Catechism of the Catholic Church — paragraphs 2101

2101 In many circumstances, the Christian is called to make promises to God. Baptism and Confirmation, Matrimony and Holy Orders always entail…
2102 "A vow is a deliberate and free promise made to God concerning a possible and better good which must be fulfilled by reason of the virtue…
2103 The Church recognizes an exemplary value in the vows to practice the evangelical counsels : Mother Church rejoices that she has within…
2104 "All men are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and his Church, and to embrace it and hold on to it as they come to…
2105 The duty of offering God genuine worship concerns man both individually and socially. This is "the traditional Catholic teaching on the…
2106 "Nobody may be forced to act against his convictions, nor is anyone to be restrained from acting in accordance with his conscience in…
2107 "If because of the circumstances of a particular people special civil recognition is given to one religious community in the constitutional…
2108 The right to religious liberty is neither a moral license to adhere to error, nor a supposed right to error, but rather a natural right of…
2109 The right to religious liberty can of itself be neither unlimited nor limited only by a "public order" conceived in a positivist or…
2110 The first commandment forbids honoring gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people. It proscribes superstition and…
2111 Superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the…
2112 The first commandment condemns polytheism . It requires man neither to believe in, nor to venerate, other divinities than the one true God.…
2113 Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not…
2114 Human life finds its unity in the adoration of the one God. The commandment to worship the Lord alone integrates man and saves him from an…
2115 God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently…
2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to…
2117 All practices of magic or sorcery , by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a…
2118 God's first commandment condemns the main sins of irreligion: tempting God, in words or deeds, sacrilege, and simony.
2119 Tempting God consists in putting his goodness and almighty power to the test by word or deed. Thus Satan tried to induce Jesus to throw…
2120 Sacrilege consists in profaning or treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions, as well as persons, things, or places…
2121 Simony is defined as the buying or selling of spiritual things. To Simon the magician, who wanted to buy the spiritual power he saw at work…
2122 The minister should ask nothing for the administration of the sacraments beyond the offerings defined by the competent authority, always…
2123 "Many . . . of our contemporaries either do not at all perceive, or explicitly reject, this intimate and vital bond of man to God. Atheism…
2124 The name "atheism" covers many very different phenomena. One common form is the practical materialism which restricts its needs and…
2125 Since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the virtue of religion. The imputability of this offense can be…
2126 Atheism is often based on a false conception of human autonomy, exaggerated to the point of refusing any dependence on God. Yet, "to…
2127 Agnosticism assumes a number of forms. In certain cases the agnostic refrains from denying God; instead he postulates the existence of a…
2128 Agnosticism can sometimes include a certain search for God, but it can equally express indifferentism, a flight from the ultimate question…
2129 The divine injunction included the prohibition of every representation of God by the hand of man. Deuteronomy explains: "Since you saw no…
2130 Nevertheless, already in the Old Testament, God ordained or permitted the making of images that pointed symbolically toward salvation by…
2131 Basing itself on the mystery of the incarnate Word, the seventh ecumenical council at Nicaea (787) justified against the iconoclasts the…
2132 The Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols. Indeed, "the honor rendered to an image…
2133 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength" ( Deut 6:5).
2134 The first commandment summons man to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him above all else.
2135 "You shall worship the Lord your God" ( Mt 4:10). Adoring God, praying to him, offering him the worship that belongs to him, fulfilling the…
2136 The duty to offer God authentic worship concerns man both as an individual and as a social being.
2137 "Men of the present day want to profess their religion freely in private and in public" ( DH 15).
2138 Superstition is a departure from the worship that we give to the true God. It is manifested in idolatry, as well as in various forms of…
2139 Tempting God in words or deeds, sacrilege, and simony are sins of irreligion forbidden by the first commandment.
2140 Since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the first commandment.
2141 The veneration of sacred images is based on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God. It is not contrary to the first commandment.
2142 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not swear falsely.…
2143 Among all the words of Revelation, there is one which is unique: the revealed name of God. God confides his name to those who believe in…
2144 Respect for his name is an expression of the respect owed to the mystery of God himself and to the whole sacred reality it evokes. The…
2145 The faithful should bear witness to the Lord's name by confessing the faith without giving way to fear. Preaching and catechizing should be…
2146 The second commandment forbids the abuse of God's name , i.e., every improper use of the names of God, Jesus Christ, but also of the Virgin…
2147 Promises made to others in God's name engage the divine honor, fidelity, truthfulness, and authority. They must be respected in justice. To…
2148 Blasphemy is directly opposed to the second commandment. It consists in uttering against God - inwardly or outwardly - words of hatred,…
2149 Oaths which misuse God's name, though without the intention of blasphemy, show lack of respect for the Lord. The second commandment also…
2150 The second commandment forbids false oaths . Taking an oath or swearing is to take God as witness to what one affirms. It is to invoke the…
2151 Rejection of false oaths is a duty toward God. As Creator and Lord, God is the norm of all truth. Human speech is either in accord with or…
2152 A person commits perjury when he makes a promise under oath with no intention of keeping it, or when after promising on oath he does not…
2153 In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained the second commandment: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not…
2154 Following St. Paul, the tradition of the Church has understood Jesus' words as not excluding oaths made for grave and right reasons (for…
2155 The holiness of the divine name demands that we neither use it for trivial matters, nor take an oath which on the basis of the…
2156 The sacrament of Baptism is conferred "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." In Baptism, the Lord's name…
2157 The Christian begins his day, his prayers, and his activities with the Sign of the Cross: "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of…
2158 God calls each one by name. Everyone's name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of…
2159 The name one receives is a name for eternity. In the kingdom, the mysterious and unique character of each person marked with God's name…
2160 "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth" ( Ps 8:1)!
2161 The second commandment enjoins respect for the Lord's name. The name of the Lord is holy.
2162 The second commandment forbids every improper use of God's name. Blasphemy is the use of the name of God, of Jesus Christ, of the Virgin…
2163 False oaths call on God to be witness to a lie. Perjury is a grave offence against the Lord who is always faithful to his promises.
2164 "Do not swear whether by the Creator, or any creature, except truthfully, of necessity, and with reverence" (St. Ignatius of Loyola,…
2165 In Baptism, the Christian receives his name in the Church. Parents, godparents, and the pastor are to see that he be given a Christian…
2166 The Christian begins his prayers and activities with the Sign of the Cross: "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy…
2167 God calls each one by name (cf. Isa 43:1).
2168 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord…
2169 In speaking of the sabbath Scripture recalls creation: "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,…
2170 Scripture also reveals in the Lord's day a memorial of Israel's liberation from bondage in Egypt: "You shall remember that you were a…
2171 God entrusted the sabbath to Israel to keep as a sign of the irrevocable covenant . The sabbath is for the Lord, holy and set apart for the…
2172 God's action is the model for human action. If God "rested and was refreshed" on the seventh day, man too ought to "rest" and should let…
2173 The Gospel reports many incidents when Jesus was accused of violating the sabbath law. But Jesus never fails to respect the holiness of…
2174 This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 2174 Jesus rose from the dead "on the first day of the week."…
2175 Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance…
2176 The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible,…
2177 The Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church's life. "Sunday is the day on which the paschal…
2178 This practice of the Christian assembly dates from the beginnings of the apostolic age. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds the faithful "not…
2179 "A parish is a definite community of the Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a particular church; the pastoral care of…
2180 The precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord more precisely: "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are…
2181 The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate…
2182 Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to his…
2183 "If because of lack of a sacred minister or for other grave cause participation in the celebration of the Eucharist is impossible, it is…
2184 Just as God "rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done," human life has a rhythm of work and rest. The institution of…
2185 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed…
2186 Those Christians who have leisure should be mindful of their brethren who have the same needs and the same rights, yet cannot rest from…
2187 Sanctifying Sundays and holy days requires a common effort. Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would…
2188 In respecting religious liberty and the common good of all, Christians should seek recognition of Sundays and the Church's holy days as…
2189 "Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy" ( Deut 5:12). "The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord" ( Ex 31:15).
2190 The sabbath, which represented the completion of the first creation, has been replaced by Sunday which recalls the new creation inaugurated…
2191 The Church celebrates the day of Christ's Resurrection on the "eighth day," Sunday, which is rightly called the Lord's Day (cf. SC 106).
2192 "Sunday . . . is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church" (CIC, can. 1246 § 1). "On Sundays and other…
2193 "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound . . . to abstain from those labors and business concerns which impede…
2194 The institution of Sunday helps all "to be allowed sufficient rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious…
2195 Every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord's Day.
2196 Jesus said to his disciples: "Love one another even as I have loved you." 2196 In response to the question about the first of the…
2197 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. He was obedient to them. The…
2198 This commandment is expressed in positive terms of duties to be fulfilled. It introduces the subsequent commandments which are concerned…
2199 The fourth commandment is addressed expressly to children in their relationship to their father and mother, because this relationship is…
2200 Observing the fourth commandment brings its reward: "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the…

Paragraphs 2101–2200