1691
"Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God's own
nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning. Remember who is
your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been
rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of
God."1
1692
The Symbol of the faith confesses the greatness of God's gifts to man in his
work of creation, and even more in redemption and sanctification. What faith
confesses, the sacraments communicate: by the sacraments of rebirth, Christians
have become "children of God,"2 (Jn 1:12; 1 ⇒ Jn 3:1[ETML:C/]. ) "partakers of the divine
nature."3 (2 Pet 1:4. ) Coming to see in the faith their new dignity, Christians are
called to lead henceforth a life "worthy of the gospel of Christ."4 (Phil 1:27. ) They are made capable of doing so by the grace of Christ and the gifts of his
Spirit, which they receive through the sacraments and through prayer.
1693
Christ Jesus always did what was pleasing to the Father,5 ( Cf. ⇒ Jn 8:29.) and always lived in
perfect communion with him. Likewise, Christ's disciples are invited to live in
the sight of the Father "who sees in secret,"6 (Mt 6:6[ETML:C/]. ) in order to become
"perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."7 (Mt 5:48. )
1694
Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, Christians are "dead to sin and alive
to God in Christ Jesus" and so participate in the life of the Risen Lord.8 (Rom 6:11 and cf. ⇒ 6:5; cf. ⇒ Col 2:12. ) Following Christ and united with him,9 (Cf. ⇒ Jn 15:5. ) Christians can strive to be
"imitators of God as beloved children, and to walk in love"10 (Eph 5:1-2. ) by
conforming their thoughts, words, and actions to the "mind . . . which is
yours in Christ Jesus,"11 (Phil 2:5. ) and by following his example.12 (Cf. ⇒ Jn 13:12-16.)
1695
"Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our
God,"13 ( 2 Cor 6:11.
) "sanctified . . . (and) called to be saints,"14 (1 Cor 1:2. ) Christians have become the temple of the Holy Spirit.15 (Cf. ⇒ 1 Cor 6:19. ) This "Spirit of the Son" teaches them to pray to the Father16 (Cf. ⇒ Gal 4:6. ) and, having become their life, prompts them to act so as to bear "the fruit of the Spirit"17 ( Gal 5:22, 25.) by charity in action. Healing the wounds of sin, the Holy Spirit renews us interiorly through a spiritual transformation.18 (Cf. ⇒ Eph 4:23. ) He enlightens and strengthens us to live as "children of light" through "all that is good and right and true."19 (Eph 5:8, 9. )
) "sanctified . . . (and) called to be saints,"14 (1 Cor 1:2. ) Christians have become the temple of the Holy Spirit.15 (Cf. ⇒ 1 Cor 6:19. ) This "Spirit of the Son" teaches them to pray to the Father16 (Cf. ⇒ Gal 4:6. ) and, having become their life, prompts them to act so as to bear "the fruit of the Spirit"17 ( Gal 5:22, 25.) by charity in action. Healing the wounds of sin, the Holy Spirit renews us interiorly through a spiritual transformation.18 (Cf. ⇒ Eph 4:23. ) He enlightens and strengthens us to live as "children of light" through "all that is good and right and true."19 (Eph 5:8, 9. )
1696
The way of Christ "leads to life"; a contrary way "leads to
destruction."20 ( Mt 7:13; cf. ⇒ Deut 30: 15-20.) The Gospel parable of the two ways remains ever present in
the catechesis of the Church; it shows the importance of moral decisions for
our salvation: "There are two ways, the one of life, the other of death;
but between the two, there is a great difference."21 ( Didache 1, 1: SCh 248, 140.)
1697
Catechesis has to reveal in all clarity the joy and the demands of the way of
Christ.22 ( Cf. John Paul II, CT 29.) Catechesis for the "newness of life"23 (Rom 6:4.) in him should be:
-a
catechesis of the Holy Spirit, the interior Master of life according to Christ,
a gentle guest and friend who inspires, guides, corrects and strengthens this
life;
-a
catechesis of grace, for it is by grace that we are saved and again it is by
grace that our works can bear fruit for eternal life;
-a
catechesis of the beatitudes, for the way of Christ, is summed up in the
beatitudes, the only path that leads to the eternal beatitude for which the
human heart longs;
-a
catechesis of sin and forgiveness, for unless man acknowledges that he is a
sinner, he cannot know the truth about himself, which is a condition for acting
justly; and without the offer of forgiveness he would not be able to bear this
truth;
-a
catechesis of the human virtues which causes one to grasp the beauty and the attraction of right dispositions towards goodness;
-a
catechesis of the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and charity, generously
inspired by the example of the saints; -a catechesis of the twofold commandment
of a charity set forth in the Decalogue;
-an
ecclesial catechesis, for it is through the manifold exchanges of
"spiritual goods" in the "communion of saints" that Christian
life can grow, develop, and be communicated.
1698
The first and last point of reference of this catechesis will always be Jesus
Christ himself, who is "the way, and the truth, and the life."24 ( Jn 14:6.) It
is by looking to him in faith that Christ's faithful can hope that he himself
fulfills his promises in them, and that, by loving him with the same love with
which he has loved them, they may perform works in keeping with their dignity:
I
ask you to consider that our Lord Jesus Christ is your true head, and that you
are one of his members. He belongs to you as the head belongs to its members;
all that is his is yours: his spirit, his heart, his body and soul, and all his
faculties. You must make use of all these as of your own, to serve, praise,
love, and glorify God. You belong to him, as members belong to their head. and
so he longs for you to use all that is in you, as if it were his own, for the
service and glory of the Father.25
For
to me, to live is Christ.26
GO TO:
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
PART FOUR: CHRISTIAN PRAYER
PART THREE LIFE IN CHRIST
Copyright © 2020 by Ekklesia Katholos (Acts 9:31)
GO TO:
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
PART FOUR: CHRISTIAN PRAYER
Copyright © 2020 by Ekklesia Katholos (Acts 9:31)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.
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