Catechism of the Catholic Church — paragraphs 601

601 The Scriptures had foretold this divine plan of salvation through the putting to death of "the righteous one, my Servant" as a mystery of…
602 Consequently, St. Peter can formulate the apostolic faith in the divine plan of salvation in this way: "You were ransomed from the futile…
603 Jesus did not experience reprobation as if he himself had sinned. But in the redeeming love that always united him to the Father, he…
604 By giving up his own Son for our sins, God manifests that his plan for us is one of benevolent love, prior to any merit on our part: "In…
605 At the end of the parable of the lost sheep Jesus recalled that God's love excludes no one: "So it is not the will of your Father who is in…
606 The Son of God, who came down "from heaven, not to do [his] own will, but the will of him who sent [him]", said on coming into the world,…
607 The desire to embrace his Father's plan of redeeming love inspired Jesus' whole life, for his redemptive passion was the very reason for…
608 After agreeing to baptize him along with the sinners, John the Baptist looked at Jesus and pointed him out as the "Lamb of God, who takes…
609 By embracing in his human heart the Father's love for men, Jesus "loved them to the end", for "greater love has no man than this, that a…
610 Jesus gave the supreme expression of his free offering of himself at the meal shared with the twelve Apostles "on the night he was…
611 The Eucharist that Christ institutes at that moment will be the memorial of his sacrifice. Jesus includes the apostles in his own offering…
612 The cup of the New Covenant, which Jesus anticipated when he offered himself at the Last Supper, is afterwards accepted by him from his…
613 Christ's death is both the Paschal sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men, through "the Lamb of God, who takes away…
614 This sacrifice of Christ is unique; it completes and surpasses all other sacrifices. First, it is a gift from God the Father himself, for…
615 "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous." By his obedience unto…
616 It is love "to the end" that confers on Christ's sacrifice its value as redemption and reparation, as atonement and satisfaction. He knew…
617 The Council of Trent emphasizes the unique character of Christ's sacrifice as "the source of eternal salvation" and teaches that "his most…
618 The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the "one mediator between God and men". But because in his incarnate divine person he has in…
619 "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures" ( 1 Cor 15:3).
620 Our salvation flows from God's initiative of love for us, because "he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins" ( 1 Jn…
621 Jesus freely offered himself for our salvation. Beforehand, during the Last Supper, he both symbolized this offering and made it really…
622 The redemption won by Christ consists in this, that he came "to give his life as a ransom for many" ( Mt 20:28), that is, he "loved his own…
623 By his loving obedience to the Father, "unto death, even death on a cross" ( Phil 2:8), Jesus fulfills the atoning mission (cf. Is 53:10)…
624 "By the grace of God" Jesus tasted death "for every one". In his plan of salvation, God ordained that his Son should not only "die for our…
625 Christ's stay in the tomb constitutes the real link between his passible state before Easter and his glorious and risen state today. The…
626 Since the "Author of life" who was killed is the same "living one [who has] risen", the divine person of the Son of God necessarily…
627 Christ's death was a real death in that it put an end to his earthly human existence. But because of the union which the person of the Son…
628 Baptism, the original and full sign of which is immersion, efficaciously signifies the descent into the tomb by the Christian who dies to…
629 To the benefit of every man, Jesus Christ tasted death (cf. Heb 2:9). It is truly the Son of God made man who died and was buried.
630 During Christ's period in the tomb, his divine person continued to assume both his soul and his body, although they were separated from…
631 Jesus "descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens." The Apostles'…
632 The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was "raised from the dead" presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of…
633 Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who…
634 "The gospel was preached even to the dead." The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment. This is…
635 Christ went down into the depths of death so that "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live." Jesus,…
636 By the expression "He descended into hell", the Apostles' Creed confesses that Jesus did really die and through his death for us conquered…
637 In his human soul united to his divine person, the dead Christ went down to the realm of the dead. He opened heaven's gates for the just…
638 "We bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this day he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus." The…
639 The mystery of Christ's resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were historically verified, as the New Testament bears…
640 "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." The first element we encounter in the framework of the Easter…
641 Mary Magdalene and the holy women who came to finish anointing the body of Jesus, which had been buried in haste because the Sabbath began…
642 Everything that happened during those Paschal days involves each of the apostles - and Peter in particular - in the building of the new era…
643 Given all these testimonies, Christ's Resurrection cannot be interpreted as something outside the physical order, and it is impossible not…
644 Even when faced with the reality of the risen Jesus the disciples are still doubtful, so impossible did the thing seem: they thought they…
645 By means of touch and the sharing of a meal, the risen Jesus establishes direct contact with his disciples. He invites them in this way to…
646 Christ's Resurrection was not a return to earthly life, as was the case with the raisings from the dead that he had performed before…
647 O truly blessed Night, sings the Exultet of the Easter Vigil, which alone deserved to know the time and the hour when Christ rose from the…
648 Christ's Resurrection is an object of faith in that it is a transcendent intervention of God himself in creation and history. In it the…
649 As for the Son, he effects his own Resurrection by virtue of his divine power. Jesus announces that the Son of man will have to suffer…
650 The Fathers contemplate the Resurrection from the perspective of the divine person of Christ who remained united to his soul and body, even…
651 "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain." The Resurrection above all constitutes the…
652 Christ's Resurrection is the fulfillment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself during his earthly life. The phrase…
653 The truth of Jesus' divinity is confirmed by his Resurrection. He had said: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know…
654 The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new…
655 Finally, Christ's Resurrection - and the risen Christ himself is the principle and source of our future resurrection: "Christ has been…
656 Faith in the Resurrection has as its object an event which as historically attested to by the disciples, who really encountered the Risen…
657 The empty tomb and the linen cloths lying there signify in themselves that by God's power Christ's body had escaped the bonds of death and…
658 Christ, "the first-born from the dead" ( Col 1:18), is the principle of our own resurrection, even now by the justification of our souls…
659 "So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God." Christ's body was…
660 The veiled character of the glory of the Risen One during this time is intimated in his mysterious words to Mary Magdalene: "I have not yet…
661 This final stage stays closely linked to the first, that is, to his descent from heaven in the Incarnation. Only the one who "came from the…
662 "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." The lifting up of Jesus on the cross signifies and announces his…
663 Henceforth Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father : "By 'the Father's right hand' we understand the glory and honor of divinity,…
664 Being seated at the Father's right hand signifies the inauguration of the Messiah's kingdom, the fulfillment of the prophet Daniel's vision…
665 Christ's Ascension marks the definitive entrance of Jesus' humanity into God's heavenly domain, whence he will come again (cf. Acts 1:11);…
666 Jesus Christ, the head of the Church, precedes us into the Father's glorious kingdom so that we, the members of his Body, may live in the…
667 Jesus Christ, having entered the sanctuary of heaven once and for all, intercedes constantly for us as the mediator who assures us of the…
668 "Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." Christ's Ascension into heaven signifies his…
669 As Lord, Christ is also head of the Church, which is his Body. Taken up to heaven and glorified after he had thus fully accomplished his…
670 Since the Ascension God's plan has entered into its fulfillment. We are already at "the last hour". "Already the final age of the world is…
671 Though already present in his Church, Christ's reign is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled "with power and great glory" by the King's return…
672 Before his Ascension Christ affirmed that the hour had not yet come for the glorious establishment of the messianic kingdom awaited by…
673 Since the Ascension Christ's coming in glory has been imminent, even though "it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father…
674 The glorious Messiah's coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by "all Israel", for "a hardening has come upon…
675 Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that…
676 The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic…
677 The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and…
678 Following in the steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus announced the judgment of the Last Day in his preaching. Then will the…
679 Christ is Lord of eternal life. Full right to pass definitive judgment on the works and hearts of men belongs to him as redeemer of the…
680 Christ the Lord already reigns through the Church, but all the things of this world are not yet subjected to him. The triumph of Christ's…
681 On Judgment Day at the end of the world, Christ will come in glory to achieve the definitive triumph of good over evil which, like the…
682 When he comes at the end of time to judge the living and the dead, the glorious Christ will reveal the secret disposition of hearts and…
683 "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba ! Father!"'…
684 Through his grace, the Holy Spirit is the first to awaken faith in us and to communicate to us the new life, which is to "know the Father…
685 To believe in the Holy Spirit is to profess that the Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father…
686 The Holy Spirit is at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning to the completion of the plan for our salvation. But in these…
687 "No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." Now God's Spirit, who reveals God, makes known to us Christ, his Word,…
688 The Church, a communion living in the faith of the apostles which she transmits, is the place where we know the Holy Spirit: - in the…
689 The One whom the Father has sent into our hearts, the Spirit of his Son, is truly God. Consubstantial with the Father and the Son, the…
690 Jesus is Christ, "anointed," because the Spirit is his anointing, and everything that occurs from the Incarnation on derives from this…
691 "Holy Spirit" is the proper name of the one whom we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son. The Church has received this name from…
692 When he proclaims and promises the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls him the "Paraclete," literally, "he who is called to one's side,"…
693 Besides the proper name of "Holy Spirit," which is most frequently used in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles, we also find in…
694 Water . The symbolism of water signifies the Holy Spirit's action in Baptism, since after the invocation of the Holy Spirit it becomes the…
695 Anointing . The symbolism of anointing with oil also signifies the Holy Spirit, to the point of becoming a synonym for the Holy Spirit. In…
696 Fire . While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the…
697 Cloud and light . These two images occur together in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. In the theophanies of the Old Testament, the…
698 The seal is a symbol close to that of anointing. "The Father has set his seal" on Christ and also seals us in him. Because this seal…
699 The hand . Jesus heals the sick and blesses little children by laying hands on them. In his name the apostles will do the same. Even more…
700 The finger . "It is by the finger of God that [Jesus] cast out demons." If God's law was written on tablets of stone "by the finger of…

Paragraphs 601–700