CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Part One
The Profession of Faith
This first part deals with ‘a deep discovery of our faith, and wha we know?’ The first section lays the foundation of revelation: God took the first step in revealing Himself to humanity and provided us multiple ways for us to discover and enter into a relationship with Him. In every human being, God placed a desire to be in relationship with Him. “This desire is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God continues to draw man to Himself” (CCC 27).
The first part of the Catechism analyzes the creed, profession of Faith. This section explains , The Holy Trinity, the Paschal Mystery, the nature and mission of the Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and death, judgment, heaven, hell.
Part Two
Celebration of the Christian Mystery
In Part Two, deals with the seven sacraments. Part Two builds on the mystery of God. Humanity enters into the great mystery of God. What is our part? How do we enbrace our communion with the HTrinity?
Lumen Gentium, the Vatican II dogmatic constitution on the Church, called the Eucharist “the source and summit of the Christian life” The Catechism cites this very quote (1324) and the principle applies to all the sacraments. Each of them springs out of the mystery of the Holy Trinity, and strives toward further communion with the Holy Trinity.
Part Three
Life in Christ
In its third part, which presents Christian morality, the Catechism unpacks the mystery of the liturgy. It presents the true meaning of being “reborn in Christ.” We have been created for beatitude—for a real participation in the blessed life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our entire life as Christians is lived as a kind of “dawning” of this eternal life right now. The new life we are given through baptism and in faith requires us to live by the new law of divine love, poured into our hearts through the Spirit (see Romans 5:5). Our entire renewed being bears witness to its new birth by living a moral life, through a continual reformation of our innermost nature every day (see 2 Corinthians 4:16). The indwelling of God and the moral life go hand-in-hand:
“All who keep [God’s] commandments abide in him, and he in them.”
1 John 3:24
Part Four
Christian Prayer
The fourth part of the Cathechism brings this all to an appropriate close. The life we live in Christ is the very life of God, poured out into our souls through grace (see Romans 5:5). As Catholics, we affirm that, when we are in a state of grace, our good acts can merit the increase of grace. However, at its root, grace is a gift freely given by God to us sinful and unworthy creatures:
The Catechism concludes with the Church’s teaching about the life of prayer. Through prayer, we learn to be in an intimate relationship with God. We turn to him with the desire for a deep life in us, and we surrender over to him our entire self, which comes from him and remains his for all the days of our life. Thus, a life giving God permission to act through us in prayer— with personal relationship with our God. This is the response of the Christian soul to the great gift of revelation and life given to us in Jesus through the Spirit:
CONTENTS
APOSTOLIC LETTER, XIII
In which the latin typical edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is approved and promulgated, Audio, PDF
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION
Fidei Depositum, on the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, prepared following the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. Audio, PDF
PROLOGUE
PROLOGUE, Audio , PDF
I. The Life of Man – To Know and Love God, Audio, PDF
II. Handing on the Faith: Catechesis, Audio, PDF
III. The Aim and Intended Readership of This Catechism, Audio, PDF
IV. Structure of This Catechism, Audio, PDF
V. Practical Directions for Using This Catechism, Audio, PDF
VI. Necessary Adaptations, Audio, PDF
PART ONE – THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION ONE: “I BELIEVE” – “WE BELIEVE”
CHAPTER ONE: MAN'S CAPACITY FOR GOD
CHAPTER TWO: GOD COMES TO MEET MAN
ARTICLE 1: THE REVELATION OF GOD
ARTICLE 2: THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION
ARTICLE 3: SACRED SCRIPTURE
CHAPTER THREE: MAN'S RESPONSE TO GOD
ARTICLE 1: I BELIEVE
ARTICLE 2: WE BELIEVE
The Credo Chart
THE CREDO Chart
| The Apostles Creed | The Nicene Creed |
| I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. |
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all that is, seen and unseen. |
| I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. |
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven: |
| He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. |
by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. |
| He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. |
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered died and was buried. |
| On the third day he rose again. | On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; |
| He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead |
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. |
| I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. |
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. |
SECTION TWO: THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
CHAPTER ONE: I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER
198: Our profession of faith begins with God, for God is the First and the Last,1 the beginning and the end of everything. The Credo begins with God the Father, for the Father is the first divine person of the Most Holy Trinity; our Creed begins with the creation of heaven and earth, for creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God’s works.
ARTICLE 1: "I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH"
PARAGRAPH 1: I BELIEVE IN GOD
PARAGRAPH 2: THE FATHER
PARAGRAPH 3: THE ALMIGHTY
IN BREIF, Audio, PDF
PARAGRAPH 4: THE CREATOR
PARAGRAPH 5: HEAVEN AND EARTH
PARAGRAPH 6: MAN
PARAGRAPH 7: THE FALL
CHAPTER TWO: I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF GOD
The Good News: God has sent his Son, Audio, PDF
422 ‘But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.’1 This is ‘the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God’:2 God has visited his people. He has fulfilled the promise he made to Abraham and his descendants. He acted far beyond all expectation – he has sent his own ‘beloved Son’.3
423 We believe and confess that Jesus of Nazareth, born a Jew of a daughter of Israel at Bethlehem at the time of King Herod the Great and the emperor Caesar Augustus, a carpenter by trade, who died crucified in Jerusalem under the procurator Pontius Pilate during the reign of the emperor Tiberius, is the eternal Son of God made man. He ‘came from God’,4 ‘descended from heaven’,5 and ‘came in the flesh’.6 For ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. . . and from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace.’7
424 Moved by the grace of the Holy Spirit and drawn by the Father, we believe in Jesus and confess: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’8 On the rock of this faith confessed by St. Peter, Christ built his Church.9 “To preach. . . the unsearchable riches of Christ”10
425 The transmission of the Christian faith consists primarily in proclaiming Jesus Christ in order to lead others to faith in him. From the beginning, the first disciples burned with the desire to proclaim Christ: “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”11 It and they invite people of every era to enter into the joy of their communion with Christ:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us – that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. and we are writing this that our joy may be complete.12
At the heart of catechesis: Christ
426 “At the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son from the Father. . .who suffered and died for us and who now, after rising, is living with us forever.”13 To catechize is “to reveal in the Person of Christ the whole of God’s eternal design reaching fulfilment in that Person. It is to seek to understand the meaning of Christ’s actions and words and of the signs worked by him.”14 Catechesis aims at putting “people . . . in communion . . . with Jesus Christ: only he can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity.”15
427 In catechesis “Christ, the Incarnate Word and Son of God,. . . is taught – everything else is taught with reference to him – and it is Christ alone who teaches – anyone else teaches to the extent that he is Christ’s spokesman, enabling Christ to teach with his lips. . . Every catechist should be able to apply to himself the mysterious words of Jesus: ‘My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.'”16
428 Whoever is called “to teach Christ” must first seek “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus”; he must suffer “the loss of all things. . .” in order to “gain Christ and be found in him”, and “to know him and the power of his resurrection, and (to) share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible (he) may attain the resurrection from the dead”.17
429 From this loving knowledge of Christ springs the desire to proclaim him, to “evangelize”, and to lead others to the “yes” of faith in Jesus Christ. But at the same time the need to know this faith better makes itself felt. To this end, following the order of the Creed, Jesus’ principal titles – “Christ”, “Son of God”, and “Lord” (article 2) – will be presented. the Creed next confesses the chief mysteries of his life – those of his Incarnation (article 3), Paschal mystery (articles 4 and 5) and glorification (articles 6 and 7).
ARTICLE 2: "AND IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON, OUR LORD"
ARTICLE 3: "HE WAS CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND WAS BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY"
PARAGRAPH 1:THE SON OF GOD BECAME MAN
PARAGRAPH 2: CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY
Paragraph 2. “Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit and Born of the Virgin Mary”
I. Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit, Audio, PDF
II. Born of the Virgin Mary, Audio, PDF
IN BREIF, Audio, PDF
PARAGRAPH 3: THE MYSTERIES OF CHRIST'S LIFE
Paragraph 3. “The Mysteries of Christ’s Life”
I.Christ’s Whole Life Is Mystery, Audio, PDF
II. The Mysteries of Jesus’ Infancy and Hidden Life, Audio, PDF
III. The Mysteries of Jesus’ Public Life , Audio, PDF
IN BREIF, Audio, PDF
ARTICLE 4: "JESUS CHRIST SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, WAS CRUCIFIED, DIED, AND WAS BURIED"
ARTICLE 4: Jesus Christ Suffered Under Pontius Pilate, Was Crucified, Died, and was Buried
571 The Paschal mystery of Christ’s cross and Resurrection stands at the centre of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world. God’s saving plan was accomplished “once for all”313 by the redemptive death of his Son Jesus Christ.
572 The Church remains faithful to the interpretation of “all the Scriptures” that Jesus gave both before and after his Passover: “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”314 Jesus’ sufferings took their historical, concrete form from the fact that he was “rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes”, who handed “him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified”.315
573 Faith can therefore try to examine the circumstances of Jesus’ death, faithfully handed on by the Gospels316 and illuminated by other historical sources, the better to understand the meaning of the Redemption.
PARAGRAPH 1. JESUS AND ISRAEL
PARAGRAPH 2. JESUS DIED CRUCIFIED
Paragraph 2. Jesus Died Crucified
I. The Trial of Jesus, Audio, PDF
II. Christ’s Redemptive Death in God’s Plan of Salvation, Audio, PDF
III. Christ Offered Himself to his Father for Our Sins, Audio, PDF
IN BREIF, Audio, PDF
PARAGRAPH 3. JESUS CHRIST WAS BURIED
Paragraph 3. Jesus Christ Was Buried
IN BREIF, Audio, PDF
ARTICLE 5: "HE DESCENDED INTO HELL ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN"
ARTICLE 5: He Descended Into Hell on the Third Day He Rose Again
IN BREIF, Audio, PDF
PARAGRAPH 1.CHRIST DESCENDED INTO HELL
Paragraph 1, Christ Descended into Hell
IN BREIF, Audio, PDF
PARAGRAPH 2. On the Third Day He Rose from the Dead
Paragraph 2. On the Third Day He Rose from the Dead
I. The Historical and Transcendent Even, Audio, PDF
II. The Resurrection – A Work of the Holy Trinity, Audio, PDF
III. The Meaning and Saving Significance of the Resurrection, Audio, PDF
IN BREIF, Audio, PDF
ARTICLE 6: "HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER"
ARTICLE 7: "FROM THENCE HE WILL COME AGAIN TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD"
ARTICLE 7: From Thence He Will Come Again to Judge the Livng and the Dead
I. He Will Come Again in Glory, Audio, PDF
II. To Judge the Living and the Dead, Audio, PDF
IN BREIF, Audio, PDF