CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
SECOND EDITION
Paragraphs 1601–1700
- 1601 "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature…
- 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…
- 1603 "The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with…
- 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…
- 1605 Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone." The woman, "flesh of…
- 1606 Every man experiences evil around him and within himself. This experience makes itself felt in the relationships between man and woman.…
- 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…
- 1608 Nevertheless, the order of creation persists, though seriously disturbed. To heal the wounds of sin, man and woman need the help of the…
- 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…
- 1610 Moral conscience concerning the unity and indissolubility of marriage developed under the pedagogy of the old law. In the Old Testament the…
- 1611 Seeing God's covenant with Israel in the image of exclusive and faithful married love, the prophets prepared the Chosen People's conscience…
- 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,…
- 1613 On the threshold of his public life Jesus performs his first sign - at his mother's request - during a wedding feast. The Church attaches…
- 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:…
- 1615 This unequivocal insistence on the indissolubility of the marriage bond may have left some perplexed and could seem to be a demand…
- 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,…
- 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,…
- 1618 Christ is the center of all Christian life. The bond with him takes precedence over all other bonds, familial or social. From the very…
- 1619 Virginity for the sake of the kingdom of heaven is an unfolding of baptismal grace, a powerful sign of the supremacy of the bond with…
- 1620 Both the sacrament of Matrimony and virginity for the Kingdom of God come from the Lord himself. It is he who gives them meaning and grants…
- 1621 In the Latin Rite the celebration of marriage between two Catholic faithful normally takes place during Holy Mass, because of the…
- 1622 "Inasmuch as it is a sacramental action of sanctification, the liturgical celebration of marriage . . . must be, per se, valid, worthy, and…
- 1623 According to Latin tradition, the spouses as ministers of Christ's grace mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony by…
- 1624 The various liturgies abound in prayers of blessing and epiclesis asking God's grace and blessing on the new couple, especially the bride.…
- 1625 The parties to a marriage covenant are a baptized man and woman, free to contract marriage, who freely express their consent; "to be free"…
- 1626 The Church holds the exchange of consent between the spouses to be the indispensable element that "makes the marriage." If consent is…
- 1627 The consent consists in a "human act by which the partners mutually give themselves to each other": "I take you to be my wife" - "I take…
- 1628 The consent must be an act of the will of each of the contracting parties, free of coercion or grave external fear. No human power can…
- 1629 For this reason (or for other reasons that render the marriage null and void) the Church, after an examination of the situation by the…
- 1630 The priest (or deacon) who assists at the celebration of a marriage receives the consent of the spouses in the name of the Church and gives…
- 1631 This is the reason why the Church normally requires that the faithful contract marriage according to the ecclesiastical form. Several…
- 1632 So that the "I do" of the spouses may be a free and responsible act and so that the marriage covenant may have solid and lasting human and…
- 1633 In many countries the situation of a mixed marriage (marriage between a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic) often arises. It requires…
- 1634 Difference of confession between the spouses does not constitute an insurmountable obstacle for marriage, when they succeed in placing in…
- 1635 According to the law in force in the Latin Church, a mixed marriage needs for liceity the express permission of ecclesiastical authority.…
- 1636 Through ecumenical dialogue Christian communities in many regions have been able to put into effect a common pastoral practice for mixed…
- 1637 In marriages with disparity of cult the Catholic spouse has a particular task: "For the unbelieving husband is consecrated through his…
- 1638 "From a valid marriage arises a bond between the spouses which by its very nature is perpetual and exclusive; furthermore, in a Christian…
- 1639 The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another is sealed by God himself. From their covenant arises "an…
- 1640 Thus the marriage bond has been established by God himself in such a way that a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons…
- 1641 "By reason of their state in life and of their order, [Christian spouses] have their own special gifts in the People of God." This grace…
- 1642 Christ is the source of this grace . "Just as of old God encountered his people with a covenant of love and fidelity, so our Savior, the…
- 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…
- 1644 The love of the spouses requires, of its very nature, the unity and indissolubility of the spouses' community of persons, which embraces…
- 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…
- 1646 By its very nature conjugal love requires the inviolable fidelity of the spouses. This is the consequence of the gift of themselves which…
- 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…
- 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…
- 1649 Yet there are some situations in which living together becomes practically impossible for a variety of reasons. In such cases the Church…
- 1650 Today there are numerous Catholics in many countries who have recourse to civil divorce and contract new civil unions. In fidelity to the…
- 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,…
- 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…
- 1653 The fruitfulness of conjugal love extends to the fruits of the moral, spiritual, and supernatural life that parents hand on to their…
- 1654 Spouses to whom God has not granted children can nevertheless have a conjugal life full of meaning, in both human and Christian terms.…
- 1655 Christ chose to be born and grow up in the bosom of the holy family of Joseph and Mary. The Church is nothing other than "the family of…
- 1656 In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living,…
- 1657 It is here that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a…
- 1658 We must also remember the great number of single persons who, because of the particular circumstances in which they have to live - often…
- 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…
- 1660 The marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman form with each other an intimate communion of life and love, has been founded and endowed…
- 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…
- 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…
- 1663 Since marriage establishes the couple in a public state of life in the Church, it is fitting that its celebration be public, in the…
- 1664 Unity, indissolubility, and openness to fertility are essential to marriage. Polygamy is incompatible with the unity of marriage; divorce…
- 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…
- 1666 The Christian home is the place where children receive the first proclamation of the faith. For this reason the family home is rightly…
- 1667 "Holy Mother Church has, moreover, instituted sacramentals. These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify…
- 1668 Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of certain ministries of the Church, certain states of life, a great variety of…
- 1669 Sacramentals derive from the baptismal priesthood: every baptized person is called to be a "blessing," and to bless. Hence lay people may…
- 1670 Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church's prayer, they prepare us to…
- 1671 Among sacramentals blessings (of persons, meals, objects, and places) come first. Every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts. In…
- 1672 Certain blessings have a lasting importance because they consecrate persons to God, or reserve objects and places for liturgical use. Among…
- 1673 When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the…
- 1674 Besides sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the forms of piety and popular devotions among the…
- 1675 These expressions of piety extend the liturgical life of the Church, but do not replace it. They "should be so drawn up that they harmonize…
- 1676 Pastoral discernment is needed to sustain and support popular piety and, if necessary, to purify and correct the religious sense which…
- 1677 Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church. They prepare men to receive the fruit of the sacraments and sanctify different…
- 1678 Among the sacramentals blessings occupy an important place. They include both praise of God for his works and gifts, and the Church's…
- 1679 In addition to the liturgy, Christian life is nourished by various forms of popular piety, rooted in the different cultures. While…
- 1680 All the sacraments, and principally those of Christian initiation, have as their goal the last Passover of the child of God which, through…
- 1681 The Christian meaning of death is revealed in the light of the Paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ in whom resides our…
- 1682 For the Christian the day of death inaugurates, at the end of his sacramental life , the fulfillment of his new birth begun at Baptism, the…
- 1683 The Church who, as Mother, has borne the Christian sacramentally in her womb during his earthly pilgrimage, accompanies him at his…
- 1684 The Christian funeral is a liturgical celebration of the Church. The ministry of the Church in this instance aims at expressing efficacious…
- 1685 The different funeral rites express the Paschal character of Christian death and are in keeping with the situations and traditions of each…
- 1686 The Order of Christian Funerals (Ordo exsequiarum) of the Roman liturgy gives three types of funeral celebrations, corresponding to the…
- 1687 The greeting of the community . A greeting of faith begins the celebration. Relatives and friends of the deceased are welcomed with a word…
- 1688 The liturgy of the Word during funerals demands very careful preparation because the assembly present for the funeral may include some…
- 1689 The Eucharistic Sacrifice . When the celebration takes place in church the Eucharist is the heart of the Paschal reality of Christian…
- 1690 A farewell to the deceased is his final "commendation to God" by the Church. It is "the last farewell by which the Christian community…
- 1691 "Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God's own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning.…
- 1692 The Symbol of the faith confesses the greatness of God's gifts to man in his work of creation, and even more in redemption and…
- 1693 Christ Jesus always did what was pleasing to the Father , and always lived in perfect communion with him. Likewise Christ's disciples are…
- 1694 Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, Christians are "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" and so participate in the life of the…
- 1695 "Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God," "sanctified . . . [and] called to be saints," Christians…
- 1696 The way of Christ "leads to life"; a contrary way "leads to destruction." The Gospel parable of the two ways remains ever present in the…
- 1697 Catechesis has to reveal in all clarity the joy and the demands of the way of Christ. Catechesis for the "newness of life" in him should…
- 1698 The first and last point of reference of this catechesis will always be Jesus Christ himself, who is "the way, and the truth, and the…
- 1699 Life in the Holy Spirit fulfills the vocation of man ( chapter one ). This life is made up of divine charity and human solidarity ( chapter…
- 1700 The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God ( article 1 ); it is fulfilled in his vocation…