2030
It is in the Church, in communion with all the baptized, that the Christian
fulfills his vocation. From the Church, he receives the Word of God containing
the teachings of "the law of Christ."72 ( ) From the Church he receives
the grace of the sacraments that sustains him on the "way." From the
Church he learns the example of holiness and recognizes its model and source in
the all-holy Virgin Mary; he discerns it in the authentic witness of those who
live it; he discovers it in the spiritual tradition and long history of the
saints who have gone before him and whom the liturgy celebrates in the rhythms
of the sanctoral cycle.
2031
The moral life is spiritual worship. We "present (our) bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, "73 (Rom 12:1. ) within the Body of Christ that
we form and in communion with the offering of his Eucharist. In the liturgy and
the celebration of the sacraments, prayer and teaching are conjoined with the
grace of Christ to enlighten and nourish Christian activity. As does the whole
of the Christian life, the moral life finds its source and summit in the
Eucharistic sacrifice.
I.
Moral Life and the Magisterium of the Church
2032
The Church, the "pillar and bulwark of the truth," "has received
this solemn command of Christ from the apostles to announce the saving
truth."74 ( 1 Tim 3:15; LG 17.) "To the Church belongs the right always and everywhere to
announce moral principles, including those pertaining to the social order, and
to make judgments on any human affairs to the extent that they are required by
the fundamental rights of the human person or the salvation of souls."75
2033
The Magisterium of the Pastors of the Church in moral matters is ordinarily
exercised in catechesis and preaching, with the help of the works of
theologians and spiritual authors. Thus from generation to generation, under
the aegis and vigilance of the pastors, the "deposit" of Christian
moral teaching has been handed on, a deposit composed of a characteristic body
of rules, commandments, and virtues proceeding from faith in Christ and
animated by charity. Alongside the Creed and the Our Father, the basis for this
catechesis has traditionally been the Decalogue which sets out the principles
of moral life valid for all men.
2034
The Roman Pontiff and the bishops are "authentic teachers, that is,
teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach the faith to the
people entrusted to them, the faith to be believed and put into
practice."76 (LG 25. ) The ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Pope and the
bishops in communion with him teach the faithful the truth to believe, the
charity to practice, the beatitude to hope for.
2035
The supreme degree of participation in the authority of Christ is ensured by
the charism of infallibility. This infallibility extends as far as does the
deposit of divine Revelation; it also extends to all those elements of
doctrine, including morals, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot
be preserved, explained, or observed.77
2036
The authority of the Magisterium extends also to the specific precepts of the
natural law, because their observance, demanded by the Creator, is necessary
for salvation. In recalling the prescriptions of the natural law, the
Magisterium of the Church exercises an essential part of its prophetic office of
proclaiming to men what they truly are and reminding them of what they should
be before God.78
2037
The law of God entrusted to the Church is taught to the faithful as the way of
life and truth. the faithful therefore have the right to be instructed in the
divine saving precepts that purify judgment and, with grace, heal wounded human
reason.79 ( Cf. ⇒ CIC, can. 213. ) They have the duty of observing the constitutions and decrees
conveyed by the legitimate authority of the Church. Even if they concern
disciplinary matters, these determinations call for docility in charity.
2038
In the work of teaching and applying Christian morality, the Church needs the
dedication of pastors, the knowledge of theologians, and the contribution of
all Christians and men of goodwill. Faith and the practice of the Gospel
provide each person with an experience of life "in Christ," who
enlightens him and makes him able to evaluate the divine and human realities
according to the Spirit of God.80 ( Cf. ⇒ 1 Cor 2:10-15.) Thus the Holy Spirit can use the humblest to
enlighten the learned and those in the highest positions.
2039
Ministries should be exercised in a spirit of fraternal service and dedication
to the Church, in the name of the Lord.81 ( Cf. ⇒ Rom 12:8, 11.) At the same time, the conscience of
each person should avoid confining itself to individualistic considerations in
its moral judgments of the person's own acts. As far as possible conscience
should take account of the good of all, as expressed in the moral law, natural
and revealed, and consequently in the law of the Church and in the
authoritative teaching of the Magisterium on moral questions. Personal
conscience and reason should not be set in opposition to the moral law or the
Magisterium of the Church.
2040
Thus a true filial spirit toward the Church can develop among Christians. It is
the normal flowering of the baptismal grace which has begotten us in the womb
of the Church and made us members of the Body of Christ. In her motherly care,
the Church grants us the mercy of God which prevails over all our sins and is
especially at work in the sacrament of reconciliation. With a mother's
foresight, she also lavishes on us day after day in her liturgy the nourishment
of the Word and Eucharist of the Lord.
II.
The Precepts of the Church
2041
The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and
nourished by liturgical life. the obligatory character of these positive laws
decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the
indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth
in the love of God and neighbor:
2042
The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of
obligation.") requires the faithful to participate in the Eucharistic
celebration when the Christian community gathers together on the day
commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord.82
The
second precept (“You shall confess your sins at least once a year.")
ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of
reconciliation, which continues Baptism's work of conversion and forgiveness.83
The
third precept (“You shall humbly receive your Creator in Holy Communion at
least during the Easter season.") guarantees as a minimum the reception of
the Lord's Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and
center of the Christian liturgy.84
2043
The fourth precept (“You shall keep holy the holy days of obligation.")
completes the Sunday observance by participation in the principal liturgical
feasts which honor the mysteries of the Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the
saints.85
The
fifth precept (“You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and
abstinence.") ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us
for the liturgical feasts; they help us acquire mastery over our instincts and
freedom of heart.86
The
faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church,
each according to his abilities.87
III.
Moral Life and Missionary Witness
2044
The fidelity of the baptized is a primordial condition for the proclamation of
the Gospel and for the Church's mission in the world. In order that the message
of salvation can show the power of its truth and radiance before men, it must
be authenticated by the witness of the life of Christians. "The witness of Christian life and good works done in a supernatural spirit have great power
to draw men to the faith and to God."88
2045
Because they are members of the Body whose Head is Christ,89 ( Cf. ⇒ Eph 1:22.) Christians
contribute to building up the Church by the constancy of their convictions and
their moral lives. the Church increases grow, and develops through the
holiness of her faithful, until "we all attain to the unity of the faith
and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of
the stature of the fullness of Christ."90
2046
By living with the mind of Christ, Christians hasten the coming of the Reign of
God, "a kingdom of justice, love, and peace."91 (Roman Missal, Preface of Christ the King. ) They do not, for all
that, abandon their earthly tasks; faithful to their master, they fulfill them
with uprightness, patience, and love.
IN
BRIEF
2047
The moral life is spiritual worship. Christian activity finds its nourishment
in the liturgy and the celebration of the sacraments.
2048
The precepts of the Church concern the moral and Christian life united with the
liturgy and nourished by it.
2049
The Magisterium of the Pastors of the Church in moral matters is ordinarily
exercised in catechesis and preaching, on the basis of the Decalogue which
states the principles of moral life valid for every man.
2050
The Roman Pontiff and the bishops, as authentic teachers, preach to the People
of God the faith which is to be believed and applied in the moral life. It is also
incumbent on them to pronounce on moral questions that fall within the natural
law and reason.
2051
The infallibility of the Magisterium of the Pastors extends to all the elements
of doctrine, including
moral
doctrine, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved,
expounded, or observed.
The
Ten Commandments
Exodus
20 2-17
I
am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the
house of bondage.
You
shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven
image, or any likeness of
anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is
in the water under the earth;
you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a
jealous God, visiting
the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth
generation of those who
hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep
my commandments.
You
shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not
hold him guiltless
who
takes his name in vain. Remember
the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your
work; but the seventh
day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or
your son, or your
daughter, your manservant or your maidservant or your cattle, or the sojourner
who is within your gates;
for in six days, the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in
them, and rested the seventh
day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.
Honor
your father and your mother, that your days may belong in the land which the
LORD your God gives
you. You
shall not kill. You
shall not commit adultery. You
shall not steal. You
shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You
shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's
wife, or his manservant or
his maidservant or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's.
Deuteronomy
5:6-21
I
am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house
of bondage.
You
shall have no other gods before me . . .You
shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain . . . Observe
the sabbath day, to keep it holy. . .Honor
your father and your mother . . .You
shall not kill. Neither
shall you commit adultery. Neither
shall you steal. Neither
shall you bear false witness against your neighbor. Neither
shall you covet your neighbor's wife . You
shall not desire . . . anything that is your neighbor's.
A
Traditional Catechetical Formula
1.
I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.
2.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
3.
Remember to keep holy the LORD'S Day.
4.
Honor your father and your mother.
5.
You shall not kill.
6.
You shall not commit adultery.
7.
You shall not steal.
8.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
10.
You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.
GO TO:
ECTION ONE MAN'S VOCATION IN THE SPIRIT
CHAPTER THREE GOD'S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE
PART THREE LIFE IN CHRIST
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