CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
SECOND EDITION
Paragraphs 901–1000
- 901 "Hence the laity, dedicated as they are to Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit, are marvelously called and prepared so that even richer…
- 902 In a very special way, parents share in the office of sanctifying "by leading a conjugal life in the Christian spirit and by seeing to the…
- 903 Lay people who possess the required qualities can be admitted permanently to the ministries of lector and acolyte. When the necessity of…
- 904 "Christ . . . fulfills this prophetic office, not only by the hierarchy . . . but also by the laity. He accordingly both establishes them…
- 905 Lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, "that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life."…
- 906 Lay people who are capable and trained may also collaborate in catechetical formation, in teaching the sacred sciences, and in use of the…
- 907 "In accord with the knowledge, competence, and preeminence which they possess, [lay people] have the right and even at times a duty to…
- 908 By his obedience unto death, Christ communicated to his disciples the gift of royal freedom, so that they might "by the self-abnegation of…
- 909 "Moreover, by uniting their forces let the laity so remedy the institutions and conditions of the world when the latter are an inducement…
- 910 "The laity can also feel called, or be in fact called, to cooperate with their pastors in the service of the ecclesial community, for the…
- 911 In the Church, "lay members of the Christian faithful can cooperate in the exercise of this power [of governance] in accord with the norm…
- 912 The faithful should "distinguish carefully between the rights and the duties which they have as belonging to the Church and those which…
- 913 "Thus, every person, through these gifts given to him, is at once the witness and the living instrument of the mission of the Church itself…
- 914 "The state of life which is constituted by the profession of the evangelical counsels, while not entering into the hierarchical structure…
- 915 Christ proposes the evangelical counsels, in their great variety, to every disciple. The perfection of charity, to which all the faithful…
- 916 The state of consecrated life is thus one way of experiencing a "more intimate" consecration, rooted in Baptism and dedicated totally to…
- 917 "From the God-given seed of the counsels a wonderful and wide-spreading tree has grown up in the field of the Lord, branching out into…
- 918 From the very beginning of the Church there were men and women who set out to follow Christ with greater liberty, and to imitate him more…
- 919 Bishops will always strive to discern new gifts of consecrated life granted to the Church by the Holy Spirit; the approval of new forms of…
- 920 Without always professing the three evangelical counsels publicly, hermits "devote their life to the praise of God and salvation of the…
- 921 They manifest to everyone the interior aspect of the mystery of the Church, that is, personal intimacy with Christ. Hidden from the eyes of…
- 922 From apostolic times Christian virgins and widows, called by the Lord to cling only to him with greater freedom of heart, body, and spirit,…
- 923 "Virgins who, committed to the holy plan of following Christ more closely, are consecrated to God by the diocesan bishop according to the…
- 924 "As with other forms of consecrated life," the order of virgins establishes the woman living in the world (or the nun) in prayer, penance,…
- 925 Religious life was born in the East during the first centuries of Christianity. Lived within institutes canonically erected by the Church,…
- 926 Religious life derives from the mystery of the Church. It is a gift she has received from her Lord, a gift she offers as a stable way of…
- 927 All religious, whether exempt or not, take their place among the collaborators of the diocesan bishop in his pastoral duty. From the outset…
- 928 "A secular institute is an institute of consecrated life in which the Christian faithful living in the world strive for the perfection of…
- 929 By a "life perfectly and entirely consecrated to [such] sanctification," the members of these institutes share in the Church's task of…
- 930 Alongside the different forms of consecrated life are "societies of apostolic life whose members without religious vows pursue the…
- 931 Already dedicated to him through Baptism, the person who surrenders himself to the God he loves above all else thereby consecrates himself…
- 932 In the Church, which is like the sacrament- the sign and instrument - of God's own life, the consecrated life is seen as a special sign of…
- 933 Whether their witness is public, as in the religious state, or less public, or even secret, Christ's coming remains for all those…
- 934 "Among the Christian faithful by divine institution there exist in the Church sacred ministers, who are also called clerics in law, and…
- 935 To proclaim the faith and to plant his reign, Christ sends his apostles and their successors. He gives them a share in his own mission.…
- 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,…
- 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…
- 939 Helped by the priests, their co-workers, and by the deacons, the bishops have the duty of authentically teaching the faith, celebrating…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 943 By virtue of their kingly mission, lay people have the power to uproot the rule of sin within themselves and in the world, by their…
- 944 The life consecrated to God is characterized by the public profession of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, in a…
- 945 Already destined for him through Baptism, the person who surrenders himself to the God he loves above all else thereby consecrates himself…
- 946 After confessing "the holy catholic Church," the Apostles' Creed adds "the communion of saints." In a certain sense this article is a…
- 947 "Since all the faithful form one body, the good of each is communicated to the others. . . . We must therefore believe that there exists a…
- 948 The term "communion of saints" therefore has two closely linked meanings: communion in holy things ( sancta )" and "among holy persons (…
- 949 In the primitive community of Jerusalem, the disciples "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the…
- 950 Communion of the sacraments . "The fruit of all the sacraments belongs to all the faithful. All the sacraments are sacred links uniting the…
- 951 Communion of charisms . Within the communion of the Church, the Holy Spirit "distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank"…
- 952 "They had everything in common." "Everything the true Christian has is to be regarded as a good possessed in common with everyone else. All…
- 953 Communion in charity . In the sanctorum communio, "None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself." "If one member suffers,…
- 954 The three states of the Church . "When the Lord comes in glory, and all his angels with him, death will be no more and all things will be…
- 955 "So it is that the union of the wayfarers with the brethren who sleep in the peace of Christ is in no way interrupted, but on the contrary,…
- 956 The intercession of the saints . "Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in…
- 957 Communion with the saints . "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven; we seek, rather, that…
- 958 Communion with the dead . "In full consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim…
- 959 In the one family of God . "For if we continue to love one another and to join in praising the Most Holy Trinity - all of us who are sons…
- 960 The Church is a "communion of saints": this expression refers first to the "holy things" ( sancta ), above all the Eucharist, by which "the…
- 961 The term "communion of saints" refers also to the communion of "holy persons" ( sancti ) in Christ who "died for all," so that what each…
- 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…
- 963 Since the Virgin Mary's role in the mystery of Christ and the Spirit has been treated, it is fitting now to consider her place in the…
- 964 Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in…
- 965 After her Son's Ascension, Mary "aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers." In her association with the apostles and several…
- 966 "Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken…
- 967 By her complete adherence to the Father's will, to his Son's redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is…
- 968 Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. "In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience,…
- 969 "This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and…
- 970 "Mary's function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. But the…
- 971 " All generations will call me blessed ": "The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship." The Church…
- 972 After speaking of the Church, her origin, mission, and destiny, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her we…
- 973 By pronouncing her "fiat" at the Annunciation and giving her consent to the Incarnation, Mary was already collaborating with the whole work…
- 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…
- 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…
- 976 The Apostle's Creed associates faith in the forgiveness of sins not only with faith in the Holy Spirit, but also with faith in the Church…
- 977 Our Lord tied the forgiveness of sins to faith and Baptism: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who…
- 978 "When we made our first profession of faith while receiving the holy Baptism that cleansed us, the forgiveness we received then was so full…
- 979 In this battle against our inclination towards evil, who could be brave and watchful enough to escape every wound of sin? "If the Church…
- 980 It is through the sacrament of Penance that the baptized can be reconciled with God and with the Church: Penance has rightly been called by…
- 981 After his Resurrection, Christ sent his apostles "so that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all…
- 982 There is no offense, however serious, that the Church cannot forgive. "There is no one, however wicked and guilty, who may not confidently…
- 983 Catechesis strives to awaken and nourish in the faithful faith in the incomparable greatness of the risen Christ's gift to his Church: the…
- 984 The Creed links "the forgiveness of sins" with its profession of faith in the Holy Spirit, for the risen Christ entrusted to the apostles…
- 985 Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of the forgiveness of sins: it unites us to Christ, who died and rose, and gives us the Holy…
- 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…
- 987 "In the forgiveness of sins, both priests and sacraments are instruments which our Lord Jesus Christ, the only author and liberal giver of…
- 988 The Christian Creed - the profession of our faith in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and in God's creative, saving, and…
- 989 We firmly believe, and hence we hope that, just as Christ is truly risen from the dead and lives for ever, so after death the righteous…
- 990 The term "flesh" refers to man in his state of weakness and mortality. The "resurrection of the flesh" (the literal formulation of the…
- 991 Belief in the resurrection of the dead has been an essential element of the Christian faith from its beginnings. "The confidence of…
- 992 God revealed the resurrection of the dead to his people progressively. Hope in the bodily resurrection of the dead established itself as a…
- 993 The Pharisees and many of the Lord's contemporaries hoped for the resurrection. Jesus teaches it firmly. To the Sadducees who deny it he…
- 994 But there is more. Jesus links faith in the resurrection to his own person: "I am the Resurrection and the life." It is Jesus himself who…
- 995 To be a witness to Christ is to be a "witness to his Resurrection," to "[have eaten and drunk] with him after he rose from the dead."…
- 996 From the beginning, Christian faith in the resurrection has met with incomprehension and opposition. "On no point does the Christian faith…
- 997 What is "rising"? In death, the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting…
- 998 Who will rise? All the dead will rise, "those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the…
- 999 How? Christ is raised with his own body: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself"; but he did not return to an earthly life. So, in…
- 1000 This "how" exceeds our imagination and understanding; it is accessible only to faith. Yet our participation in the Eucharist already gives…