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THE FAITH OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH A Summary Edited by Bishop David Konstant
All booklets are published thanks to the generous support of the members of the Catholic Truth Society
CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY PUBLISHERS TO THE HOLY SEE
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“And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3). “God, our Saviour, desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:3-4). “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of pure goodness freely created the human race to share his blessed life and is close to us at all times and in all places. God calls and helps each person, all human beings, to seek, know and love him with all their strength. Through his Son, whom he sent in the fullness of time as the Redeemer and Saviour, the Father gathers all people, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. Through Christ and in him, the Father invites them to become his adopted children in the Holy Spirit and so heirs to his blessed life. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n.1)
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FOREWORD ß
The Catechism of the Catholic Church was solemnly promulgated by Blessed John Paul II on 11 October 1992, to the Church and to all peoples. But because of its vast scope this rich doctrinal treasure is not immediately and easily accessible to everyone. This shorter version presents the contents of the Catechism more briefly, in question and answer form. This Summary is for those who wish to gain a basic knowledge of the faith and moral teaching of the Catholic Church. Its purpose is to help clergy, teachers, catechists, enquirers and students (though it is not intended for children). The hope is that, by using this short book, many readers will be encouraged to explore the full text of the Catechism itself. Inevitably, an abbreviated version has not the balance and completeness of the full text, but it is hoped that this text will prove genuinely useful. In using this Summary the reader should keep in mind that its purpose is “to help deepen understanding of faith”, and that it is directed “towards the maturing of that faith, putting down roots in personal life, and shining forth in personal conduct” (CCC, n. 24). In other words readers may use this text to help them discover and grow in faith. It is a tool for evangelisation and catechesis.
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The order of treatment is that of the Catechism itself. It is faithful to its content, frequently quoting directly from it. In particular, a number of the ‘In Brief’ sections from the full text have been used. There is also an analytical index. References to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) are given at the beginning of each of the four main parts. I owe a large debt of gratitude to many people, and in particular to the author and publisher of the original work, to Andrew Summersgill who gave invaluable help with the translation, and to those who commented on the text and suggested improvements. I hope they are pleased with the final text. 9 David Konstant
Bishop Emeritus of Leeds
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Contents PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH ..............................9 “I believe, we believe” .....................................................10 1: Our openness to God .....................................................10 2: God comes among us ....................................................10 3: Our response ..................................................................12 The Profession of the Christian Faith ............................14 1: God the Father ...............................................................14 “I believe in God the Father almighty...” ...................14 2: Jesus Christ ....................................................................19 “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord...” ..19 “...conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit...” ........20 “...suffered under Pontius Pilate...” ............................24 “...descended into hell, on the third day he rose...” ....26 “...he ascended into heaven...” ...................................28 “...from whence he will come to judge...” ...................29 3: The Holy Spirit ..............................................................30 “I believe in the Holy Spirit” ......................................30 “I believe in the holy Catholic Church” .....................31 “I believe in the forgiveness of sin” ............................40 “I believe in the resurrection of the body” .................41 “I believe in eternal life” ............................................43 PART TWO: CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY ..47 Sacraments and Liturgy ..................................................48 The Seven Sacraments of the Church ............................50 1: The Sacraments of Christian Initiation ..........................50 Baptism .......................................................................50 l
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Confirmation ...............................................................53 Eucharist .....................................................................54 2: The Sacraments of Healing ...........................................59 Penance .......................................................................59 Anointing of the Sick ...................................................64 3: Sacraments at the Service of Communion ....................66 Orders .........................................................................66 Marriage .....................................................................69 4: Other Liturgical Celebrations ........................................73 PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST ...........................................75 The Human Calling: Life in the Spirit ..........................76 1: The Dignity of the Human Person .................................76 In the image of God .....................................................76 Our vocation to blessedness ........................................77 Human freedom ...........................................................79 The morality of human acts .........................................80 The morality of the passions .......................................81 Conscience ..................................................................82 Virtue ...........................................................................83 Sin ...............................................................................85 2: The Human Community ................................................87 The individual and society ..........................................87 Sharing in the life of society ........................................89 Social justice ...............................................................90 3: God’s salvation: law and grace .....................................92 The moral law .............................................................92 Grace and justification ................................................94 l
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The Church, mother and teacher ................................97 The Ten Commandments ................................................99 1: “You shall love the Lord your God...” ........................101 The First Commandment ...........................................101 The Second Commandment .......................................103 The Third Commandment .........................................104 2: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” ..............105 The Fourth Commandment .......................................105 The Fifth Commandment ...........................................107 The Sixth Commandment ..........................................109 The Seventh Commandment ......................................111 The Eighth Commandment ........................................114 The Ninth Commandment .........................................117 The Tenth Commandment .........................................118 PART FOUR: CHRISTIAN PRAYER ....................................119 Prayer in Daily Life .......................................................121 The revelation of prayer ............................................121 The tradition of prayer ..............................................123 The life of prayer .......................................................126 The Lord’s prayer: “Our Father” ...............................129 A summary of the whole Gospel ................................129 Our Father who art in heaven ..................................130 The seven petitions ....................................................132 SOME DAILY PRAYERS .....................................................135 GENERAL INDEX ..............................................................146 GLOSSARY ........................................................................149 DOCUMENTS QUOTED ......................................................159 l
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The Good Shepherd, early Christian period in marble. Museo Cristiano Lateranese, Rome, Italy.
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PART ONE ß
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH ß
The material in this part is treated in the same order as the Catechism of the Catholic Church itself, as follows: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH: PART 1, §§ 26-1065 “I believe, we believe”: Section 1, §§ 26-184 l
Our openness to God: Chapter 1, §§ 27-49.
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God comes among us: Chapter 2, §§ 50-141.
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Our response: Chapter 3, §§ 142-184.
The Profession of Christian Faith: Section 2, §§ 185-1065 l
God the Father: Chapter 1, §§ 185-421.
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Jesus Christ: Chapter 2, §§ 422-682.
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The Holy Spirit: Chapter 3, §§ 683-1065.
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“I BELIEVE, WE BELIEVE” ß
OUR OPENNESS TO GOD 1. How can we find true happiness? By nature and by calling, we are religious beings. We come from God and return to God. Everyone is created to live in communion with him. Our hearts are restless until they rest in him. Thus it is only with God that we can find true and full happiness (see nn. 226, 400). 2. Can we know God by reason? By the light of reason we can come to know God and to be certain that he exists. 3. How can we know and speak of God? If we are to know God, we must listen to the message of creation and to the voice of conscience. The infinite variety of creation reflects God’s infinite perfection and helps us speak of God. However, the limitations of both language and of our own understanding means that we can never exhaust the mystery of his being: “If you understood him, he would not be God” (St Augustine). GOD COMES AMONG US 4. Has God spoken to mankind? God has shown and given himself to us through love: this is called Divine Revelation. God himself is the complete response to all our questions about the meaning and purpose of life.
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5. When has God spoken to us? God showed himself to our first parents, Adam and Eve, at the very beginning of time. After their fall into sin, he made a binding promise (his Covenant) that salvation would in time be found. Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, is the fullness of God’s revelation of himself to us (see nn. 39 ff.). 6. Where is divine revelation to be found? Divine revelation is found in the Bible (called Sacred Scripture), and in Tradition. 7. What is Sacred Scripture? Sacred Scripture consists of the writings of the Bible inspired by God. These are the 46 books of the Old Testament, and the 27 books of the New Testament. 8. Who is the author of Scripture? There are many different human writers of Scripture who wrote under God’s inspiration. But the one true author of Scripture is God himself. Thus we can be sure that these writings contain, without error, the truths of our salvation. 9. What is Apostolic Tradition? Apostolic Tradition is the teaching given by Christ the Lord and by the Holy Spirit to the apostles that has come down to us in the Church.
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10. Who can interpret the Bible and Tradition authoritatively? The written or spoken word of God can be interpreted authoritatively only by the living teaching authority of the Church (the Magisterium), that is, by the Pope and by the bishops acting together with him (see n. 205). OUR RESPONSE 11. How should we respond to God’s call? We should respond to God’s call above all by an act of faith. 12. What is faith? Faith is a gift from God which enables us to respond freely, through our intellect and will, to divine revelation. (see n. 261) 13. Is it necessary to believe in order to be saved? Faith is necessary for salvation. As the Lord himself says: “Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16:16).
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14. Is there a brief expression of the truths we ought to believe? There are various formulas of the truths of the faith. One such brief and ancient expression of faith is the “Symbol of the Apostles”, or the Apostles’ Creed: I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints. the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.