Catechism of the Catholic Church — paragraphs 2501

2501 Created "in the image of God," man also expresses the truth of his relationship with God the Creator by the beauty of his artistic works.…
2502 Sacred art is true and beautiful when its form corresponds to its particular vocation: evoking and glorifying, in faith and adoration, the…
2503 For this reason bishops, personally or through delegates, should see to the promotion of sacred art, old and new, in all its forms and,…
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…
2505 Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and guarding against duplicity,…
2506 The Christian is not to "be ashamed of testifying to our Lord" ( 2 Tim 1:8) in deed and word. Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the…
2507 Respect for the reputation and honor of persons forbids all detraction and calumny in word or attitude.
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…
2511 "The sacramental seal is inviolable" (CIC, can. 983 # 1). Professional secrets must be kept. Confidences prejudicial to another are not to…
2512 Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, and justice. One should practice moderation and discipline in the use of the…
2513 The fine arts, but above all sacred art, "of their nature are directed toward expressing in some way the infinite beauty of God in works…
2514 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or…
2515 Etymologically, "concupiscence" can refer to any intense form of human desire. Christian theology has given it a particular meaning: the…
2516 Because man is a composite being, spirit and body , there already exists a certain tension in him; a certain struggle of tendencies between…
2517 The heart is the seat of moral personality: "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication. . . . " The struggle…
2518 The sixth beatitude proclaims, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." "Pure in heart" refers to those who have attuned…
2519 The "pure in heart" are promised that they will see God face to face and be like him. Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of…
2520 Baptism confers on its recipient the grace of purification from all sins. But the baptized must continue to struggle against concupiscence…
2521 Purity requires modesty , an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil…
2522 Modesty protects the mystery of persons and their love. It encourages patience and moderation in loving relationships; it requires that the…
2523 There is a modesty of the feelings as well as of the body. It protests, for example, against the voyeuristic explorations of the human body…
2524 The forms taken by modesty vary from one culture to another. Everywhere, however, modesty exists as an intuition of the spiritual dignity…
2525 Christian purity requires a purification of the social climate . It requires of the communications media that their presentations show…
2526 So called moral permissiveness rests on an erroneous conception of human freedom; the necessary precondition for the development of true…
2527 "The Good News of Christ continually renews the life and culture of fallen man; it combats and removes the error and evil which flow from…
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.
2531 Purity of heart will enable us to see God: it enables us even now to see things according 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.
2534 You shall not covet . . . anything that is your neighbor's. . . . You shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant,…
2535 The sensitive appetite leads us to desire pleasant things we do not have, e.g., the desire to eat when we are hungry or to warm ourselves…
2536 The tenth commandment forbids greed and the desire to amass earthly goods without limit. It forbids avarice arising from a passion for…
2537 It is not a violation of this commandment to desire to obtain things that belong to one's neighbor, provided this is done by just means.…
2538 The tenth commandment requires that envy be banished from the human heart. When the prophet Nathan wanted to spur King David to repentance,…
2539 Envy is a capital sin. It refers to the sadness at the sight of another's goods and the immoderate desire to acquire them for oneself, even…
2540 Envy represents a form of sadness and therefore a refusal of charity; the baptized person should struggle against it by exercising good…
2541 The economy of law and grace turns men's hearts away from avarice and envy. It initiates them into desire for the Sovereign Good; it…
2542 The Law entrusted to Israel never sufficed to justify those subject to it; it even became the instrument of "lust." The gap between wanting…
2543 "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the…
2544 Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone, and bids them "renounce all that [they have]" for his sake and that…
2545 All Christ's faithful are to "direct their affections rightly, lest they be hindered in their pursuit of perfect charity by the use of…
2546 "Blessed are the poor in spirit." The Beatitudes reveal an order of happiness and grace, of beauty and peace. Jesus celebrates the joy of…
2547 The Lord grieves over the rich, because they find their consolation in the abundance of goods. "Let the proud seek and love earthly…
2548 Desire for true happiness frees man from his immoderate attachment to the goods of this world so that he can find his fulfillment in the…
2549 It remains for the holy people to struggle, with grace from on high, to obtain the good things God promises. In order to possess and…
2550 On this way of perfection, the Spirit and the Bride call whoever hears to perfect communion with God: There will true glory be, where no…
2551 "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" ( Mt 6:21).
2552 The tenth commandment forbids avarice arising from a passion for riches and their attendant power.
2553 Envy is sadness at the sight of another's goods and the immoderate desire to have them 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."
2557 "I want to see God" expresses the true desire of man. Thirst for God is quenched by the water of eternal life (cf. Jn 4:14).
2558 "Great is the mystery of the faith!" The Church professes this mystery in the Apostles' Creed ( Part One ) and celebrates it in the…
2559 "Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." But when we pray, do we speak from the…
2560 "If you knew the gift of God!" The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet…
2561 "You would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." Paradoxically our prayer of petition is a response to the plea of the…
2562 Where does prayer come from? Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming the source of…
2563 The heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the Semitic or Biblical expression, the heart is the place "to which…
2564 Christian prayer is a covenant relationship between God and man in Christ. It is the action of God and of man, springing forth from both…
2565 In the New Covenant, prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son…
2566 Man is in search of God. In the act of creation, God calls every being from nothingness into existence. "Crowned with glory and honor," man…
2567 God calls man first . Man may forget his Creator or hide far from his face; he may run after idols or accuse the deity of having abandoned…
2568 In the Old Testament, the revelation of prayer comes between the fall and the restoration of man, that is, between God's sorrowful call to…
2569 Prayer is lived in the first place beginning with the realities of creation . The first nine chapters of Genesis describe this relationship…
2570 When God calls him, Abraham goes forth "as the Lord had told him"; Abraham's heart is entirely submissive to the Word and so he obeys. Such…
2571 Because Abraham believed in God and walked in his presence and in covenant with him, the patriarch is ready to welcome a mysterious Guest…
2572 As a final stage in the purification of his faith, Abraham, "who had received the promises," is asked to sacrifice the son God had given…
2573 God renews his promise to Jacob, the ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel. Before confronting his elder brother Esau, Jacob wrestles all…
2574 Once the promise begins to be fulfilled (Passover, the Exodus, the gift of the Law, and the ratification of the covenant), the prayer of…
2575 Here again the initiative is God's. From the midst of the burning bush he calls Moses. This event will remain one of the primordial images…
2576 "Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." Moses' prayer is characteristic of contemplative prayer…
2577 From this intimacy with the faithful God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, Moses drew strength and determination for his…
2578 The prayer of the People of God flourishes in the shadow of God's dwelling place, first the ark of the covenant and later the Temple. At…
2579 David is par excellence the king "after God's own heart," the shepherd who prays for his people and prays in their name. His submission to…
2580 The Temple of Jerusalem, the house of prayer that David wanted to build, will be the work of his son, Solomon. The prayer at the dedication…
2581 For the People of God, the Temple was to be the place of their education in prayer: pilgrimages, feasts and sacrifices, the evening…
2582 Elijah is the "father" of the prophets, "the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob." Elijah's name, "The…
2583 After Elijah had learned mercy during his retreat at the Wadi Cherith, he teaches the widow of Zarephath to believe in The Word of God and…
2584 In their "one to one" encounters with God, the prophets draw light and strength for their mission. Their prayer is not flight from this…
2585 From the time of David to the coming of the Messiah texts appearing in these sacred books show a deepening in prayer for oneself and in…
2586 The Psalms both nourished and expressed the prayer of the People of God gathered during the great feasts at Jerusalem and each Sabbath in…
2587 The Psalter is the book in which The Word of God becomes man's prayer. In other books of the Old Testament, "the words proclaim [God's]…
2588 The Psalter's many forms of prayer take shape both in the liturgy of the Temple and in the human heart. Whether hymns or prayers of…
2589 Certain constant characteristics appear throughout the Psalms: simplicity and spontaneity of prayer; the desire for God himself through and…
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:…
2591 God tirelessly calls each person to this mysterious encounter with Himself. Prayer unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation as a…
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…
2593 The prayer of Moses responds to the living God's initiative for the salvation of his people. It foreshadows the prayer of intercession of…
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…
2595 The prophets summoned the people to conversion of heart and, while zealously seeking the face of God, like Elijah, they interceded for the…
2596 The Psalms constitute the masterwork of prayer in the Old Testament. They present two inseparable qualities: the personal, and the…
2597 Prayed and fulfilled in Christ, the Psalms are an essential and permanent element of the prayer of the Church. They are suitable for men of…
2598 The drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the Word who became flesh and dwells among us. To seek to understand his prayer through what…
2599 The Son of God who became Son of the Virgin also learned to pray according to his human heart. He learns the formulas of prayer from his…
2600 The Gospel according to St. Luke emphasizes the action of the Holy Spirit and the meaning of prayer in Christ's ministry. Jesus prays…

Paragraphs 2501–2600