Catechism of the Catholic Church

Second Edition

The Search (In Brief 44-49)

44 Man is by nature and vocation a religious being. Coming from God, going toward God,

man lives a fully human life only if he freely lives by his bond with God.

45 Man is made to live in communion with God in whom he finds happiness: “When I am

completely united to you, there will be no more sorrow or trials; entirely full of you, my life will

be complete” (St. Augustine, Conf. 10, 28, 39: PL 32, 795).

46 When he listens to the message of creation and to the voice of conscience, man can arrive

48 We really can name God, starting from the manifold perfections of his creatures, which

are likenesses of the infinitely perfect God, even if our limited language cannot exhaust the

mystery.

49 “Without the Creator, the creature vanishes” (GS 36). This is the reason why believers

know that the love of Christ urges them to bring the light of the living God to those who do not

know him or who reject him.

Revelation of God (In Brief 68-73)

69 God has revealed himself to man by gradually communicating his own mystery in deeds

70 Beyond the witness to himself that God gives in created things, he manifested himself to

our first parents, spoke to them and, after the fall, promised them salvation (cf. Gen 3:15) and

offered them his covenant.

71 God made an everlasting covenant with Noah and with all living beings (cf. Gen 9:16). It

will remain in force as long as the world lasts.

72 God chose Abraham and made a covenant with him and his descendants. By the covenant

God formed his people and revealed his law to them through Moses. Through the prophets, he

Transmission of Divine Revelation (In Brief 96-100)

96 What Christ entrusted to the apostles, they in turn handed on by their preaching and

writing, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to all generations, until Christ returns in glory.

97 “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of

God” (DV 10), in which, as in a mirror, the pilgrim Church contemplates God, the source of all

her riches.

98 “The Church, in her doctrine, life, and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every

Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him.

Sacred Scripture (In Brief 134-141)

134 All Sacred Scripture is but one book, and this one book is Christ, “because all divine

Scripture speaks of Christ, and all divine Scripture is fulfilled in Christ” (Hugh of St. Victor, De

arca Noe 2, 8: PL 176, 642: cf. ibid. 2, 9: PL 176, 642-643).

135 “The Sacred Scriptures contain the Word of God and, because they are inspired they are

truly the Word of God” (DV 24).

them and by means of them. He thus gives assurance that their writings teach without error his

saving truth (cf. DV 11).

137 Interpretation of the inspired Scripture must be attentive above all to what God wants

to reveal through the sacred authors for our salvation. What comes from the Spirit is not fully

“understood except by the Spirit’s action” (cf. Origen, Hom. in Ex. 4, 5: PG 12, 320).

138 The Church accepts and venerates as inspired the 46 books of the Old Testament and

the 27 books of the New.

141 “The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerated the Body of

the Lord” (DV 21): both nourish and govern the whole Christian life. “Your word is a lamp to my

feet and a light to my path” (Ps 119:105; cf. Isa 50:4).”

The Response (In Brief 176-184)

176 Faith is a personal adherence of the whole man to God who reveals himself. It involves

an assent of the intellect and will to the self-revelation God has made through his deeds and

words.

the Holy Spirit.

180 “Believing” is a human act, conscious and free, corresponding to the dignity of the

human person.

181 “Believing” is an ecclesial act. The Church’s faith precedes, engenders, supports, and

nourishes our faith. The Church is the mother of all believers. “No one can have God as Father

who does not have the Church as Mother” (St. Cyprian, De unit. 6: PL 4, 519).

182 We believe all “that which is contained in the word of God, written or handed down, and

183 Faith is necessary for salvation. The Lord himself affirms: “He who believes and is

baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16:16).

184 “Faith is a foretaste of the knowledge that will make us blessed in the life to come” (St.

Thomas Aquinas, Comp. theol. 1, 2).”

I Believe in God (In Brief 228-231)

228 “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God is one LORD...” (Deut 6:4; Mk 12:29). “The supreme

230 Even when he reveals himself, God remains a mystery beyond words: “If you understood

him, it would not be God” (St. Augustine, Sermo 52, 6, 16: PL 38:360 and Sermo 117, 3, 5: PL 38,

663).

231 The God of our faith has revealed himself as He who is; and he has made himself known

as “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex 34:6). God’s very being is Truth and Love.”

End of January -----

What We Believe (The Profession of Faith) - The Creed – Part 2

The Father (In Brief 261-267)

261 The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of

Christian life. God alone can make it known to us by revealing himself as Father, Son, and Holy

Spirit.

God. “With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified” (Nicene Creed).

264 “The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father as the first principle and, by the eternal gift of

this to the Son, from the communion of both the Father and the Son” (St. Augustine, De Trin.

15, 26, 47: PL 42:1095).

265 By the grace of Baptism “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy

Spirit,” we are called to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity, here on earth in the obscurity of

faith, and after death in eternal light (Cf. Paul VI, CPG § 9).

267 Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons are also inseparable in what they do.

But within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity,

especially in the divine missions of the Son’s Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Almighty (In Brief 275-278)

275 With Job, the just man, we confess: “I know that you can do all things, and that no

purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2).

276 Faithful to the witness of Scripture, the Church often addresses its prayer to the

“almighty and eternal God” (“omnipotens sempiterne Deus...”), believing firmly that “nothing

will be impossible with God” (Gen 18:14; Lk 1:37; Mt 19:26).

277 God shows forth his almighty power by converting us from our sins and restoring us to

his friendship by grace. “God, you show your almighty power above all in your mercy and

forgiveness...” (Roman Missal, 26th Sunday, Opening Prayer).

315 In the creation of the world and of man, God gave the first and universal witness to his

almighty love and his wisdom, the first proclamation of the “plan of his loving goodness,” which

finds its goal in the new creation in Christ.

316 Though the work of creation is attributed to the Father in particular, it is equally a truth

of faith that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together are the one, indivisible principle of

creation.

317 God alone created the universe freely, directly, and without any help.

320 God created the universe and keeps it in existence by his Word, the Son “upholding the

universe by his word of power” (Heb 1:3) and by his Creator Spirit, the giver of life.

321 Divine providence consists of the dispositions by which God guides all his creatures with

wisdom and love to their ultimate end.”

322 Christ invites us to filial trust in the providence of our heavenly Father (cf. Mt 6:26-34),

and St. Peter the apostle repeats: “Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you” (1 Pet

5:7; cf. Ps 55:23).

grants the ability to cooperate freely with his plans.

324 The fact that God permits physical and even moral evil is a mystery that God illuminates

by his Son Jesus Christ who died and rose to vanquish evil. Faith gives us the certainty that God

would not permit an evil if he did not cause a good to come from that very evil, by ways that we

shall fully know only in eternal life.”

Heaven and Earth (In Brief 350-354)

350 Angels are spiritual creatures who glorify God without ceasing and who serve his saving

352 The Church venerates the angels who help her on her earthly pilgrimage and protect

every human being.

353 God willed the diversity of his creatures and their own particular goodness, their

interdependence, and their order. He destined all material creatures for the good of the human

race. Man, and through him all creation, is destined for the glory of God.”

354 Respect for laws inscribed in creation and the relations which derive from the nature of

things is a principle of wisdom and a foundation for morality.”

invisible God” (Col 1:15), so that Christ shall be the first-born of a multitude of brothers and

sisters (cf. Eph 1:3-6; Rom 8:29).

382 “Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity” (GS 14 § 1). The doctrine of the faith

affirms that the spiritual and immortal soul is created immediately by God.

383 “God did not create man a solitary being. From the beginning, ‘male and female he

created them’ (Gen 1:27). This partnership of man and woman constitutes the first form of

communion between persons” (GS 12 § 4).

384 Revelation makes known to us the state of original holiness and justice of man and

paradise.”

The Fall (In Brief 413-421)

413 “God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living.... It was

through the devil’s envy that death entered the world” (Wis 1:13; 2:24).

414 Satan or the devil and the other demons are fallen angels who have freely refused to

serve God and his plan. Their choice against God is definitive. They try to associate man in their

revolt against God.

from God, not only for himself but for all human beings.

417 Adam and Eve transmitted to their descendants human nature wounded by their own

first sin and hence deprived of original holiness and justice; this deprivation is called “original

sin.”

“418 As a result of original sin, human nature is weakened in its powers; subject to

ignorance, suffering, and the domination of death; and inclined to sin (This inclination is called

“concupiscence.”).

421 Christians believe that “the world has been established and kept in being by the

Creator’s love; has fallen into slavery to sin but has been set free by Christ, crucified and risen

to break the power of the evil one...” (GS 2 § 2).”

End of February ------

communion of God and men.”

The Church - People of God, Body of Christ (In Brief 802-810)

802 Christ Jesus “gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a

people of his own” (Titus 2:14).

803 “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” (1 Pet 2:9).

804 One enters into the People of God by faith and Baptism. “All men are called to belong to

806 In the unity of this Body, there is a diversity of members and functions. All members are

linked to one another, especially to those who are suffering, to the poor and persecuted.”

807 The Church is this Body of which Christ is the head: she lives from him, in him, and for

him; he lives with her and in her.

808 The Church is the Bride of Christ: he loved her and handed himself over for her. He has

purified her by his blood and made her the fruitful mother of all God’s children.

End of April-----

What we Believe (Part 5) and How we Worship (Part 1)

The Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic (In Brief 866-870)

Lamb” (Rev 21:14). She is indestructible (cf. Mt 16:18). She is upheld infallibly in the truth:

are found outside its visible confines”(LG 8).”

Christ’s Faithful - Hierarchy, Laity (In Brief 934-945)

934 “Among the Christian faithful by divine institution there exist in the Church sacred

ministers, who are also called clerics in law, and other Christian faithful who are also called

laity.” In both groups there are those Christian faithful who, professing the evangelical

counsels, are consecrated to God and so serve the Church’s saving mission (cf. CIC, can. 207 § 1,

2).

935 To proclaim the faith and to plant his reign, Christ sends his apostles and their successors.

936 The Lord made St. Peter the visible foundation of his Church. He entrusted the keys of the

Church to him. The bishop of the Church of Rome, successor to St. Peter, is “head of the college

of bishops, the Vicar of Christ and Pastor of the universal Church on earth” (CIC, can. 331).

937 The Pope enjoys, by divine institution, “supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in

the care of souls” (CD 2).

938 The Bishops, established by the Holy Spirit, succeed the apostles. They are “the visible

source and foundation of unity in their own particular Churches” (LG 23).

940 “The characteristic of the lay state being a life led in the midst of the world and of secular

affairs, lay people are called by God to make of their apostolate, through the vigor of their

Christian spirit, a leaven in the world” (AA 2 § 2).

941 Lay people share in Christ’s priesthood: ever more united with him, they exhibit the grace

of Baptism and Confirmation in all dimensions of their personal, family, social, and ecclesial

lives, and so fulfill the call to holiness addressed to all the baptized.

942 By virtue of their prophetic mission, lay people “are called... to be witnesses to Christ in all

circumstances and at the very heart of the community of mankind” (GS 43 § 4).”

945 Already destined for him through Baptism, the person who surrenders himself to the God

he loves above all else thereby consecrates himself more intimately to God’s service and to the

good of the whole Church.”

The Communion of Saints (In Brief 960-962)

960 The Church is a “communion of saints”: this expression refers first to the “holy things”

(sancta), above all the Eucharist, by which “the unity of believers, who form one body in Christ,

is both represented and brought about” (LG 3).

in Christ who “died for all,” so that what each one does or suffers in and for Christ bears fruit

for all.

962 “We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on

earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one

Church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is

always [attentive] to our prayers” (Paul VI, CPG § 30).”

Mary - Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church (In Brief 973-975)

974 The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was

taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her

Son’s Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body.

975 “We believe that the Holy Mother of God, the new Eve, Mother of the Church, continues

in heaven to exercise her maternal role on behalf of the members of Christ” (Paul VI, CPG §

15).”

I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins (In Brief 984-987)

who died and rose, and gives us the Holy Spirit.

986 By Christ’s will, the Church possesses the power to forgive the sins of the baptized and

exercises it through bishops and priests normally in the sacrament of Penance.

987 “In the forgiveness of sins, both priests and sacraments are instruments which our Lord

Jesus Christ, the only author and liberal giver of salvation, wills to use in order to efface our sins

and give us the grace of justification” (Roman Catechism, I, 11, 6).

1015 “The flesh is the hinge of salvation” (Tertullian, De res. 8, 2: PL 2, 852). We believe in

God who is creator of the flesh; we believe in the Word made flesh in order to redeem the

flesh; we believe in the resurrection of the flesh, the fulfillment of both the creation and the

redemption of the flesh.

1016 By death the soul is separated from the body, but in the resurrection God will give

incorruptible life to our body, transformed by reunion with our soul. Just as Christ is risen and

lives for ever, so all of us will rise at the last day.

1019 Jesus, the Son of God, freely suffered death for us in complete and free submission to

the will of God, his Father. By his death he has conquered death, and so opened the possibility

of salvation to all men.”

I Believe in Life Everlasting (In Brief 1051-1060)

1051 Every man receives his eternal recompense in his immortal soul from the moment of his

death in a particular judgment by Christ, the judge of the living and the dead.

are also, to various degrees, associated with the holy angels in the divine governance exercised

by Christ in glory, by interceding for us and helping our weakness by their fraternal concern”

(Paul VI, CPG § 29).

1054 Those who die in God’s grace and friendship imperfectly purified, although they are

assured of their eternal salvation, undergo a purification after death, so as to achieve the

holiness necessary to enter the joy of God.

1055 By virtue of the “communion of saints,” the Church commends the dead to God’s mercy

and offers her prayers, especially the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist, on their behalf.

reality of eternal death” (GCD 69), also called “hell.”

1057 Hell’s principal punishment consists of eternal separation from God in whom alone man

can have the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.

1058 The Church prays that no one should be lost: “Lord, let me never be parted from you.” If

it is true that no one can save himself, it is also true that God “desires all men to be saved” (1

Tim 2:4), and that for him “all things are possible” (Mt 19:26).

1059 “The holy Roman Church firmly believes and confesses that on the Day of Judgment all

Start of “How we Worship” (Part 1)

The Liturgy – Work of the Holy Trinity (In Brief 1110-1112)

1110 In the liturgy of the Church, God the Father is blessed and adored as the source of all the

blessings of creation and salvation with which he has blessed us in his Son, in order to give us

the Spirit of filial adoption.

1111 Christ’s work in the liturgy is sacramental: because his mystery of salvation is made

encounter Christ; to recall and manifest Christ to the faith of the assembly; to make the saving

work of Christ present and active by his transforming power; and to make the gift of

communion bear fruit in the Church.”

End of May------

June – In Brief Summaries:

How we Worship (Part 2)

The Pascal Mystery in the Church’s Sacraments (In Brief 1131-1134)

1188 In a liturgical celebration, the whole assembly is leitourgos, each member according to

his own function. The baptismal priesthood is that of the whole Body of Christ. But some of the

faithful are ordained through the sacrament of Holy Orders to represent Christ as head of the

Body.”

1189 The liturgical celebration involves signs and symbols relating to creation (candles, water,

fire), human life (washing, anointing, breaking bread), and the history of salvation (the rites of

the Passover). Integrated into the world of faith and taken up by the power of the Holy Spirit,

these cosmic elements, human rituals, and gestures of remembrance of God become bearers of

celebration is expressed by the Word of God which is proclaimed and by the response of faith

to it.

1191 Song and music are closely connected with the liturgical action. The criteria for their

proper use are the beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous participation of the assembly,

and the sacred character of the celebration.

1192 Sacred images in our churches and homes are intended to awaken and nourish our faith

in the mystery of Christ. Through the icon of Christ and his works of salvation, it is he whom we

adore. Through sacred images of the holy Mother of God, of the angels and of the saints, we

1194 The Church, “in the course of the year,... unfolds the whole mystery of Christ from his

Incarnation and Nativity through his Ascension, to Pentecost and the expectation of the blessed

hope of the coming of the Lord” (SC 102 § 2).

1195 By keeping the memorials of the saints—first of all the holy Mother of God, then the

apostles, the martyrs, and other saints—on fixed days of the liturgical year, the Church on earth

shows that she is united with the liturgy of heaven. She gives glory to Christ for having

accomplished his salvation in his glorified members; their example encourages her on her way

to the Father.

1197 Christ is the true temple of God, “the place where his glory dwells”; by the grace of God,

Christians also become temples of the Holy Spirit, living stones out of which the Church is built.

1198 In its earthly state the Church needs places where the community can gather together.

Our visible churches, holy places, are images of the holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem, toward

which we are making our way on pilgrimage.

1199 It is in these churches that the Church celebrates public worship to the glory of the Holy

Trinity, hears the word of God and sings his praise, lifts up her prayer, and offers the sacrifice of

Christ sacramentally present in the midst of the assembly. These churches are also places of

Liturgical Diversity and the Unity of the Mystery (In Brief 1207-1209)

1207 It is fitting that liturgical celebration tends to express itself in the culture of the people

where the Church finds herself, though without being submissive to it. Moreover, the liturgy

itself generates cultures and shapes them.

1208 The diverse liturgical traditions or rites, legitimately recognized, manifest the catholicity

of the Church, because they signify and communicate the same mystery of Christ.

1275 Christian initiation is accomplished by three sacraments together: Baptism which is the

beginning of new life; Confirmation which is its strengthening; and the Eucharist which

nourishes the disciple with Christ’s Body and Blood for his transformation in Christ.

1276 “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, teaching them to observe all that I have

commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20).

1277 Baptism is birth into the new life in Christ. In accordance with the Lord’s will, it is

necessary for salvation, as is the Church herself, which we enter by Baptism.”

original sin and all personal sins, birth into the new life by which man becomes an adoptive son

of the Father, a member of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit. By this very fact the person

baptized is incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ, and made a sharer in the

priesthood of Christ.

1280 Baptism imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual sign, the character, which consecrates

the baptized person for Christian worship. Because of the character Baptism cannot be

repeated (cf. DS 1609 and DS 1624).

1281 Those who die for the faith, those who are catechumens, and all those who, without

to fulfill his will, can be saved even if they have not been baptized (cf. LG 16).”

1282 Since the earliest times, Baptism has been administered to children, for it is a grace and

a gift of God that does not presuppose any human merit; children are baptized in the faith of

the Church. Entry into Christian life gives access to true freedom.

1283 With respect to children who have died without Baptism, the liturgy of the Church

invites us to trust in God’s mercy and to pray for their salvation.

1284 In case of necessity, any person can baptize provided that he have the intention of doing

they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might

receive the Holy Spirit; for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized

in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy

Spirit” (Acts 8:14-17).

1316 Confirmation perfects Baptismal grace; it is the sacrament which gives the Holy Spirit in

order to root us more deeply in the divine filiation, incorporate us more firmly into Christ,

strengthen our bond with the Church, associate us more closely with her mission, and help us

bear witness to the Christian faith in words accompanied by deeds.

has been reached, and its celebration is ordinarily reserved to the bishop, thus signifying that

this sacrament strengthens the ecclesial bond.

1319 A candidate for Confirmation who has attained the age of reason must profess the faith,

be in the state of grace, have the intention of receiving the sacrament, and be prepared to

assume the role of disciple and witness to Christ, both within the ecclesial community and in

temporal affairs.

1320 The essential rite of Confirmation is anointing the forehead of the baptized with sacred

chrism (in the East other sense-organs as well), together with the laying on of the minister’s

workers. They form around their bishop the presbyterium which bears responsibility with him

determinate ecclesial office.

1596 Deacons are ministers ordained for tasks of service of the Church; they do not receive

the ministerial priesthood, but ordination confers on them important functions in the ministry

of the word, divine worship, pastoral governance, and the service of charity, tasks which they

must carry out under the pastoral authority of their bishop.

1597 The sacrament of Holy Orders is conferred by the laying on of hands followed by a

solemn prayer of consecration asking God to grant the ordinand the graces of the Holy Spirit

required for his ministry. Ordination imprints an indelible sacramental character.

conferred only on candidates who are ready to embrace celibacy freely and who publicly

manifest their intention of staying celibate for the love of God’s kingdom and the service of

men.

1600 It is bishops who confer the sacrament of Holy Orders in the three degrees.

The Sacrament of Matrimony (In Brief 1659-1666)

1659 St. Paul said: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church.... This is a great

mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church” (Eph 5:25, 32).

1661 The sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It gives

spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ has loved his Church; the

grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens their

indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on the way to eternal life (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1799).

1662 Marriage is based on the consent of the contracting parties, that is, on their will to give

themselves, each to the other, mutually and definitively, in order to live a covenant of faithful

and fruitful love.

1663 Since marriage establishes the couple in a public state of life in the Church, it is fitting

witness authorized by the Church), the witnesses, and the assembly of the faithful.

1664 Unity, indissolubility, and openness to fertility are essential to marriage. Polygamy is

incompatible with the unity of marriage; divorce separates what God has joined together; the

refusal of fertility turns married life away from its “supreme gift,” the child (GS 50 §1).

1665 The remarriage of persons divorced from a living, lawful spouse contravenes the plan

and law of God as taught by Christ. They are not separated from the Church, but they cannot

receive Eucharistic communion. They will lead Christian lives especially by educating their

children in the faith.

1677 Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church. They prepare men to receive the

fruit of the sacraments and sanctify different circumstances of life.

1678 Among the sacramentals blessings occupy an important place. They include both praise

of God for his works and gifts, and the Church’s intercession for men that they may be able to

use God’s gifts according to the spirit of the Gospel.

1679 In addition to the liturgy, Christian life is nourished by various forms of popular piety,

rooted in the different cultures. While carefully clarifying them in the light of faith, the Church

vocation” (GS 22 § 1).

1711 Endowed with a spiritual soul, with intellect and with free will, the human person is from

his very conception ordered to God and destined for eternal beatitude. He pursues his

perfection in “seeking and loving what is true and good” (GS 15 § 2).

1712 In man, true freedom is an “outstanding manifestation of the divine image” (GS 17).

1713 Man is obliged to follow the moral law, which urges him “to do what is good and avoid

what is evil” (cf. GS 16). This law makes itself heard in his conscience.

to evil in exercising his freedom.

1715 He who believes in Christ has new life in the Holy Spirit. The moral life, increased and

brought to maturity in grace, is to reach its fulfillment in the glory of heaven.”

Our Vocation to Beatitude (In Brief 1725-1729)

1725 The Beatitudes take up and fulfill God’s promises from Abraham by ordering them to the

Kingdom of heaven. They respond to the desire for happiness that God has placed in the human

heart.

1728 The Beatitudes confront us with decisive choices concerning earthly goods; they purify

our hearts in order to teach us to love God above all things.

1729 The beatitude of heaven sets the standards for discernment in the use of earthly goods

in keeping with the law of God.

Man’s Freedom (In Brief 1743-1748)

1743 “God willed that man should be left in the hand of his own counsel (cf. Sir 15:14), so that

acts of which he is the voluntary agent. His deliberate acts properly belong to him.

1746 The imputability or responsibility for an action can be diminished or nullified by

ignorance, duress, fear, and other psychological or social factors.

1747 The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in religious and moral matters, is an

inalienable requirement of the dignity of man. But the exercise of freedom does not entail the

putative right to say or do anything.

1748 “For freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal 5:1).”

The Morality of Human Acts (In Brief 1757-1761)

1757 The object, the intention, and the circumstances make up the three “sources” of the

morality of human acts.

1758 The object chosen morally specifies the act of willing accordingly as reason recognizes

and judges it good or evil.

1761 There are concrete acts that it is always wrong to choose, because their choice entails a

disorder of the will, i.e., a moral evil. One may not do evil so that good may result from it.”

The Morality of the Passions (In Brief 1771-1775)

1771 The term “passions” refers to the affections or the feelings. By his emotions man intuits

the good and suspects evil.

1772 The principal passions are love and hatred, desire and fear, joy, sadness, and anger.”

his will but also by his “heart.”

Moral Conscience (In Brief 1795-1802)

1795 “Conscience is man’s most secret core, and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God

whose voice echoes in his depths” (GS 16).

1796 Conscience is a judgment of reason by which the human person recognizes the moral

quality of a concrete act.

1797 For the man who has committed evil, the verdict of his conscience remains a pledge of

1798 A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful. It formulates its judgments according

to reason, in conformity with the true good willed by the wisdom of the Creator. Everyone must

avail himself of the means to form his conscience.

1799 Faced with a moral choice, conscience can make either a right judgment in accordance

with reason and the divine law or, on the contrary, an erroneous judgment that departs from

them.

1800 A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience.

End of August ------

The Virtues (In Brief 1833-1845)

1833 Virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good.

1834 The human virtues are stable dispositions of the intellect and the will that govern our

acts, order our passions, and guide our conduct in accordance with reason and faith. They can

be grouped around the four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.

1835 Prudence disposes the practical reason to discern, in every circumstance, our true good

1838 Temperance moderates the attraction of the pleasures of the senses and provides

balance in the use of created goods.

1839 The moral virtues grow through education, deliberate acts, and perseverance in

struggle. Divine grace purifies and elevates them.

1840 The theological virtues dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity.

They have God for their origin, their motive, and their object—God known by faith, God hoped

in and loved for his own sake.

to merit it.

1844 By charity, we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for love of God.

Charity, the form of all the virtues, “binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col 3:14).

1845 The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon Christians are wisdom, understanding,

counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.”

Sin (In Brief 1870-1876)

1872 Sin is an act contrary to reason. It wounds man’s nature and injures human solidarity.

1873 The root of all sins lies in man’s heart. The kinds and the gravity of sins are determined

principally by their objects.

1874 To choose deliberately—that is, both knowing it and willing it—something gravely

contrary to the divine law and to the ultimate end of man is to commit a mortal sin. This

destroys in us the charity without which eternal beatitude is impossible. Unrepented, it brings

eternal death.

The Person and Society (In Brief 1890-1896)

1890 There is a certain resemblance between the unity of the divine persons and the

fraternity that men ought to establish among themselves.

1891 The human person needs life in society in order to develop in accordance with his

nature. Certain societies, such as the family and the state, correspond more directly to the

nature of man.

1892 “The human person... is and ought to be the principle, the subject, and the object of

1893 Widespread participation in voluntary associations and institutions is to be encouraged.

1894 In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, neither the state nor any larger society

should substitute itself for the initiative and responsibility of individuals and intermediary

bodies.

1895 Society ought to promote the exercise of virtue, not obstruct it. It should be animated by

a just hierarchy of values.

1918 “There is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been

instituted by God” (Rom 13:1).

1919 Every human community needs an authority in order to endure and develop.

1920 “The political community and public authority are based on human nature and

therefore... belong to an order established by God” (GS 74 § 3).

1921 Authority is exercised legitimately if it is committed to the common good of society. To

attain this it must employ morally acceptable means.

1924 The common good comprises “the sum total of social conditions which allow people,

either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily” (GS 26 §

1).

1925 The common good consists of three essential elements: respect for and promotion of

the fundamental rights of the person; prosperity, or the development of the spiritual and

temporal goods of society; the peace and security of the group and of its members.

1926 The dignity of the human person requires the pursuit of the common good. Everyone

life.

1927 It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society. The

common good of the whole human family calls for an organization of society on the

international level.

Social Justice (In Brief 1943-1948)

1943 Society ensures social justice by providing the conditions that allow associations and

individuals to obtain their due.

1946 The differences among persons belong to God’s plan, who wills that we should need one

another. These differences should encourage charity.

1947 The equal dignity of human persons requires the effort to reduce excessive social and

economic inequalities. It gives urgency to the elimination of sinful inequalities.

1948 Solidarity is an eminently Christian virtue. It practices the sharing of spiritual goods even

more than material ones.”

The Moral Law (In Brief 1975-1986)

1977 Christ is the end of the law (cf. Rom 10:4); only he teaches and bestows the justice of

God.

1978 The natural law is a participation in God’s wisdom and goodness by man formed in the

image of his Creator. It expresses the dignity of the human person and forms the basis of his

fundamental rights and duties.

1979 The natural law is immutable, permanent throughout history. The rules that express it

law.

1980 The Old Law is the first stage of revealed law. Its moral prescriptions are summed up in

the Ten Commandments.

1981 The Law of Moses contains many truths naturally accessible to reason. God has revealed

them because men did not read them in their hearts.

1982 The Old Law is a preparation for the Gospel.

the heart, the root of human acts.

1985 The New Law is a law of love, a law of grace, a law of freedom.

1986 Besides its precepts the New Law includes the evangelical counsels. “The Church’s

holiness is fostered in a special way by the manifold counsels which the Lord proposes to his

disciples in the Gospel” (LG 42 §2).”

Grace and Justification (In Brief 2017-2029)

2019 Justification includes the remission of sins, sanctification, and the renewal of the inner

man.

2020 Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ. It is granted us through

Baptism. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who justifies us. It has for its goal the glory

of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life. It is the most excellent work of God’s mercy.”

2021 Grace is the help God gives us to respond to our vocation of becoming his adopted sons.

It introduces us into the intimacy of the Trinitarian life.

2393 By creating the human being man and woman, God gives personal dignity equally to the

one and the other. Each of them, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual

apprenticeship in self-mastery.

2396 Among the sins gravely contrary to chastity are masturbation, fornication, pornography,

and homosexual practices.

2397 The covenant which spouses have freely entered into entails faithful love. It imposes on

them the obligation to keep their marriage indissoluble.

2398 Fecundity is a good, a gift and an end of marriage. By giving life, spouses participate in

God’s fatherhood.”

marriage.

2450 “You shall not steal” (Ex 20:15; Deut 5:19). “Neither thieves, nor the greedy... , nor

robbers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:10).

2451 The seventh commandment enjoins the practice of justice and charity in the

2452 The goods of creation are destined for the entire human race. The right to private

property does not abolish the universal destination of goods.

2453 The seventh commandment forbids theft. Theft is the usurpation of another’s goods

against the reasonable will of the owner.

2454 Every manner of taking and using another’s property unjustly is contrary to the seventh

commandment. The injustice committed requires reparation. Commutative justice requires the

restitution of stolen goods.

generations to come.

2457 Animals are entrusted to man’s stewardship; he must show them kindness. They may be

used to serve the just satisfaction of man’s needs.

2458 The Church makes a judgment about economic and social matters when the

fundamental rights of the person or the salvation of souls requires it. She is concerned with the

temporal common good of men because they are ordered to the sovereign Good, their ultimate

end.

redemptive.

2461 True development concerns the whole man. It is concerned with increasing each

person’s ability to respond to his vocation and hence to God’s call (cf. CA 29).

2462 Giving alms to the poor is a witness to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice

pleasing to God.

2463 How can we not recognize Lazarus, the hungry beggar in the parable (cf. Lk 17:19-31), in

Jesus: “As you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me” (Mt 25:45)?”

2504 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex 20:16). Christ’s disciples have

“put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness”

(Eph 4:24).

2505 Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and

truthful in words, and guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.

2508 Lying consists in saying what is false with the intention of deceiving one’s neighbor.

2509 An offense committed against the truth requires reparation.

2510 The golden rule helps one discern, in concrete situations, whether or not it would be

appropriate to reveal the truth to someone who asks for it.

2511 “The sacramental seal is inviolable” (CIC, can. 983 § 1). Professional secrets must be

kept. Confidences prejudicial to another are not to be divulged.

devoted to turning men’s minds devoutly toward God” (SC 122).”

2528 “Everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in

his heart” (Mt 5:28).

2529 The ninth commandment warns against lust or carnal concupiscence.

2530 The struggle against carnal lust involves purifying the heart and practicing temperance.

to God.

2532 Purification of the heart demands prayer, the practice of chastity, purity of intention and

of vision.

2533 Purity of heart requires the modesty which is patience, decency, and discretion. Modesty

protects the intimate center of the person.”

for oneself. It is a capital sin.

2554 The baptized person combats envy through good-will, humility, and abandonment to the

providence of God.

2555 Christ’s faithful “have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24); they

are led by the Spirit and follow his desires.

2556 Detachment from riches is necessary for entering the Kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are

the poor in spirit.”

2590 “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things

from God” (St. John Damascene, De fide orth. 3, 24: PG 94, 1089C).

2591 God tirelessly calls each person to this mysterious encounter with Himself. Prayer

unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation as a reciprocal call between God and man.

2592 The prayer of Abraham and Jacob is presented as a battle of faith marked by trust in

God’s faithfulness and by certitude in the victory promised to perseverance.

2593 The prayer of Moses responds to the living God’s initiative for the salvation of his people.

2594 The prayer of the People of God flourished in the shadow of the dwelling place of God’s

presence on earth, the ark of the covenant and the Temple, under the guidance of their

shepherds, especially King David, and of the prophets.

2595 The prophets summoned the people to conversion of heart and, while zealously seeking

the face of God, like Elijah, they interceded for the people.”

2596 The Psalms constitute the masterwork of prayer in the Old Testament. They present two

inseparable qualities: the personal, and the communal. They extend to all dimensions of

2620 Jesus’ filial prayer is the perfect model of prayer in the New Testament. Often done in

solitude and in secret, the prayer of Jesus involves a loving adherence to the will of the Father

even to the Cross and an absolute confidence in being heard.

2621 In his teaching, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray with a purified heart, with lively and

persevering faith, with filial boldness. He calls them to vigilance and invites them to present

their petitions to God in his name. Jesus Christ himself answers prayers addressed to him.

2622 The prayers of the Virgin Mary, in her Fiat and Magnificat, are characterized by the

generous offering of her whole being in faith.”

2645 Because God blesses the human heart, it can in return bless him who is the source of

every blessing.

2646 Forgiveness, the quest for the Kingdom, and every true need are objects of the prayer of

petition.

2647 Prayer of intercession consists in asking on behalf of another. It knows no boundaries

and extends to one’s enemies.

2649 Prayer of praise is entirely disinterested and rises to God, lauds him, and gives him glory

At the Wellspring of Prayer (In Brief 2661-2662)

2661 By a living transmission—Tradition—the Holy Spirit in the Church teaches the children of

God to pray.

2662 The Word of God, the liturgy of the Church, and the virtues of faith, hope, and charity

are sources of prayer.”

The Way of Prayer (In Brief 2680-2682)

invites us to invoke the Holy Spirit as the interior Teacher of Christian prayer.

2682 Because of Mary’s singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church

loves to pray in communion with the Virgin Mary, to magnify with her the great things the Lord

has done for her, and to entrust supplications and praises to her.”

Guides for Prayer (In Brief 2692-2696)

2692 In prayer, the pilgrim Church is associated with that of the saints, whose intercession

she asks.

2695 Ordained ministers, the consecrated life, catechesis, prayer groups, and “spiritual

direction” ensure assistance within the Church in the practice of prayer.

2696 The most appropriate places for prayer are personal or family oratories, monasteries,

places of pilgrimage, and above all the church, which is the proper place for liturgical prayer for

the parish community and the privileged place for Eucharistic adoration.

Expressions of Prayer (In Brief 2720-2724)

2720 The Church invites the faithful to regular prayer: daily prayers, the Liturgy of the Hours,

2721 The Christian tradition comprises three major expressions of the life of prayer: vocal

prayer, meditation, and contemplative prayer. They have in common the recollection of the

heart.

2722 Vocal prayer, founded on the union of body and soul in human nature, associates the

body with the interior prayer of the heart, following Christ’s example of praying to his Father

and teaching the Our Father to his disciples.

2723 Meditation is a prayerful quest engaging thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. Its

The Battle of Prayer

2725 Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always

presupposes effort. The great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the

Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. Against whom?

Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away

from prayer, away from union with God. We pray as we live, because we live as we pray. If we

do not want to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ, neither can we pray habitually in

his name. The “spiritual battle” of the Christian’s new life is inseparable from the battle of

concentration to reach a mental void. Still others reduce prayer to ritual words and postures.

Many Christians unconsciously regard prayer as an occupation that is incompatible with all the

other things they have to do: they “don’t have the time.” Those who seek God by prayer are

quickly discouraged because they do not know that prayer comes also from the Holy Spirit and

not from themselves alone. (2710)”

“2727 We must also face the fact that certain attitudes deriving from the mentality of “this

present world” can penetrate our lives if we are not vigilant. For example, some would have it

that only that is true which can be verified by reason and science; yet prayer is a mystery that

overflows both our conscious and unconscious lives. Others overly prize production and profit;

thus prayer, being unproductive, is useless. Still others exalt sensuality and comfort as the

(philokalia), is caught up in the glory of the living and true God. Finally, some see prayer as a

flight from the world in reaction against activism; but in fact, Christian prayer is neither an

escape from reality nor a divorce from life. (37, 2500)”

2728 Finally, our battle has to confront what we experience as failure in prayer:

discouragement during periods of dryness; sadness that, because we have “great”

possessions,”15 we have not given all to the Lord; disappointment over not being heard

according to our own will; wounded pride, stiffened by the indignity that is ours as sinners; our

resistance to the idea that prayer is a free and unmerited gift; and so forth. The conclusion is

always the same: what good does it do to pray? To overcome these obstacles, we must battle

to the Spirit of Christ: we pray as we live, because we live as we pray.

2753 In the battle of prayer we must confront erroneous conceptions of prayer, various

currents of thought, and our own experience of failure. We must respond with humility, trust,

and perseverance to these temptations which cast doubt on the usefulness or even the

possibility of prayer.

2754 The principal difficulties in the practice of prayer are distraction and dryness. The remedy

lies in faith, conversion, and vigilance of heart.

2757 “Pray constantly” (1 Thess 5:17). It is always possible to pray. It is even a vital necessity.

Prayer and Christian life are inseparable.

2758 The prayer of the hour of Jesus, rightly called the “priestly prayer” (cf. Jn 17), sums up

the whole economy of creation and salvation. It fulfills the great petitions of the Our Father.”

The Summary if the Whole Gospel (In Brief 2773-2776)

2773 In response to his disciples’ request “Lord, teach us to pray” (Lk 11:1), Jesus entrusts

them with the fundamental Christian prayer, the Our Father.

prayers.”25 It is at the center of the Scriptures.

2775 It is called “the Lord’s Prayer” because it comes to us from the Lord Jesus, the master and

model of our prayer.

2776 The Lord’s Prayer is the quintessential prayer of the Church. It is an integral part of the

major hours of the Divine Office and of the sacraments of Christian initiation: Baptism,

Confirmation, and Eucharist. Integrated into the Eucharist it reveals the eschatological

character of its petitions, hoping for the Lord, “until he comes” (1 Cor 11:26).

us. In this Son, through Baptism, we are incorporated and adopted as sons of God.

2799 The Lord’s Prayer brings us into communion with the Father and with his Son, Jesus

Christ. At the same time it reveals us to ourselves (cf. GS 22 § 1).

2800 Praying to our Father should develop in us the will to become like him and foster in us a

humble and trusting heart.

2801 When we say “Our” Father, we are invoking the new covenant in Jesus Christ,

communion with the Holy Trinity, and the divine love which spreads through the Church to

Seven Petitions