Catechism of the Catholic Church Presenting an Organic Synthesis (11-12)

(Simplified) This catechism draws from the Scriptures,

the Church Fathers, the liturgy and the Church's
Prologue Magisterium, and presents an organic synthesis
of fundamental Catholic doctrines. Hopefully, it
Three Truths (1-25) will help the faithful and those responsible for
Scripture gives three clear truths: catechesis.

1. Eternal life is to know God and Jesus The Four Pillars (13)
whom he sent (Jn 17:3) The great Tradition of Catholic Catechesis is built
2. God wills all to be saved and to know the upon four pillars:
truth (1 Tim 2:3-4)
3. All are saved only in the name of Jesus 1. The Creed
(Acts 4:12) 2. The Sacraments
3. The Commandments
God Comes Close to Man in Jesus (1-3) 4. The Our Father (The Lord's Prayer)
God created man to share in his blessings.
God always comes close to man and calls man to
seek him. To gather men (scattered by sin) God
sent Jesus, his only Son. In Jesus he invites men to Part 1: Profession of Faith
become his adopted children and heirs of eternal
life. Chapter 1: Man’s Capacity for God

Jesus sent his disciples to preach and to I Believe (26)

baptize, so everyone would know God's call (Mt Understanding what "to believe" means:
28:18-20). The apostles "preached everywhere"
and the Lord "confirmed the message by the signs 1. Man's search for God (Chapter One)
that attended it" (Mk 16:20). 2. God coming to man by Revelation
(Chapter Two)
Those who heard must now proclaim this
3. Man responding in faith (Chapter Three)
apostolic Good News, (faithfully preserved in the
Church) and hand it on to each new generation.
Called to Search for God (27-28)
Catechesis - The Making of Disciples (4-5) God has placed a desire for himself in
Catechesis is the Church's efforts to make every person. He draws man to himself and
disciples and to instruct them. Catechesis must facilitates man's search. Man is called to speak
impart Christian teaching in a full and systematic with God and be in communion with him
way. (Second Vatican Council).

Catechesis builds upon other parts of Historically, man's religious beliefs have
Church life (missionary preaching, apologetics, been expressed in diverse ways. These religious
Christian living, sacraments, etc) in gaining new expressions show that man is a "religious being."
members and in deepening their inner growth. "God made all peoples that they would search for
him" (Acts 17:26-27).
Previous Catechisms (6-10)
Inhibiting Factors (29-30)
Renewal in the Church is always
accompanied by intense Catechesis. Excellent Many factors (ignorance, evil, desire for
catechetical works were written by St. Cyril of riches, bad example, teachings hostile to religion)
Jerusalem, St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose and lead man to reject his "vital bond to God." Out of
St. Augustine (among others). fear, man hides himself (Gen 3:8-10).

The Roman Catechism (Council of Trent) God still calls man to seek him, and every
gave rise to the works of St. Charles Borromeo, St. person must search for God with his intellect, will
Peter Canisius, and St. Robert Bellarmine. and "an upright heart." "You have made us for
yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in
After the second Vatican Council, the you" (St. Augustine).
Extraordinary Synod of Bishops asked for a
catechism of all Catholic doctrines.
Proofs for God's Existence (31-32) Describing God (41-43)
Proofs for God's existence come from We begin to describe God according to his
arguments which converge, convince and provide creatures (which reflect his goodness).
ways for man to know God. These proofs are
found in the physical world and man's inner We also "purify" our language because
world. human words fall short in describing him.

Paul writes clearly: "What can be known is Although limited, our language can still
evident to them (pagans) because God made it attain to God (sometimes expressing only what
evident to them. He is perceived in what he has God is not).
made" (Rom 1:19-20). Augustine states that all
human beauty is a witness to God.

Proofs from within the Person (33) Chapter 2: God Comes to Meet Man
Man is endowed with a sense of moral
goodness. By his conscience, man asks about Beyond Human Knowledge (50)
God's existence. This shows that man has a Fortunately, God has revealed his eternal
spiritual soul (the seed of eternity) which comes plan by sending his Son, Jesus Christ, and the
directly from God. Holy Spirit (a mystery revealed only in this final
age).
So the world and the human person can
begin to exist, they must participate in a Being God Wants Man to Come near in Jesus (51-53)
Who has no origin and no end. The person must God wants all men to have access to him
realize that the goal of human existence is God through Christ and in the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:9,
himself. 2:18).

The Power of Reason (35) Although "dwelling in unapproachable

Man can reason to the existence of a light" (1 Tim 6:16), God wants to communicate his
personal God. However, God has also chosen to life to man. Man can share in God's nature and
reveal himself. Rational proofs can show that live beyond his natural capacity.
revealed truths are not opposed to reason.
God's revelation culminated in the person
Reason's Power and Limits (36-38) and mission of Jesus Christ. "The Word of God
Man, by reason alone, can know that God became the Son of man in order to accustom man
exists through the created world which God has to perceive God and to accustom God to dwell in
made (First Vatican Council). Therefore, man can man" (St. Irenaeus).
accept God's revelation.
Revelation Not Destroyed by Sin (54-55)
However, serious obstacles exist. First, God manifested himself to our first
religious truths cannot be seen. Second, religious parents and clothed them with grace.
truths demand self-sacrifice. Third, man
experiences inner disordered appetites. Man is Even sin did not ruin God's plan because
easily persuaded to consider as false what he he immediately promised redemption (Gen 3:15).
does not want to acknowledge as true (Pius XII - "Again and again you offered a Covenant to man"
Humani Genesis). (Eucharistic Prayer IV).

Therefore, man needs revealed truths, Salvation to People Groups (56-58)

even those which man can grasp by reason (such Sin shattered man's unity. However, God
as God's existence). said to Noah, "I am establishing my Covenant
with you and your descendants after you" (Gen
The Limits of Human Language (39-40) 9:9). God planned salvation according to groups,
The intellect (unaided by the Bible) can "each with its own language, by their families, in
grasp some truths about God. Therefore, a their nations" (Gen 10:5).
dialogue with all peoples (atheists, philosophers,
etc.) is possible. This division into nations was cosmic,
social and religious. However, God's plan was
Yet, we are limited and can speak about always threatened by polytheism and idolatry.
God only with human language.
 This Covenant with Noah remained in Intact and Transmitted (74-75)
effect until the proclamation of the Gospel and God wants everyone to be saved through
brought forth many holy people (the just Abel, Jesus Christ (1 Tim 2:4), who must be proclaimed
the king priest Melchizedek, Noah, Daniel, and to all nations. Therefore, God has kept this
Job). revelation intact to be transmitted to all ages
(Second Vatican Council).
Gathered Together in Abraham (59-61)
To gather scattered humanity, God chose Christ commanded his disciples to preach
Abram and named him Abraham, "the father of the Gospel (Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15).
many nations" (Gen 17:5).
Two Forms (76)
His descendents (Israel) prepared for the The Gospel was transmitted in two ways:
Church and were the root onto which the Gentiles
were grafted (Rom 11:17-24). 1. Orally - By their preaching, good
example, and establishing institutions, the
From Moses to the Prophets (62-64) apostles passed on what they heard from
God freed his people from Egypt, made a Christ or were taught by the Spirit.
Covenant with them (through Moses on Mt. 2. In writing - The apostles and others
Sinai) and gave them his law. (under the Spirit's inspiration) put this
message into writing.
Israel is God's priestly people, the first to
hear God's Word. The Bishops and Tradition (77-79)
The apostles established bishops as their
Through the prophets, God proclaimed a
successors with the authority to teach. This
radical redemption and told his people to await a
apostolic preaching, especially as expressed in the
new Covenant (Jer 31:31-34). In the Old
inspired books, must be preserved through a
Testament, God used many women to keep
continuous line of apostolic succession.
Israel's hopes alive (Sarah, Rebecca, Judith,
Esther, etc.). Among these, Mary is the purest
This living transmission is called
figure.
Tradition. It is distinct from, yet closely united
with, Sacred Scripture.

God's revelation will always remain active

Christ Jesus - Fullness of All Revelation
and present in the Church because God still
speaks to the Church, and the Spirit still leads
God's Final and Complete Word (65-66)
believers into full truth.
In the last days, God "has spoken to us by
a Son" (Heb 1:1-2). In his own unsurpassable Same Source and Goal (80)
Word, God has said everything. There will be no
Both Sacred Tradition and Sacred
other word. "In giving us his Son, he spoke
Scripture (which are bound closely together) flow
everything to us. He has no more to say" (St. John
from a common source and have the same goal.
of the Cross).
They make present the mystery of Christ who
always remains with the Church.
Because this plan of salvation will never
pass away, there will be no new public revelation
Two Modes - Scripture and Tradition (81-82)
(Second Vatican Council). However, much in
Sacred Scripture is God's speech written
Christian revelation is not yet completely explicit.
under the breath of the Holy Spirit. Tradition
Private Revelations (67) transmits, in its entirety, the Word of God to the
apostles' successors.
"Private revelations" (discerned and
welcomed by the Church) do not complete
The Church does not derive her certainty
Christ's definitive Revelation. Rather, they help
about revealed truths from Scripture alone. Both
believers in a certain historical period to live
Scripture and Tradition must be equally honored.
Christ's revelation more fully. The Church rejects
those revelations (associated with non-Christian What the Apostles Learned (83)
religions and recent sects) which claim to surpass
This Tradition comes from what the
or correct Christ's revelation.
apostles learned from Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
The first generation Church had no written New The People of God, guided by Church's
Testament and the New Testament itself shows Magisterium, can adhere to these truths and
the process of a living Tradition. This Tradition apply them in daily living.
must be distinguished from various types of
traditions (liturgical, theological, etc.) which grew Ways of Growing in Faith (94-95)
up in local churches and is subject to Church Faith grows by the study of believers, by
Magisterium. theological research, by reading the Scriptures
and by preaching.

Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and

Interpretation of the Faith Heritage the Magisterium of the Church are so connected
that one cannot stand without the others.
Faithful to the Teaching (84)
By adhering to this Tradition, the people God Uses Words to Speak (101-104)
remain faithful to the apostolic teaching. Thus, Just as the Lord Jesus took the nature of
there should be a remarkable harmony between man, so God speaks to us in the words of men.
the bishops and the faithful.
Throughout Sacred Scripture, God speaks
An Authentic Interpretation (85-87) one Word which expresses himself completely.
Giving an authentic interpretation of "One and the same Word of God extends
God's Word (written or oral) belongs to the throughout Scripture. One and the same
teaching office of the Church, that is, to the utterance resounds in the mouths of all the sacred
bishops in communion with the Pope, who writers" (St. Augustine).
exercise their authority in Jesus' name.
Therefore, the Church venerates the
This Magisterium is not superior to God's Scripture as she does the Lord's Body. She feeds
Word, because the Church teaches what has been all the faithful from the one table of God's Word
handed down by the Spirit, expounding God's and Christ's Body.
Word from the single deposit of faith.
Written by God (105)
By their docility to their pastors, the God is the author of Sacred Scripture
faithful hear the words of Christ: "He who hears because it has been written under the guidance of
you, hears me" (Lk 10:16). the Holy Spirit. The Church accepts as sacred and
canonical all of the books of the Old and New
Dogmas - Proposed Truths (88-90) Testament, whole and entire, with all their parts.
The Church proposes truths which are
actually contained in or have a necessary Who Used Human Authors (106-108)
connection with Divine Revelation. The faithful God chose and inspired certain men who
must adhere to these dogmas by faith. used their own powers in writing. The Spirit
showed them what he wanted written and no
Dogmas and the spiritual life are more. They were still true authors.
connected because dogma illuminates the path of
holiness. The person should welcome this light. Because all that the human author wrote
was affirmed by the Spirit, these books teach
All dogmas are connected and coherent. faithfully and without error what God wanted to
They have a "hierarchy" since they vary in their reveal for our salvation.
relationship to the Church's foundation.
Nevertheless, the Christian faith is not a
Inability to Err (91-93) "religion of the book" but of the living Word of
All the faithful, anointed by the Spirit, can God (Jesus).
understand and hand on these truths.

When the bishops and the faithful, by

their supernatural appreciation of faith (sensus The Holy Spirit - Interpreter of Scripture
fidei) manifest a universal consent in matters of
faith or morals, the whole body of the faithful
cannot err.
Attentiveness and Study Needed (109-110) The Old Testament was oriented to
The correct interpretation of Scripture prepare for Christ and the books are a storehouse
demands attentiveness to what the human author of sublime teaching and sound wisdom.
wanted to say and to what God wanted to reveal.
The Church always venerated the Old
Discovering the human author's intention Testament books and condemned Marcionism (a
demands a study of the culture, the modes of heresy claiming that the Old Testament was
narrating, and the different forms of writing void).
(history, poetry, prophecy, etc.).
Gospels - The Heart of the New Testament (124-
Three Criteria (111-114) 125)
Scripture must be interpreted in light of the The central object of the New Testament is
Spirit who wrote the Scriptures. Correct the acts, passion, and glorification of Jesus Christ
interpretation requires that the reader: and his Church's beginnings under the Spirit.

1. Be attentive to the "content and unity of The Gospels are the heart of all the
the whole Scripture." God's plan (in the Scriptures and the principle source of Christ's life
Old and New Testament) has a unity in and teachings.
Christ. "Sacred Scripture, like the ‘heart of
Christ' was closed before the Passion. Three Stages of Formation (126-127)
Since the Passion, the Scriptures have The Gospel's formation had three stages:
been opened" (St. Thomas Aquinas).
2. Read the Scriptures within the Church's 1. What Jesus did while living among us
living Tradition. "According to the 2. What the Church, under the Spirit's
spiritual meaning which the Spirit grants power, taught orally about Jesus after his
to the Church" (Origin). Ascension
3. Apply the "analogy of faith" (the 3. What the four authors selected to be
coherence of all truths among themselves written and which was shaped according
and within God's plan). to the situation of their churches

Three Spiritual Senses (115-119) The Gospels have a unique place in the lives
Scripture has both a literal sense (the words of the saints. "There is no doctrine which could be
themselves) and three different spiritual senses: better than the text of the Gospel" (St. Caesarea
the Younger). "Mainly the Gospels occupy my
1. Allegorical sense - Recognizing events in mind. I am always finding fresh lights, hidden
the light of Christ (the parting of the Red and enthralling meanings" (St. Therese of
Sea) as a sign of Baptism Lisieux).
2. Moral sense - Using as a help to act justly
3. Anagogical sense - Seeing the truths in Old and New - Light for Each Other (128-130)
light of eternal happiness The Church has shown the unity of God's
plan by seeing Old Testament "types" which
All interpretation is subject to the Church and prefigure what Christ accomplished.
exegetes must help the Church form a firmer
judgment. "I believe in the Gospel because of the Because the Old Testament retains its own
authority of the Church" (St. Augustine). intrinsic value, the New Testament must be read
in light of the Old (as the early Christians always
The Canon of Scripture did). "The New Testament lies hidden in the Old
and the Old is unveiled in the New" (St.
Seventy-three Inspired Books (120) Augustine).
Based upon the apostolic Tradition, the
Church discerned 73 inspired books (46 Old Old Testament events (such as the call of
Testament books and 27 New Testament books). the Patriarchs and the Exodus) have value in
The list of these books is in the Appendix. God's plan even though they were intermediate
stages.
Permanent Value of Old Testament (121-123)
The Old Testament books are divinely
inspired and have permanent value.
Life in God's Word (131-133) A Unique, Personal Adherence (150)
Everyone must have access to the Bible. Faith is a personal adherence to God and a
The Word of God must be the soul of theology (in free assent to all that God has revealed. Because
all its forms) and of the ministry of the Word. we entrust ourselves fully to God, it is different
from any faith we place in a human person.
Especially, the homily must be nourished
by Scripture.

By reading Scripture, the faithful learn the Characteristics of Faith

"surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ."
"Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of To the Beloved Son (151)
Christ" (St. Jerome).
For a Christian, believing in God must be
joined to a faith in Jesus, who is God's "Beloved
Son." Jesus himself commanded, "Believe in God
and believe also in me" (Jn 14:1). We believe
Man's Response to God
because Jesus is the "Word made flesh" (Jn 1:14)
Faith and Obedience (142-144) and "has seen the Father" (Jn 6:46).
By revelation, God calls men. And to the Spirit (152)
By faith, man responds to God's Only through the Holy Spirit can a person
invitation. By this "obedience of faith" (Rom 1:5) believe in Jesus. "No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord,'
man submits his will and intellect to God, the except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 12:3). The Spirit
Revealer, because God guarantees its truth. is God because "He searches the depths of God"
(1 Cor 2:10-11). Only God can know God
Abraham is the model of this obedience completely.
and Mary is the most perfect embodiment of this
submission. A Free Gift (153)
Peter proclaimed that Jesus was the
Abraham (145-146) Christ. Jesus said that this knowledge was
Abraham went as a pilgrim to a strange revealed by "My Father who is in heaven" (Mt
land, even when he did not know where he was 16:17). Therefore, faith is a free gift from God,
going. After his wife Sarah conceived by faith, which makes it easy to accept and believe the
Abraham was willing in faith to sacrifice his son, truth.
Isaac (Heb 11:17).
Intellect Assenting to Truth (154-155)
Being "strong in faith" Abraham became Faith is also an authentically human act
the "father of all who believe" (Rom 4:11). which does not violate man's dignity. In human
affairs we trust the word of others (as when a
Jesus - The Perfecter (147) couple exchanges wedding vows). Therefore,
Although Hebrews praises the many Old man can certainly trust God, with whom he
Testament persons who "received divine shares an interior communion.
approval," the author says that "something better"
awaits us, namely, Jesus the "perfecter of our By faith, man's will (aided by God)
faith" (Heb 12:2). commands his intellect to assent to a divine truth
(St. Thomas Aquinas).
Mary - The Purest Realization (148-149)
God Supplies Motives (156)
By the "obedience of faith" Mary
welcomed the angel and gave her consent: "Let it Faith does not result from the truths
be done to me according to your Word" (Lk 1:37- appearing naturally intelligible but from the
38). Elizabeth praised her for believing that "The authority of God who cannot deceive. Certainly,
Word spoken to you would be fulfilled" (1:45). God supplies external proofs to help our natural
Because of her faith, Mary is blessed by all powers (such as Christ's miracles and the
generations to come (1:48). Church's growth). These motives of credibility
show that faith is not "a blind impulse." These
Because Mary's faith never wavered, the external helps aid the Spirit's internal
Church venerates her as the purest realization of promptings.
faith.
Greater than Human Light (157) We must turn especially to Mary who
Although revealed truths might be experienced a "night of faith" at the cross.
obscure, faith is more certain than human
knowledge because it is based upon God's Word.
"The certainty of divine light is greater than the
light of natural reason" (St. Thomas Aquinas). We Believe
"Ten thousand difficulties do not make one
doubt" (Cardinal Newman). Receiving Faith from Others (166-167)
Although faith is a personal act, the
Seeking to Understand (158) believer does not act in isolation. Having received
Because "faith seeks understanding," the human life from others, the believer also receives
person should want a more penetrating faith from others, and passes it on to others.
knowledge of God's Revelation. Paul wants "the
eyes of your hearts to be enlightened" (Eph 1:18). The Apostles Creed begins with "I believe"
The believer should see the totality of God's plan ( the act of the individual believer). The Nicene
and the union of revealed truths in Christ: "I Creed begins with "We believe," the faith of the
believe in order to understand, and I understand, Church expressed by all at Mass.
the better to believe" (St. Augustine).
The Church's Faith (168-169)
Faith and Science (159) First, the Church believes and professes
The truths of faith and of science cannot the Lord. Later, the person (won over by the
contradict one another because God is the source Church) can say, "I believe." "What do you ask of
of all truth. True research done in a scientific God's Church?" asks the baptismal liturgy. The
manner will never contradict moral laws. Man's answer is "faith" which offers "eternal life."
persevering investigation of creation is really led
The Church is not the author of salvation.
by God.
This comes from God alone. We do not believe in
Freely Chosen Yet Required (160-161) the Church as if she is the author of our salvation.
We believe that through the Church we receive
Because God wants man to respond freely,
our salvation.
no one can be coerced to believe. Christ bore
witness to the truth but never forced people into
The Need for Formulas (170-171)
the kingdom.
Also, we do not believe in the formulas of
Faith in Jesus (and in the Father who sent the Creeds but in the realities expressed by these
him) is absolutely required to attain eternal life. formulas. However, the formulations help us to
The person must persevere in this faith to the end approach these realities, to live the faith.
of life. "Without faith it is impossible to please
The Church guards Christ's own words,
God" (Heb 11:6).
hands on the apostolic confessions of faith, and
Can Be Lost (162) teaches her children the "language of faith."
In order not to lose faith the believer must
Transmitting the One Faith (172-175)
be nourished by the Word of God. Paul wrote
Through all these centuries and cultures,
that "Certain persons have made shipwreck of
the Church has transmitted one faith, believing
their faith" (1 Tim 1:18-19). Final perseverance
that all people have "one Lord, one faith, one
requires a faith "working through charity" (Gal
Baptism" (Eph 4:4).
5:6).
Having received faith from the apostles,
Will Be Tested (163-165)
the Church hands on this faith with a unanimous
By faith we can "taste in advance" the joys
voice.
of seeing God face to face. "It is as if we already
possessed the wonderful things our faith assures Though languages differ throughout the
us of" (St. Basil). world, the content of the Tradition is one and the
same. One and the same way of salvation appears
Unfortunately, faith is often tested.
throughout the whole world (St. Irenaeus).
During earthly trials, heaven seems far away.
When experiences of evil shake our faith, we
must "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7).
 "We guard with care this faith because this
deposit of a great price causes the very vessel that
contains it to be renewed" (St. Irenaeus).

The Creeds

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus
Christ his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived
by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the
Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried. He The Greek word "symbol" means the broken
descended into hell. On the third day he rose half of an object which, when pieced together
again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at with the other half, verifies the communion of the
the right hand of the Father. He will come again believers.
to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the
Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the This creed has three parts - of the Father and
Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the creation, of the Son and redemption, and of the
Resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Spirit and sanctification. "These are the three
Amen. chapters of our baptismal seal" (St. Irenaeus).

The Nicene Creed Articles of Faith (191)

We believe in one God, the Father, the Church Fathers called these truths the
Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that "articles of faith" joined together as members of a
is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus body. An early tradition speaks of the Creed
Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of containing twelve articles, symbolizing the
the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true number of the apostles.
God from true God, begotten not made, one in
Being with the Father. Through him all things Numerous Creeds (192-193)
were made. For us men and for our salvation he There have been numerous Church
came down from heaven: by the power of the Creeds which respond to special needs, such as
Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and the Athenasian Creed, the symbol of the Council
became man. For our sake he was crucified under of Trent, and the Credo of the People of God
Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. (Pope Paul VI).
On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of
the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is Although no creed is ever superseded or
seated at the right hand of the Father. He will irrelevant, two creeds have a special place in the
come again in glory to judge the living and the Church.
dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We
believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of The Two Special Creeds (194-197)
life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Apostles Creed is the ancient
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome.
glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic The Nicene Creed has its authority from
Church. We acknowledge one Baptism for the the first two ecumenical councils (Nicea and
forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection Constantinople).
of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Amen. This catechism will follow the Apostles
Creed, but will refer frequently to the often more
The Need for Creeds (185-186) explicit Nicene Creed. "
A communion in faith requires a common
"This Creed is the treasure of our soul" (St.
language. Therefore, whoever says "I believe"
Ambrose).
pledges himself to what others believe.

Especially for baptismal candidates, the

Church wanted summaries which expressed all
the essential elements. "This summary of faith
encompassed in a few words the whole
knowledge of the true religion contained in the
Old and New Testaments" (St. Cyril of God the Father Almighty
Jerusalem).
God - Father - Creation (198)
Various Names (187-190)
The Creed begins with God (the beginning
These syntheses have various names: and end of all creation), with the Father (the first
Divine Person), and with creation (the first of
1. Profession of faith - What the believer God's works).
must profess
2. Creed - From "credo" meaning I believe
3. Symbol of faith
First Truth - God (199) was there in the past (the God of your fathers)
"I believe in God" is the most fundamental and he will always be there. "I will be with you"
affirmation, because the whole Creed speaks of (Ex 3:6, 12).
God, and man's relationship to him.
Awe and Respect (208-209)
God is One (200-201) In God's mysterious presence, Moses saw
"I believe in one God." The Nicene Creed his own insignificance. Others, like Isaiah ("Woe
shows that belief in God's oneness and God's is me! I am lost" - Isa 6:5) and Peter ("Depart from
existence are inseparable and fundamental. "The me, O Lord, I am a sinful man" - Lk 5:8) had the
Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut 6:4). "God is one same experience of awe in God's presence.
in nature, substance and essence" (Roman
Catechism). Out of respect, Israel did not pronounce
the word "Yahweh" but used instead "Adonai"
The prophets called Israel to fidelity. meaning "Lord." Christians used this word "Lord"
"Hear O Israel for I am God and there is no other" to affirm Jesus' divinity. "Jesus Christ is Lord"
(Deut 6:4-5). They call us to adore one God. "To (Phil 2:11).
me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall
swear" (Isa 45:22-24). God - Forgiving and Merciful (210-211)
After Israel sinned, God agreed to remain
No Division (202) with them (Ex 32-33). He even showed that he
Jesus says there is "one Lord" (Mk 12:29- was a forgiving God, "a God merciful and
30) and yet Jesus says that he is "the Lord" (Mk gracious" (Ex 34:6). God's name "I Am" shows his
12:35-37). Therefore, Christian faith confesses that faithfulness. By sending his Son, God is "rich in
Jesus is Lord and the Holy Spirit is "the Lord and mercy" (Eph 2:4). Jesus had the same divine
giver of life." Yet there is no division in God. name: "Then you will realize that ‘I Am'" (Jn 8:28).
"There is only one true God, eternal, infinite and
unchangeable, the Father and the Son and the No Beginning or End (212-213)
Holy Spirit; three persons but one essence" Over the centuries, Israel realized that
(Fourth Lateran Council). God had no end: "Your years have no end" (Ps
102:26-27). James writes that in the Father, there is
The Name Revealed (203-204) "no variation or shadow due to change" (1:17). "I
In the Old Testament, God revealed his am" means that God alone "is." He has no
name. By doing this, God made himself more beginning and no end and from him all creatures
accessible and invited us to know him better. receive their existence.

Although God revealed many names to

Israel, the name he used when speaking with
Moses was "Yahweh" - "I AM WHO AM" (Eccl "He Who Is"
3:13-15).
God is Love (214)
God revealed himself as "abounding in
steadfast love and faithfulness" (Ex 34:6). Israel
The Living God thanked God for this steadfast love and
faithfulness (Ps 138:2). John says "God is love" (1
The God of History (205) Jn 1:5, 4:8).
God identified himself to Moses as the
God who guided the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, God is Truth (215-217)
and Jacob). God keeps his promises that he would "You are God, and your words are true" (2
act within human history. Sam 7:28). Because he is truth, we must abandon
ourselves to God's Word. Our first parents
The Mysterious Name (206-207) committed sin because they were led into doubt
Moses said, "If the people of Israel ask me about God's Word.
‘What is his name?' what shall I say to them?"
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO AM" and "Say to God alone can give us true knowledge
this people of Israel, ‘I Am has sent me to you'" about all creation. He is also truthful in revealing
(Ex 3:13-15). Although clearly revealed, this name himself because he sent Jesus "to bear witness to
shows that God is hidden yet always close to the truth" (Jn 18:37).
men. His name shows faithfulness because he
God's Motive is Love (218-221) history (economy), he reveals his inner life
Through the prophets, Israel discovered (theology). Knowing God's inner life enlightens
that love was God's only motive in revealing our understanding of his plan.
himself (Isa 43: 1-7, Hos 2). God's love is as a
father's love. His love is stronger than a mother's The Trinity is a mystery which would not
love for her children or a bridegroom's love for be known unless revealed. The mystery is
the bride. Even when the world sinned, "God so inaccessible both to reason alone and to Israel
loved the world that he gave his only begotten before the sending of Jesus and the sending of the
Son" (Jn 3:16). Holy Spirit.

God's love is "everlasting" and will never

be removed (Isa 54:8). "I have continued my
faithfulness to you"(Jer 31:3). John reveals God's Revealed as Trinity
innermost secret, "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8). His
inner being is an eternal exchange of love Two Meanings of Father (238-239)
between Father, Son and Spirit. Many religions call God "Father" meaning
"Creator of the world." God was also "Father" as
Our Duties (222-227) the giver of the Covenant and of the law to Israel,
Believing in one God has enormous "his first-born Son." (Ex 4:22) He was "Father to
consequences. "We must serve God first" (Joan of the king" and "Father of the poor."
Arc). We must live in thanksgiving. We must
recognize the dignity of every human person. We God as Father means two things. He
must use created things according to God's plan created everything and has loving care for all. In
and we must trust in God in every circumstance. the Bible, motherhood also expresses God's
"God alone is enough" (St. Teresa of Jesus). tenderness. Although God uses the image of
human parents, God is neither man nor woman.
Faith in the Trinity (232-233) No one is father as God is Father.
Christians are baptized "in the name of the
Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Jesus' Unique Revealing (240-242)
They are not baptized "in the names" of the Jesus further revealed God as Father not
Father, Son and Spirit because there is only one just as Creator but as eternally Father to Jesus, the
God, the Most Holy Trinity. The baptismal only-begotten Son. "No one knows the Son except
confession of faith has three parts because "the the Father and no one knows the Father except
faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity" (St. the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to
Caesarilus of Arles). reveal him" (Mt 11:27). Jesus is the "Word" who
was "in the beginning with God" and "was God"
The Central Mystery (234) (Jn 1:1). He is "the image of the invisible God"
The Trinity is the central mystery of (Col 1:15).
Christian life, the source of all the other
mysteries, and the most fundamental mystery in The Church declared that Jesus was
"the hierarchy of the truths of faith." The whole "consubstantial" with the Father (Nicea). Jesus is
history of salvation is identical with the way God "the only begotten Son of God, eternally begotten
revealed himself as Father, Son and Spirit. of the Father, light from light, true God from true
God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the
Three Aspects (235) Father" (Constantinople).
This section will explain three aspects:
The Revealing of the Spirit (243-245)
1. How the Trinity was revealed Jesus said he would send "another
2. How the Church has articulated this Paraclete" (Jn 14:17, 26; 16-13), and revealed the
mystery Spirit as a third person together with the Father
3. How God the Father fulfilled his plan by and Son. When the Spirit was sent to the Church
sending the Son and the Spirit in person by the Father and the Son (after Jesus'
glorification) the mystery of the Trinity was
Inner Life and Exterior Work (236-237) revealed in its fullness.
"Theology" refers to God's inner life and "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord
"economy" refers to God revealing and and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father"
communicating his life to us. By God's actions in (Constantinople).
 The Sixth Council of Toledo said that the 1. Substance, (also called essence or nature)
Father is "the source and origin of the whole which designates the divine being in its
divinity." The eternal origin of the Spirit is unity
connected with the Son's origin. "Yet he is not 2. Person, which designates the Father, Son
called the Spirit of the Father alone, but the Spirit and Spirit in the real distinction among
of both the Father and the Son" (Toledo XI). "With them
the Father and the Son, he is worshipped and 3. Relation, which designates that their
glorified" (Nicene Creed). distinction lies in the relationship of each
to the others
Relationship to Father and Son (246)
The Nicene Creed says the "Spirit One God (253)
proceeds from the Father and the Son." The The Trinity is one. The Church does not
Council of Florence says "the Spirit has his nature believe in three Gods but in one God in three
and subsistence at the same time (simul) from the persons (the "consubstantial Trinity)." The divine
Father and the Son. He proceeds eternally from persons do not share the one divinity among
both as from one principle and through one themselves. Each of them is God, whole and
spiration." entire. "Each of the persons is that supreme
reality, namely, the divine substance, essence or
Different Formulas (247-248) nature" (Fourth Lateran Council).
The Latin liturgy between 700 and 1200
began to say, "the Holy Spirit who proceeds from Distinct Persons (254)
the Father and the Son." The earlier Council of Father, Son and Spirit are not just three
Constantinople had used a different formula, "the names for three modalities of the one God. They
Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father through are really distinct from one another in their
the Son." Unfortunately, these different relations of origin. "It is the Father who generates,
expressions of the same truth have constituted a the Son who is begotten and the Holy Spirit who
point of disagreement with the Orthodox proceeds" (Fourth Lateran Council).
Churches.
Based on Relationships (255-256)
The Orthodox formula ("through the Son") The real distinction of each Person lies in
stresses the Father as the first origin of the Spirit. their relationship to one another. "In the relational
The Latin formula ("and the Son") stresses the names of the persons, the Father is related to the
oneness of the Father and the Son. This Latin Son, the Son to the Father and the Spirit to
formula is valid. The Father and the Son are the both"(Eleventh Council of Toledo). The Father is
single principle from which the Spirit proceeds. wholly in the Son and in the Spirit. The Son is
wholly in the Father and the Spirit. The Spirit is
wholly in the Father and the Son (Council of
Florence).

"I entrust to you today the profession of

faith in the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit. Each person considered in himself is
Teaching of the Faith
entirely God" (St. Gregory of Nazeanzus).
Root of Faith (249)
The Trinity has always been the very root
of the Church's faith (expressed in the baptismal The Trinitarian Missions
liturgy). Paul summarized this apostolic faith in
saying "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the God's Plan Unfolds (257)
love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit The Father "destined us in love to be his
be with all of you" (2 Cor 13:13). sons" through "the spirit of sonship" (Eph 1:4-5,
9). This plan comes from the Trinity and unfolds
Three Important Terms (250-252)
in creation in the missions of the Son and the
In the early Ecumenical Councils, the Church Spirit, and in the mission of the Church.
clarified its understanding of the Trinity in order
to respond to heresies. The Church developed The Work of All Three (258)
three important terms: This divine plan is the common work of
the three divine persons. However, each person
does the work according to his unique personal Cor 1:24-25). In Jesus' death and Resurrection,
qualities. "One God and Father from whom all God has revealed the "immeasurable greatness of
things are and one Lord Jesus Christ, through his power in us who believe" (Eph 1:19-22).
whom all things are, and one Holy Spirit in
whom all things are (Council of Constantinople Only faith can embrace these mysterious
II). The qualities of the three divine persons are ways of God's power. Mary believed the angel's
revealed in the missions of Jesus and the Spirit. words that "nothing will be impossible with God"
(Lk 1:37) and she proclaimed that "he who is
Revealing Each Person (259) mighty has done great things for me" (Lk 1:49).
God's work in history reveals the Trinity Knowing that nothing is impossible for God, we
(what is proper to each divine person and what is can accept everything in the Creed without any
proper to their one divine nature). The Christian hesitation.
life is a communion with all three persons.
Whoever glorifies the Father glorifies also the Son
and Spirit.
Creation of Heaven and Earth
Inviting All (260)
God wants every creature to enter into the The First Act of Creation (279-281)
unity of the Trinity. Jesus promised, "If a man "In the beginning God created the heavens
loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father and the earth" (Gen 1:1). The Church says that
will love him, and we will come to him, and make God is the "Creator of heaven and earth" and "of
our home with him" (Jn 14:23). all that is seen and unseen."

"O my God, Trinity, help me to forget God's saving plan begins with creation
myself entirely so to establish myself in you, and culminates in Christ who reveals God's plan
unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were the glory of a new creation in Christ (Rom 8:18-
already in eternity" (St. Elizabeth of the Trinity). 23).

Almighty Catechesis on Creation

His Almighty Power (268-269) Finding Our Origins (282-283)
Of all God's attributes, the Creed speaks A catechesis on creation lays the
only of his almighty power. This power is foundation for all catechesis by answering the
universal (creating and ruling everything), loving, questions, "Where do we come from?" and
and mysterious (known only by faith). "Where are we going?" These questions are
decisive for life's meaning.
God is the "Mighty One of Jacob" (Gen
49:24). "Whatever God wills is done" (Ps 115:3). Certainly scientific studies have enriched
He can do everything in heaven and earth. He is our knowledge of the cosmos. These discoveries
the Lord of the universe governing all events by should lead us to thank God for revealing this
his will. wisdom.
A Fatherly Care (270-271) Questions Beyond Science (284)
God's almighty power is also fatherly. "I However, some questions go beyond
will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons these scientific studies and try to discover the
and daughters" (2 Cor 6:18). God's power is not meaning of all creation. Is the universe governed
arbitrary. "Nothing can be in God's power which by fate or by an intelligent and good Being called
could not be in his just will or his wise intellect" God? Why is there evil and where does it come
(St. Thomas Aquinas). from?
God's Mysterious Ways (272-274) Challenges to Faith (285)
In our trials God does seem to be absent The Christian faith faces a challenge from
and powerless. However. God's power is fully those philosophers who say that the world is God
revealed in the death and Resurrection of Jesus. (Pantheism); from those who say the world comes
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, from two sources, good and evil (Dualists and
and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1
Manicheists); from those who say the world "He made all things by himself, that is, by his
comes from evil (Gnostics); from those who think Word and by his Wisdom, by the Son and the
God created but has no continued interest in the Spirit" who are "the Father's hands" (St. Irenaeus).
world (Deists); and from those who say there is
only the material universe (Materialists). Manifesting and Communicating the Glory
(293-294)
Responses (286) The world was made for the glory of God,
To these questions, human intelligence "not to increase it but to show it forth and
can give some response. Man can know God's communicate it" (St. Bonaventure). Love is the
existence with certainty even if this knowing is only reason God created. "God created to
obscured by error. However, a full understanding manifest his goodness" (First Vatican Council).
comes when reason is helped by faith. "By faith
we understand that the world was created by the God's glory is the communicating of his
Word of God" (Heb 11:3). goodness to us. "The glory of God is man fully
alive" and man's life is the "vision of God" (St.
Need for Revelation (287-288) Irenaeus). Creation exists "so God can bring about
God progressively revealed the mystery of his own glory and our happiness."
creation in his revelation to Israel. God formed
Israel and revealed himself as the Creator. "I am
the Lord, who made all things" (Is 44:24). This
revelation about creation and about God's The Mystery of Creation
Covenant with Israel are inseparable because
creation is God's first step toward the Covenant. Freely Willed by God (295)
The Jewish prophets, liturgy, and wisdom The created world did not happen by
sayings express this witness of God's creation. necessity, nor by blind chance. God freely willed
to create so that every creature would share in his
First Three Chapters (289) life and goodness. "By your will they existed and
The first three chapters of Genesis express were created" (Rev 4:15).
the truths of creation, its origin, order, and
goodness. Genesis shows man's vocation, the Starting from Nothing (296-297)
drama of sin, and the hope of salvation. These No created thing "pre-existed" nor did
texts are the prime source of catechesis about the creation just emanate from God. "God shows his
beginning mysteries (the creation, the fall, and the power by starting from nothing to make all he
promise of salvation). wants" (St. Theophilus of Antioch).

By creating from nothing, God gives us

hope that there is more than a material world. At
The Work of the Trinity their martyrdom, the valiant mother told her
seven sons, "Look at the heaven and the earth and
Three Truths (290) see everything that is in them, and recognize that
"In the beginning God created the heavens God did not make them out of things that existed"
and the earth" (Gen 1:1). This sentence shows (2 Macc 7:28).
three truths. First, God gave a beginning to all
that exists. Second, he alone is Creator. Third, Beyond Bodily Life (298)
everything depends on God. Because God created out of nothing, he
can give spiritual life to sinners and bodily life to
The Work of Three Persons (291-292) the dead through the Resurrection. God "gives
John's Gospel says that all things were life to the dead and calls into existence those
made through God's Word "and without him things that do not exist" (Rom 4:17).
nothing was made" (1:1-3). The Church also
confesses the Holy Spirit's creative action. He is Sharing in God's Goodness (299)
"the giver of life." The Old Testament suggests Through wisdom, God ordered the
and the New Testament reveals this creative universe, especially human persons who are
activity of both the Son and the Spirit. "called into a personal relationship with him" (Col
1:15).
This creative cooperation of the three
Persons is confirmed by the Church's rule of faith.
 The human intellect can grasp what God We believe that God, the Creator (the first
tells us through material creation, but only with Cause) is always at work in us (the second cause).
great effort. Creation is God's gift to man and "For God is at work in you" (Phil 2:13). We can do
shares in his goodness. nothing without God, especially gain eternal life.
"Without a Creator, the creature vanishes"
Above Yet Present (300) (Second Vatican Council).
Although God's greatness is unsearchable
(Ps 145:3), he is always present to his creation. "In Why is There Evil? (309)
him, we live and move and have our being" (Acts Why does evil exist? This unavoidable
17:28). God is "more inward than my most and painful question can be adequately
innermost self" (St. Augustine). responded to only by the entire story of Christian
faith, which includes the goodness of creation, the
Bringing to Completion (301) drama of sin, God's Covenants, the sendings of
God always sustains the whole world and Jesus and the Spirit, and the founding of the
will bring human history to its final goal. Church. It includes the sacraments and the
Recognizing this total dependence on God is the invitation to eternal life (which mysteriously can
source of wisdom. "How would anything have be rejected by anyone). Every aspect of Christian
endured if you did not will it?" (St. Augustine). life is part of the answer to this question of evil.

A World "In a State of Journeying" (310)

God did not create a perfect world. In fact,
Divine Providence God could have created a better world (St.
Thomas Aquinas). God created this world "in a
Creation's Destiny (302-305) state of journeying." The more perfect exists
God did not make creation "complete alongside the less perfect. Nature has both
from the beginning," but willed "a state of constructive and destructive forces. Physical good
journeying." God always guides all creation will always be mixed with physical evil until
toward its ultimate perfection by Divine creation reaches perfection.
Providence. "By his providence God protects and
governs all things which he has made" (First Moral Evil (311)
Vatican Council). God's care for every creature Angels and men can freely choose to go
(from least to greatest) is concrete and immediate. astray. God never causes moral evil, either
God does "whatever he pleases" (Ps 115:3). Christ directly or indirectly. He permits moral evil
opens and no one shuts, shuts and no one opens" because he respects man's freedom and knows
(Rev 3:7). "The purpose of the Lord will be how to draw good out of evil. "We know that in
established" (Prov 19:21). everything, God works for good for those who
love him" (Rom 8:28). "God would never allow
Scripture, in attributing actions to God any evil if he could not cause good to emerge
without mentioning any other causes, is not using from it" (St. Augustine).
a "primitive mode of speech" but is professing a
faith in God's lordship over all history. Jesus tells Good from Evil (312-314)
us not to be anxious: "Your heavenly Father It takes time to see how God draws good
knows what you need. Seek first his kingdom and from a moral evil. After being sold into slavery,
all these things shall be yours as well" (Mt 6:31- Joseph told his brothers, "It was not you who sent
33). me here, but God. You meant evil, but God meant
it for good" (Gen 45:8, 50:20). God used Jesus'
Inviting Us to Cooperate (306-308)
death (the greatest moral evil) for our
God uses our cooperation. In his redemption. Nevertheless, evil never becomes a
goodness, He gives us our existence and by our good.
free will the opportunity to cooperate in his plan.
The saints witness to God drawing good
God even invites us to "subdue the earth out of evil. "Some rebel against what happens to
and have dominion over it (Gen 1:26-28). He them but God does nothing without the salvation
invites us to complete his work of creation. As of man in mind" (St. Catherine of Siena). "Nothing
knowing collaborators, we are "God's fellow can come but that God wills" (St. Thomas More).
workers" (1Cor 3:9). "The Lord showed me that all manner of things
shall be well" (Julian of Norwich).
 Because we have only partial knowledge, Ascension. They will also announce Jesus' return
many aspects of God's providence are hidden to judge mankind (Mt 24:31).
from us.
Their Work Now (334-336)
Heaven and Earth (325-327) The Church benefits from the help of
God is the "Creator of heaven and earth" angels. At funerals, the angels are asked to lead
(Apostles Creed). He created "all that is, seen and the deceased into Paradise. All believers have a
unseen" (Nicene Creed). guardian angel who watches them from
conception to death. Angels surround all human
"Heaven and earth" means creation in its life with their care.
entirety. It shows the bond and the distinction
between earth and heaven. "Earth" is the world of
men. "Heaven" designates either the firmament,
God's place of final glory, or the place where The Visible World
saints and angels live.
Six Days of Work (337-338)
"From the beginning God made at once, Symbolically, Scripture pictures God
out of nothing, both the spiritual (angels) and working for six days and "resting" on the seventh.
corporeal (earth) and, after that, God made the These texts teach us the truths we need to know
human creature who shares in both orders of for our salvation. All creation owes its existence
spirit and body (Fourth Lateran Council). to God and is rooted in the primordial event of
God drawing the world out of nothingness and
Angels (328-330)
having time begin.
Scripture and Tradition teach the existence
of spiritual, non-corporeal beings (angels). Angel Because God saw his creation as "good,"
is the name of their office (what they do) and every creature has its own truth and goodness.
spirit is the name of their nature (what they are). Therefore, man must respect God's creation and
While seeing the face of God, they also are his avoid any action which would have disastrous
messengers who "hearken to the voice of his consequences for the human race and its
Word" (St. Augustine). Angels are personal, environment.
immortal, spiritual beings who have intelligence
and will. By their glory, they surpass all visible Dependent and Diverse (339-341)
creatures. All God's creatures are interdependent.
No creature is self-sufficient and all must depend
With Christ (331) upon and serve each other. This diversity brings
Christ is the center of the angelic world about the universe's beauty.
because "in him all things were created in heaven
and on earth, visible and invisible" (Col 1:16). The Progressively, man discovers the
angels are messengers of his saving plan. "Are universe's beauty and the laws of nature which
they not all ministers sent forth to serve?" (Heb call forth admiration and should lead man to
1:14). submit to his Creator.

Activity in Scripture (332-333) Man at the Summit (342-343)

Angels have been active from the The "six days" of creation (from the less
beginning. In Genesis, they closed the earthly perfect to the more perfect) show a "hierarchy" of
paradise (3:24), saved Hagar and her son (21:17), creatures. God, however, takes care even of the
and kept Abraham from killing Isaac (22:11). lowly sparrow (Lk 12:6-7).
Later in Scripture, they led God's people,
announced births, and assisted the prophets. Scripture shows that man is at the summit
of creation and clearly distinguishes his creation
The angel Gabriel announced the birth of from all others (Gen 1:26). Created by God and
John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus (Lk 1:11- ordered to his glory, all creatures have a
26). Angels announced Jesus' birth to shepherds solidarity. "May you be praised, O Lord, in all
(Lk 2:14), protected him in infancy (Mt 1:20; 2:13), your creatures" (St. Francis of Assisi).
served him in the desert (Mk 1:13), and
strengthened him in the garden (Lk 22:43). Angels Day of Rest (344-348)
witnessed to Christ at the tomb and at his "Since on the seventh day God was
finished with the work he had been doing, he
rested on the seventh day" (Gen 2:1). These exist. God did not spare his own Son for the sake
inspired words contain much instruction. God of man. Nor does he ever cease to work until he
has placed in nature a foundation of his laws has made him sit at his right hand" (St. John
which man must respect. Chrysostom).

God's work looked forward to the United in Christ (359-361)

Sabbath. Therefore, worship of God is inscribed This mystery of man becomes clear only in
in creation. the mystery of Christ. "That is why Christ took on
himself the role and the name of the first Adam,
Keeping the Sabbath corresponds to God's in order that he might not lose what he had made
wisdom and law. in his own image" (St. Peter Chrysologus).

Eighth Day (349) The human race has a unity. "From one
The seventh day completed the first ancestor, God made all nations to inhabit the
creation, but the eighth day (Christ's whole earth" (Acts 17:26). "The human race has
Resurrection) begins a new creation which unity in its origin (God), in its nature (body and
culminates in the greater work of redemption. soul), in its dwelling place (earth), in its
This second creation surpasses the first in supernatural goal (heaven), and in the means to
splendor. heaven (Christ's redemption)" (Pope Pius XII). All
men are truly brothers.

Man in God's Image

Body and Soul - Truly One
The Four Aspects of Man (355)
"God created man in his own image, in the Man - Body and Soul (362-363)
image of God he created him, male and female he Using symbolic language, the Bible says
created them" (Gen 1:27). The following that God willed man to be both corporeal and
paragraphs will examine these four aspects of spiritual. "Then the Lord God formed man of dust
man: from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life and man became a living being"
1. He is in the image of God (Gen 2:7).
2. He unites in his nature both the spiritual
and material worlds In Scripture "soul" can mean human life or
3. He is male and female the entire human person. "Soul" especially means
4. He enjoys a friendship with God man's spiritual principle.

The Dignity of God's Image - The Human In God's Image (364)

Person (356-357) Animated by a spiritual soul, the human
In material creation only man can know body shares in the dignity of "God's image." The
and love God. He was willed by God for his own human person, body and soul, is meant to
sake and he is called to share in God's own life. become a temple of the Spirit. In man, the
"What made you establish man in so great a material world can freely raise its voice in praise
dignity? You are taken with love for him" (St. of the Creator (Second Vatican Council).
Catherine of Siena).
Only One Nature (365-368)
Being in God's image makes the The spiritual soul is the "form" of the
individual a person a "someone" and not a body. Man is not the union of two natures. In
"something." He is capable of self-knowledge and man, spirit and matter form one nature. God
of having friendships with other persons. He is creates every spiritual soul immediately. It is not
called into a Covenant with God and can make a "produced" by the parents and does not perish at
response of love not known by any other death. It is reunited with the body at the final
creature. resurrection.

All for Man (358) When Paul writes about "spirit, soul, and
God created everything for man. "For man body" (1Thess 5:23) he used the word "spirit" to
is more precious in God's eyes than all other mean that the soul has a supernatural goal of
creatures. For him the heavens and the earth union with God. The biblical word "heart" also
means the place where the person decides for or a pretentious life" (1 Jn 2:16). In the garden, work
against God. was not yet a burden but a collaboration with
God. Unfortunately, our first parents lost this
entire harmony by their sin.

Male and Female The Source of Evil (385)

Man rightly asks "Where does evil come
Equality of Man and Woman (369-370) from?" "I sought to know where evil comes from
God willed that man and woman would and there was no solution" (St. Augustine). For
have perfect equality as human persons. "Being Augustine, the mystery was clarified only by his
man" or "being woman" is a good reality and each religious conversion. We, too, examine this
possesses an inalienable dignity. question of evil with our eyes upon Christ, who
alone is its conqueror.
God is neither man nor woman. He is
pure spirit. The different perfections of man and
woman (as mother, father, husband, wife) reflect
God's infinite perfections. Sin and Grace

Made for Each Other (371-373) Understanding Sin (386-387)

Man and woman were created for each Human history is filled with sin. By
other. Because man was alone, God created a understanding the profound relationship of man
"helper fit for him" (Gen 2:19-20). When God to God the evil of sin is unmasked.
fashioned the woman, the man cried out in
wonder, "This at last is bone of my bones and Without the clarity of the Bible, we would
flesh of my flesh" (Gen 2:23) acknowledging that explain sin as a weakness, a mistake or a
woman shares his humanity. necessary consequence of a poor social structure.
By knowing God's plan, we can see that sin is
God did not make man and woman really man's abuse of his freedom.
incomplete, but he created them as a "helpmate"
for each other. In marriage, by becoming "one Adam and Christ (388-389)
flesh," they can transmit human life and Israel could never grasp the ultimate
cooperate with God in creating. meaning of the story of Adam and Eve. They
knew Adam (the source of sin) but not Christ (the
Although called to "subdue the earth" source of grace). Only the Holy Spirit would
(Gen 1:28), man and woman must not destroy "convict the world in regard to sin and
creation. righteousness and condemnation" (Jn 16:8).

Created in Original Harmony (374-376) This doctrine of original sin is the "reverse
Man was created in friendship with his side" of the Good News. Jesus is our Savior
Creator, in harmony with himself and with all because all men need to be saved. Tampering
creation, and in a state surpassed only by the new with the doctrine of original sin will undermine
creation in Christ. the mystery of Christ.

Our first parents, Adam and Eve, enjoyed Human History and the Fall (390)
an original "state of holiness and justice" by which Although using figurative language, the
they shared in divine life. While remaining in this story of Adam's sin does describe an event which
divine intimacy, they would not suffer or die. took place at the beginning of human history. All
They also possessed a personal inner harmony human history is marked by that fall of our first
and a harmony with each other, and with parents.
creation. This was called "original justice."
A Prior Fall - Satan (391)
In Control and in the Garden (377-379) Man's fall contains a "seductive voice," the
This divine gift of "mastery" was realized voice of a fallen angel called "Satan" or the
within man himself. He was free from the triple "devil." The Church teaches that Satan and other
concupiscence that now subjects all men to demons were created "good by God but they
sensual pleasure, to covetousness of earthly became evil by their own doing" (Fourth Lateran
goods, and to false self-assertion. These three Council).
evils are "sensual lust, enticement for the eyes and
A Free Irrevocable Choice (392-393) Creation became hostile to man and death
These demons made a free irrevocable made its entrance into human history. "Sin
choice to reject God. This rebellion is reflected in entered the world and through sin, death..." (Rom
the tempter's words, "You will be like God" (Gen 5:12).
3:5). Having sinned from the beginning, the devil
is now "the father of lies" (Jn 8:44). A History of Sin (400-401)
Sin inundated human history and even
God's mercy toward these fallen angels is entered God's Covenant with Israel. Even after
useless. Their sin is unforgivable because their Christ's death, sin was present in the Christian
choice is irrevocable. "There is no repentance for community. There is a universality of sin.
the angels, just as there is no repentance for men
after death" (St. John Damascene). This is confirmed by our own experience.
"Often refusing to acknowledge God, man has
Disastrous Influence (394-395) broken the right order that should reign within
Because of the devil's disastrous influence, himself and with other creatures" (Second Vatican
Jesus came to earth "to destroy the works of the Council).
devil" (1 Jn 3:8), especially his power to seduce
man to disobedience. Everyone Affected (402-403)
All are implicated in sin. "Death spread to
Satan's power is not infinite and he cannot all men because all men sinned" (Rom 5:12).
prevent the building up of God's kingdom. However, all are offered salvation in Jesus Christ.
Although Satan can cause grave injuries (both "One man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal
spiritual and physical) God still guides all human and life for all men" (Rom 5:18).
history. Why God permits demonic activity is a
mystery. "We know that in everything God works This overwhelming misery which
for good with those who love him" (Rom 8:28). oppresses is connected with the fact that Adam's
sin has been transmitted to all at birth. This sin is
the "death of the soul." Therefore, the Church
baptizes even tiny infants "for the remission of
sins" (Council of Trent).

Transmission of Effects (404)

We do not exactly know how this "original
Original Sin sin" is transmitted. Adam and Eve were supposed
to transmit original holiness and justice to
Man's Need to Be Tested (396)
everyone. In their "fallen state" they could only
Man had to freely accept God's friendship. pass on a human nature deprived of original
God's command to Adam (not to eat of the tree of holiness and justice. Therefore, original sin differs
knowledge of good and evil) shows symbolically from other sins. It is contracted (a state) not
that man had to acknowledge his limits as a committed (an act).
creature and submit his behavior to God's laws.
Deprived of Our Heritage (405)
The First Sin (397)
By original sin, we are deprived of
By sin, man set aside his trust in God and original holiness and justice. Human nature is not
disobeyed. All subsequent sin would be totally corrupted but is wounded in its natural
disobedience and lack of trust. By sin, man powers. It is subject to ignorance, sin, and death,
rebelled against his status as a creature. Man and has an inclination to evil (called
chose to be like God "without God and not in "concupiscence"). Baptism erases original sin and
accordance with God" (St. Maximus). turns the person back to Christ. However, the
inclination to sin that persists requires that man
What They Lost (398-399) be in a constant, spiritual battle.
Our first parents lost original holiness and
became afraid of God, whom they falsely thought Two Errors (406)
was jealous of his prerogatives. The soul's control Pelagius (5th century) reduced the
over the body's powers was shattered. The union influence of Adam's fault to bad example and
of man with woman became subject to tensions taught that man could lead a good life without
and their sexual relationship was marked by lust God's help. In contrast, the first Protestant
and domination (Gen 3:5-16). teachers (16th century) taught that original sin
had radically permeated man, and man's Jesus - God's Gift in Time's Fullness (422-424)
tendency to evil was insurmountable. The Church "But when the fullness of time had come,
taught against Pelagius at the Council of Orange God sent forth his Son, born of a woman... (Gal 4-
and against Protestant teachers at the Council of 5). This is "the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of
Trent. God" (Mk 1:1) by which God has acted for us
beyond all expectation.
Today's Battle (407)
Original sin provides great insight into We believe that Jesus of Nazareth, born of
man's activity in the world. Although remaining Mary at Bethlehem, who died on the cross in
free, man has come under "the devil, who has the Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate, is the eternal Son
power of death" (Council of Trent). Man is of God made man. He "came from God" (Jn 13:3),
ignorant of his own inclination to evil and makes "descended from heaven" (Jn 3:13), and is the
serious errors in education, politics, and social "Word made flesh who dwelt among us. We have
action. seen his glory as of the only Son from the Father"
and from his fullness we have all received grace
A Battlefield Due to Sin (408-409) upon grace (Jn 1:14-16).
Original sin and all personal sins place the
world in a sinful condition. This "sin of the Jesus made Peter the rock of his Church
world" (Jn 1:29) refers also to the negative because he confessed, "You are the Christ, the Son
influences exerted by sinful social structures. A of the living God" (Mt 16:16).
dramatic situation exists in which "the whole
world is in the power of the evil one" (1 Jn 5:19). Preached by Eyewitnesses (425)
Man is on a battlefield and only by God's aid does The early disciples were eager to "speak of
he succeed in achieving his own inner integrity what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20) and
(Second Vatican Council). they invited people into their unity in Christ.
"That which was from the beginning... we
A Promised Victory (410-411) proclaim also to you, so that you may have
After original sin, God still called man and fellowship with us" (Jn 1:1-4).
even promised a victory. He announced that
there would be a Messiah and Redeemer, a battle Seeing God's Plan in Christ (426-428)
between the serpent and the Woman, and the Catechesis must "reveal the whole
final victory for her descendents: "I will put an purpose of God's design in the Person of Christ.
enmity between you and the woman and between Catechesis must put people in union with Christ,
your offspring and hers, he will strike at your who alone "can lead us to the love of the Father in
head while you strike at his heel" (Gen 3:15). the Spirit" (Second Vatican Council).

This passage announces Christ as the Everything in catechesis must be taught in

"New Adam" who superabundantly makes reference to Christ. The catechist must say: "My
amends for Adam's sin. Many church Fathers see teaching is not mine, but his who sent me" (Jn
Mary as the "new Eve," the first to benefit from 7:16). The catechist must seek "the surpassing
Christ's redemption by her Immaculate worth of knowing Jesus Christ" (Phil 3:8).
Conception and freedom from all personal sins.
Four Parts (429)
Why Was Sin Permitted? (412) This faith in Jesus Christ will be explained
Many Christian writers answered that according to four parts:
question. "Christ gave us better blessings than the
devil took away" (Leo the Great). "There is 1. The titles of Christ
nothing to prevent human nature from being 2. His Incarnation
raised up to something greater, even after sin" 3. His Paschal Mystery
(Thomas Aquinas). "O happy fault... which 4. His Glorification
gained for us so great a Redeemer" (Easter Vigil
Exsultet).

His Only Son - Our Lord

Jesus Christ, His Only Son Born of Mary The Name Jesus (430-431)
Jesus (in Hebrew) means "God saves." The
angel Gabriel told Mary "You shall name him
Jesus" (Lk 1:31). The angel told Joseph to name professed him as Messiah (Mt 16:16-23) Jesus
the child "Jesus, because he will save his people revealed his messianic kingship. Jesus is the "Son
from their sins" (Mt 1:21). Besides delivering of Man who came down from heaven" (Jn 3:13)
Israel from Egypt, God made them aware of their who is called "to give his life as a ransom for
sins so they would invoke him as their Redeemer. many" (Mt 20-28). After Jesus' Resurrection, Peter
said "God has made him both Lord and Christ"
Invoking the Name (432-433) (Acts 2:36).
Jesus means "God saves" and all can
invoke his name. "There is no other name under
heaven by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Only Son of God
Once a year, the high priest sprinkled
sacrificial blood and invoked the name of the "Son of God" - A Human Title (441)
Savior God in atonement for Israel's sins. Paul In the Old Testament, the title "son of
writes that God put forward Jesus "as an God" (denoting an intimacy with God) was given
expiation by his blood" (Rom 3:25) and to angels, the children of Israel and to kings.
"reconciled the world to himself" (2 Cor 5:19). Therefore, those who called Jesus "son of God"
were not implying that Jesus was more than
The Power of the Name (434-435) human.
After the Resurrection, Jesus is the "name
which is above every other name" (Phil 2:10). A Divine Sonship (442-443)
Devils feared this name. Disciples performed Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of
miracles in this name, and the Father granted all the living God" (Mt 16:16). Jesus said that this was
petitions in Jesus' name. revealed by his heavenly Father. (Mt 16:16-17).
Paul said that God "was pleased to reveal his Son
Liturgical prayers end with the words to me" (Gal 1:15-16) and Paul proclaimed in the
"through our Lord, Jesus Christ." The high point synagogues that Jesus "is the Son of God." In
of the Hail Mary is Jesus' name. Many Christians, these instances, Peter and Paul were speaking of
such as St. Joan of Arc, died with Jesus' name on Christ's divine sonship, the very center of
their lips. apostolic faith.

The Name "Christ" (436-437) Earlier, when Jesus was asked by the
"Christ" is the Greek translation of the Sanhedrin "Are you the Son of God?" he
Hebrew word "Messiah" or "Anointed," answered "You say that I am" (Lk 22:70). Also,
consecrated for God's mission. Jesus the Messiah, Jesus said he was "the Son" who knew the Father
who would inaugurate God's Kingdom, had to be in a unique way (Mt 11:27). Jesus clearly
anointed by the Spirit. distinguished his sonship from others. He always
said "my Father" and only in prayer taught the
The angels announced to the shepherds a disciples to say "Our Father." After his
"Savior who is Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:11). Jesus is Resurrection he emphasized this when he said to
"the one whom the Father consecrated and sent to Mary Magdalene "my Father and your Father" (Jn
the whole world" (Jn 10:36). God told Joseph to 20:17).
take Mary as his wife so that Jesus would be of
the messianic lineage of David (Mt 1:20). The Father's Voice (444-445)
At Jesus' Baptism and Transfiguration the
The Anointed Messiah (438-440) Father designated Jesus as his "beloved Son" (Mt
Because the Father anointed him with the 3:17, 17:5). When Jesus called himself the "only
Holy Spirit (who is the anointing) Jesus is the Son of God" (Jn 3:16) he affirmed his eternal
Christ (the anointed one). This eternal messianic preexistence. The Centurion's words "Truly this
consecration was revealed years later when Jesus man was the Son of God" is a Christian profession
was baptized by John and later explained by of faith. Only after the Resurrection can the
Peter: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the believer give "Son of God" its full meaning.
Holy Spirit that he might be revealed to Israel"
(Acts 10:38). By his Resurrection Jesus was "designated
Son of God in power" (Rom 1:3). The apostles
Many people called Jesus the Messiah. confessed "We have beheld his glory, as of the
Because of political connotations, Jesus accepted only Son from the Father" (Jn 1:14).
this only with reserve. However, when Peter
The Name "Lord" (446)
In the Old Testament, Kyrios (the Greek
word meaning "Lord'") indicated the divinity of
Israel's God. This word Kyrios ("Lord") is used in
the New Testament for the Father and for Jesus,
thereby recognizing Jesus as God.

During His Lifetime (447)

David wrote, "The Lord said to my Lord"
(Mt 22:41-46). Jesus used this sentence to proclaim
his divinity to the apostles. Jesus showed his
divine sovereignty by his power over illness,
death and Satan. When people gave Jesus the title
"Lord" they recognized a divine mystery of Jesus.

The Post-Resurrection Meaning (448-451)

Thomas said, "My Lord and my God" (Jn
20:28), a title of adoration. The disciples said, "It is
the Lord" (Jn 20:28, 21:7), a title of affection. By
calling Jesus "Lord," the New Testament affirms
that the honor due to the Father is also due to
Jesus because he "was in the form of God" (Phil
2:6).

Believing in Christ's unique lordship,

Christians refused to submit totally to any earthly
power. Caesar was not "the Lord" because "the
kingdom of the world now belongs to our Lord
and to his anointed" (Rev 11:15). The purpose of
all human history is Jesus, the world's Lord and
Master.

Christian prayer is filled with the title

"Lord." Scripture concludes in hope: "Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev 22:20).