enemies.
555. When is thanksgiving given to God?
2637-2638
2648
The Church gives thanks to God unceasingly,
above all in celebrating the Eucharist in which Christ allows her to
participate in his own thanksgiving to the Father. For the Christian every
event becomes a reason for giving thanks.
556. What is the prayer of praise?
2639-2643
2649
Praise is that form of prayer which
recognizes most immediately that God is God. It is a completely disinterested
prayer: it sings God’s praise for his own sake and gives him glory simply
because he is.
CHAPTER TWO
557. What is the importance of Tradition in regard to prayer?
2650-2651
In the Church it is through living Tradition
that the Holy Spirit teaches the children of God how to pray. In fact prayer
cannot be reduced to the spontaneous outpouring of an interior impulse; rather
it implies contemplation, study and a grasp of the spiritual realities one
experiences.
AT THE WELLSPRINGS OF PRAYER
558. What are the sources of Christian prayer?
2652-2662
They are: the Word of God which gives
us “the surpassing knowledge” of Christ (Philippians 3:8); the Liturgy
of the Church that proclaims, makes present and communicates the mystery of
salvation; the theological virtues; and everyday situations
because in them we can encounter God.
“I love you, Lord, and the
only grace I ask is to love you eternally. … My God, if my tongue cannot say in
every moment that I love you, I want my heart to repeat it to you as often as I
draw breath.” (The Curé
of Ars, Saint John Mary Vianney)
THE WAY OF PRAYER
559. In the Church are there different ways of praying?
2663
In the Church there are various ways of
praying that are tied to different historical, social and cultural contexts.
The Magisterium of the Church has the task of discerning the fidelity of these
ways of praying to the tradition of apostolic faith. It is for pastors and
catechists to explain their meaning which is always related to Jesus Christ.
560. What is the way of our prayer?
2664
2680-2681
The way of our prayer is Christ because
prayer is directed to God our Father but reaches him only if we pray – at least
implicitly – in the name of Jesus. His humanity is in effect the only way by
which the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray to our Father. Therefore liturgical
prayers conclude with the formula: “Through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
561. What is the role of the Holy Spirit in prayer?
2670-2672
2680-2681
Since the Holy Spirit is the interior Master
of Christian prayer and “we do not know how to pray as we ought” (Romans
8:26), the Church exhorts us to invoke him and implore him on every occasion:
“Come, Holy Spirit!”
562. How is Christian prayer Marian?
2673-2679
2682
Because of her singular cooperation with the
action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray to Mary and with Mary, the
perfect ‘pray-er’, and to “magnify” and invoke the Lord with her. Mary in
effect shows us the “Way” who is her Son, the one and only Mediator.
563. How does the Church pray to Mary?
2676-2678
2682
Above all with the Hail Mary, the
prayer with which the Church asks the intercession of the Virgin. Other Marian
prayers are the Rosary, the Akathistos hymn, the Paraclesis,
and the hymns and canticles of diverse Christian traditions.
GUIDES FOR PRAYER
564. How are the saints guides for prayer?
2683-2684
2692-2693
The saints are our models of prayer. We also
ask them to intercede before the Holy Trinity for us and for the whole world.
Their intercession is their most exalted service to God’s plan. In the
communion of saints, throughout the history of the Church, there have developed
different types of spiritualities that teach us how to live and to
practice the way of prayer.
565. Who can educate us in prayer?
2685-2690
2694-2695
The Christian family is the first place of
education in prayer. Daily family prayer is particularly recommended because it
is the first witness to the life of prayer in the Church. Catechesis, prayer
groups, and “spiritual direction” constitute a school of and a help to prayer.
566. What places are conducive to prayer?
2691
2696
One can pray anywhere but the choice of an
appropriate place is not a matter of indifference when it comes to prayer. The
church is the proper place for liturgical prayer and Eucharistic adoration.
Other places also help one to pray, such as a “prayer corner” at home, a
monastery or a shrine.
CHAPTER THREE
567. What times are more suitable for prayer?
2697-2698
2720
Any time is suitable for prayer but the
Church proposes to the faithful certain rhythms of praying intended to nourish
continual prayer: morning and evening prayer, prayer before and after meals,
the Liturgy of the Hours, Sunday Eucharist, the Rosary, and feasts of the
liturgical year.
“We must remember God more
often than we draw breath.”
(Saint Gregory of Nazianzus)
568.
What are the expressions of the life of prayer?
2697-2699
Christian tradition has preserved three forms
for expressing and living prayer: vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplative
prayer. The feature common to all of them is the recollection of the heart.
EXPRESSIONS OF PRAYER
569. How can vocal prayer be described?
2700-2704
2722
Vocal prayer associates the body with the
interior prayer of the heart. Even the most interior prayer, however, cannot
dispense with vocal prayer. In any case it must always spring from a personal
faith. With the Our Father Jesus has taught us a perfect form of vocal
prayer.
570. What is meditation?
2705-2708
2723
Meditation is a prayerful reflection that
begins above all in the Word of God in the Bible. Meditation engages thought,
imagination, emotion and desire in order to deepen our faith, convert our heart
and fortify our will to follow Christ. It is a first step toward the union of
love with our Lord.
571. What is contemplative prayer?
2709-2719
2724
2739-2741
Contemplative prayer is a simple gaze upon
God in silence and love. It is a gift of God, a moment of pure faith during
which the one praying seeks Christ, surrenders himself to the loving will of
the Father, and places his being under the action of the Holy Spirit. Saint
Teresa of Avila defines contemplative prayer as the intimate sharing of
friendship, “in which time is frequently taken to be alone with God who we know
loves us.”
THE BATTLE OF PRAYER
572. Why is prayer a “battle”?
2725
Prayer is a gift of grace but it always
presupposes a determined response on our part because those who pray “battle”
against themselves, their surroundings, and especially the Tempter who does all
he can to turn them away from prayer. The battle of prayer is inseparable from
progress in the spiritual life. We pray as we live because we live as we pray.
573. Are there objections to prayer?
2726-2728
2752-2753
Along with erroneous notions of prayer, many
think they do not have the time to pray or that praying is useless. Those who
pray can be discouraged in the face of difficulties and apparent lack of
success. Humility, trust and perseverance are necessary to overcome these
obstacles.
574. What are the difficulties in prayer?
2729-2733
2754-2755
Distraction is a habitual difficulty in our prayer. It takes
our attention away from God and can also reveal what we are attached to. Our
heart therefore must humbly turn to the Lord. Prayer is often affected by dryness.
Overcoming this difficulty allows us to cling to the Lord in faith, even
without any feeling of consolation. Acedia is a form of spiritual
laziness due to relaxed vigilance and a lack of custody of the heart.
575. How may we strengthen our filial trust?
2734-2741
2756
Filial trust is tested when we think we are
not heard. We must therefore ask ourselves if we think God is truly a Father
whose will we seek to fulfill, or simply a means to obtain what we want. If our
prayer is united to that of Jesus, we know that he gives us much more than this
or that gift. We receive the Holy Spirit who transforms our heart.
576. Is it possible to pray always?
2742-2745
2757
Praying is always possible because the time
of the Christian is the time of the risen Christ who remains “with us always” (Matthew
28:20). Prayer and Christian life are therefore inseparable:
“It is possible to offer
frequent and fervent prayer even at the market place or strolling alone. It is
possible also in your place of business, while buying or selling, or even while
cooking.” (Saint John
Chrysostom)
577. What is the prayer of the Hour of Jesus?
2604
2746-2751
2758
It is called the priestly prayer of Jesus at
the Last Supper. Jesus, the High Priest of the New Covenant, addresses it to
his Father when the hour of his sacrifice, the hour of his
“passing over” to him is approaching.
Section Two
The Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father”
Our Father
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done
on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day
our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Pater Noster
Pater noster, qui es in cælis:
sanctificétur Nomen Tuum:
advéniat Regnum Tuum:
fiat volúntas Tua,
sicut in cælo, et in terra.
Panem nostrum
cotidiánum da nobis hódie,
et dimítte nobis débita nostra,
sicut et nos
dimíttimus debitóribus nostris.
et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem;
sed líbera nos a Malo.
578. What is the origin of the Our Father?
2759-2760
2773
Jesus taught us this Christian prayer for
which there is no substitute, the Our Father, on the day on which one of
his disciples saw him praying and asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke
11:1). The Church’s liturgical tradition has always used the text of Saint
Matthew (6:9-13).
“THE SUMMARY OF THE WHOLE GOSPEL”
579. What is the place of the Our Father in the Scriptures?
2761-2764
2774
The Our Father is the “summary of the
whole Gospel” (Tertullian), “the perfect prayer” (Saint Thomas Aquinas). Found
in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), it presents in
the form of prayer the essential content of the Gospel.
580. Why is it called the “Lord’s Prayer”?
2765-2766
2775
The Our Father is called the “Oratio
Dominica”, that is, the Lord’s Prayer because it was taught to us by the Lord
Jesus himself.
581. What place does the Our Father have in the prayer of
the Church?
2767-2772
2776
The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer of the
Church par excellence. It is “handed on” in Baptism to signify the new
birth of the children of God into the divine life. The full meaning of the Our
Father is revealed in the eucharist since its petitions are based on the
mystery of salvation already accomplished, petitions that will be fully heard
at the coming of the Lord. The Our Father is an integral part of the
Liturgy of the Hours.
“OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN”
582. Why can we dare to draw near to God in full confidence?
2777-2778
2797
Because Jesus, our Redeemer, brings us into
the Father’s presence and his Spirit makes us his children. We are thus able to
pray the Our Father with simple and filial trust, with joyful assurance
and humble boldness, with the certainty of being loved and heard.
583. How is it possible to address God as “Father”?
2779-2785
2789
2798-2800
We can invoke the “Father” because the Son of
God made man has revealed him to us and because his Spirit makes him known to
us. The invocation, Father, lets us enter into his mystery with an ever new
sense of wonder and awakens in us the desire to act as his children. When we
pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are therefore aware of our being sons of the Father
in the Son.
584. Why do we say “our” Father?
2786-2790
2801
“Our” expresses a totally new
relationship with God. When we pray to the Father, we adore and glorify him
with the Son and the Holy Spirit. In Christ we are “his” people and he is “our”
God now and for eternity. In fact, we also say “our” Father because the Church
of Christ is the communion of a multitude of brothers and sisters who have but
“one heart and mind” (Acts 4:32).
585. With what spirit of communion and mission do we pray to God as
“our” Father?
2791-2793
2801
Since praying to “our” Father is a common
blessing for the baptized, we feel an urgent summons to join in Jesus’ prayer
for the unity of his disciples. To pray the “Our Father” is to pray with all
people and for all people that they may know the one true God and be gathered
into unity.
586. What does the phrase “Who art in heaven” mean?
2794-2796
2802
This biblical expression does not indicate a
place but a way of being: God transcends everything. The expression refers to
the majesty, the holiness of God, and also to his presence in the hearts of the
just. Heaven, or the Father’s house, constitutes our true homeland toward which
we are moving in hope while we are still on earth. “Hidden with Christ in God”
(Colossians 3:3), we live already in this homeland.
THE SEVEN PETITIONS
587. What is the structure of the Lord’s Prayer?
2803-2806
2857
It contains seven petitions made to God the
Father. The first three, more God-centered, draw us toward him for his glory;
it is characteristic of love to think first of the beloved. These petitions
suggest in particular what we ought to ask of him: the sanctification of his
Name, the coming of his Kingdom, and the fulfillment of his will. The last four
petitions present to the Father of mercies our wretchedness and our
expectations. They ask him to feed us, to forgive us, to sustain us in
temptations, and to free us from the Evil One.
588. What does “Hallowed be thy Name” mean?
2807-2812
2858
To hallow or make holy the Name of God is
above all a prayer of praise that acknowledges God as holy. In fact, God
revealed his holy Name to Moses and wanted his people to be consecrated
for him as a holy nation in which he would dwell.
589. How is the Name of God made holy in us and in the world?
2813-2815
To make holy the Name of God, who calls us
“to holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:7) is to desire that our baptismal
consecration animate our whole life. In addition, it is to ask –with our lives
and our prayers – that the Name of God be known and blessed by every man.
590. What does the Church ask for when she prays “Thy Kingdom
come”?
2816-2821
2859
The Church prays for the final coming of the
Kingdom of God through Christ’s return in glory. The Church prays also that the
Kingdom of God increase from now on through people’s sanctification in the
Spirit and through their commitment to the service of justice and peace in
keeping with the Beatitudes. This petition is the cry of the Spirit and the
Bride: “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
591. Why pray “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”?
2822-2827
2860
The will of the Father is that “all men be
saved” (1 Timothy 2:4). For this Jesus came: to perfectly fulfill the
saving will of his Father. We pray God our Father to unite our will to that of
his Son after the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints. We ask
that this loving plan be fully realized on earth as it is already in heaven. It
is through prayer that we can discern “what is the will of God” (Romans
12:2) and have the “steadfastness to do it” (Hebrews 10:36).
592. What is the sense of the petition “Give us this day our daily
bread”?
2828-2834
2861
Asking God with the filial trust of children
for the daily nourishment which is necessary for us all we recognize how good
God is, beyond all goodness. We ask also for the grace to know how to act so
that justice and solidarity may allow the abundance of some to remedy the needs
of others.
593. What is the specifically Christian sense of this petition?
2835-2837
2861
Since “man does not live by bread alone but
by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4), this
petition equally applies to hunger for the Word of God and for the Body
of Christ received in the Eucharist as well as hunger for the Holy Spirit.
We ask this with complete confidence for this day – God’s “today” – and
this is given to us above all in the Eucharist which anticipates the banquet of
the Kingdom to come.
594. Why do we say “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those
who trespass against us”?
2838-2839
2862
By asking God the Father to pardon us, we
acknowledge before him that we are sinners. At the same time we proclaim his
mercy because in his Son and through the sacraments “we have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14). Still our petition will be
answered only if we for our part have forgiven first.
595. How is forgiveness possible?
2840-2845
2862
Mercy can penetrate our hearts only if we
ourselves learn how to forgive – even our enemies. Now even if it seems
impossible for us to satisfy this requirement, the heart that offers itself to
the Holy Spirit can, like Christ, love even to love’s extreme; it can turn
injury into compassion and transform hurt into intercession. Forgiveness
participates in the divine mercy and is a high-point of Christian prayer.
596. What does “Lead us not into temptation” mean?
2846-2849
2863
We ask God our Father not to leave us alone
and in the power of temptation. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us know how to
discern, on the one hand, between a trial that makes us grow in goodness
and a temptation that leads to sin and death and, on the other hand,
between being tempted and consenting to temptation. This petition
unites us to Jesus who overcame temptation by his prayer. It requests the grace
of vigilance and of final perseverance.
597. Why do we conclude by asking “But deliver us from evil”?
2850-2854
2864
“Evil” indicates the person of Satan who
opposes God and is “the deceiver of the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).
Victory over the devil has already been won by Christ. We pray, however, that
the human family be freed from Satan and his works. We also ask for the
precious gift of peace and the grace of perseverance as we wait for the coming
of Christ who will free us definitively from the Evil One.
598. What is the meaning of the final Amen?
2855-2856
2865
“At the end of the prayer,
you say ‘Amen’ and thus you ratify by this word that means ‘so be it’ all that
is contained in this prayer that God has taught us.” (Saint Cyril of Jerusalem)
|
|
The Sign of the Cross In the name of the Father |
Signum Crucis In nómine Patris |
Glory be to the Father Glory be to the Father |
Gloria Patri Glória Patri |
The Hail Mary Hail, Mary, full of grace, |
Ave, Maria Ave, María, grátia plena, |
Angel of God Angel of God, |
Angele Dei Ángele Dei, |
Eternal Rest Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, |
Requiem Æternam Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, Dómine, |
The Angelus V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto
Mary. Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with
thee. V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. V. And the Word was made flesh. V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. Let us pray; Pour forth, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy
grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, thy Son,
was made known by the message of an angel, may by his Passion and Cross be
brought to the glory of his Resurrection. Through the same Christ, our Lord. Glory be to the Father... |
Angelus Domini Ángelus Dómini nuntiávit Maríæ. Ave, María... Ecce ancílla Dómini. Ave, María... Et Verbum caro factum est. Ave, María... Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei génetrix. Orémus. Grátiam tuam, quæsumus, Per eúndem Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen. Glória Patri... |
The Regina Caeli UK VERSION Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia! USA VERSION Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia. THEN FOR BOTH VERSIONS Let us pray; O God, who through the resurrection of your
Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, did vouchsafe to give joy to the world; grant, we
beseech you, that through his Mother, the Virgin Mary, we may obtain the joys
of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. |
Regina Cæli Regína cæli lætáre, allelúia. Resurréxit, sicut dixit, allelúia. Gaude et lætáre, Virgo María, allelúia. Orémus. Deus, qui per resurrectiónem Fílii tui
Dómini nostri Iesu Christi mundum lætificáre dignátus es, præsta, quæsumus,
ut per eius Genetrícem Vírginem Maríam perpétuæ capiámus gáudia vitæ. |
Hail Holy Queen UK VERSION Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, USA VERSION Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, |
Salve, Regina Salve, Regína, |
The Magnificat UK VERSION My soul glorifies the Lord, USA VERSION My soul proclaims the greatness of the
Lord, |
Magnificat Magníficat ánima mea Dóminum, Ecce enim ex hoc beátam |
Under Your Protection We fly to thy protection, |
Sub tuum præsidium Sub tuum præsídium confúgimus, |
The Benedictus UK VERSION Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel! USA VERSION Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; |
Benedictus Benedíctus Dóminus, Deus Ísrael, |
The Te Deum UK VERSION We praise you, O God: USA VERSION You are God: we praise you; |
Te Deum Te Deum laudámus: |
Come, Creator Spirit Come, Holy Spirit, Creator come, |
Veni, Creator Spiritus Veni, creátor Spíritus, |
Come, Holy Spirit Come, Holy Spirit, come! |
Veni, Sancte Spiritus Veni, Sancte Spíritus, |
The Anima Christi Soul of Christ, be my sanctification. |
Anima Christi Ánima Christi, sanctífica me. |
The Memorare Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, |
Memorare Memoráre, o piíssima Virgo María, |
The Rosary The Joyful Mysteries The Annunciation The Mysteries of Light The Baptism of Jesus The Sorrowful Mysteries The Agony in the Garden The Glorious Mysteries The Resurrection Prayer concluding the Rosary Hail, Holy Queen, etc. as above V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. Let us pray. O God, whose only-begotten Son, |
Rosarium Mystéria gaudiósa Annuntiátio. Mystéria luminósa Baptísma apud Iordánem. Mystéria dolorósa Agonía in Hortu. Mystéria gloriósa Resurréctio. Oratio ad finem Rosarii dicenda Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei génetrix. Orémus. Deus, cuius Unigénitus per vitam, |
Coptic
Incense Prayer O King of peace, give us your peace and
pardon our sins. Dismiss the enemies of the Church and protect her so that
she never fail. Emmanuel our God is in our midst in the glory of the Father
and of the Holy Spirit. May he bless us and purify our hearts and cure the
sicknesses of our soul and body. We adore you, O Christ, with your good
Father and the Holy Spirit because you have come and you have saved us. |
|
Syro-Maronite
Farewell to the Altar Remain in peace, O Altar of God. May the
offering that I have taken from you be for the remission of my debts and the
pardon of my sins and may it obtain for me that I may stand before the
tribunal of Christ without condemnation and without confusion. I do not know
if I will have the opportunity to return and offer another sacrifice upon
you. Protect me, O Lord, and preserve your holy Church as the way to truth
and salvation. Amen. |
|
Byzantine
Prayer for the Deceased God of the spirits and of all flesh, who
have trampled death and annihilated the devil and given life to your world,
may you yourself, O Lord, grant to the soul of your deceased servant N. rest
in a place of light, a verdant place, a place of freshness, from where suffering,
pain and cries are far removed. Do You, O good and compassionate God forgive
every fault committed by him in word, work or thought because there is no man
who lives and does not sin. You alone are without sin and your justice is
justice throughout the ages and your word is truth. Since you, O Christ our
God, are the resurrection, the life and the repose of your deceased servant
N., we give you glory together with your un-begotten Father and your most
holy, good and life-creating Spirit, now and always and forever and ever. |
|
Act of Faith O my God, I firmly believe |
Actus fidei Dómine Deus, |
Act of Hope O Lord God, |
Actus spei Dómine Deus, spero per grátiam tuam |
Act of Love O Lord God, I love you above all things |
Actus caritatis Dómine Deus, |
Act of Contrition O my God, I am heartily sorry for having
offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because of thy just punishments, but
most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving
of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace to sin no more
and to avoid the near occasion of sin. Amen. |
Actus contritionis Deus meus, ex toto corde pænitet me ómnium
meórum peccatórum, éaque detéstor, quia peccándo, non solum pœnas a te iuste
statútas proméritus sum, sed præsértim quia offéndi te, summum bonum, ac
dignum qui super ómnia diligáris. Ídeo fírmiter propóno, adiuvánte grátia
tua, de cétero me non peccatúrum peccandíque occasiónes próximas fugitúrum.
Amen. |
|
|
B) FORMULAS OF CATHOLIC DOCTRINE
The two commandments of love:
1. You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
2. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12):
Do to others as you would have them do to
you.
The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12):
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be
satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of
evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
The three theological virtues:
1. Faith
2. Hope
3. Charity
The four cardinal virtues:
1. Prudence
2. Justice
3. Fortitude
4. Temperance
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit:
1. Wisdom
2. Understanding
3. Counsel
4. Fortitude
5. Knowledge
6. Piety
7. Fear of the Lord
The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit:
1. Charity
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Generosity
8. Gentleness
9. Faithfulness
10. Modesty
11. Self-control
12. Chastity
The five precepts of the Church:
1. You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on
holy days of obligation and remain free from work or activity that could impede
the sanctification of such days.
2. You shall confess your sins at least once a year.
3. You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter
season.
4. You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the
Church.
5. You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.
The seven corporal works of mercy:
1. Feed the hungry.
2. Give drink to the thirsty.
3. Clothe the naked.
4. Shelter the homeless.
5. Visit the sick.
6. Visit the imprisoned.
7. Bury the dead.
The seven spiritual works of mercy:
1. Counsel the doubtful.
2. Instruct the ignorant.
3. Admonish sinners.
4. Comfort the afflicted.
5. Forgive offenses.
6. Bear wrongs patiently.
7. Pray for the living and the dead.
The seven capital sins:
1. Pride
2. Covetousness
3. Lust
4. Anger
5. Gluttony
6. Envy
7. Sloth
The four last things:
1. Death
2. Judgment
3. Hell
4. Heaven
http://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html
Transcribed for Faith Formation on
Gawai 1 June 2001