Baptism constitutes the foundation of Communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: "For men who Believe in Christ and have been properly Baptized are Put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by Faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reaSon are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church." 80 "Baptism therefore constitutes the sacramental bond of Unity existing among all who through it are reborn." 81

From the very beginning God blessed all living beings, especially man and woman. the covenant with Noah and with all living things renewed this blessing of fruitfulness despite man's sin which had brought a curse on the ground. But with Abraham, the divine blessing entered into human history which was moving toward death, to redirect it toward life, toward its source. By the Faith of "the Father of all Believers," who embraced the blessing, the history of salvation is inaugurated.

Thus the Creed's final "Amen" repeats and confirms its first words: "I Believe." To believe is to say "Amen" to God's words, promises and commandments; to entrust oneself completely to him who is the "Amen" of infinite Love and perfect Faithfulness. the Christian's everyday life will then be the "Amen" to the "I believe" of our Baptismal profession of Faith:

In Hebrew, amen comes from the same root as the word "Believe." This root expresses solidity, trustworthiness, Faithfulness. and so we can understand why "Amen" may express both God's Faithfulness towards us and our trust in him.

The message of the Last Judgment calls men to conversion while God is still giving them "the acceptable time, . . . the day of salvation." 627 It inspires a holy fear of God and commits them to the justice of the Kingdom of God. It proclaims the "blessed Hope" of the Lord's return, when he will come "to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all who have Believed." 628

Jesus often speaks of "Gehenna" of "the unquenchable fire" reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to Believe and be converted, where both soul and body can be lost. 612 Jesus solemnly proclaims that he "will send his angels, and they will gather . . . all evil doers, and throw them into the furnace of fire," 613 and that he will pronounce the condemnation: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire!" 614

"By the saving word of God, Faith . . . is nourished in the hearts of Believers. By this faith then the congregation of the Faithful begins and grows." 21 The proclamation does not stop with a teaching; it elicits the response of faith as consent and commitment, directed at the covenant between God and his people. Once again it is the Holy Spirit who gives the Grace of faith, strengthens it and makes it grow in the commUnity. the liturgical assembly is first of all a Communion in faith.

The Church's Faith precedes the faith of the Believer who is invited to adhere to it. When the Church celebrates the sacraments, she confesses the faith received from the apostles - whence the ancient saying: lex orandi, lex credendi (or: legem credendi lex statuat supplicandi according to Prosper of Aquitaine [5th cent.]). 45 The law of prayer is the law of faith: the Church believes as she prays. Liturgy is a constitutive element of the holy and living Tradition. 46

The Church affirms that for Believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. 51 "Sacramental Grace" is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. the Spirit heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. the fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the Faithful partakers in the divine nature 52 by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Savior.

The Baptized have become "living stones" to be "built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood." 73 By Baptism they share in the priesthood of Christ, in his prophetic and royal mission. They are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that [they] may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called [them] out of darkness into his marvelous light." 74 Baptism gives a share in the common priesthood of all Believers.

The Most Holy Trinity gives the Baptized sanctifying Grace, the grace of justification: - enabling them to Believe in God, to Hope in him, and to Love him through the theological virtues; - giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit; - allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues. Thus the whole organism of the Christian's supernatural life has its roots in Baptism.

For the Grace of Baptism to unfold, the parents' help is important. So too is the role of the GodFather and godmother, who must be firm Believers, able and ready to help the newly Baptized - child or adult on the road of Christian life. 55 Their task is a truly ecclesial function (officium). 56 The whole ecclesial commUnity bears some responsibility for the development and safeguarding of the grace given at Baptism.

Baptism is the sacrament of Faith. 54 But faith needs the commUnity of Believers. It is only within the faith of the Church that each of the Faithful can believe. the faith required for Baptism is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called to develop. the catechumen or the Godparent is asked: "What do you ask of God's Church?" the response is: "Faith!"

According to the Apostle Paul, the Believer enters through Baptism into Communion with Christ's death, is buried with him, and rises with him:

From the very day of Pentecost the Church has celebrated and administered holy Baptism. Indeed St. Peter declares to the crowd astounded by his preaching: "Repent, and be Baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." 26 The apostles and their collaborators offer Baptism to anyone who Believed in Jesus: Jews, the God-fearing, pagans. 27 Always, Baptism is seen as connected with Faith: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household," St. Paul declared to his jailer in Philippi. and the narrative continues, the jailer "was baptized at once, with all his family." 28

"Holy Mother Church Believes that she should celebrate the saving work of her divine Spouse in a sacred commemoration on certain days throughout the course of the year. Once each week, on the day which she has called the Lord's Day, she keeps the memory of the Lord's Resurrection. She also celebrates it once every year, together with his blessed Passion, at Easter, that most solemn of all feasts. In the course of the year, moreover, she unfolds the whole mystery of Christ .... Thus recalling the mysteries of the redemption, she opens up to the Faithful the riches of her Lord's powers and merits, so that these are in some way made present in every age; the Faithful lay hold of them and are filled with saving Grace." 33

The liturgy of the Word is an integral part of sacramental celebrations. To nourish the Faith of Believers, the signs which accompany the Word of God should be emphasized: the book of the Word (a lectionary or a book of the Gospels), its veneration (procession, incense, candles), the place of its proclamation (lectern or ambo), its audible and intelligible reading, the minister's homily which extends its proclamation, and the responses of the assembly (acclamations, meditation psalms, litanies, and profession of faith).

By his death and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has "opened" heaven to us. the life of the blessed consists in the full and perfect possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ. He makes partners in his heavenly glorification those who have Believed in him and remained Faithful to his will. Heaven is the blessed commUnity of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ.

"How are they to Believe in him of whom they have never heard? and how are they to hear without a preacher? and how can men preach unless they are sent?" 390 No one - no individual and no commUnity - can proclaim the Gospel to himself: "Faith comes from what is heard." 391 No one can give himself the mandate and the mission to proclaim the Gospel. the one sent by the Lord does not speak and act on his own authority, but by virtue of Christ's authority; not as a member of the community, but speaking to it in the name of Christ. No one can bestow Grace on himself; it must be given and offered. This fact presupposes ministers of grace, authorized and empowered by Christ. From him, they receive the mission and faculty ("the sacred power") to act in perSona Christi Capitis. the ministry in which Christ's emissaries do and give by God's grace what they cannot do and give by their own powers, is called a "sacrament" by the Church's tradition. Indeed, the ministry of the Church is conferred by a special sacrament.

The missionary task implies a respectful dialogue with those who do not yet accept the Gospel. 359 Believers can profit from this dialogue by learning to appreciate better "those elements of Truth and Grace which are found among peoples, and which are, as it were, a secret presence of God." 360 They proclaim the Good News to those who do not know it, in order to consolidate, complete, and raise up the truth and the goodness that God has distributed among men and nations, and to purify them from error and evil "for the glory of God, the confusion of the demon, and the happiness of man." 361

By her very mission, "the Church . . . travels the same journey as all humanity and shares the same earthly lot with the world: she is to be a leaven and, as it were, the soul of human society in its renewal by Christ and transformation into the family of God." 351 Missionary endeavor requires patience. It begins with the proclamation of the Gospel to peoples and groups who do not yet Believe in Christ, 352 continues with the establishment of Christian communities that are "a sign of God's presence in the world," 353 and leads to the foundation of local churches. 354 It must involve a process of inculturation if the Gospel is to take Flesh in each people's culture. 355 There will be times of defeat. "With regard to individuals, groups, and peoples it is only by degrees that [the Church] touches and penetrates them and so receives them into a fullness which is Catholic." 356

Missionary motivation. It is from God's Love for all men that the Church in every age receives both the obligation and the vigor of her missionary dynamism, "for the love of Christ urges us on." 343 Indeed, God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth"; 344 that is, God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the truth. Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey the prompting of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of salvation. But the Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to meet their desire, so as to bring them the truth. Because she Believes in God's universal plan of salvation, the Church must be missionary.

"The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the Baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic Faith in its entirety or have not preserved Unity or Communion under the successor of Peter." 322 Those "who Believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are Put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church." 323 With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound "that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord's Eucharist." 324

"All men are called to this Catholic Unity of the People of God.... and to it, in different ways, belong or are ordered: the Catholic Faithful, others who Believe in Christ, and finally all mankind, called by God's Grace to salvation." 320

By canonizing some of the Faithful, i.e., by solemnly pro claiming that they practiced heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to God's Grace, the Church recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the Hope of Believers by proposing the saints to them as models and intercessors. 303 "The saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church's history." 304 Indeed, "holiness is the hidden source and infallible measure of her apostolic activity and missionary zeal." 305

"Christ bestowed Unity on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we Believe, subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we Hope that it will continue to increase until the end of time." 277 Christ always gives his Church the gift of unity, but the Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her. This is why Jesus himself prayed at the hour of his Passion, and does not cease praying to his Father, for the unity of his Disciples: "That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, . . . so that the world may know that you have sent me." 278 The desire to recover the unity of all Christians is a gift of Christ and a call of the Holy Spirit. 279

"Since all the Faithful form one body, the good of each is communicated to the others.... We must therefore Believe that there exists a Communion of goods in the Church. But the most important member is Christ, since he is the head.... Therefore, the riches of Christ are communicated to all the members, through the sacraments." 478 "As this Church is governed by one and the same Spirit, all the goods she has received necessarily become a common fund." 479

In expectation of that day, the Believer's body and soul already participate in the dignity of belonging to Christ. This dignity entails the demand that he should treat with respect his own body, but also the body of every other perSon, especially the suffering:

United with Christ by Baptism, Believers already truly participate in the heavenly life of the risen Christ, but this life remains "hidden with Christ in God." 558 The Father has already "raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." 559 Nourished with his body in the Eucharist, we already belong to the Body of Christ. When we rise on the last day we "also will appear with him in glory." 560

From the beginning, Christian Faith in the Resurrection has met with incomprehension and opposition. 548 "On no point does the Christian faith encounter more opposition than on the resurrection of the body." 549 It is very commonly accepted that the life of the human perSon continues in a spiritual fashion after death. But how can we Believe that this body, so clearly mortal, could rise to everlasting life?

But there is more. Jesus links Faith in the Resurrection to his own perSon: "I am the Resurrection and the life." 542 It is Jesus himself who on the last day will raise up those who have Believed in him, who have eaten his body and drunk his blood. 543 Already now in this present life he gives a sign and pledge of this by restoring some of the dead to life, 544 announcing thereby his own Resurrection, though it was to be of another order. He speaks of this unique event as the "sign of Jonah," 545 The sign of the temple: he announces that he will be Put to death but rise thereafter on the third day. 546

We firmly Believe, and hence we Hope that, just as Christ is truly risen from the dead and lives for ever, so after death the righteous will live for ever with the risen Christ and he will raise them up on the last day. 532 Our Resurrection, like his own, will be the work of the Most Holy Trinity:

Our Lord tied the forgiveness of sins to Faith and Baptism: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who Believes and is Baptized will be saved." 519 Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification, so that "we too might walk in newness of life." 520

Since the Virgin Mary's role in the mystery of Christ and the Spirit has been treated, it is fitting now to consider her place in the mystery of the Church. "The Virgin Mary . . . is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer.... She is 'clearly the mother of the members of Christ' ... since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of Believers in the Church, who are members of its head." 500 "Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church." 501

The Church is one because of her source: "the highest exemplar and source of this mystery is the Unity, in the Trinity of PerSons, of one God, the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit." 259 The Church is one because of her founder: for "the Word made Flesh, the prince of peace, reconciled all men to God by the cross, . . . restoring the unity of all in one people and one body." 260 The Church is one because of her "soul": "It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who Believe and pervading and ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that wonderful Communion of the Faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that he is the principle of the Church's unity." 261 Unity is of the essence of the Church:

This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah's, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people. 93 On several occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit, 94 a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost. 95 Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim "the mighty works of God," and Peter declared this outpouring of the Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age. 96 Those who Believed in the apostolic preaching and were Baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in their turn. 97

Grammatically, "our" qualifies a reality common to more than one perSon. There is only one God, and he is recognized as Father by those who, through Faith in his only Son, are reborn of him by water and the Spirit. 47 The Church is this new Communion of God and men. United with the only Son, who has become "the firstborn among many brethren," she is in communion with one and the same Father in one and the same Holy Spirit. 48 In praying "our" Father, each of the Baptized is praying in this communion: "The company of those who Believed were of one heart and soul." 49

As a final stage in the purification of his Faith, Abraham, "who had received the promises," 13 is asked to sacrifice the Son God had given him. Abraham's faith does not weaken (“God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering."), for he "considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead." 14 and so the Father of Believers is conformed to the likeness of the Father who will not spare his own Son but wiLl deliver him up for us all. 15 Prayer restores man to God's likeness and enables him to share in the power of God's Love that saves the multitude. 16

Because Abraham Believed in God and walked in his presence and in covenant with him, 10 The patriarch is ready to welcome a mysterious Guest into his tent. Abraham's remarkable hospitality at Mamre foreshadows the annunciation of the true Son of the promise. 11 After that, once God had confided his plan, Abraham's heart is attuned to his Lord's compassion for men and he dares to intercede for them with bold confidence. 12

"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through Faith in Jesus Christ for all who Believe." 332 Henceforth, Christ's Faithful "have crucified the Flesh with its passions and desires"; they are led by the Spirit and follow the desires of the Spirit. 333

In Jesus Christ, the whole of God's Truth has been made manifest. "Full of Grace and truth," he came as the "light of the world," he is the Truth. 256 "Whoever Believes in me may not remain in darkness." 257 The disciple of Jesus continues in his word so as to know "the truth [that] will make you free" and that sanctifies. 258 To follow Jesus is to live in "the Spirit of truth," whom the Father sends in his name and who leads "into all the truth." 259 To his Disciples Jesus teaches the unconditional Love of truth: "Let what you say be simply 'Yes or No.'" 260

Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reaSon of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized. It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who Believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." 85 Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or office are obliged to teach and educate others. Jesus reproaches the scribes and Pharisees on this account: he likens them to wolves in sheep's clothing. 86

Among all the words of Revelation, there is one which is unique: the Revealed name of God. God confides his name to those who Believe in him; he reveals himself to them in his perSonal mystery. the gift of a name belongs to the order of trust and intimacy. "The Lord's name is holy." For this reason man must not abuse it. He must keep it in mind in silent, loving adoration. He will not introduce it into his own speech except to bless, praise, and glorify it. 74

Since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the virtue of religion. 61 The imPutability of this offense can be significantly diminished in virtue of the intentions and the circumstances. "Believers can have more than a little to do with the rise of atheism. To the extent that they are careless about their instruction in the Faith, or present its teaching falsely, or even fail in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion." 62

After Elijah had learned mercy during his retreat at the Wadi Cherith, he teaches the widow of Zarephath to Believe in the Word of God and confirms her Faith by his urgent prayer: God brings the widow's child back to life. 33 The sacrifice on Mount Carmel is a decisive test for the faith of the People of God. In response to Elijah's plea, "Answer me, O Lord, answer me," the Lord's fire consumes the holocaust, at the time of the evening oblation. the Eastern liturgies repeat Elijah's plea in the Eucharistic epiclesis. Finally, taking the desert road that leads to the place where the living and true God reveals himself to his people, Elijah, like Moses before him, hides "in a cleft of he rock" until the mysterious presence of God has passed by. 34 But only on the mountain of the Transfiguration will Moses and Elijah behold the unveiled face of him whom they sought; "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God [shines] in the face of Christ," crucified and risen. 35

Certain constant characteristics appear throughout the Psalms: simplicity and spontaneity of prayer; the desire for God himself through and with all that is good in his creation; the distraught situation of the Believer who, in his preferential Love for the Lord, is exposed to a host of enemies and temptations, but who waits upon what the Faithful God will do, in the certitude of his love and in submission to his will. the prayer of the psalms is always sustained by praise; that is why the title of this collection as handed down to us is so fitting: "The Praises." Collected for the assembly's worship, the Psalter both sounds the call to prayer and sings the response to that call: Hallelu-Yah! (“Alleluia"), "Praise the Lord!"

Just as Jesus prays to the Father and gives thanks before receiving his gifts, so he teaches us filial boldness: "Whatever you ask in prayer, Believe that you receive it, and you will." 66 Such is the power of prayer and of Faith that does not doubt: "all things are possible to him who believes." 67 Jesus is as saddened by the "lack of faith" of his own neighbors and the "little faith" of his own Disciples 68 as he is struck with admiration at the great faith of the Roman centurion and the Canaanite woman. 69

We can invoke God as "Father" because he is Revealed to us by his Son become man and because his Spirit makes him known to us. the personal relation of the Son to the Father is something that man cannot conceive of nor the angelic powers even dimly see: and yet, the Spirit of the Son grants a participation in that very relation to us who Believe that Jesus is the Christ and that we are born of God. 32

This indivisible gift of the Lord's words and of the Holy Spirit who gives life to them in the hearts of Believers has been received and lived by the Church from the beginning. the first communities prayed the Lord's Prayer three times a day, 18 in place of the "Eighteen Benedictions" customary in Jewish piety.

In this Paschal and sacrificial prayer, Everything is recapitulated in Christ: 45 God and the world; the Word and the Flesh; eternal life and time; the Love that hands itself over and the sin that betrays it; the Disciples present and those who will Believe in him by their word; humiliation and glory. It is the prayer of Unity.

The most common yet most hidden temptation is our lack of Faith. It expresses itself less by declared incredulity than by our actual preferences. When we begin to pray, a thousand labors or cares thought to be urgent vie for priority; once again, it is the moment of Truth for the heart: what is its real Love? Sometimes we turn to the Lord as a last resort, but do we really Believe he is? Sometimes we enlist the Lord as an ally, but our heart remains presumptuous. In each case, our lack of faith reveals that we do not yet share in the disposition of a humble heart: "Apart from me, you can do nothing." 20

The Lord leads all perSons by paths and in ways pleasing to him, and each Believer responds according to his heart's resolve and the personal expressions of his prayer. However, Christian Tradition has retained three major expressions of prayer: vocal meditative, and contemplative. They have one basic trait in common: composure of heart. This vigilance in keeping the Word and dwelling in the presence of God makes these three expressions intense times in the life of prayer.

This twofold movement of prayer to Mary has found a privileged expression in the Ave Maria: Hail Mary [or Rejoice, Mary]: the greeting of the angel Gabriel opens this prayer. It is God himself who, through his angel as intermediary, greets Mary. Our prayer dares to take up this greeting to Mary with the regard God had for the lowliness of his humble servant and to exult in the joy he finds in her. 30 Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee: These two phrases of the angel's greeting shed light on one another. Mary is full of grace because the Lord is with her. the grace with which she is filled is the presence of him who is the source of all grace. "Rejoice . . . O Daughter of Jerusalem . . . the Lord your God is in your midst." 31 Mary, in whom the Lord himself has just made his dwelling, is the daughter of Zion in perSon, the ark of the covenant, the place where the glory of the Lord dwells. She is "the dwelling of God . . . with men." 32 Full of grace, Mary is wholly given over to him who has come to dwell in her and whom she is about to give to the world. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. After the angel's greeting, we make Elizabeth's greeting our own. "Filled with the Holy Spirit," Elizabeth is the first in the long succession of generations who have called Mary "blessed." 33 "Blessed is she who Believed...." 34 Mary is "blessed among women" because she believed in the fulfillment of the Lord's word. Abraham. because of his Faith, became a blessing for all the nations of the earth. 35 Mary, because of her faith, became the mother of believers, through whom all nations of the earth receive him who is God's own blessing: Jesus, the "fruit of thy womb."

The tradition of Christian prayer is one of the ways in which the tradition of Faith takes shape and grows, especially through the contemplation and study of Believers who treasure in their hearts the events and words of the economy of salvation, and through their profound grasp of the spiritual realities they experience. 2

In the first commUnity of Jerusalem, Believers "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and the prayers." 95 This sequence is characteristic of the Church's prayer: founded on the apostolic Faith; authenticated by charity; nourished in the Eucharist.

The first commandment condemns polytheism. It requires man neither to Believe in, nor to venerate, other divinities than the one true God. Scripture constantly recalls this rejection of "idols, (of) silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see." These empty idols make their worshippers empty: "Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them." 42 God, however, is the "living God" 43 who gives life and intervenes in history.

Incredulity is the neglect of Revealed Truth or the willful refusal to assent to it. "Heresy is the obstinate post-Baptismal denial of some truth which must be Believed with divine and Catholic Faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of Communion with the members of the Church subject to him." 11

Our moral life has its source in Faith in God who reveals his Love to us. St. Paul speaks of the "obedience of faith" 9 as our first obligation. He shows that "ignorance of God" is the principle and explanation of all moral deviations. 10 Our duty toward God is to Believe in him and to bear witness to him.

Christ, high priest and unique mediator, has made of the Church "a kingdom, priests for his God and Father." 20 The whole commUnity of Believers is, as such, priestly. the Faithful exercise their Baptismal priesthood through their participation, each according to his own vocation, in Christ's mission as priest, prophet, and king. Through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation the Faithful are "consecrated to be . . . a holy priesthood." 21

The Church Believes and confesses that among the seven sacraments there is one especially intended to strengthen those who are being tried by illness, the Anointing of the Sick:

"Heal the sick!" 120 The Church has received this charge from the Lord and strives to carry it out by taking care of the sick as well as by accompanying them with her prayer of intercession. She Believes in the life-giving presence of Christ, the physician of souls and bodies. This presence is particularly active through the sacraments, and in an altogether special way through the Eucharist, the bread that gives eternal life and that St. Paul suggests is connected with bodily health. 121

Often Jesus asks the sick to Believe. 107 He makes use of signs to heal: spittle and the laying on of hands, 108 mud and washing. 109 The sick try to touch him, "for power came forth from him and healed them all." 110 and so in the sacraments Christ continues to "touch" us in order to heal us.

Since Easter, the Holy Spirit has proved "the world wrong about sin," 29 i.e., proved that the world has not Believed in him whom the Father has sent. But this same Spirit who brings sin to light is also the Consoler who gives the human heart Grace for repentance and conversion. 30

Jesus calls to conversion. This call is an essential part of the proclamation of the kingdom: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and Believe in the gospel." 16 In the Church's preaching this call is addressed first to those who do not yet know Christ and his Gospel. Also, Baptism is the principal place for the first and fundamental conversion. It is by Faith in the Gospel and by Baptism 17 that one renounces evil and gains salvation, that is, the forgiveness of all sins and the gift of new life.

The Eucharist and the Unity of Christians. Before the greatness of this mystery St. Augustine exclaims, "O sacrament of devotion! O sign of unity! O bond of charity!" 234 The more painful the experience of the divisions in the Church which break the common participation in the table of the Lord, the more urgent are our prayers to the Lord that the time of complete unity among all who Believe in him may return.

Through the ordained ministry, especially that of bishops and priests, the presence of Christ as head of the Church is made visible in the midst of the commUnity of Believers. 26 In the beautiful expression of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the bishop is typos tou Patros: he is like the living image of God the Father. 27

Christ chose to be born and grow up in the bosom of the holy family of Joseph and Mary. the Church is nothing other than "the family of God." From the beginning, the core of the Church was often constituted by those who had become Believers "together with all [their] household." 164 When they were converted, they desired that "their whole household" should also be saved. 165 These families who became believers were islands of Christian life in an unbelieving world.

He who Believes in Christ becomes a Son of God. This filial adoption transforms him by giving him the ability to follow the example of Christ. It makes him capable of acting rightly and doing good. In union with his Savior, the disciple attains the perfection of charity which is holiness. Having matured in Grace, the moral life blossoms into eternal life in the glory of heaven.

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 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.

The children of our holy mother the Church rightly Hope for the Grace of final perseverance and the recompense of God their Father for the good works accomplished with his grace in Communion with Jesus. 70 Keeping the same rule of life, Believers share the "blessed hope" of those whom the divine mercy gathers into the "holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." 71

Christian Hope takes up and fulfills the hope of the chosen people which has its origin and model in the hope of Abraham, who was blessed abundantly by the promises of God fulfilled in Isaac, and who was purified by the test of the sacrifice. 86 "Hoping against hope, he Believed, and thus became the Father of many nations." 87

The gift of Faith remains in one who has not sinned against it. 80 But "faith apart from works is dead": 81 when it is deprived of Hope and Love, faith does not fully unite the Believer to Christ and does not make him a living member of his Body.

Faith is the theological virtue by which we Believe in God and believe all that he has said and Revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is Truth itself. By faith "man freely commits his entire self to God." 78 For this reaSon the believer seeks to know and do God's will. "The righteous shall live by faith." Living faith "work(s) through charity." 79

In the sense of Sacred Scripture the memorial is not merely the recollection of past events but the proclamation of the mighty works wrought by God for men. 182 In the liturgical celebration of these events, they become in a certain way present and real. This is how Israel understands its liberation from Egypt: every time Passover is celebrated, the Exodus events are made present to the memory of Believers so that they may conform their lives to them.

The apostolic Faith concerning the Spirit was confessed by the second ecumenical council at Constantinople (381): "We Believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father." 71 By this confession, the Church recognizes the Father as "the source and origin of the whole divinity". 72 But the eternal origin of the Spirit is not unconnected with the Son's origin: "The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son, of the same substance and also of the same nature. . . Yet he is not called the Spirit of the Father alone,. . . but the Spirit of both the Father and the Son." 73 The Creed of the Church from the Council of Constantinople confesses: "With the Father and the Son, he is worshipped and glorified." 74

"Indeed, the Church, though scattered throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, having received the Faith from the apostles and their Disciples. . . guards [this preaching and faith] with care, as dwelling in but a single house, and similarly Believes as if having but one soul and a single heart, and preaches, teaches and hands on this faith with a unanimous voice, as if possessing only one mouth." 59

We do not Believe in formulae, but in those realities they express, which Faith allows us to touch. "The believer's act [of faith] does not terminate in the propositions, but in the realities [which they express]." 56 All the same, we do approach these realities with the help of formulations of the faith which permit us to express the faith and to hand it on, to celebrate it in commUnity, to assimilate and live on it more and more.

Salvation comes from God alone; but because we receive the life of Faith through the Church, she is our mother: "We Believe the Church as the mother of our new birth, and not in the Church as if she were the author of our salvation." 55 Because she is our mother, she is also our teacher in the faith.

It is the Church that Believes first, and so bears, nourishes and sustains my Faith. Everywhere, it is the Church that first confesses the Lord: "Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you", as we sing in the hymn Te Deum; with her and in her, we are won over and brought to confess: "I believe", "We believe". It is through the Church that we receive faith and new life in Christ by Baptism. In the Rituale Romanum, the minister of Baptism asks the catechumen: "What do you ask of God's Church?" and the answer is: "Faith." "What does faith offer you?" "Eternal life." 54

"I Believe" (Apostles' Creed) is the Faith of the Church professed perSonally by each believer, principally during Baptism. "We believe" (Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) is the faith of the Church confessed by the bishops assembled in council or more generally by the liturgical assembly of believers. "I believe" is also the Church, our mother, responding to God by faith as she teaches us to say both "I believe" and "We believe".

Faith is a perSonal act - the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But faith is not an isolated act. No one can Believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. the believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others. Our Love for Jesus and for our neighbour impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith.

It is then we must turn to the witnesses of Faith: to Abraham, who "in Hope... Believed against hope"; 51 to the Virgin Mary, who, in "her pilgrimage of faith", walked into the "night of faith" 52 in sharing the darkness of her Son's suffering and death; and to so many others: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith." 53

"I Believe in God": this first affirmation of the Apostles' Creed is also the most fundamental. the whole Creed speaks of God, and when it also speaks of man and of the world it does so in relation to God. the other articles of the Creed all depend on the first, just as the remaining Commandments make the first explicit. the other articles help us to know God better as he Revealed himself progressively to men. "The Faithful first profess their belief in God." 2

As on the day of our Baptism, when our whole life was entrusted to the "standard of teaching", 14 let us embrace the Creed of our life-giving Faith. To say the Credo with faith is to enter into Communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and also with the whole Church which transmits the faith to us and in whose midst we Believe:

"These three parts are distinct although connected with one another. According to a compariSon often used by the Fathers, we call them articles. Indeed, just as in our bodily members there are certain articulations which distinguish and separate them, so too in this profession of Faith, the name "articles" has justly and rightly been given to the Truths we must Believe particularly and distinctly." 6 In accordance with an ancient tradition, already attested to by St. Ambrose, it is also customary to reckon the articles of the Creed as twelve, thus symbolizing the fullness of the apostolic faith by the number of the apostles. 7

The Greek word symbolon meant half of a broken object, for example, a seal presented as a token of recognition. the broken parts were placed together to verify the bearer's identity. the symbol of Faith, then, is a sign of recognition and Communion between Believers. Symbolon also means a gathering, collection or summary. A symbol of faith is a summary of the principal Truths of the faith and therefore serves as the first and fundamental point of reference for catechesis.

Such syntheses are called "professions of Faith" since they summarize the faith that Christians profess. They are called "Creeds" on account of what is usually their first word in Latin: credo ("I Believe"). They are also called "symbols of faith".

Whoever says "I Believe" says "I pledge myself to what we believe." Communion in Faith needs a common language of faith, normative for all and uniting all in the same confession of faith.

Now, however, "we walk by Faith, not by sight"; 49 we perceive God as "in a mirror, dimly" and only "in part". 50 Even though enlightened by him in whom it Believes, faith is often lived in darkness and can be Put to the test. the world we live in often seems very far from the one promised us by faith. Our experiences of evil and suffering, injustice and death, seem to contradict the Good News; they can shake our faith and become a temptation against it.

"Faith seeks understanding": 33 it is intrinsic to faith that a Believer desires to know better the One in whom he has Put his faith, and to understand better what He has Revealed; a more penetrating knowledge will in turn call forth a greater faith, increasingly set afire by Love. the Grace of faith opens "the eyes of your hearts" 34 to a lively understanding of the contents of Revelation: that is, of the totality of God's plan and the mysteries of faith, of their connection with each other and with Christ, the centre of the revealed mystery. "The same Holy Spirit constantly perfects faith by his gifts, so that Revelation may be more and more profoundly understood." 35 In the words of St. Augustine, "I believe, in order to understand; and I understand, the better to believe." 36

What moves us to Believe is not the fact that Revealed Truths appear as true and intelligible in the light of our natural reaSon: we believe "because of the authority of God himself who reveals them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived". 28 So "that the submission of our Faith might nevertheless be in accordance with reason, God willed that external proofs of his Revelation should be joined to the internal helps of the Holy Spirit." 29 Thus the miracles of Christ and the saints, prophecies, the Church's growth and holiness, and her fruitfulness and stability "are the most certain signs of divine Revelation, adapted to the intelligence of all"; they are "motives of credibility" (motiva credibilitatis), which show that the assent of faith is "by no means a blind impulse of the mind". 30

This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, "the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she Believes." 37 "The sayings of the holy Fathers are a witness to the life-giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her belief and her prayer." 38

The people descended from Abraham would be the trustee of the promise made to the patriarchs, the chosen people, called to prepare for that day when God would gather all his children into the Unity of the Church. 18 They would be the root on to which the Gentiles would be grafted, once they came to Believe. 19

In defending the ability of human reaSon to know God, the Church is expressing her confidence in the possibility of speaking about him to all men and with all men, and therefore of dialogue with other religions, with philosophy and science, as well as with unBelievers and atheists.

But this "intimate and vital bond of man to God" (GS 19 # 1) can be forgotten, overlooked, or even explicitly rejected by man. 3 Such attitudes can have different causes: revolt against evil in the world; religious ignorance or indifference; the cares and riches of this world; the scandal of bad example on the part of Believers; currents of thought hostile to religion; finally, that attitude of sinful man which makes him hide from God out of fear and flee his call. 4

We begin our profession of Faith by saying: "I Believe" or "We believe". Before expounding the Church's faith, as confessed in the Creed, celebrated in the liturgy and lived in observance of God's commandments and in prayer, we must first ask what "to believe" means. Faith is man's response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life. Thus we shall consider first that search (Chapter One), then the divine Revelation by which God comes to meet man (Chapter Two), and finally the response of faith (Chapter Three).

The last part of the Catechism deals with the meaning and importance of prayer in the life of Believers (Section One). It concludes with a brief commentary on the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer (Section Two), for indeed we find in these the sum of all the good things which we must Hope for, and which our heavenly Father wants to grant us.

The plan of this catechism is inspired by the great tradition of catechisms which build catechesis on four pillars: the Baptismal profession of Faith (the Creed), the sacraments of faith, the life of faith (the Commandments), and the prayer of the Believer (the Lord's Prayer).

The Father's self-communication made through his Word in the Holy Spirit, remains present and active in the Church: "God, who spoke in the past, continues to converse with the Spouse of his beLoved Son. and the Holy Spirit, through whom the living voice of the Gospel rings out in the Church - and through her in the world - leads Believers to the full Truth, and makes the Word of Christ dwell in them in all its richness." 39

Thanks to the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the understanding of both the realities and the words of the heritage of Faith is able to grow in the life of the Church: - "through the contemplation and study of Believers who ponder these things in their hearts"; 57 it is in particular "theological research [which] deepens knowledge of Revealed Truth". 58 - "from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which [believers] experience", 59 The sacred Scriptures "grow with the one who reads them." 60 - "from the preaching of those who have received, along with their right of succession in the episcopate, the sure charism of truth". 61

Believing is possible only by Grace and the interior helps of the Holy Spirit. But it is no less true that believing is an authentically human act. Trusting in God and cleaving to the Truths he has Revealed is contrary neither to human freedom nor to human reaSon. Even in human relations it is not contrary to our dignity to Believe what other persons tell us about themselves and their intentions, or to trust their promises (for example, when a man and a woman marry) to share a Communion of life with one another. If this is so, still less is it contrary to our dignity to "yield by Faith the full submission of... intellect and will to God who reveals", 26 and to share in an interior communion with him.

When St. Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus declared to him that this revelation did not come "from Flesh and blood", but from "my Father who is in heaven". 24 Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him. "Before this faith can be exercised, man must have the Grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and 'makes it easy for all to accept and Believe the Truth.'" 25

One cannot Believe in Jesus Christ without sharing in his Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals to men who Jesus is. For "no one can say "Jesus is Lord", except by the Holy Spirit", 22 who "searches Everything, even the depths of God. . No one comprehends the thoughts of God, except the Spirit of God." 23 Only God knows God completely: we believe in the Holy Spirit because he is God.

For a Christian, believing in God cannot be separated from believing in the One he sent, his "beLoved Son", in whom the Father is "well pleased"; God tells us to listen to him. 18 The Lord himself said to his Disciples: "Believe in God, believe also in me." 19 We can believe in Jesus Christ because he is himself God, the Word made Flesh: "No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known." 20 Because he "has seen the Father", Jesus Christ is the only one who knows him and can reveal him. 21

Faith is first of all a perSonal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole Truth that God has Revealed. As personal adherence to God and assent to his truth, Christian faith differs from our faith in any human person. It is right and just to entrust oneself wholly to God and to Believe absolutely what he says. It would be futile and false to place such faith in a creature. 17

Throughout her life and until her last ordeal 15 when Jesus her Son died on the cross, Mary's Faith never wavered. She never ceased to Believe in the fulfilment of God's word. and so the Church venerates in Mary the purest realization of faith.

The Virgin Mary most perfectly embodies the obedience of Faith. By faith Mary welcomes the tidings and promise brought by the angel Gabriel, believing that "with God nothing will be impossible" and so giving her assent: "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." 12 Elizabeth greeted her: "Blessed is she who Believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." 13 It is for this faith that all generations have called Mary blessed. 14

Abraham thus fulfils the definition of Faith in Hebrews 11:1: "Faith is the assurance of things Hoped for, the conviction of things not seen": 7 "Abraham Believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." 8 Because he was "strong in his faith", Abraham became the "Father of all who believe". 9

Quite early on, the name catechesis was given to the totality of the Church's efforts to make Disciples, to help men Believe that Jesus is the Son of God so that believing they might have life in his name, and to educate and instruct them in this life, thus building up the body of Christ. 7

The divine perSons are relative to one another. Because it does not divide the divine Unity, the real distinction of the persons from one another resides solely in the relationships which relate them to one another: "In the relational names of the persons the Father is related to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to both. While they are called three persons in view of their relations, we Believe in one nature or substance." 89 Indeed "Everything (in them) is one where there is no opposition of relationship." 90 "Because of that unity the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Son is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son." 91

As for the Son, he effects his own Resurrection by virtue of his divine power. Jesus announces that the Son of man will have to suffer much, die, and then rise. 516 Elsewhere he affirms explicitly: "I lay down my life, that I may take it again. . . I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." 517 "We Believe that Jesus died and rose again." 518

Given all these testimonies, Christ's Resurrection cannot be interpreted as something outside the physical order, and it is impossible not to acknowledge it as an historical fact. It is clear from the facts that the Disciples' Faith was drastically Put to the test by their master's Passion and death on the cross, which he had foretold. 502 The shock provoked by the Passion was so great that at least some of the disciples did not at once Believe in the news of the Resurrection. Far from showing us a commUnity seized by a mystical exaltation, the Gospels present us with disciples demoralized ("looking sad" 503 ) and frightened. For they had not believed the holy women returning from the tomb and had regarded their words as an "idle tale". 504 When Jesus reveals himself to the Eleven on Easter evening, "he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen." 505

Everything that happened during those Paschal days involves each of the apostles - and Peter in particular - in the building of the new era begun on Easter morning. As witnesses of the Risen One, they remain the foundation stones of his Church. the Faith of the first commUnity of Believers is based on the witness of concrete men known to the Christians and for the most part still living among them. Peter and the Twelve are the primary "witnesses to his Resurrection", but they are not the only ones - Paul speaks clearly of more than five hundred perSons to whom Jesus appeared on a single occasion and also of James and of all the apostles. 501

"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." 492 The first element we encounter in the framework of the Easter events is the empty tomb. In itself it is not a direct proof of Resurrection; the absence of Christ's body from the tomb could be explained otherwise. 493 Nonetheless the empty tomb was still an essential sign for all. Its discovery by the Disciples was the first step toward recognizing the very fact of the Resurrection. This was the case, first with the holy women, and then with Peter. 494 The disciple "whom Jesus Loved" affirmed that when he entered the empty tomb and discovered "the linen cloths lying there", "he saw and Believed". 495 This suggests that he realized from the empty tomb's condition that the absence of Jesus' body could not have been of human doing and that Jesus had not simply returned to earthly life as had been the case with Lazarus. 496

"We bring you the good news that what God promised to the Fathers, this day he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus." 488 The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning Truth of our Faith in Christ, a faith Believed and lived as the central truth by the first Christian commUnity; handed on as fundamental by Tradition; established by the documents of the New Testament; and preached as an essential part of the Paschal mystery along with the cross:

The religious authorities in Jerusalem were not unanimous about what stance to take towards Jesus. 380 The Pharisees threatened to excommunicate his followers. 381 To those who feared that "everyone will Believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation", the high priest Caiaphas replied by prophesying: "It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish." 382 The Sanhedrin, having declared Jesus deserving of death as a blasphemer but having lost the right to Put anyone to death, hands him over to the Romans, accusing him of political revolt, a charge that puts him in the same category as Barabbas who had been accused of sedition. 383 The chief priests also threatened Pilate politically so that he would condemn Jesus to death. 384

Among the religious authorities of Jerusalem, not only were the Pharisee Nicodemus and the prominent Joseph of Arimathea both secret Disciples of Jesus, but there was also long-standing dissension about him, so much so that St. John says of these authorities on the very eve of Christ's Passion, "many.. . Believed in him", though very imperfectly. 378 This is not surprising, if one recalls that on the day after Pentecost "a great many of the priests were obedient to the Faith" and "some believers. . . belonged to the party of the Pharisees", to the point that St. James could tell St. Paul, "How many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed; and they are all zealous for the Law." 379

Jesus asked the religious authorities of Jerusalem to Believe in him because of the Father's works which he accomplished. 373 But such an act of Faith must go through a mysterious death to self, for a new "birth from above" under the influence of divine Grace. 374 Such a demand for conversion in the face of so surprising a fulfilment of the promises 375 allows one to understand the Sanhedrin's tragic misunderstanding of Jesus: they judged that he deserved the death sentence as a blasphemer. 376 The members of the Sanhedrin were thus acting at the same time out of "ignorance" and the "hardness" of their "unbelief". 377

Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the Faith of many Believers. 573 The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth 574 will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the Truth. the supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the Flesh. 575

To Believe in the Holy Spirit is to profess that the Holy Spirit is one of the perSons of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son: "with the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified." 6 For this reason, the divine mystery of the Holy Spirit was already treated in the context of Trinitarian "theology." Here, however, we have to do with the Holy Spirit only in the divine "economy."

"No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." 7 Now God's Spirit, who reveals God, makes known to us Christ, his Word, his living Utterance, but the Spirit does not speak of himself. the Spirit who "has spoken through the prophets" makes us hear the Father's Word, but we do not hear the Spirit himself. We know him only in the movement by which he reveals the Word to us and disposes us to welcome him in Faith. the Spirit of Truth who "unveils" Christ to us "will not speak on his own." 8 Such properly divine self-effacement explains why "the world cannot receive (him), because it neither sees him nor knows him," while those who Believe in Christ know the Spirit because he dwells with them. 9

Believers who respond to God's word and become members of Christ's Body, become intimately united with him: "In that body the life of Christ is communicated to those who believe, and who, through the sacraments, are united in a hidden and real way to Christ in his Passion and glorification." 220 This is especially true of Baptism, which unites us to Christ's death and Resurrection, and the Eucharist, by which "really sharing in the body of the Lord, . . . we are taken up into Communion with him and with one another." 221

"The eternal Father, in accordance with the utterly gratuitous and mysterious design of his wisdom and goodness, created the whole universe and chose to raise up men to share in his own divine life," 150 to which he calls all men in his Son. "The Father . . . determined to call together in a holy Church those who should Believe in Christ." 151 This "family of God" is gradually formed and takes shape during the stages of human history, in keeping with the Father's plan. In fact, "already present in figure at the beginning of the world, this Church was prepared in marvellous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and the old Advance. Established in this last age of the world and made manifest in the outpouring of the Spirit, it will be brought to glorious completion at the end of time." 152

In Christian usage, the word "Church" designates the liturgical assembly, 141 but also the local commUnity 142 or the whole universal community of Believers. 143 These three meanings are inseparable. "The Church" is the People that God gathers in the whole world. She exists in local communities and is made real as a liturgical, above all a Eucharistic, assembly. She draws her life from the word and the Body of Christ and so herself becomes Christ's Body.

The word "Church" (Latin ecclesia, from the Greek ek-ka-lein, to "call out of") means a convocation or an assembly. It designates the assemblies of the people, usually for a religious purpose. 139 Ekklesia is used frequently in the Greek Old Testament for the assembly of the Chosen People before God, above all for their assembly on Mount Sinai where Israel received the Law and was established by God as his holy people. 140 By calling itself "Church," the first commUnity of Christian Believers recognized itself as heir to that assembly. In the Church, God is "calling together" his people from all the ends of the earth. the equivalent Greek term Kyriake, from which the English word Church and the German Kirche are derived, means "what belongs to the Lord."

To Believe that the Church is "holy" and "Catholic," and that she is "one" and "apostolic" (as the Nicene Creed adds), is inseparable from belief in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the Apostles' Creed we profess "one Holy Church" (Credo . . . Ecclesiam), and not to believe in the Church, so as not to confuse God with his works and to attribute clearly to God's goodness all the gifts he has bestowed on his Church. 138

These "mighty works of God," offered to Believers in the sacraments of the Church, bear their fruit in the new life in Christ, according to the Spirit. (This will be the topic of Part Three.)

On that day, the Holy Trinity is fully Revealed. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to those who Believe in him: in the humility of the Flesh and in Faith, they already share in the Communion of the Holy Trinity. By his coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the "last days," the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated.

Jesus is Christ, "anointed," because the Spirit is his anointing, and Everything that occurs from the Incarnation on derives from this fullness. 11 When Christ is finally glorified, 12 he can in turn send the Spirit from his place with the Father to those who Believe in him: he communicates to them his glory, 13 that is, the Holy Spirit who glorifies him. 14 From that time on, this joint mission will be manifested in the children adopted by the Father in the Body of his Son: the mission of the Spirit of adoption is to unite them to Christ and make them live in him:

"Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying: 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and Believe in the gospel.'" 246 "To carry out the will of the Father Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth." 247 Now the Father's will is "to raise up men to share in his own divine life". 248 He does this by gathering men around his Son Jesus Christ. This gathering is the Church, "on earth the seed and beginning of that kingdoms". 249

Many things about Jesus of interest to human curiosity do not figure in the Gospels. Almost nothing is said about his hidden life at Nazareth, and even a great part of his public life is not recounted. 172 What is written in the Gospels was set down there "so that you may Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name." 173

People are sometimes troubled by the silence of St. Mark's Gospel and the New Testament Epistles about Jesus' virginal conception. Some might wonder if we were merely dealing with legends or theological constructs not claiming to be history. To this we must respond: Faith in the virginal conception of Jesus met with the lively opposition, mockery or incomprehension of non-Believers, Jews and pagans alike; 151 so it could hardly have been motivated by pagan mythology or by some adaptation to the ideas of the age. the meaning of this event is accessible only to faith, which understands in it the "connection of these mysteries with one another" 152 in the totality of Christ's mysteries, from his Incarnation to his Passover. St. Ignatius of Antioch already bears witness to this connection: "Mary's virginity and giving birth, and even the Lord's death escaped the notice of the prince of this world: these three mysteries worthy of proclamation were accomplished in God's silence." 153

From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. 202 "Beside each Believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life." 203 Already here on earth the Christian life shares by Faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.

We firmly Believe that God is master of the world and of its history. But the ways of his providence are often unknown to us. Only at the end, when our partial knowledge ceases, when we see God "face to face", 184 will we fully know the ways by which - even through the dramas of evil and sin - God has guided his creation to that definitive sabbath rest 185 for which he created heaven and earth.

We Believe that God needs no pre-existent thing or any help in order to create, nor is creation any sort of necessary emanation from the divine substance. 144 God creates freely "out of nothing": 145

We Believe that God created the world according to his wisdom. 141 It is not the product of any necessity whatever, nor of blind fate or chance. We believe that it proceeds from God's free will; he wanted to make his creatures share in his being, wisdom and goodness: "For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." 142 Therefore the Psalmist exclaims: "O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all"; and "The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made." 143 God creates "out of nothing"

"Nothing is more apt to confirm our Faith and Hope than holding it fixed in our minds that nothing is impossible with God. Once our reaSon has grasped the idea of God's almighty power, it will easily and without any hesitation admit Everything that [the Creed] will afterwards propose for us to Believe - even if they be great and marvellous things, far above the ordinary laws of nature." 115

Only Faith can embrace the mysterious ways of God's almighty power. This faith glories in its weaknesses in order to draw to itself Christ's power. 113 The Virgin Mary is the supreme model of this faith, for she Believed that "nothing will be impossible with God", and was able to magnify the Lord: "For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name." 114

Faith in God the Father Almighty can be Put to the test by the experience of evil and suffering. God can sometimes seem to be absent and incapable of stopping evil. But in the most mysterious way God the Father has Revealed his almighty power in the voluntary humiliation and Resurrection of his Son, by which he conquered evil. Christ crucified is thus "the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." 111 It is in Christ's Resurrection and exaltation that the Father has shown forth "the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who Believe". 112

In creation God laid a foundation and established laws that remain firm, on which the Believer can rely with confidence, for they are the sign and pledge of the unshakeable Faithfulness of God's covenant. 214 For his part man must remain Faithful to this foundation, and respect the laws which the Creator has written into it.

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

What the Catholic Faith Believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ.

At the same time the Church has always acknowledged that in the body of Jesus "we see our God made visible and so are caught up in Love of the God we cannot see." 114 The individual characteristics of Christ's body express the divine perSon of God's Son. He has made the features of his human body his own, to the point that they can be venerated when portrayed in a holy image, for the Believer "who venerates the icon is venerating in it the person of the one depicted". 115

The Word became Flesh so that thus we might know God's Love: "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him." 72 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever Believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." 73

From the beginning of Christian history, the assertion of Christ's Lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his perSonal freedom in an absolute manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Caesar is not "the Lord". 67 "The Church. . . Believes that the key, the centre and the purpose of the whole of man's history is to be found in its Lord and Master." 68

The Gospels report that at two solemn moments, the Baptism and the Transfiguration of Christ, the voice of the Father designates Jesus his "beLoved Son". 53 Jesus calls himself the "only Son of God", and by this title affirms his eternal pre-existence. 54 He asks for Faith in "the name of the only Son of God". 55 In the centurion's exclamation before the crucified Christ, "Truly this man was the Son of God", 56 that Christian confession is already heard. Only in the Paschal mystery can the Believer give the title "Son of God" its full meaning.

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

of all the divine attributes, only God's omnipotence is named in the Creed: to confess this power has great bearing on our lives. We Believe that his might is universal, for God who created Everything also rules everything and can do everything. God's power is loving, for he is our Father, and mysterious, for only Faith can discern it when it "is made perfect in weakness". 103