"Individual, integral confession and absolution remain the only ordinary way for the Faithful to reconcile themselves with God and the Church, unless physical or moral impossibility excuses from this kind of confession." 94 There are profound reaSons for this. Christ is at work in each of the Sacraments. He personally addresses every Sinner: "My son, your Sins are forgiven." 95 He is the physician tending each one of the sick who need him to cure them. 96 He raises them up and reintegrates them into fraternal Communion. Personal confession is thus the form most expressive of reconciliation with God and with the Church.

In case of grave necessity recourse may be had to a communal celebration of reconciliation with general confession and general absolution. Grave necessity of this sort can arise when there is imminent danger of death without sufficient time for the priest or priests to hear each penitent's confession. Grave necessity can also exist when, given the number of penitents, there are not enough confessors to hear individual confessions properly in a reaSonable time, so that the penitents through no fault of their own would be deprived of Sacramental Grace or Holy Communion for a long time. In this case, for the absolution to be valid the Faithful must have the intention of individually confesSing their Sins in the time required. 91 The diocesan bishop is the judge of whether or not the conditions required for general absolution exist. 92 A large gathering of the Faithful on the occasion of major feasts or pilgrimages does not constitute a case of grave necessity. 93

Since the Faithful departed now being purified are also members of the same Communion of Saints, one way we can help them is to obtain indulgences for them, so that the temporal punishments due for their Sins may be remitted.

We also call these spiritual goods of the Communion of Saints the Church's treasury, which is "not the sum total of the material goods which have accumulated during the course of the centuries. On the contrary the 'treasury of the Church' is the infinite value, which can never be exhausted, which Christ's merits have before God. They were offered so that the whole of mankind could be set free from Sin and attain communion with the Father. In Christ, the Redeemer himself, the satisfactions and merits of his Redemption exist and find their effficacy." 87

In the Communion of Saints, "a perennial link of Charity exists between the Faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their Sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things." 86 In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the Sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.

The forgiveness of Sin and restoration of Communion with God entail the reMission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a Grace. He should strive by works of mercy and Charity, as well as by Prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the "old man" and to put on the "new man." 84

To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that Sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of Communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent Charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain. 83

This Sacrament reconciles us with the Church. Sin damages or even breaks fraternal Communion. the sacrament of Penance repairs or restores it. In this sense it does not simply heal the one restored to ecclesial communion, but has also a revitalizing effect on the life of the Church which suffered from the sin of one of her members. 76 Re-established or strengthened in the communion of Saints, the sinner is made stronger by the exchange of spiritual goods among all the living members of the Body of Christ, whether still on pilgrimage or already in the heavenly homeland: 77

According to the Church's command, "after having attained the age of discretion, each of the Faithful is bound by an obligation Faithfully to confess serious Sins at least once a year." 56 Anyone who is aware of having committed a mortal Sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received Sacramental absolution, unless he has a grave reaSon for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession. 57 Children must go to the sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time. 58

The confession (or disclosure) of Sins, even from a simply human point of view, frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others. Through such an adMission man looks squarely at the Sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the Communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible.

Beneath the changes in discipline and celebration that this Sacrament has undergone over the centuries, the same fundamental structure is to be discerned. It comprises two equally essential elements: on the one hand, the acts of the man who undergoes conversion through the action of the Holy Spirit: namely, contrition, confession, and satisfaction; on the other, God's action through the intervention of the Church. the Church, who through the bishop and his priests forgives Sins in the name of Jesus Christ and determines the manner of satisfaction, also prays for the Sinner and does penance with him. Thus the sinner is healed and re-established in ecclesial Communion.

An ecclesial Grace. the sick who receive this Sacrament, "by freely uniting themselves to the passion and death of Christ," "contribute to the good of the People of God." 137 By celebrating this sacrament the Church, in the Communion of Saints, intercedes for the benefit of the sick perSon, and he, for his part, though the grace of this sacrament, contributes to the sanctification of the Church and to the good of all men for whom the Church suffers and offers herself through Christ to God the Father.

Today there are numerous Catholics in many countries who have recourse to civil divorce and contract new civil unions. In fidelity to the words of Jesus Christ - "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery" 158 The Church maintains that a new union cannot be recognized as valid, if the first marriage was. If the divorced are remarried civilly, they find themselves in a situation that objectively contravenes God's law. Consequently, they cannot receive Eucharistic Communion as long as this situation persists. For the same reaSon, they cannot exercise certain ecclesial responsibilities. Reconciliation through the Sacrament of Penance can be granted only to those who have repented for having violated the sign of the covenant and of fidelity to Christ, and who are committed to living in complete continence.

The Love of the spouses requires, of its very nature, the Unity and indissolubility of the spouses' community of perSons, which embraces their entire life: "so they are no longer two, but one flesh." 151 They "are called to grow continually in their Communion through day-to-day fidelity to their marriage promise of total mutual self-giving." 152 This human communion is confirmed, purified, and completed by communion in Jesus Christ, given through the Sacrament of Matrimony. It is deepened by lives of the common Faith and by the Eucharist received together.

The various liturgies abound in Prayers of blesSing and epiclesis asking God's Grace and blessing on the new couple, especially the bride. In the epiclesis of this Sacrament the spouses receive the Holy Spirit as the Communion of Love of Christ and the Church. 124 The Holy Spirit is the seal of their covenant, the ever available source of their love and the strength to renew their fidelity.

According to Faith the disorder we notice so painfully does not stem from the nature of man and woman, nor from the nature of their relations, but from Sin. As a break with God, the first sin had for its first consequence the rupture of the original Communion between man and woman. Their relations were distorted by mutual recriminations; 96 their mutual attraction, the Creator's own gift, changed into a relationship of domination and lust; 97 and the beautiful vocation of man and woman to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the earth was burdened by the pain of childbirth and the toil of work. 98

Deacons Share in Christ's Mission and Grace in a special way. 55 The Sacrament of Holy Orders marks them with an imprint (“character") which cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the "deacon" or servant of all. 56 Among other tasks, it is the task of deacons to assist the bishop and priests in the celebration of the divine mysteries, above all the Eucharist, in the distribution of Holy Communion, in assisting at and blesSing marriages, in the proclamation of the Gospel and preaching, in presiding over funerals, and in dedicating themselves to the various ministries of Charity. 57

"The priests, prudent cooperators of the episcopal college and its support and instrument, called to the service of the People of God, constitute, together with their bishop, a unique sacerdotal college (presbyterium) dedicated, it is, true to a variety of distinct duties. In each local assembly of the Faithful they represent, in a certain sense, the bishop, with whom they are associated in all trust and generosity; in part they take upon themselves his duties and solicitude and in their daily toils discharge them." 51 priests can exercise their ministry only in dependence on the bishop and in Communion with him. the promise of obedience they make to the bishop at the moment of ordination and the kiss of peace from him at the end of the ordination liturgy mean that the bishop considers them his co-workers, his Sons, his brothers and his friends, and that they in return owe him Love and obedience.

"One is constituted a member of the episcopal body in virtue of the Sacramental consecration and by the hierarchical Communion with the head and members of the college." 39 The character and collegial nature of the episcopal order are evidenced among other ways by the Church's ancient practice which calls for several bishops to participate in the consecration of a new bishop. 40 In our day, the lawful ordination of a bishop requires a special intervention of the Bishop of Rome, because he is the supreme visible bond of the communion of the particular Churches in the one Church and the guarantor of their freedom.

This priesthood is ministerial. "That office . . . which the Lord committed to the pastors of his people, is in the strict sense of the term a service." 28 It is entirely related to Christ and to men. It depends entirely on Christ and on his unique priesthood; it has been instituted for the good of men and the Communion of the Church. the Sacrament of Holy Orders communicates a "sacred power" which is none other than that of Christ. the exercise of this authority must therefore be measured against the model of Christ, who by Love made himself the least and the servant of all. 29 "The Lord said clearly that concern for his flock was proof of love for him." 30

Instituted to proclaim the Word of God and to restore Communion with God by Sacrifices and Prayer, 9 this priesthood nevertheless remains powerless to bring about salvation, needing to repeat its sacrifices ceaselessly and being unable to achieve a definitive sanctification, which only the sacrifice of Christ would accomplish. 10

In addition to the Anointing of the Sick, the Church offers those who are about to leave this life the Eucharist as viaticum. Communion in the body and blood of Christ, received at this moment of "pasSing over" to the Father, has a particular significance and importance. It is the seed of eternal life and the power of resurrection, according to the words of the Lord: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." 140 The Sacrament of Christ once dead and now risen, the Eucharist is here the sacrament of passing over from death to life, from this world to the Father. 141

Christ instituted the Sacrament of Penance for all Sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal Grace and wounded ecclesial Communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. the Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as "the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace." 47

The words bind and loose mean: whomever you exclude from your Communion, will be excluded from communion with God; whomever you receive anew into your communion, God will welcome back into his. Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God.

Since Christ is Sacramentally present under each of the species, Communion under the species of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit of Eucharistic Grace. For pastoral reaSons this manner of receiving communion has been legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite. But "the sign of communion is more complete when given under both kinds, since in that form the sign of the Eucharistic meal appears more clearly." 222 This is the usual form of receiving communion in the Eastern rites.

It is in keeping with the very meaning of the Eucharist that the Faithful, if they have the required dispositions, receive Communion each time they participate in the Mass. 219 As the Second Vatican Council says: "That more perfect form of participation in the Mass whereby the Faithful, after the priest's communion, receive the Lord's Body from the same Sacrifice, is warmly recommended." 220

To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself." 216 Anyone conscious of a grave Sin must receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to Communion.

The altar, around which the Church is gathered in the celebration of the Eucharist, represents the two aspects of the same Mystery: the altar of the Sacrifice and the table of the Lord. This is all the more so Since the Christian altar is the symbol of Christ himself, present in the midst of the assembly of his Faithful, both as the victim offered for our reconciliation and as food from heaven who is giving himself to us. "For what is the altar of Christ if not the image of the Body of Christ?" 212 asks St. Ambrose. He says elsewhere, "The altar represents the body [of Christ] and the Body of Christ is on the altar." 213 The liturgy expresses this Unity of sacrifice and Communion in many Prayers. Thus the Roman Church prays in its anaphora:

The Mass is at the same time, and inseparably, the sacrificial memorial in which the Sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet of Communion with the Lord's body and blood. But the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice is wholly directed toward the intimate union of the Faithful with Christ through communion. To receive communion is to receive Christ himself who has offered himself for us.

To the offering of Christ are united not only the members still here on earth, but also those already in the glory of heaven. In Communion with and commemorating the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Saints, the Church offers the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In the Eucharist the Church is as it were at the foot of the cross with Mary, united with the offering and intercession of Christ.

In the Communion, preceded by the Lord's Prayer and the breaking of the bread, the Faithful receive "the bread of heaven" and "the cup of salvation," the body and blood of Christ who offered himself "for the life of the world": 179

In the anamnesis that follows, the Church calls to mind the Passion, resurrection, and glorious return of Christ Jesus; she presents to the Father the offering of his Son which reconciles us with him. In the intercessions, the Church indicates that the Eucharist is celebrated in Communion with the whole Church in heaven and on earth, the living and the dead, and in communion with the pastors of the Church, the Pope, the diocesan bishop, his presbyterium and his deacons, and all the bishops of the whole world together with their Churches.

All gather together. Christians come together in one place for the Eucharistic assembly. At its head is Christ himself, the principal agent of the Eucharist. He is high priest of the New Covenant; it is he himself who presides invisibly over every Eucharistic celebration. It is in representing him that the bishop or priest acting in the perSon of Christ the head (in persona Christi capitis) presides over the assembly, speaks after the readings, receives the offerings, and says the Eucharistic Prayer. All have their own active parts to play in the celebration, each in his own way: readers, those who bring up the offerings, those who give Communion, and the whole people whose "Amen" manifests their participation.

The liturgy of the Eucharist unfolds according to a fundamental structure which has been preserved throughout the centuries down to our own day. It displays two great parts that form a fundamental Unity: - the gathering, the liturgy of the Word, with readings, homily and general intercessions; - the liturgy of the Eucharist, with the presentation of the bread and wine, the consecratory thanksgiving, and Communion. The liturgy of the Word and liturgy of the Eucharist together form "one Single act of worship"; 170 The Eucharistic table set for us is the table both of the Word of God and of the Body of the Lord. 171

Holy Communion, because by this Sacrament we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us Sharers in his Body and Blood to form a Single body. 149 We also call it: the holy things (ta hagia; sancta) 150 - the first meaning of the phrase "communion of Saints" in the Apostles' Creed - the bread of angels, bread from heaven, medicine of immortality, 151 viaticum....

Holy Communion augments our union with Christ. the principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus. Indeed, the Lord said: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." 223 Life in Christ has its foundation in the Eucharistic banquet: "As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me." 224

What material food produces in our bodily life, Holy Communion wonderfully achieves in our spiritual life. Communion with the flesh of the risen Christ, a flesh "given life and giving life through the Holy Spirit," 226 preserves, increases, and renews the life of Grace received at Baptism. This growth in Christian life needs the nourishment of Eucharistic Communion, the bread for our pilgrimage until the moment of death, when it will be given to us as viaticum.

Sin is before all else an offense against God, a rupture of Communion with him. At the same time it damages communion with the Church. For this reaSon conversion entails both God's forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church, which are expressed and accomplished liturgically by the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. 38

In an ancient Prayer the Church acclaims the Mystery of the Eucharist: "O sacred banquet in which Christ is received as food, the memory of his Passion is renewed, the soul is filled with Grace and a pledge of the life to come is given to us." If the Eucharist is the memorial of the Passover of the Lord Jesus, if by our Communion at the altar we are filled "with every heavenly blesSing and grace," 239 then the Eucharist is also an anticipation of the heavenly glory.

When, in the Ordinary's judgment, a grave necessity arises, Catholic ministers may give the Sacraments of Eucharist, Penance, and Anointing of the Sick to other Christians not in full Communion with the Catholic Church, who ask for them of their own will, provided they give evidence of holding the Catholic Faith regarding these Sacraments and possess the required dispositions. 238

Ecclesial communities derived from the Reformation and separated from the Catholic Church, "have not preserved the proper reality of the Eucharistic Mystery in its fullness, especially because of the absence of the Sacrament of Holy Orders." 236 It is for this reaSon that Eucharistic interCommunion with these communities is not possible for the Catholic Church. However these ecclesial communities, "when they commemorate the Lord's death and resurrection in the Holy Supper . . . profess that it signifies life in communion with Christ and await his coming in glory." 237

The Eastern Churches that are not in full Communion with the Catholic Church celebrate the Eucharist with great Love. "These Churches, although separated from us, yet possess true Sacraments, above all - by apostolic succession - the priesthood and the Eucharist, whereby they are still joined to us in closest intimacy." A certain communion in sacris, and so in the Eucharist, "given suitable circumstances and the approval of Church authority, is not merely possible but is encouraged." 235

The Unity of the Mystical Body: the Eucharist makes the Church. Those who receive the Eucharist are united more closely to Christ. Through it Christ unites them to all the Faithful in one body - the Church. Communion renews, strengthens, and deepens this incorporation into the Church, already achieved by Baptism. In Baptism we have been called to form but one body. 230 The Eucharist fulfills this call: "The cup of blesSing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? the bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread:" 231

By the same Charity that it enkindles in us, the Eucharist preserves us from future mortal Sins. the more we Share the life of Christ and progress in his friendship, the more difficult it is to break away from him by mortal Sin. the Eucharist is not ordered to the forgiveness of mortal sins - that is proper to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. the Eucharist is properly the sacrament of those who are in full Communion with the Church.

Holy Communion separates us from Sin. the body of Christ we receive in Holy Communion is "given up for us," and the blood we drink "shed for the many for the forgiveness of Sins." For this reaSon the Eucharist cannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins:

The Lord's Supper, because of its connection with the supper which the Lord took with his disciples on the eve of his Passion and because it anticipates the wedding feast of the Lamb in the heavenly Jerusalem. 141 The Breaking of Bread, because Jesus used this rite, part of a Jewish meat when as master of the table he blessed and distributed the bread, 142 above all at the Last Supper. 143 It is by this action that his disciples will recognize him after his Resurrection, 144 and it is this expression that the first Christians will use to designate their Eucharistic assemblies; 145 by doing so they signified that all who eat the one broken bread, Christ, enter into Communion with him and form but one body in him. 146 The Eucharistic assembly (synaxis), because the Eucharist is celebrated amid the assembly of the Faithful, the visible expression of the Church. 147

The Christian funeral confers on the deceased neither a Sacrament nor a sacramental Since he has "passed" beyond the sacramental economy. It is nonetheless a liturgical celebration of the Church. 185 The ministry of the Church aims at expressing efficacious Communion with the deceased, at the participation in that communion of the commUnity gathered for the funeral and at the proclamation of eternal life to the community.

Contemplative Prayer is the simplest expression of the Mystery of prayer. It is a gift, a Grace; it can be accepted only in humility and poverty. Contemplative prayer is a covenant relationship established by God within our hearts. 9 Contemplative prayer is a Communion in which the Holy Trinity conforms man, the image of God, "to his likeness."

Prayer groups, indeed "schools of prayer," are today one of the signs and one of the driving forces of renewal of prayer in the Church, provided they drink from authentic wellsprings of Christian prayer. Concern for ecclesial Communion is a sign of true prayer in the Church.

In the Communion of Saints, many and varied spiritualities have been developed throughout the history of the Churches. the perSonal charism of some witnesses to God's Love for men has been handed on, like "the spirit" of Elijah to Elisha and John the Baptist, so that their followers may have a Share in this spirit. 43 A distinct spirituality can also arise at the point of convergence of liturgical and theological currents, bearing witness to the integration of the Faith into a particular human environment and its history. the different schools of Christian spirituality share in the living tradition of Prayer and are essential guides for the Faithful. In their rich diversity they are refractions of the one pure light of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit, whose anointing permeates our whole being, is the interior Master of Christian Prayer. He is the artisan of the living tradition of prayer. To be sure, there are as many paths of prayer as there are perSons who pray, but it is the same Spirit acting in all and with all. It is in the Communion of the Holy Spirit that Christian prayer is prayer in the Church.

In the Sacramental liturgy of the Church, the Mission of Christ and of the Holy Spirit proclaims, makes present, and communicates the Mystery of salvation, which is continued in the heart that prays. the spiritual writers sometimes compare the heart to an altar. Prayer internalizes and assimilates the liturgy during and after its celebration. Even when it is lived out "in secret," 6 prayer is always prayer of the Church; it is a Communion with the Holy Trinity. 7

The Revelation of "what must soon take place," the Apocalypse, is borne along by the Songs of the heavenly liturgy 127 but also by the intercession of the "witnesses" (martyrs). 128 The prophets and the Saints, all those who were slain on earth for their witness to Jesus, the vast throng of those who, having come through the great tribulation, have gone before us into the Kingdom, all Sing the praise and glory of him who sits on the throne, and of the Lamb. 129 In Communion with them, the Church on earth also sings these songs with Faith in the midst of trial. By means of petition and intercession, faith hopes against all hope and gives thanks to the "Father of lights," from whom "every perfect gift" comes down. 130 Thus faith is pure praise.

Since Abraham, intercession - asking on behalf of another has been characteristic of a heart attuned to God's mercy. In the age of the Church, Christian intercession participates in Christ's, as an expression of the Communion of Saints. In intercession, he who prays looks "not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others," even to the point of praying for those who do him harm. 115

The first movement of the Prayer of petition is asking forgiveness, like the tax collector in the parable: "God, be merciful to me a Sinner!" 105 It is a prerequisite for righteous and pure prayer. A trusting humility brings us back into the light of Communion between the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and with one another, so that "we receive from him whatever we ask." 106 Asking forgiveness is the prerequisite for both the Eucharistic liturgy and personal prayer.

Even more, what the Father gives us when our Prayer is united with that of Jesus is "another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth." 81 This new dimension of prayer and of its circumstances is displayed throughout the farewell discourse. 82 In the Holy Spirit, Christian prayer is a Communion of Love with the Father, not only through Christ but also in him: "Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." 83

In Jesus "the Kingdom of God is at hand." 72 He calls his hearers to conversion and Faith, but also to watchfulness. In Prayer the disciple keeps watch, attentive to Him Who Is and Him Who Comes, in memory of his first coming in the lowliness of the flesh, and in the hope of his second coming in glory. 73 In Communion with their Master, the disciples' prayer is a battle; only by keeping watch in prayer can one avoid falling into temptation. 74

Contemplative Prayer is a Communion of Love bearing Life for the multitude, to the extent that it consents to abide in the night of Faith. the Paschal night of the Resurrection passes through the night of the agony and the tomb - the three intense moments of the Hour of Jesus which his Spirit (and not "the flesh [which] is weak") brings to life in prayer. We must be willing to "keep watch with (him) one hour." 14

In the Eucharistic liturgy the Lord's Prayer appears as the prayer of the whole Church and there reveals its full meaning and efficacy. Placed between the anaphora (the Eucharistic prayer) and the Communion, the Lord's Prayer sums up on the one hand all the petitions and intercessions expressed in the movement of the epiclesis and, on the other, knocks at the door of the Banquet of the kingdom which Sacramental communion anticipates.

The last petition to our Father is also included in Jesus' Prayer: "I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one." 163 It touches each of us perSonally, but it is always "we" who pray, in Communion with the whole Church, for the deliverance of the whole human family. the Lord's Prayer continually opens us to the range of God's economy of salvation. Our interdependence in the drama of Sin and death is turned into solidarity in the Body of Christ, the "communion of Saints." 164

Such a battle and such a victory become possible only through Prayer. It is by his prayer that Jesus vanquishes the tempter, both at the outset of his public Mission and in the ultimate struggle of his agony. 159 In this petition to our heavenly Father, Christ unites us to his battle and his agony. He urges us to vigilance of the heart in Communion with his own. Vigilance is "custody of the heart," and Jesus prayed for us to the Father: "Keep them in your name." 160 The Holy Spirit constantly seeks to awaken us to keep watch. 161 Finally, this petition takes on all its dramatic meaning in relation to the last temptation of our earthly battle; it asks for final perseverance. "Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake." 162

There is no limit or measure to this essentially divine forgiveness, 146 whether one speaks of "Sins" as in Luke ( ⇒ 11:4), "debts" as in Matthew ( ⇒ 6:12). We are always debtors: "Owe no one anything, except to Love one another." 147 The Communion of the Holy Trinity is the source and criterion of truth in every relation ship. It is lived out in Prayer, above all in the Eucharist. 148

Thus the Lord's words on forgiveness, the Love that loves to the end, 142 become a living reality. the parable of the merciless servant, which crowns the Lord's teaching on ecclesial Communion, ends with these words: "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." 143 It is there, in fact, "in the depths of the heart," that everything is bound and loosed. It is not in our power not to feel or to forget an offense; but the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion and purifies the memory in transforming the hurt into intercession.

"If any one is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him." 110 Such is the power of the Church's Prayer in the name of her Lord, above all in the Eucharist. Her prayer is also a Communion of intercession with the all-holy Mother of God 111 and all the Saints who have been pleaSing to the Lord because they willed his will alone:

When we say "Our" Father, we are invoking the new covenant in Jesus Christ, Communion with the Holy Trinity, and the divine Love which spreads through the Church to encompass the world.

The Lord's Prayer brings us into Communion with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. At the same time it reveals us to ourselves (cf GS 22 # 1).

For this reaSon, in spite of the divisions among Christians, this Prayer to "our" Father remains our common patrimony and an urgent summons for all the baptized. In Communion by Faith in Christ and by Baptism, they ought to join in Jesus' prayer for the Unity of his disciples. 50

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

When we pray to "our" Father, we perSonally address the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. By doing so we do not divide the Godhead, Since the Father is its "source and origin," but rather confess that the Son is eternally begotten by him and the Holy Spirit proceeds from him. We are not confusing the persons, for we confess that our Communion is with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, in their one Holy Spirit. the Holy Trinity is consubstantial and indivisible. When we pray to the Father, we adore and glorify him together with the Son and the Holy Spirit.

When we pray to the Father, we are in Communion with him and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 33 Then we know and recognize him with an ever new sense of wonder. the first phrase of the Our Father is a blesSing of adoration before it is a supplication. For it is the glory of God that we should recognize him as "Father," the true God. We give him thanks for having revealed his name to us, for the gift of believing in it, and for the indwelling of his Presence in us.

In the New Covenant, Prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The Grace of the Kingdom is "the union of the entire holy and royal Trinity . . . with the whole human spirit." 12 Thus, the life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of the thrice-holy God and in Communion with him. This communion of life is always possible because, through Baptism, we have already been united with Christ. 13 Prayer is Christian insofar as it is communion with Christ and extends throughout the Church, which is his Body. Its dimensions are those of Christ's Love. 14

On this way of perfection, the Spirit and the Bride call whoever hears them 344 to perfect Communion with God:

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 moral life is spiritual worship. We "present (our) bodies as a living Sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God," 73 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.

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.

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

God's free initiative demands man's free response, for God has created man in his image by conferring on him, along with freedom, the power to know him and Love him. the soul only enters freely into the Communion of love. God immediately touches and directly moves the heart of man. He has placed in man a longing for truth and goodness that only he can satisfy. the promises of "eternal life" respond, beyond all hope, to this desire:

The fruits of Charity are joy, peace, and mercy; charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains diSinterested and generous; it is friendship and Communion: Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works. There is the goal; that is why we run: we run toward it, and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest. 108

Human virtues are firm attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reaSon and Faith. They make possible ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life. the virtuous man is he who freely practices the good. The moral virtues are acquired by human effort. They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts; they dispose all the powers of the human being for Communion with divine Love.

Liberation and salvation. By his glorious Cross Christ has won salvation for all men. He redeemed them from the Sin that held them in bondage. "For freedom Christ has set us free." 34 In him we have Communion with the "truth that makes us free." 35 The Holy Spirit has been given to us and, as the Apostle teaches, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 36 Already we glory in the "liberty of the children of God." 37

The divine image is present in every man. It shines forth in the Communion of perSons, in the likeness of the union of the divine persons among themselves (cf chapter two).

Catechesis has to reveal in all clarity the joy and the demands of the way of Christ. 22 Catechesis for the "newness of life" 23 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 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 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.

Christ Jesus always did what was pleaSing to the Father, 5 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 in order to become "perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." 7

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

It is right to offer Sacrifice to God as a sign of adoration and gratitude, supplication and Communion: "Every action done so as to cling to God in communion of holiness, and thus achieve blessedness, is a true sacrifice." 16

"Christian revelation . . . promotes deeper understanding of the laws of social living." 198 The Church receives from the Gospel the full revelation of the truth about man. When she fulfills her Mission of proclaiming the Gospel, she bears witness to man, in the name of Christ, to his dignity and his vocation to the Communion of perSons. She teaches him the demands of justice and peace in conformity with divine wisdom.

The predicament of a man who, desiring to convert to the Gospel, is obliged to repudiate one or more wives with whom he has Shared years of conjugal life, is understandable. However polygamy is not in accord with the moral law." [Conjugal] Communion is radically contradicted by polygamy; this, in fact, directly negates the plan of God which was revealed from the beginning, because it is contrary to the equal perSonal dignity of men and women who in matrimony give themselves with a Love that is total and therefore unique and exclusive." 179 The Christian who has previously lived in polygamy has a grave duty in justice to honor the obligations contracted in regard to his former wives and his children.

Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal Love of man and woman. In marriage the physical intimacy of the spouses becomes a sign and pledge of spiritual Communion. Marriage bonds between baptized perSons are sanctified by the Sacrament.

The virtue of chastity blossoms in friendship. It shows the disciple how to follow and imitate him who has chosen us as his friends, 133 who has given himself totally to us and allows us to participate in his divine estate. Chastity is a promise of immortality. Chastity is expressed notably in friendship with one's neighbor. Whether it develops between perSons of the same or opposite sex, friendship represents a great good for all. It leads to spiritual Communion.

Sexuality affects all aspects of the human perSon in the Unity of his body and soul. It especially concerns affectivity, the capacity to Love and to procreate, and in a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of Communion with others.

"God is Love and in himself he lives a Mystery of perSonal loving Communion. Creating the human race in his own image . . .. God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion." 114

The Christian family is a Communion of perSons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. In the procreation and education of children it reflects the Father's work of creation. It is called to partake of the Prayer and Sacrifice of Christ. Daily prayer and the reading of the Word of God strengthen it in Charity. the Christian family has an evangelizing and Missionary task.

"The Christian family constitutes a specific revelation and realization of ecclesial Communion, and for this reaSon it can and should be called a domestic Church." 9 It is a commUnity of Faith, hope, and Charity; it assumes Singular importance in the Church, as is evident in the New Testament. 10

Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being Faithful to Christ and to his Church. the Faithful give witness by this to their Communion in faith and Charity. Together they testify to God's holiness and their hope of salvation. They strengthen one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The holiness of the divine name demands that we neither use it for trivial matters, nor take an oath which on the basis of the circumstances could be interpreted as approval of an authority unjustly requiring it. When an oath is required by illegitimate civil authorities, it may be refused. It must be refused when it is required for purposes contrary to the dignity of perSons or to ecclesial Communion.

Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to Faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, "You cannot serve God and mammon." 44 Many martyrs died for not adoring "the Beast" 45 refuSing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with Communion with God. 46

The Eucharistic Sacrifice. When the celebration takes place in Church the Eucharist is the heart of the Paschal reality of Christian death. 189 In the Eucharist, the Church expresses her efficacious Communion with the departed: offering to the Father in the Holy Spirit the sacrifice of the death and resurrection of Christ, she asks to purify his child of his Sins and their consequences, and to admit him to the Paschal fullness of the table of the Kingdom. 190 It is by the Eucharist thus celebrated that the commUnity of the Faithful, especially the family of the deceased, learn to live in communion with the one who "has fallen asleep in the Lord," by communicating in the Body of Christ of which he is a living member and, then, by praying for him and with him.

Divine assistance is also given to the successors of the apostles, teaching in Communion with the successor of Peter, and, in a particular way, to the bishop of Rome, pastor of the whole Church, when, without arriving at an infallible definition and without pronouncing in a "definitive manner," they propose in the exercise of the ordinary Magisterium a teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in matters of Faith and morals. To this ordinary teaching the Faithful "are to adhere to it with religious assent" 422 which, though distinct from the assent of faith, is nonetheless an extension of it.

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:

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

When his visible presence was taken from them, Jesus did not leave his disciples orphans. He promised to remain with them until the end of time; he sent them his Spirit. 218 As a result Communion with Jesus has become, in a way, more intense: "By communicating his Spirit, Christ mystically constitutes as his body those brothers of his who are called together from every nation." 219

From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the Mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a Share in his Mission, joy, and sufferings. 215 Jesus spoke of a still more intimate Communion between him and those who would follow him: "Abide in me, and I in you.... I am the vine, you are the branches." 216 and he proclaimed a mysterious and real communion between his own body and ours: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." 217

"The Church, in Christ, is like a Sacrament - a sign and instrument, that is, of Communion with God and of Unity among all men." 197 The Church's first purpose is to be the sacrament of the inner union of men with God. Because men's communion with one another is rooted in that union with God, the Church is also the sacrament of the unity of the human race. In her, this unity is already begun, Since she gathers men "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues"; 198 at the same time, the Church is the "sign and instrument" of the full realization of the unity yet to come.

In the Church this Communion of men with God, in the "Love [that] never ends," is the purpose which governs everything in her that is a Sacramental means, tied to this pasSing world. 192 "[The Church's] structure is totally ordered to the holiness of Christ's members. and holiness is measured according to the 'great Mystery' in which the Bride responds with the gift of love to the gift of the Bridegroom." 193 Mary goes before us all in the holiness that is the Church's mystery as "the bride without spot or wrinkle." 194 This is why the "Marian" dimension of the Church precedes the "Petrine." 195

The gathering together of the People of God began at the moment when Sin destroyed the Communion of men with God, and that of men among themselves. the gathering together of the Church is, as it were, God's reaction to the chaos provoked by sin. This reunification is achieved secretly in the heart of all peoples: "In every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable" to God. 156

Christians of the first centuries said, "The world was created for the sake of the Church." 153 God created the world for the sake of Communion with his divine life, a communion brought about by the "convocation" of men in Christ, and this "convocation" is the Church. the Church is the goal of all things, 154 and God permitted such painful upheavals as the angels' fall and man's Sin only as occasions and means for displaying all the power of his arm and the whole measure of the Love he wanted to give the world:

Thus the Church's Mission is not an addition to that of Christ and the Holy Spirit, but is its Sacrament: in her whole being and in all her members, the Church is sent to announce, bear witness, make present, and spread the Mystery of the Communion of the Holy Trinity (the topic of the next article):

From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who receive them. Within the Unity of the People of God, a multiplicity of peoples and cultures is gathered together. Among the Church's members, there are different gifts, offices, conditions, and ways of life. "Holding a rightful place in the Communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions." 263 The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church's unity. Yet Sin and the burden of its consequences constantly threaten the gift of unity. and so the Apostle has to exhort Christians to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." 264

"The sole Church of Christ [is that] which our Savior, after his Resurrection, entrusted to Peter's pastoral care, comMissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it.... This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in (subsistit in) in) the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in Communion with him." 267

Finally, it belongs to the Sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry that it have a perSonal character. Although Chnst's ministers act in Communion with one another, they also always act in a personal way. Each one is called personally: "You, follow me" 397 in order to be a personal witness within the common Mission, to bear personal responsibility before him who gives the mission, acting "in his person" and for other persons: "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ..."; "I absolve you...."

Likewise, it belongs to the Sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry that it have a collegial character. In fact, from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus instituted the Twelve as "the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy." 395 Chosen together, they were also sent out together, and their fraternal Unity would be at the service of the fraternal Communion of all the Faithful: they would reflect and witness to the communion of the divine perSons. 396 For this reason every bishop exercises his ministry from within the episcopal college, in communion with the bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter and head of the college. So also priests exercise their ministry from within the presbyterium of the diocese, under the direction of their bishop.

The whole Church is apostolic, in that she remains, through the successors of St. Peter and the other apostles, in Communion of Faith and life with her origin: and in that she is "sent out" into the whole world. All members of the Church Share in this Mission, though in various ways. "The Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well." Indeed, we call an apostolate "every activity of the Mystical Body" that aims "to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all the earth." 377

The Church's Mission stimulates efforts towards Christian Unity. 357 Indeed, "divisions among Christians prevent the Church from realizing in practice the fullness of catholicity proper to her in those of her Sons who, though joined to her by Baptism, are yet separated from full Communion with her. Furthermore, the Church herself finds it more difficult to express in actual life her full catholicity in all its aspects." 358

The origin and purpose of Mission. the Lord's missionary mandate is ultimately grounded in the eternal Love of the Most Holy Trinity: "The Church on earth is by her nature missionary Since, according to the plan of the Father, she has as her origin the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit." 341 The ultimate purpose of mission is none other than to make men Share in the Communion between the Father and the Son in their Spirit of love. 342

"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

"Fully incorporated into the society of the Church are those who, possesSing the Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the Church together with her entire organization, and who - by the bonds constituted by the profession of Faith, the Sacraments, ecclesiastical government, and Communion - are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops. Even though incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in Charity is not saved. He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but 'in body' not 'in heart.'" 321

Particular Churches are fully catholic through their Communion with one of them, the Church of Rome "which presides in Charity." 315 "For with this church, by reaSon of its pre-eminence, the whole Church, that is the Faithful everywhere, must necessarily be in accord." 316 Indeed, "from the incarnate Word's descent to us, all Christian churches everywhere have held and hold the great Church that is here [at Rome] to be their only basis and foundation Since, according to the Savior's promise, the gates of hell have never prevailed against her." 317

The phrase "particular Church," which is the diocese (or eparchy), refers to a commUnity of the Christian Faithful in Communion of Faith and Sacraments with their bishop ordained in apostolic succession. 313 These particular Churches "are constituted after the model of the universal Church; it is in these and formed out of them that the one and unique Catholic Church exists." 314

In fact, "in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly censures as damnable. But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions appeared and large communities became separated from full Communion with the Catholic Church - for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame." 269 The ruptures that wound the Unity of Christ's Body - here we must distinguish heresy, apostasy, and schism 270 - do not occur without human Sin:

The Mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church, which is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. This joint mission henceforth brings Christ's Faithful to Share in his Communion with the Father in the Holy Spirit. the Spirit prepares men and goes out to them with his Grace, in order to draw them to Christ. the Spirit manifests the risen Lord to them, recalls his word to them and opens their minds to the understanding of his Death and Resurrection. He makes present the Mystery of Christ, supremely in the Eucharist, in order to reconcile them, to bring them into communion with God, that they may "bear much fruit." 132

Because we are dead or at least wounded through Sin, the first effect of the gift of Love is the forgiveness of our Sins. the Communion of the Holy Spirit 126 in the Church restores to the baptized the divine likeness lost through sin.

Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a perSon, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into Communion with other persons. and he is called by Grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of Faith and Love that no other creature can give in his stead.

Being a work at once common and perSonal, the whole divine economy makes known both what is proper to the divine persons, and their one divine nature. Hence the whole Christian life is a Communion with each of the divine persons, without in any way separating them. Everyone who glorifies the Father does so through the Son in the Holy Spirit; everyone who follows Christ does so because the Father draws him and the Spirit moves him. 99

At the outset the Eastern tradition expresses the Father's character as first origin of the Spirit. By confesSing the Spirit as he "who proceeds from the Father", it affirms that he comes from the Father through the Son. 77 The Western tradition expresses first the consubstantial Communion between Father and Son, by saying that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (filioque). It says this, "legitimately and with good reason", 78 for the eternal order of the divine persons in their consubstantial communion implies that the Father, as "the principle without principle", 79 is the first origin of the Spirit, but also that as Father of the only Son, he is, with the Son, the single principle from which the Holy Spirit proceeds. 80 This legitimate complementarity, provided it does not become rigid, does not affect the identity of Faith in the reality of the same Mystery confessed.

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:

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.

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.

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.

"The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ." 47 This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in Communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.

"God, who creates and conserves all things by his Word, provides men with constant evidence of himself in created realities. and furthermore, wishing to open up the way to heavenly salvation - he manifested himself to our first parents from the very beginning." 6 He invited them to intimate Communion with himself and clothed them with resplendent Grace and justice.

Sometimes the soul is distinguished from the spirit: St. Paul for instance prays that God may sanctify his people "wholly", with "spirit and soul and body" kept sound and blameless at the Lord's coming. 236 The Church teaches that this distinction does not introduce a duality into the soul. 237 "Spirit" signifies that from creation man is ordered to a supernatural end and that his soul can gratuitously be raised beyond all it deserves to Communion with God. 238

God created man and woman together and willed each for the other. the Word of God gives us to understand this through various features of the sacred text. "It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helper fit for him." 242 None of the animals can be man's partner. 243 The woman God "fashions" from the man's rib and brings to him elicits on the man's part a cry of wonder, an exclamation of Love and Communion: "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." 244 Man discovers woman as another "I", sharing the same humanity.

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.

Finally, through Mary, the Holy Spirit begins to bring men, the objects of God's merciful Love, 107 into Communion with Christ. and the humble are always the first to accept him: shepherds, magi, Simeon and Anna, the bride and groom at Cana, and the first disciples.

The Church, a Communion living in the Faith of the apostles which she transmits, is the place where we know the Holy Spirit: - in the Scriptures he inspired; - in the Tradition, to which the Church Fathers are always timely witnesses; - in the Church's Magisterium, which he assists; - in the Sacramental liturgy, through its words and symbols, in which the Holy Spirit puts us into communion with Christ; - in Prayer, wherein he intercedes for us; - in the charisms and ministries by which the Church is built up; - in the signs of apostolic and Missionary life; - in the witness of Saints through whom he manifests his holiness and continues the work of salvation.

The Holy Spirit is at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning to the completion of the plan for our salvation. But in these "end times," ushered in by the Son's redeeming Incarnation, the Spirit is revealed and given, recognized and welcomed as a person. Now can this divine plan, accomplished in Christ, the firstborn and head of the new creation, be embodied in mankind by the outpouring of the Spirit: as the Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of Sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Christ's death is both the Paschal Sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men, through "the Lamb of God, who takes away the Sin of the world", 439 and the sacrifice of the New Covenant, which restores man to Communion with God by reconciling him to God through the "blood of the covenant, which was poured out for many for the forgiveness of Sins". 440

The Son of God, who came down "from heaven, not to do (his) own will, but the will of him who sent (him)", 413 said on coming into the world, "Lo, I have come to do your will, O God." "and by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." 414 From the first moment of his Incarnation the Son embraces the Father's plan of divine salvation in his redemptive Mission: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work." 415 The Sacrifice of Jesus "for the Sins of the whole world" 416 expresses his loving Communion with the Father. "The Father Loves me, because I lay down my life", said the Lord, "(for) I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father." 417

The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature": 78 "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into Communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God." 79 "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God." 80 "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us Sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods." 81

"At the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a PerSon, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son from the Father. . .who suffered and died for us and who now, after riSing, is living with us forever." 13 To catechize is "to reveal in the Person of Christ the whole of God's eternal design reaching fulfilment in that Person. It is to seek to understand the meaning of Christ's actions and words and of the signs worked by him." 14 Catechesis aims at putting "people . . . in Communion . . . with Jesus Christ: only he can lead us to the Love of the Father in the Spirit and make us Share in the life of the Holy Trinity." 15

The transMission of the Christian Faith consists primarily in proclaiming Jesus Christ in order to lead others to faith in him. From the beginning, the first disciples burned with the desire to proclaim Christ: "We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." 11 It and they invite people of every era to enter into the joy of their Communion with Christ:

Man and woman were made "for each other" - not that God left them half-made and incomplete: he created them to be a Communion of perSons, in which each can be "helpmate" to the other, for they are equal as persons ("bone of my bones. . .") and complementary as masculine and feminine. In marriage God unites them in such a way that, by forming "one flesh", 245 they can transmit human life: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth." 246 By transmitting human life to their descendants, man and woman as spouses and parents co-operate in a unique way in the Creator's work. 247

"The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that Communion in the divine life and that Unity of the People of God by which the Church is kept in being. It is the culmination both of God's action sanctifying the world in Christ and of the worship men offer to Christ and through him to the Father in the Holy Spirit." 136

The diverse liturgical traditions have arisen by very reaSon of the Church's Mission. Churches of the same geographical and cultural area came to celebrate the Mystery of Christ through particular expressions characterized by the culture: in the tradition of the "deposit of Faith," 67 in liturgical symbolism, in the organization of fraternal Communion, in the theological understanding of the mysteries, and in various forms of holiness. Through the liturgical life of a local church, Christ, the light and salvation of all peoples, is made manifest to the particular people and culture to which that Church is sent and in which she is rooted. the Church is catholic, capable of integrating into her Unity, while purifying them, all the authentic riches of cultures. 68

The Mystery of Christ is so unfathomably rich that it cannot be exhausted by its expression in any Single liturgical tradition. the history of the blossoming and development of these rites witnesses to a remarkable complementarity. When the Churches lived their respective liturgical traditions in the Communion of the Faith and the Sacraments of the faith, they enriched one another and grew in fidelity to Tradition and to the common Mission of the whole Church. 66

But "the members do not all have the same function." 12 Certain members are called by God, in and through the Church, to a special service of the commUnity. These servants are chosen and consecrated by the Sacrament of Holy Orders, by which the Holy Spirit enables them to act in the perSon of Christ the head, for the service of all the members of the Church. 13 The ordained minister is, as it were, an "icon" of Christ the priest. Since it is in the Eucharist that the sacrament of the Church is made fully visible, it is in his presiding at the Eucharist that the bishop's ministry is most evident, as well as, in Communion with him, the ministry of priests and deacons.

Liturgy is an "action" of the whole Christ (Christus totus). Those who even now celebrate it without signs are already in the heavenly liturgy, where celebration is wholly Communion and feast

Likewise, Since the Sacraments express and develop the Communion of Faith in the Church, the lex orandi is one of the essential criteria of the dialogue that seeks to restore the Unity of Christians. 47

The Sacraments are "of the Church" in the double sense that they are "by her" and "for her." They are "by the Church," for she is the Sacrament of Christ's action at work in her through the Mission of the Holy Spirit. They are "for the Church" in the sense that "the sacraments make the Church," 35 Since they manifest and communicate to men, above all in the Eucharist, the Mystery of Communion with the God who is Love, One in three perSons.

The epiclesis is also a Prayer for the full effect of the assembly's Communion with the Mystery of Christ. "The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit" 28 have to remain with us always and bear fruit beyond the Eucharistic celebration. the Church therefore asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit to make the lives of the Faithful a living Sacrifice to God by their spiritual transformation into the image of Christ, by concern for the Church's Unity, and by taking part in her Mission through the witness and service of Charity.

In every liturgical action the Holy Spirit is sent in order to bring us into Communion with Christ and so to form his Body. the Holy Spirit is like the sap of the Father's vine which bears fruit on its branches. 26 The most intimate cooperation of the Holy Spirit and the Church is achieved in the liturgy. the Spirit who is the Spirit of communion, abides indefectibly in the Church. For this reaSon the Church is the great Sacrament of divine communion which gathers God's scattered children together. Communion with the Holy Trinity and fraternal communion are inseparably the fruit of the Spirit in the liturgy. 27

The Holy Spirit's transforming power in the liturgy hastens the coming of the kingdom and the consummation of the Mystery of salvation. While we wait in hope he causes us really to anticipate the fullness of Communion with the Holy Trinity. Sent by the Father who hears the epiclesis of the Church, the Spirit gives life to those who accept him and is, even now, the "guarantee" of their inheritance. 25

"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.

"Liturgical diversity can be a source of enrichment, but it can also provoke tensions, mutual misunderstandings, and even schisms. In this matter it is clear that diversity must not damage Unity. It must express only fidelity to the common Faith, to the Sacramental signs that the Church has received from Christ, and to hierarchical Communion. Cultural adaptation also requires a conversion of heart and even, where necessary, a breaking with ancestral customs incompatible with the Catholic faith." 74

The original minister of Confirmation is the bishop. 128 In the East, ordinarily the priest who baptizes also immediately confers Confirmation in one and the same celebration. But he does so with sacred chrism consecrated by the patriarch or the bishop, thus expresSing the apostolic Unity of the Church whose bonds are strengthened by the Sacrament of Confirmation. In the Latin Church, the same discipline applies to the Baptism of adults or to the reception into full Communion with the Church of a perSon baptized in another Christian community that does not have valid Confirmation. 129

The sign of peace that concludes the rite of the Sacrament signifies and demonstrates ecclesial Communion with the bishop and with all the Faithful. 114

The practice of the Eastern Churches gives greater emphasis to the Unity of Christian initiation. That of the Latin Church more clearly expresses the Communion of the new Christian with the bishop as guarantor and servant of the unity, catholicity and apostolicity of his Church, and hence the connection with the apostolic origins of Christ's Church.

In the Old Testament the prophets announced that the Spirit of the Lord would rest on the hoped-for Messiah for his saving Mission. 90 The descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at his Baptism by John was the sign that this was he who was to come, the Messiah, the Son of God. 91 He was conceived of the Holy Spirit; his whole life and his whole mission are carried out in total Communion with the Holy Spirit whom the Father gives him "without measure." 92

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

Having become a member of the Church, the perSon baptized belongs no longer to himself, but to him who died and rose for us. 75 From now on, he is called to be subject to others, to serve them in the Communion of the Church, and to "obey and submit" to the Church's leaders, 76 holding them in respect and affection. 77 Just as Baptism is the source of responsibilities and duties, the baptized person also enjoys rights within the Church: to receive the Sacraments, to be nourished with the Word of God and to be sustained by the other spiritual helps of the Church. 78

First Holy Communion. Having become a child of God clothed with the wedding garment, the neophyte is admitted "to the marriage supper of the Lamb" 44 and receives the food of the new life, the body and blood of Christ. the Eastern Churches maintain a lively awareness of the Unity of Christian initiation by giving Holy Communion to all the newly baptized and confirmed, even little children, recalling the Lord's words: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them." 45 The Latin Church, which reserves adMission to Holy Communion to those who have attained the age of reaSon, expresses the orientation of Baptism to the Eucharist by having the newly baptized child brought to the altar for the praying of the Our Father.

From the time of the apostles, becoming a Christian has been accomplished by a journey and initiation in several stages. This journey can be covered rapidly or slowly, but certain essential elements will always have to be present: proclamation of the Word, acceptance of the Gospel entailing conversion, profession of Faith, Baptism itself, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and adMission to Eucharistic Communion.

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

If water springing up from the earth symbolizes life, the water of the sea is a symbol of death and so can represent the Mystery of the cross. By this symbolism Baptism signifies Communion with Christ's death.

Following this analogy, the first chapter will expound the three Sacraments of Christian initiation; the second, the Sacraments of healing; and the third, the sacraments at the service of Communion and the Mission of the Faithful. This order, while not the only one possible, does allow one to see that the sacraments form an organic whole in which each particular sacrament has its own vital place. In this organic whole, the Eucharist occupies a unique place as the "Sacrament of sacraments": "all the other sacraments are ordered to it as to their end." 2

In the liturgy of the New Covenant every liturgical action, especially the celebration of the Eucharist and the Sacraments, is an encounter between Christ and the Church. the liturgical assembly derives its Unity from the "Communion of the Holy Spirit" who gathers the children of God into the one Body of Christ. This assembly transcends racial, cultural, social - indeed, all human affinities.

In this Sacramental dispensation of Christ's Mystery the Holy Spirit acts in the same way as at other times in the economy of salvation: he prepares the Church to encounter her Lord; he recalls and makes Christ manifest to the Faith of the assembly. By his transforming power, he makes the mystery of Christ present here and now. Finally the Spirit of Communion unites the Church to the life and Mission of Christ. The Holy Spirit prepares for the reception of Christ

The dual dimension of the Christian liturgy as a response of Faith and Love to the spiritual blesSings the Father bestows on us is thus evident. On the one hand, the Church, united with her Lord and "in the Holy Spirit," 5 blesses the Father "for his inexpressible gift 6 in her adoration, praise, and thanksgiving. On the other hand, until the consummation of God's plan, the Church never ceases to present to the Father the offering of his own gifts and to beg him to send the Holy Spirit upon that offering, upon herself, upon the Faithful, and upon the whole world, so that through Communion in the death and resurrection of Christ the Priest, and by the power of the Spirit, these divine blessings will bring forth the fruits of life "to the praise of his glorious Grace." 7

Communion with the dead. "In full consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and 'because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their Sins' she offers her suffrages for them." 498 Our Prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.

Communion with the Saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven; we seek, rather, that by this devotion to the exercise of fraternal Charity the union of the whole Church in the Spirit may be strengthened. Exactly as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all Grace, and the life of the People of God itself" 496 :

Communion in Charity. In the sanctorum communio, "None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself." 487 "If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." 488 "Charity does not insist on its own way." 489 In this solidarity with all men, living or dead, which is founded on the communion of Saints, the least of our acts done in charity redounds to the profit of all. Every Sin harms this communion.

Communion of charisms. Within the communion of the Church, the Holy Spirit "distributes special Graces among the Faithful of every rank" for the building up of the Church. 482 Now, "to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." 483

Communion of the Sacraments. "The fruit of all the Sacraments belongs to all the Faithful. All the sacraments are sacred links uniting the Faithful with one another and binding them to Jesus Christ, and above all Baptism, the gate by which we enter into the Church. the communion of Saints must be understood as the communion of the sacraments.... the name 'communion' can be applied to all of them, for they unite us to God.... But this name is better suited to the Eucharist than to any other, because it is primarily the Eucharist that brings this communion about." 481

In the primitive commUnity of Jerusalem, the disciples "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the Prayers." 480 Communion in the Faith. the faith of the Faithful is the faith of the Church, received from the apostles. Faith is a treasure of life which is enriched by being Shared.

The term "Communion of Saints" therefore has two closely linked meanings: communion in holy things (sancta)" and "among holy perSons (sancti).

"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

After confesSing "the holy catholic Church," the Apostles' Creed adds "the Communion of Saints." In a certain sense this article is a further explanation of the preceding: "What is the Church if not the assembly of all the saints?" 477 The communion of saints is the Church.

By a "life perfectly and entirely consecrated to [such] sanctification," the members of these institutes Share in the Church's task of evangelization, "in the world and from within the world," where their presence acts as "leaven in the world." 471 "Their witness of a Christian life" aims "to order temporal things according to God and inform the world with the power of the gospel." They commit themselves to the evangelical counsels by sacred bonds and observe among themselves the Communion and fellowship appropriate to their "particular secular way of life." 472

Lay people who possess the required qualities can be admitted permanently to the ministries of lector and acolyte. 436 When the necessity of the Church warrants it and when ministers are lacking, lay perSons, even if they are not lectors or acolytes, can also supply for certain of their offices, namely, to exercise the ministry of the word, to preside over liturgical Prayers, to confer Baptism, and to distribute Holy Communion in accord with the prescriptions of law." 437

What are these bonds of Unity? Above all, Charity "binds everything together in perfect harmony." 265 But the unity of the pilgrim Church is also assured by visible bonds of Communion: - profession of one Faith received from the Apostles; -common celebration of divine worship, especially of the Sacraments; - apostolic succession through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, maintaining the fraternal concord of God's family. 266

"The power which they exercise perSonally in the name of Christ, is proper, ordinary, and immediate, although its exercise is ultimately controlled by the supreme authority of the Church." 427 But the bishops should not be thought of as vicars of the Pope. His ordinary and immediate authority over the whole Church does not annul, but on the contrary confirms and defends that of the bishops. Their authority must be exercised in Communion with the whole Church under the guidance of the Pope.

As the work of Christ liturgy is also an action of his Church. It makes the Church present and manifests her as the visible sign of the Communion in Christ between God and men. It engages the Faithful in the new life of the commUnity and involves the "conscious, active, and fruitful participation" of everyone. 9

For man, this consummation will be the final realization of the Unity of the human race, which God willed from creation and of which the pilgrim Church has been "in the nature of Sacrament." 634 Those who are united with Christ will form the community of the redeemed, "the holy city" of God, "the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." 635 She will not be wounded any longer by Sin, stains, self-Love, that destroy or wound the earthly community. 636 The beatific vision, in which God opens himself in an inexhaustible way to the elect, will be the ever-flowing well-spring of happiness, peace, and mutual Communion.

We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to Love him. But we cannot love God if we Sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." 610 Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren. 611 To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from Communion with God and the blessed is called "hell."

This Mystery of blessed Communion with God and all who are in Christ is beyond all understanding and description. Scripture speaks of it in images: life, light, peace, wedding feast, wine of the kingdom, the Father's house, the heavenly Jerusalem, paradise: "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who Love him." 601

This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity - this Communion of life and Love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed - is called "heaven." Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.

The Apostle's Creed associates Faith in the forgiveness of Sins not only with faith in the Holy Spirit, but also with faith in the Church and in the Communion of Saints. It was when he gave the Holy Spirit to his apostles that the risen Christ conferred on them his own divine power to forgive Sins: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 518

After speaking of the Church, her origin, Mission, and destiny, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her we contemplate what the Church already is in her Mystery on her own "pilgrimage of Faith," and what she will be in the homeland at the end of her journey. There, "in the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity," "in the Communion of all the Saints," 516 The Church is awaited by the one she venerates as Mother of her Lord and as her own mother.

In the one family of God. "For if we continue to Love one another and to join in praiSing the Most Holy Trinity - all of us who are Sons of God and form one family in Christ - we will be Faithful to the deepest vocation of the Church." 499