Paragraphs |
Part / Section / Chapter / Paragraph / Article |
|
APOSTOLIC LETTER |
|
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION |
1-25 |
PROLOGUE |
1-3 |
I. The Life of Man – To Know and Love God |
4-10 |
II. Handing on the Faith: Catechesis |
11-12 |
III. The Aim and Intended Readership of This Catechism |
13-17 |
IV. Structure of This Catechism |
18-22 |
V. Practical Directions for Using This Catechism |
23-25 |
VI. Necessary Adaptations |
26-1065 |
PART ONE – THE PROFESSION OF FAITH |
26-184 |
SECTION ONE: “I BELIEVE” – “WE BELIEVE” |
27-49 |
CHAPTER ONE: MAN’S CAPACITY FOR GOD |
27-30 |
I. The Desire for God |
31-35 |
II. Ways of Coming to Know God |
36-38 |
III. The Knowledge of God According to the Church |
39-43 |
IV. How Can We Speak about God? |
44-49 |
IN BRIEF |
50-141 |
CHAPTER TWO: GOD COMES TO MEET MAN |
51-73 |
ARTICLE 1: THE REVELATION OF GOD |
51-53 |
I. God Reveals His “Plan of Loving Goodness” |
54-64 |
II. The Stages of Revelation |
65-67 |
III. Christ Jesus – “Mediator and Fullness of All Revelation” |
68-73 |
IN BRIEF |
74-100 |
ARTICLE 2: THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION |
75-79 |
I. Apostolic Tradition |
80-83 |
II. The Relationship between Tradition and Sacred Scripture |
84-95 |
III. The Interpretation of the Heritage of Faith |
96-100 |
IN BRIEF |
101-141 |
ARTICLE 3: SACRED SCRIPTURE |
101-104 |
I. Christ – The unique Word of Sacred Scripture |
105-108 |
II. Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture |
109-119 |
III. The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture |
120-130 |
IV. The Canon of Scripture |
131-133 |
V. Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church |
134-141 |
IN BRIEF |
142-184 |
CHAPTER THREE: MAN’S RESPONSE TO GOD |
144-165 |
ARTICLE 1: I BELIEVE |
144-149 |
I. The Obedience of Faith |
150-152 |
II. “I Know Whom I Have Believed” |
153-165 |
III. The Characteristics of Faith |
166-184 |
ARTICLE 2: WE BELIEVE |
168-169 |
I. “Lord, Look Upon the Faith of Your Church” |
170-171 |
II. The Language of Faith |
172-175 |
III. Only One Faith |
176-184 |
IN BRIEF |
|
The Credo Chart |
185-1065 |
SECTION TWO: THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH |
185-197 |
The Creeds |
198-421 |
CHAPTER ONE: I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER |
199-421 |
ARTICLE 1: “I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH” |
199-231 |
Paragraph 1. I Believe in God |
200-202 |
I. “I Believe in One God” |
203-213 |
II. God Reveals His Name |
214-221 |
III. God, “He Who Is,” Is Truth and Love |
222-227 |
IV. The Implications of Faith in One God |
228-231 |
IN BRIEF |
232-267 |
Paragraph 2. The Father |
232-237 |
I. “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” |
238-248 |
II. The Revelation of God as Trinity |
249-256 |
III. The Holy Trinity in the Teaching of the Faith |
257-260 |
IV. The Divine Works and the Trinitarian Missions |
261-267 |
IN BRIEF |
268-278 |
Paragraph 3. The Almighty |
275-278 |
IN BRIEF |
279-324 |
Paragraph 4. The Creator |
282-289 |
I. Catechesis on Creation |
290-292 |
II. Creation – Work of the Holy Trinity |
293-294 |
III. “The World Was Created for the Glory of God” |
295-301 |
IV. The Mystery of Creation |
302-314 |
V. God Carries Out His Plan: Divine Providence |
315-324 |
IN BRIEF |
325-355 |
Paragraph 5. Heaven and Earth |
328-336 |
I. The Angels |
337-349 |
II. The Visible World |
350-354 |
IN BRIEF |
355-384 |
Paragraph 6. Man |
356-361 |
I. “In the Image of God” |
362-368 |
II. “Body and Soul but Truly One” |
369-373 |
III. “Male and Female He Created Them” |
374-379 |
IV. Man in Paradise |
380-384 |
IN BRIEF |
385-421 |
Paragraph 7. The Fall |
386-390 |
I. Where Sin Abounded, Grace Abounded All the More |
391-395 |
II. The Fall of the Angels |
396-409 |
III. Original Sin |
410-412 |
IV. “You Did Not Abandon Him to the Power of Death” |
413-421 |
IN BRIEF |
422-682 |
CHAPTER TWO: I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF GOD |
430-455 |
ARTICLE 2: “AND IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON, OUR LORD” |
430-435 |
I. Jesus |
436-440 |
II. Christ |
441-445 |
III. The Only Son of God |
446-451 |
IV. Lord |
452-455 |
IN BRIEF |
456-570 |
ARTICLE 3: “HE WAS CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND WAS BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY” |
456-483 |
Paragraph 1. The Son of God Became Man |
456-460 |
I. Why Did the Word Become Flesh? |
461-463 |
II. The Incarnation |
464-469 |
III. True God and True Man |
470-478 |
IV. How Is the Son of God Man? |
479-483 |
IN BRIEF |
484-512 |
Paragraph 2. “Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit and Born of the Virgin Mary” |
484-486 |
I. Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit. . . |
487-507 |
II. . . .Born of the Virgin Mary |
508-511 |
IN BRIEF |
512-570 |
Paragraph 3. “The Mysteries of Christ’s Life” |
514-521 |
I. Christ’s Whole Life Is Mystery |
522-534 |
II. The Mysteries of Jesus’ Infancy and Hidden Life |
535-560 |
III. The Mysteries of Jesus’ Public Life |
561-570 |
IN BRIEF |
571-630 |
ARTICLE 4: “JESUS CHRIST SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, WAS CRUCIFIED, DIED, AND WAS BURIED” |
574-594 |
Paragraph 1. Jesus and Israel |
577-582 |
I. Jesus and the Law |
583-586 |
II. Jesus and the Temple |
587-591 |
III. Jesus and Israel’s Faith in the One God and Savior |
592-594 |
IN BRIEF |
595-630 |
Paragraph 2. Jesus Died Crucified |
595-598 |
I. The Trial of Jesus |
599-605 |
II. Christ’s Redemptive Death in God’s Plan of Salvation |
606-618 |
III. Christ Offered Himself to his Father for Our Sins |
619-623 |
IN BRIEF |
624-628 |
Paragraph 3. Jesus Christ Was Buried |
629-630 |
IN BRIEF |
631-658 |
ARTICLE 5: “HE DESCENDED INTO HELL ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN” |
632-635 |
Paragraph 1. Christ Descended into Hell |
636-637 |
IN BRIEF |
638-658 |
Paragraph 2. On the Third Day He Rose from the Dead |
639-647 |
I. The Historical and Transcendent Event |
648-650 |
II. The Resurrection – A Work of the Holy Trinity |
651-655 |
III. The Meaning and Saving Significance of the Resurrection |
656-658 |
IN BRIEF |
659-667 |
ARTICLE 6: “HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER” |
665-667 |
IN BRIEF |
668-682 |
ARTICLE 7: “FROM THENCE HE WILL COME AGAIN TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD” |
668-677 |
I. He Will Come Again in Glory |
678-679 |
II. To Judge the Living and the Dead |
680-686 |
IN BRIEF |
683-1065 |
CHAPTER THREE: I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT |
687-747 |
ARTICLE 8: “I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT” |
689-690 |
I. The Joint Mission of the Son and the Spirit |
691-701 |
II. The Names, Titles, and Symbols of the Holy Spirit |
702-716 |
III. God’s Spirit and Word in the Time of the Promises |
717-730 |
IV. The Spirit of Christ in the Fullness of Time |
731-741 |
V. The Spirit and the Church in the Last Days |
742-747 |
IN BRIEF |
748-975 |
ARTICLE 9: “I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH” |
751-780 |
Paragraph 1. The Church in God’s Plan |
751-757 |
I. Names and Images of the Church |
758-769 |
II. The Church’s Origin, Foundation, and Mission |
770-776 |
III. The Mystery of the Church |
777-780 |
IN BRIEF |
781-810 |
Paragraph 2. The Church – People of God, Body of Christ, Temple of the Holy Spirit |
781-786 |
I. The Church – People of God |
787-796 |
II. The Church – Body of Christ |
797-801 |
III. The Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit |
802-810 |
IN BRIEF |
811-870 |
Paragraph 3. The Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic |
813-822 |
I. The Church Is One |
823-829 |
II. The Church Is Holy |
830-856 |
III. The Church Is Catholic |
857-865 |
IV. The Church Is Apostolic |
866-870 |
IN BRIEF |
871-945 |
Paragraph 4. Christ’s Faithful – Hierarchy, Laity, Consecrated Life |
874-896 |
I. The Hierarchical Constitution of the Church |
897-913 |
II. The Lay Faithful |
914-933 |
III. The Consecrated Life |
934-945 |
IN BRIEF |
946-962 |
Paragraph 5. The Communion of Saints |
949-953 |
I. Communion in Spiritual Goods |
954-959 |
II. The Communion of the Church of Heaven and Earth |
960-962 |
IN BRIEF |
963-975 |
Paragraph 6. Mary – Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church |
964-970 |
I. Mary’s Motherhood with Regard to the Church |
971 |
II. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin |
972 |
III. Mary – Eschatological Icon of the Church |
973-975 |
IN BRIEF |
976-987 |
ARTICLE 10: “I BELIEVE IN THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS” |
977-980 |
I. One Baptism for the Forgiveness of Sins |
981-983 |
II. The Power of the Keys |
984-987 |
IN BRIEF |
988-1019 |
ARTICLE 11: “I BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY” |
992-1004 |
I. Christ’s Resurrection and Ours |
1005-1014 |
II. Dying in Jesus Christ |
1015-1019 |
IN BRIEF |
1020-1065 |
ARTICLE 12: “I BELIEVE IN LIFE EVERLASTING” |
1021-1022 |
I. The Particular Judgement |
1023-1029 |
II. Heaven |
1030-1032 |
III. The Final Purification, or Purgatory |
1033-1037 |
IV. Hell |
1038-1041 |
V. The Last Judgement |
1042-1050 |
VI. The Hope of the New Heaven and the New Earth |
1051-1060 |
IN BRIEF |
1061-1065 |
“Amen” |
1066-1690 |
PART TWO – THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY |
1076-1209 |
SECTION ONE: THE SACRAMENTAL ECONOMY |
1077-1134 |
CHAPTER ONE: THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IN THE AGE OF THE CHURCH |
1077-1112 |
ARTICLE 1: THE LITURGY – WORK OF THE HOLY TRINITY |
1077-1083 |
I. The Father – Source and Goal of the Liturgy |
1084-1090 |
II. Christ’s Work in the Liturgy |
1091-1109 |
III. The Holy Spirit and the Church in the Liturgy |
1110-1112 |
IN BRIEF |
1113-1134 |
ARTICLE 2: THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IN THE CHURCH’S SACRAMENTS |
1114-1116 |
I. The Sacraments of Christ |
1117-1121 |
II. The Sacraments of the Church |
1122-1126 |
III. The Sacraments of Faith |
1127-1129 |
IV. The Sacraments of Salvation |
1130 |
V. The Sacraments of Eternal Life |
1131-1134 |
IN BRIEF |
1135-1209 |
CHAPTER TWO: THE SACRAMENTAL CELEBRATION |
1136-1199 |
ARTICLE 1: CELEBRATING THE CHURCH’S LITURGY |
1136-1144 |
I. Who Celebrates? |
1145-1162 |
II. How Is the Liturgy Celebrated? |
1163-1178 |
III. When Is the Liturgy Celebrated? |
1179-1186 |
IV. Where Is the Liturgy Celebrated? |
1187-1199 |
IN BRIEF |
1200-1209 |
ARTICLE 2: LITURGICAL DIVERSITY AND THE UNITY OF THE MYSTERY |
1207-1209 |
IN BRIEF |
1210-1690 |
SECTION TWO: THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH |
1212-1419 |
CHAPTER ONE: THE SACRAMENTS OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION |
1213-1284 |
ARTICLE 1: THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM |
1214-1216 |
I. What Is the Sacrament Called? |
1217-1228 |
II. Baptism in the Economy of Salvation |
1229-1245 |
III. How Is the Sacrament of Baptism Celebrated? |
1246-1255 |
IV. Who Can Receive Baptism? |
1256 |
V. Who Can Baptize? |
1257-1261 |
VI. The Necessity of Baptism? |
1262-1274 |
VII. The Grace of Baptism |
1275-1284 |
IN BRIEF |
1285-1321 |
ARTICLE 2: THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION |
1286-1292 |
I. Confirmation in the Economy of Salvation |
1293-1301 |
II. The Signs and the Rite of Confirmation |
1302-1305 |
III. The Effects of Confirmation |
1306-1311 |
IV. Who Can Receive This Sacrament? |
1312-1314 |
V. The Minister of Confirmation |
1315-1321 |
IN BRIEF |
1322-1419 |
ARTICLE 3: THE SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST |
1324-1327 |
I. The Eucharist – Source and Summit of the Ecclesial Life |
1328-1332 |
II. What Is This Sacrament Called? |
1333-1344 |
III. The Eucharist in the Economy of Salvation |
1345-1355 |
IV. The Liturgical Celebration of the Eucharist |
1356-1381 |
V. The Sacramental Sacrifice: Thanksgiving, Memorial, Presence |
1382-1401 |
VI. The Pascal Banquet |
1402-1405 |
VII. The Eucharist – “Pledge of the Glory to Come” |
1406-1419 |
IN BRIEF |
1420-1532 |
CHAPTER TWO: THE SACRAMENTS OF HEALING |
1422-1498 |
ARTICLE 4: THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION |
1423-1424 |
I. What Is This Sacrament Called? |
1425-1426 |
II. Why a Sacrament of Reconciliation after Baptism? |
1427-1429 |
III. The Conversion of the Baptized |
1430-1433 |
IV. Interior Penance |
1424-1439 |
V. The Many Forms of Penance in Christian Life |
1440-1449 |
VI. The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation |
1450-1460 |
VII. The Acts of the Penitent |
1461-1467 |
VIII. The Minister of This Sacrament |
1468-1470 |
IX. The Effects of This Sacrament |
1471-1479 |
X. Indulgences |
1480-1484 |
XI. The Celebration of the Sacrament of Penance |
1485-1498 |
IN BRIEF |
1499-1532 |
ARTICLE 5: THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK |
1500-1513 |
I. It’s Foundation in the Economy of Salvation |
1514-1516 |
II. Who Receives and Who Administers This Sacrament? |
1517-1519 |
III. How Is This Sacrament Celebrated? |
1520-1523 |
IV. The Effects of the Celebration of This Sacrament |
1524-1525 |
V. Viaticum, the Last Sacrament of the Christian |
1526-1532 |
IN BRIEF |
1533-1666 |
CHAPTER THREE: THE SACRAMENTS AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNION |
1536-1600 |
ARTICLE 6: THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS |
1537-1538 |
I. Why Is This Sacrament Called “Orders”? |
1539-1553 |
II. The Sacramant of Holy Orders in the Economy of Salvation |
1554-1571 |
III. The Three Degrees of the Sacrament of Holy Orders |
1572-1574 |
IV. The Celebration of This Sacrament |
1575-1576 |
V. Who Can Confer This Sacrament? |
1577-1580 |
VI. Who Can Receive This Sacrament? |
1581-1589 |
VII. The Effects of the Sacrament of Holy Orders |
1590-1600 |
IN BRIEF |
1601-1666 |
ARTICLE 7: THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY |
1602-1620 |
I. Marriage in God’s Plan |
1621-1624 |
II. The Celebration of Marriage |
1625-1637 |
III. Matrimonial Consent |
1638-1642 |
IV. The Effects of the Sacrament of Matrimony |
1643-1654 |
V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love |
1655-1658 |
VI. The Domestic Church |
1659-1666 |
IN BRIEF |
1667-1690 |
CHAPTER FOUR: OTHER LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS |
1667-1679 |
ARTICLE 1: SACRAMENTALS |
1677-1679 |
IN BRIEF |
1680-1690 |
ARTICLE 2: CHRISTIAN FUNERALS |
1681-1683 |
I. The Christian’s Last Passover |
1684-1690 |
II. The Celebration of Funerals |
1691-2557 |
PART THREE – LIFE IN CHRIST |
1699-2051 |
SECTION ONE: MAN’S VOCATION: LIFE IN THE SPIRIT |
1700-1876 |
CHAPTER ONE: THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON |
1701-1715 |
ARTICLE 1: MAN: THE IMAGE OF GOD |
1710-1715 |
IN BRIEF |
1716-1729 |
ARTICLE 2: OUR VOCATION TO BEATITUDE |
1716-1717 |
I. The Beatitudes |
1718-1719 |
II. The Desire for Happiness |
1720-1724 |
III. Christian Beatitude |
1725-1729 |
IN BRIEF |
1730-1748 |
ARTICLE 3: MAN’S FREEDOM |
1731-1738 |
I. Freedom and Responsibility |
1739-1742 |
II. Human Freedom in the Economy of Salvation |
1743-1748 |
IN BRIEF |
1749-1761 |
ARTICLE 4: THE MORALITY OF HUMAN ACTS |
1750-1754 |
I. The Sources of Morality |
1755-1756 |
II. Good Acts and Evil Acts |
1757-1761 |
IN BRIEF |
1762-1775 |
ARTICLE 5: THE MORALITY OF THE PASSIONS |
1763-1766 |
I. Passions |
1767-1770 |
II. Passions and Moral Life |
1771-1775 |
IN BRIEF |
1776-1802 |
ARTICLE 6: MORAL CONSCIENCE |
1777-1782 |
I. The Judgement of Conscience |
1783-1785 |
II. The Formation of Conscience |
1786-1789 |
III. To Choose in Accord with Conscience |
1790-1794 |
IV. Erroneous Judgement |
1795-1802 |
IN BRIEF |
1803-1845 |
ARTICLE 7: THE VIRTUES |
1804-1811 |
I. The Human Virtues |
1812-1829 |
II. The Theological Virtues |
1830-1832 |
III. The Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit |
1833-1845 |
IN BRIEF |
1846-1876 |
ARTICLE 8: SIN |
1846-1848 |
I. Mercy and Sin |
1849-1851 |
II. The Definition of Sin |
1852-1853 |
III. The Different Kinds of Sins |
1854-1864 |
IV. The Gravity of Sin: Mortal and Venial Sin |
1865-1869 |
V. The Proliferation of Sin |
1870-1876 |
IN BRIEF |
1877-1948 |
CHAPTER TWO: THE HUMAN COMMUNITY |
1878-1896 |
ARTICLE 1: THE PERSON AND SOCIETY |
1878-1885 |
I. The Communal Character of the Human Vocation |
1886-1889 |
II. Conversion and Society |
1890-1896 |
IN BRIEF |
1897-1927 |
ARTICLE 2: PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL LIFE |
1897-1904 |
I. Authority |
1905-1912 |
II. The Common Good |
1913-1917 |
III. Responsibility and Participation |
1918-1927 |
IN BRIEF |
1928-1948 |
ARTICLE 3: SOCIAL JUSTICE |
1929-1933 |
I. Respect for the Human Person |
1934-1938 |
II. Equality and Differences among Men |
1939-1942 |
III. Human Solidarity |
1943-1948 |
IN BRIEF |
1949-2051 |
CHAPTER THREE: GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE |
1950-1986 |
ARTICLE 1: THE MORAL LAW |
1954-1960 |
I. The Natural Moral Law |
1961-1964 |
II. The Old Law |
1965-1974 |
III. The New Law or the Law of the Gospel |
1975-1986 |
IN BRIEF |
1987-2029 |
ARTICLE 2: GRACE AND JUSTIFICATION |
1987-1995 |
I. Justification |
1996-2005 |
II. Grace |
2006-2011 |
III. Merit |
2012-2016 |
IV. Christian Holiness |
2017-2029 |
IN BRIEF |
2030-2051 |
ARTICLE 3: THE CHURCH, MOTHER AND TEACHER |
2032-2040 |
I. Moral Life and the Magisterium of the Church |
2041-2043 |
II. The Precepts of the Church |
2044-2046 |
III. Moral Life and Missionary Witness |
2047-2051 |
IN BRIEF |
|
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS CHART |
2052-2557 |
SECTION TWO: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS |
2075-2082 |
IN BRIEF |
2083-2195 |
CHAPTER ONE: “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOU GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND” |
2084-2141 |
ARTICLE 1: THE FIRST COMMANDMENT |
2084-2094 |
I. “You Shall Worship the Lord Your God and Him Only Shall You Serve” |
2095-2109 |
II. “Him Only Shall You Serve” |
2110-2128 |
III. “You Shall Have No Other Gods before Me” |
2129-2132 |
IV. “You Shall Not Make for Yourself a Graven Image” |
2133-2141 |
IN BRIEF |
2142-2167 |
ARTICLE 2: THE SECOND COMMANDMENT |
2142-2149 |
I. The Name of the Lord Is Holy |
2150-2155 |
II. Taking the Name of the Lord in Vain |
2156-2159 |
III. The Christian Name |
2160-2167 |
IN BRIEF |
2168-2195 |
ARTICLE 3: THE THIRD COMMANDMENT |
2168-2173 |
I. The Sabbath Day |
2174-2188 |
II. The Lord’s Day |
2189-2195 |
IN BRIEF |
2196-2257 |
CHAPTER TWO: “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF” |
2197-2257 |
ARTICLE 4: THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT |
2201-2206 |
I. The Family in God’s Plan |
2207-2213 |
II. The Family and Society |
2214-2231 |
III. The Duties of Family and the Kingdom |
2232-2233 |
IV. The Family and the Kingdom |
2234-2246 |
V. The Authorities in Civil Society |
2247-2257 |
IN BRIEF |
2258-2330 |
ARTICLE 5: THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT |
2259-2283 |
I. Respect for Human Life |
2284-2301 |
II. Respect for the Dignity of Persons |
2302-2317 |
III. Safeguarding Peace |
2318-2330 |
IN BRIEF |
2331-2400 |
ARTICLE 6: THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT |
2331-2336 |
I. “Male and Female He Created Them . . .” |
2337-2359 |
II. The Vocation to Chastity |
2360-2379 |
III. The Love of Husband and Wife |
2380-2391 |
IV. Offenses against the Dignity of Marriage |
2392-2400 |
IN BRIEF |
2401-2463 |
ARTICLE 7: THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT |
2402-2406 |
I. The Universal Destination and the Private Ownership of Goods |
2407-2418 |
II. Respect for Persons and Their Goods |
2419-2425 |
III. The Social Doctrine of the Church |
2426-2436 |
IV. Economic Activity and Social Justice |
2437-2442 |
V. Justice and Solidarity among Nations |
2443-2449 |
VI. Love for the Poor |
2450-2463 |
IN BRIEF |
2464-2513 |
ARTICLE 8: THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT |
2465-2470 |
I. Living in the Truth |
2471-2474 |
II. To Bear Witness to the Truth |
2475-2487 |
III. Offenses against Truth |
2488-2492 |
IV. Respect for the Truth |
2493-2499 |
V. The Use of the Social Communications Media |
2500-2503 |
VI. Truth, Beauty, and Sacred Art |
2504-2513 |
IN BRIEF |
2514-2533 |
ARTICLE 9: THE NINTH COMMANDMENT |
2517-2519 |
I. Purification of the Heart |
2520-2527 |
II. The Battle for Purity |
2528-2533 |
IN BRIEF |
2534-2557 |
ARTICLE 10: THE TENTH COMMANDMENT |
2535-2540 |
I. The Disorder of Covetous Desires |
2541-2543 |
II. The Desires of the Spirit |
2544-2547 |
III. Poverty of Heart |
2548-2550 |
IV. “I Want to See God” |
2551-2557 |
IN BRIEF |
2558-2865 |
PART FOUR – CHRISTIAN PRAYER |
2558-2758 |
SECTION ONE: PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE |
2559-2565 |
WHAT IS PRAYER? |
2566-2649 |
CHAPTER ONE: THE REVELATION OF PRAYER |
2566-2567 |
THE UNIVERSAL CALL TO PRAYER |
2568-2597 |
ARTICLE 1: IN THE OLD TESTAMENT |
2590-2597 |
IN BRIEF |
2598-2622 |
ARTICLE 2: IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME |
2620-2622 |
IN BRIEF |
2623-2649 |
ARTICLE 3: IN THE AGE OF THE CHURCH |
2626-2628 |
I. Blessing and Adoration |
2629-2633 |
II. Prayer of Petition |
2634-2636 |
III. Prayer of Intercession |
2637-2638 |
IV. Prayer of Thanksgiving |
2639-2643 |
V. Prayer of Praise |
2644-2649 |
IN BRIEF |
2650-2696 |
CHAPTER TWO: THE TRADITION OF PRAYER |
2652-2662 |
ARTICLE 1: AT THE WELLSPRINGS OF PRAYER |
2661-2662 |
IN BRIEF |
2663-2682 |
ARTICLE 2: THE WAY OF PRAYER |
2680-2682 |
IN BRIEF |
2683-2696 |
ARTICLE 3: GUIDES FOR PRAYER |
2692-2696 |
IN BRIEF |
2697-2758 |
CHAPTER THREE: THE LIFE OF PRAYER |
2700-2724 |
ARTICLE 1: EXPRESSIONS OF PRAYER |
2700-2704 |
I. Vocal Prayer |
2705-2708 |
II. Meditation |
2709-2719 |
III. Contemplative Prayer |
2720-2724 |
IN BRIEF |
2725-2745 |
ARTICLE 2: THE BATTLE OF PRAYER |
2726-2728 |
I. Objections to Prayer |
2729-2733 |
II. Humble Vigilance of Heart |
2734-2741 |
III. Filial Trust |
2742-2745 |
IV. Persevering in Love |
2746-2758 |
ARTICLE 3: THE PRAYER OF THE HOUR OF JESUS |
2752-2758 |
IN BRIEF |
2759-2865 |
SECTION TWO: THE LORD’S PRAYER: “OUR FATHER!” |
2761-2776 |
ARTICLE 1: “THE SUMMARY OF THE WHOLE GOSPEL” |
2762-2764 |
I. At the Center of the Scriptures |
2765-2766 |
II. “The Lord’s Prayer” |
2767-2772 |
III. The Prayer of the Church |
2773-2776 |
IN BRIEF |
2777-2802 |
ARTICLE 2: “OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN” |
2777-2778 |
I. “We Dare to Say” |
2779-2785 |
II. “Father!” |
2786-2793 |
III. “Our” Father |
2794-2796 |
IV. “Who Art in Heaven” |
2797-2802 |
IN BRIEF |
2803-2854 |
ARTICLE 3: “THE SEVEN PETITIONS” |
2807-2815 |
I. “Hallowed Be Thy Name” |
2816-2821 |
II. “Thy Kingdom Come” |
2822-2827 |
III. “The Will Be Done on Earth as It Is in Heaven” |
2828-2837 |
IV. “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread” |
2838-2845 |
V. “And Forgive us Our Trespasses, as We Forgive Those Who Trespass against Us” |
2846-2849 |
VI. “And Lead Us Not into Temptation” |
2850-2854 |
VII. “But Deliver Us From Evil” |
2855-2865 |
ARTICLE 4: THE FINAL DOXOLOGY |
2857-2865 |
IN BRIEF |
|
ABBREVIATIONS |
Conjugal Fidelity
I. MARRIAGE IN GOD’S PLAN
1602 Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of “the wedding-feast of the Lamb.”85 Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its “mystery,” its institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and its end, its various realizations throughout the history of salvation, the difficulties arising from sin and its renewal “in the Lord” in the New Covenant of Christ and the Church.86
Marriage in the order of creation
1603 “The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. . . . God himself is the author of marriage.”87 The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. Marriage is not a purely human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in different cultures, social structures, and spiritual attitudes. These differences should not cause us to forget its common and permanent characteristics. Although the dignity of this institution is not transparent everywhere with the same clarity,88 some sense of the greatness of the matrimonial union exists in all cultures. “The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life.”89
1604 God who created man out of love also calls him to love the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is himself love.90 Since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man. It is good, very good, in the Creator’s eyes. And this love which God blesses is intended to be fruitful and to be realized in the common work of watching over creation: “And God blessed them, and God said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.'”91
1605 Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: “It is not good that the man should be alone.”92 The woman, “flesh of his flesh,” his equal, his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a “helpmate”; she thus represents God from whom comes our help.93 “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.”94 The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator had been “in the beginning”: “So they are no longer two, but one flesh.”95
Marriage under the regime of sin
1606 Every man experiences evil around him and within himself. This experience makes itself felt in the relationships between man and woman. Their union has always been threatened by discord, a spirit of domination, infidelity, jealousy, and conflicts that can escalate into hatred and separation. This disorder can manifest itself more or less acutely, and can be more or less overcome according to the circumstances of cultures, eras, and individuals, but it does seem to have a universal character.
1607 According to faith the disorder we notice so painfully does not stem from the nature of man and woman, nor from the nature of their relations, but from sin. As a break with God, the first sin had for its first consequence the rupture of the original communion between man and woman. Their relations were distorted by mutual recriminations;96 their mutual attraction, the Creator’s own gift, changed into a relationship of domination and lust;97 and the beautiful vocation of man and woman to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the earth was burdened by the pain of childbirth and the toil of work.98
1608 Nevertheless, the order of creation persists, though seriously disturbed. To heal the wounds of sin, man and woman need the help of the grace that God in his infinite mercy never refuses them.99 Without his help man and woman cannot achieve the union of their lives for which God created them “in the beginning.”
Marriage under the pedagogy of the Law
1609 In his mercy God has not forsaken sinful man. The punishments consequent upon sin, “pain in childbearing” and toil “in the sweat of your brow,”100 also embody remedies that limit the damaging effects of sin. After the fall, marriage helps to overcome self-absorption, egoism, pursuit of one’s own pleasure, and to open oneself to the other, to mutual aid and to self-giving.
1610 Moral conscience concerning the unity and indissolubility of marriage developed under the pedagogy of the old law. In the Old Testament the polygamy of patriarchs and kings is not yet explicitly rejected. Nevertheless, the law given to Moses aims at protecting the wife from arbitrary domination by the husband, even though according to the Lord’s words it still carries traces of man’s “hardness of heart” which was the reason Moses permitted men to divorce their wives.101
1611 Seeing God’s covenant with Israel in the image of exclusive and faithful married love, the prophets prepared the Chosen People’s conscience for a deepened understanding of the unity and indissolubility of marriage.102 The books of Ruth and Tobit bear moving witness to an elevated sense of marriage and to the fidelity and tenderness of spouses. Tradition has always seen in the Song of Solomon a unique expression of human love, insofar as it is a reflection of God’s love – a love “strong as death” that “many waters cannot quench.”103
Marriage in the Lord
1612 The nuptial covenant between God and his people Israel had prepared the way for the new and everlasting covenant in which the Son of God, by becoming incarnate and giving his life, has united to himself in a certain way all mankind saved by him, thus preparing for “the wedding-feast of the Lamb.”104
1613 On the threshold of his public life Jesus performs his first sign – at his mother’s request – during a wedding feast.105 The Church attaches great importance to Jesus’ presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ’s presence.
1614 In his preaching Jesus unequivocally taught the original meaning of the union of man and woman as the Creator willed it from the beginning: permission given by Moses to divorce one’s wife was a concession to the hardness of hearts.106 The matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself has determined it “what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”107
1615 This unequivocal insistence on the indissolubility of the marriage bond may have left some perplexed and could seem to be a demand impossible to realize. However, Jesus has not placed on spouses a burden impossible to bear, or too heavy – heavier than the Law of Moses.108 By coming to restore the original order of creation disturbed by sin, he himself gives the strength and grace to live marriage in the new dimension of the Reign of God. It is by following Christ, renouncing themselves, and taking up their crosses that spouses will be able to “receive” the original meaning of marriage and live it with the help of Christ.109 This grace of Christian marriage is a fruit of Christ’s cross, the source of all Christian life.
1616 This is what the Apostle Paul makes clear when he says: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her,” adding at once: “‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one. This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church.”110
1617 The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church. Already Baptism, the entry into the People of God, is a nuptial mystery; it is so to speak the nuptial bath.111 which precedes the wedding feast, the Eucharist. Christian marriage in its turn becomes an efficacious sign, the sacrament of the covenant of Christ and the Church. Since it signifies and communicates grace, marriage between baptized persons is a true sacrament of the New Covenant.112
V. THE GOODS AND REQUIREMENTS OF CONJUGAL LOVE
1643 “Conjugal love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the person enter – appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of will. It aims at a deeply personal unity, a unity that, beyond union in one flesh, leads to forming one heart and soul; it demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual giving; and it is open to fertility. In a word it is a question of the normal characteristics of all natural conjugal love, but with a new significance which not only purifies and strengthens them, but raises them to the extent of making them the expression of specifically Christian values.”152
The unity and indissolubility of marriage
1644 The love of the spouses requires, of its very nature, the unity and indissolubility of the spouses’ community of persons, which embraces their entire life: “so they are no longer two, but one flesh.”153 They “are called to grow continually in their communion through day-to-day fidelity to their marriage promise of total mutual self-giving.”154 This human communion is confirmed, purified, and completed by communion in Jesus Christ, given through the sacrament of Matrimony. It is deepened by lives of the common faith and by the Eucharist received together.
1645 “The unity of marriage, distinctly recognized by our Lord, is made clear in the equal personal dignity which must be accorded to man and wife in mutual and unreserved affection.”155 Polygamy is contrary to conjugal love which is undivided and exclusive.156
* The fidelity of conjugal love
1646 By its very nature conjugal love requires the inviolable fidelity of the spouses. This is the consequence of the gift of themselves which they make to each other. Love seeks to be definitive; it cannot be an arrangement “until further notice.” The “intimate union of marriage, as a mutual giving of two persons, and the good of the children, demand total fidelity from the spouses and require an unbreakable union between them.”157
1647 The deepest reason is found in the fidelity of God to his covenant, in that of Christ to his Church. Through the sacrament of Matrimony the spouses are enabled to represent this fidelity and witness to it. Through the sacrament, the indissolubility of marriage receives a new and deeper meaning.
1648 It can seem difficult, even impossible, to bind oneself for life to another human being. This makes it all the more important to proclaim the Good News that God loves us with a definitive and irrevocable love, that married couples share in this love, that it supports and sustains them, and that by their own faithfulness they can be witnesses to God’s faithful love. Spouses who with God’s grace give this witness, often in very difficult conditions, deserve the gratitude and support of the ecclesial community.158
1649 Yet there are some situations in which living together becomes practically impossible for a variety of reasons. In such cases the Church permits the physical separation of the couple and their living apart. The spouses do not cease to be husband and wife before God and so are not free to contract a new union. In this difficult situation, the best solution would be, if possible, reconciliation. The Christian community is called to help these persons live out their situation in a Christian manner and in fidelity to their marriage bond which remains indissoluble.159
1650 Today there are numerous Catholics in many countries who have recourse to civil divorce and contract new civil unions. In fidelity to the words of Jesus Christ – “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery”160 the Church maintains that a new union cannot be recognized as valid, if the first marriage was. If the divorced are remarried civilly, they find themselves in a situation that objectively contravenes God’s law. Consequently, they cannot receive Eucharistic communion as long as this situation persists. For the same reason, they cannot exercise certain ecclesial responsibilities. Reconciliation through the sacrament of Penance can be granted only to those who have repented for having violated the sign of the covenant and of fidelity to Christ, and who are committed to living in complete continence.
1651 Toward Christians who live in this situation, and who often keep the faith and desire to bring up their children in a Christian manner, priests and the whole community must manifest an attentive solicitude, so that they do not consider themselves separated from the Church, in whose life they can and must participate as baptized persons:
* The openness to fertility
1652 “By its very nature the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring and it is in them that it finds its crowning glory.”162
1653 The fruitfulness of conjugal love extends to the fruits of the moral, spiritual, and supernatural life that parents hand on to their children by education. Parents are the principal and first educators of their children.164 In this sense the fundamental task of marriage and family is to be at the service of life.165
Divorce
I. “MALE AND FEMALE HE CREATED THEM . . .”
2331 “God is love and in himself he lives a mystery of personal loving communion. Creating the human race in his own image . . .. God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion.”115
“God created man in his own image . . . male and female he created them”;116 He blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply”;117 “When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.”118
2332 Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person in the unity of his body and soul. It especially concerns affectivity, the capacity to love and to procreate, and in a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others.
2333 Everyone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity. Physical, moral, and spiritual difference and complementarity are oriented toward the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life. The harmony of the couple and of society depends in part on the way in which the complementarity, needs, and mutual support between the sexes are lived out.
2334 “In creating men ‘male and female,’ God gives man and woman an equal personal dignity.”119 “Man is a person, man and woman equally so, since both were created in the image and likeness of the personal God.”120
2335 Each of the two sexes is an image of the power and tenderness of God, with equal dignity though in a different way. The union of man and woman in marriage is a way of imitating in the flesh the Creator’s generosity and fecundity: “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.”121 All human generations proceed from this union.122
2336 Jesus came to restore creation to the purity of its origins. In the Sermon on the Mount, he interprets God’s plan strictly: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”123 What God has joined together, let not man put asunder.124
The tradition of the Church has understood the sixth commandment as encompassing the whole of human sexuality.
SOURCE: Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2012.