In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in sacrifice among the first Fruits of the earth as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to the Creator. But they also received a new significance in the context of the Exodus: the unleavened bread that Israel eats every year at Passover commemorates the haste of the departure that liberated them from Egypt; the remembrance of the manna in the desert will always recall to Israel that it lives by the bread of the Word of God; 154 their daily bread is the fruit of the promised land, the pledge of God's Faithfulness to his promises. The "cup of blesSing" 155 at the end of the Jewish Passover meal adds to the festive joy of wine an eschatological dimension: the messianic expectation of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. When Jesus instituted the Eucharist, he gave a new and definitive meaning to the blessing of the bread and the cup.

"Inasmuch as it is a sacramental action of sanctification, the liturgical celebration of marriage . . . must be, per se, valid, worthy, and Fruitful." 123 It is therefore appropriate for the bride and groom to prepare themselves for the celebration of their marriage by receiving the sacrament of penance.

Christ is the source of this Grace. "Just as of old God encountered his people with a covenant of Love and fidelity, so our Savior, the spouse of the Church, now encounters Christian spouses through the sacrament of Matrimony." 147 Christ dwells with them, gives them the strength to take up their crosses and so follow him, to rise again after they have fallen, to forgive one another, to bear one another's burdens, to "be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ," 148 and to love one another with supernatural, tender, and Fruitful love. In the joys of their love and family life he gives them here on earth a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb:

The Fruitfulness of conjugal Love extends to the fruits of the moral, spiritual, and supernatural life that parents hand on to their children by education. Parents are the principal and first educators of their children. 162 In this sense the fundamental task of marriage and family is to be at the service of life. 163

Spouses to whom God has not granted children can nevertheless have a conjugal life full of meaning, in both human and Christian terms. Their marriage can radiate a Fruitfulness of Charity, of hospitality, and of sacrifice.

"Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God," 13 "sanctified . . . (and) called to be saints," 14 Christians have become the temple of the Holy Spirit. 15 This "Spirit of the Son" teaches them to pray to the Father 16 and, having become their life, prompts them to act so as to bear "the Fruit of the Spirit" 17 by Charity in action. Healing the wounds of Sin, the Holy Spirit renews us interiorly through a spiritual transformation. 18 He enlightens and strengthens us to live as "children of light" through "all that is good and right and true." 19

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.

The Decalogue, the Sermon on the Mount, and the apostolic catechesis describe for us the paths that lead to the Kingdom of heaven. Sustained by the Grace of the Holy Spirit, we tread them, step by step, by everyday acts. By the working of the Word of Christ, we slowly bear Fruit in the Church to the glory of God. 25

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.

This unequivocal insistence on the indissolubility of the marriage bond may have left some perplexed and could seem to be a demand impossible to realize. However, Jesus has not placed on spouses a burden impossible to bear, or too heavy - heavier than the Law of Moses. 108 By coming to restore the original order of creation disturbed by Sin, he himself gives the strength and Grace to live marriage in the new dimension of the Reign of God. It is by following Christ, renouncing themselves, and taking up their crosses that spouses will be able to "receive" the original meaning of marriage and live it with the help of Christ. 109 This grace of Christian marriage is a Fruit of Christ's cross, the source of all Christian life.

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

God who created man out of Love also calls him to love the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is himself love. 90 Since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man. It is good, very good, in the Creator's eyes. and this love which God blesses is intended to be Fruitful and to be realized in the common work of watching over creation: "and God blessed them, and God said to them: 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.'" 91

The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its Fruit:

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.

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

At the Last Supper the Lord himself directed his disciples' attention toward the fulfillment of the Passover in the kingdom of God: "I tell you I shall not drink again of this Fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." 240 Whenever the Church celebrates the Eucharist she remembers this promise and turns her gaze "to him who is to come." In her Prayer she calls for his coming: "Marana tha!" "Come, Lord Jesus!" 241 "May your Grace come and this world pass away!" 242

"Penance requires . . . the Sinner to endure all things willingly, be contrite of heart, confess with the lips, and practice complete humility and Fruitful satisfaction." 49

Union with the passion of Christ. By the Grace of this sacrament the sick perSon receives the strength and the gift of uniting himself more closely to Christ's Passion: in a certain way he is consecrated to bear Fruit by configuration to the Savior's redemptive Passion. Suffering, a consequence of original Sin, acquires a new meaning; it becomes a participation in the saving work of Jesus.

This presence of Christ in the minister is not to be understood as if the latter were preserved from all human weaknesses, the spirit of domination, error, even Sin. the power of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee all acts of ministers in the same way. While this guarantee extends to the Sacraments, so that even the minister's sin cannot impede the Fruit of Grace, in many other acts the minister leaves human traces that are not always signs of fidelity to the Gospel and consequently can harm the apostolic fruitfulness of the Church.

Since the Second Vatican Council the Latin Church has restored the diaconate "as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy," 58 while the Churches of the East had always maintained it. This permanent diaconate, which can be conferred on married men, constitutes an important enrichment for the Church's mission. Indeed it is appropriate and useful that men who carry out a truly diaconal ministry in the Church, whether in its liturgical and pastoral life or whether in its social and charitable works, should "be strengthened by the imposition of hands which has come down from the apostles. They would be more closely bound to the altar and their ministry would be made more Fruitful through the sacramental Grace of the diaconate." 59

As in all the Sacraments additional rites surround the celebration. Varying greatly among the different liturgical traditions, these rites have in common the expression of the multiple aspects of sacramental Grace. Thus in the Latin Church, the initial rites - presentation and election of the ordinand, instruction by the bishop, examination of the candidate, litany of the saints - attest that the choice of the candidate is made in keeping with the practice of the Church and prepare for the solemn act of consecration, after which several rites syrnbolically express and complete the mystery accomplished: for bishop and priest, an anointing with holy chrism, a sign of the special anointing of the Holy Spirit who makes their ministry Fruitful; giving the book of the Gospels, the ring, the miter, and the crosier to the bishop as the sign of his apostolic mission to proclaim the Word of God, of his fidelity to the Church, the bride of Christ, and his office as shepherd of the Lord's flock; presentation to the priest of the paten and chalice, "the offering of the holy people" which he is called to present to God; giving the book of the Gospels to the deacon who has just received the mission to proclaim the Gospel of Christ.

In the Eastern Churches a different discipline has been in force for many centuries: while bishops are chosen solely from among celibates, married men can be ordained as deacons and priests. This practice has long been considered legitimate; these priests exercise a Fruitful ministry within their communities. 73 Moreover, priestly celibacy is held in great honor in the Eastern Churches and many priests have freely chosen it for the sake of the Kingdom of God. In the East as in the West a man who has already received the sacrament of Holy Orders can no longer marry.

Fruit of the Spirit and fullness of the Law, Charity keeps the commandments of God and his Christ: "Abide in my Love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love." 99

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

Everyone has the right of economic initiative; everyone should make legitimate use of his talents to contribute to the abundance that will benefit all and to harvest the just Fruits of his labor. He should seek to observe regulations issued by legitimate authority for the sake of the common good. 214

The responsibility of the state. "Economic activity, especially the activity of a market economy, cannot be conducted in an institutional, juridical, or political vacuum. On the contrary, it presupposes sure guarantees of individual freedom and private property, as well as a stable currency and efficient public services. Hence the principal task of the state is to guarantee this security, so that those who work and produce can enjoy the Fruits of their labors and thus feel encouraged to work efficiently and honestly.... Another task of the state is that of overseeing and directing the exercise of human rights in the economic sector. However, primary responsibility in this area belongs not to the state but to individuals and to the various groups and associations which make up society." 216

A just wage is the legitimate Fruit of work. To refuse or withhold it can be a grave injustice. 220 In determining fair pay both the needs and the contributions of each perSon must be taken into account. "Remuneration for work should guarantee man the opportunity to provide a dignified livelihood for himself and his family on the material, social, cultural and spiritual level, taking into account the role and the productivity of each, the state of the buSiness, and the common good." 221 Agreement between the parties is not sufficient to justify morally the amount to be received in wages.

When Jesus openly entrusts to his disciples the mystery of Prayer to the Father, he reveals to them what their prayer and ours must be, once he has returned to the Father in his glorified humanity. What is new is to "ask in his name." 78 Faith in the Son introduces the disciples into the knowledge of the Father, because Jesus is "the way, and the truth, and the life." 79 Faith Bears its Fruit in Love: it means keeping the word and the commandments of Jesus, it means abiding with him in the Father who, in him, so loves us that he abides with us. In this new covenant the certitude that our petitions will be heard is founded on the prayer of Jesus. 80

The invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always. When the holy name is repeated often by a humbly attentive heart, the Prayer is not lost by heaping up empty phrases, 19 but holds fast to the word and "brings forth Fruit with patience." 20 This prayer is possible "at all times" because it is not one occupation among others but the only occupation: that of loving God, which animates and transfigures every action in Christ Jesus.

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

The catechesis of children, young people, and adults aims at teaching them to meditate on the Word of God in Personal Prayer, practicing it in liturgical prayer, and internalizing it at all times in order to bear Fruit in a new life. Catechesis is also a time for the discernment and education of popular piety. 46 The memorization of basic prayers offers an essential support to the life of prayer, but it is important to help learners savor their meaning.

Another difficulty, especially for those who Sincerely want to pray, is dryness. Dryness belongs to contemplative Prayer when the heart is separated from God, with no taste for thoughts, memories, and feelings, even spiritual ones. This is the moment of sheer Faith clinging faithfully to Jesus in his agony and in his tomb. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if dies, it Bears much Fruit." 18 If dryness is due to the lack of roots, because the word has fallen on rocky soil, the battle requires conversion. 19

This petition is taken up and granted in the Prayer of Jesus which is present and effective in the Eucharist; it Bears its Fruit in new life in keeping with the Beatitudes. 94

"In his use of things man should regard the external goods he legitimately owns not merely as exclusive to himself but common to others also, in the sense that they can benefit others as well as himself." 187 The ownership of any property makes its holder a steward of Providence, with the task of making it Fruitful and communicating its benefits to others, first of all his family.

In the beginning God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common stewardship of mankind to take care of them, master them by labor, and enjoy their Fruits. 186 The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race. However, the earth is divided up among men to assure the security of their lives, endangered by poverty and threatened by violence. the appropriation of property is legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and dignity of perSons and for helping each of them to meet his basic needs and the needs of those in his charge. It should allow for a natural solidarity to develop between men.

The seventh commandment forbids unjustly taking or keeping the goods of one's neighbor and wronging him in any way with respect to his goods. It commands justice and Charity in the care of earthly goods and the Fruits of men's labor. For the sake of the common good, it requires respect for the universal destination of goods and respect for the right to private property. Christian life strives to order this world's goods to God and to fraternal charity.

The Fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. the tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: "Charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, Faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity." 112

There are a great many kinds of Sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. the Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the Fruit of the Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God." 127

A society is a group of perSons bound together organically by a principle of unity that goes beyond each one of them. As an assembly that is at once visible and spiritual, a society endures through time: it gathers up the past and prepares for the future. By means of society, each man is established as an "heir" and receives certain "talents" that enrich his identity and whose Fruits he must develop. 3 He rightly owes loyalty to the communities of which he is part and respect to those in authority who have charge of the common good.

Since it belongs to the supernatural order, Grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except by Faith. We cannot therefore rely on our feelings or our works to conclude that we are justified and saved. 56 However, according to the Lord's words "Thus you will know them by their Fruits" 57 - reflection on God's blessings in our life and in the lives of the saints offers us a guarantee that grace is at work in us and spurs us on to an ever greater faith and an attitude of trustful poverty.

Observing the fourth commandment brings its reward: "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you." 8 Respecting this commandment provides, along with spiritual Fruits, temporal fruits of peace and prosperity. Conversely, failure to observe it brings great harm to communities and to individuals.

Earthly peace is the image and Fruit of the peace of Christ, the messianic "Prince of Peace." 99 By the blood of his Cross, "in his own perSon he killed the hostility," 100 he reconciled men with God and made his Church the sacrament of the unity of the human race and of its union with God. "He is our peace." 101 He has declared: "Blessed are the peacemakers." 102

Chastity is a moral virtue. It is also a gift from God, a Grace, a Fruit of spiritual effort. 131 The Holy Spirit enables one whom the water of Baptism has regenerated to imitate the purity of Christ. 132

Fecundity is a gift, an end of marriage, for conjugal Love naturally tends to be Fruitful. A child does not come from outside as something added on to the mutual love of the spouses, but springs from the very heart of that mutual giving, as its fruit and fulfillment. So the Church, which "is on the side of life" 150 teaches that "each and every marriage act must remain open 'per se' to the transmission of life." 151 "This particular doctrine, expounded on numerous occasions by the Magisterium, is based on the inseparable connection, established by God, which man on his own initiative may not break, between the unitive significance and the procreative significance which are both inherent to the marriage act." 152

Techniques involving only the married couple (homologous artificial insemination and fertilization) are perhaps less reprehensible, yet remain morally unacceptable. They dissociate the sexual act from the procreative act. the act which brings the child into existence is no longer an act by which two perSons give themselves to one another, but one that "entrusts the life and identity of the embryo into the power of doctors and biologists and establishes the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of the human person. Such a relationship of domination is in itself contrary to the dignity and equality that must be common to parents and children." 167 "Under the moral aspect procreation is deprived of its proper perfection when it is not willed as the Fruit of the conjugal act, that is to say, of the specific act of the spouses' union .... Only respect for the link between the meanings of the conjugal act and respect for the unity of the human being make possible procreation in conformity with the dignity of the person." 168

A child is not something owed to one, but is a gift. the "supreme gift of marriage" is a human perSon. A child may not be considered a piece of property, an idea to which an alleged "right to a child" would lead. In this area, only the child possesses genuine rights: the right "to be the Fruit of the specific act of the conjugal Love of his parents," and "the right to be respected as a person from the moment of his conception." 169

The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, 152 and temptation, which leads to Sin and death. 153 We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a "delight to the eyes" and desirable, 154 when in reality its Fruit is death. God does not want to impose the good, but wants free beings.... There is a certain usefulness to temptation. No one but God knows what our soul has received from him, not even we ourselves. But temptation reveals it in order to teach us to know ourselves, and in this way we discover our evil inclinations and are obliged to give thanks for the goods that temptation has revealed to us. 155

"Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal." 40 Each of them makes present and Fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own "always, to the close of the age". 41

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

"The Church is a cultivated field, the tillage of God. On that land the ancient olive tree grows whose holy roots were the prophets and in which the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles has been brought about and will be brought about again. That land, like a choice vineyard, has been planted by the heavenly cultivator. Yet the true vine is Christ who gives life and Fruitfulness to the branches, that is, to us, who through the Church remain in Christ, without whom we can do nothing. 147

Only Faith can recognize that the Church possesses these properties from her divine source. But their historical manifestations are signs that also speak clearly to human reaSon. As the First Vatican Council noted, the "Church herself, with her marvellous propagation, eminent holiness, and inexhaustible Fruitfulness in everything good, her catholic unity and invincible stability, is a great and perpetual motive of credibility and an irrefutable witness of her divine mission." 258

On her pilgrimage, the Church has also experienced the "discrepancy existing between the message she proclaims and the human weakness of those to whom the Gospel has been entrusted." 348 Only by taking the "way of penance and renewal," the "narrow way of the cross," can the People of God extend Christ's reign. 349 For "just as Christ carried out the work of redemption in poverty and oppression, so the Church is called to follow the same path if she is to communicate the Fruits of salvation to men." 350

"Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the Church's whole apostolate"; thus the Fruitfulness of apostolate for ordained ministers as well as for lay people clearly depends on their vital union with Christ. 378 In keeping with their vocations, the demands of the times and the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, the apostolate assumes the most varied forms. But Charity, drawn from the Eucharist above all, is always "as it were, the soul of the whole apostolate." 379

Neighboring particular Churches who share the same culture form ecclesiastical provinces or larger groupings called patriarchates or regions. 413 The bishops of these groupings can meet in synods or provincial councils. "In a like fashion, the episcopal conferences at the present time are in a position to contribute in many and Fruitful ways to the concrete realization of the collegiate spirit." 414

"Hence the laity, dedicated as they are to Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit, are marvellously called and prepared so that even richer Fruits of the Spirit maybe produced in them. For all their works, Prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit - indeed even the hardships of life if patiently born - all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. In the celebration of the Eucharist these may most fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord. and so, worshipping everywhere by their holy actions, the laity consecrate the world itself to God, everywhere offering worship by the holiness of their lives." 434

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

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

By this power of the Spirit, God's children can bear much Fruit. He who has grafted us onto the true vine will make us bear "the fruit of the Spirit: . . . Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, Faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." 129 "We live by the Spirit"; the more we renounce ourselves, the more we "walk by the Spirit." 130

He, then, gives us the "pledge" or "first Fruits" of our inheritance: the very life of the Holy Trinity, which is to Love as "God (has) loved us." 127 This love (the "Charity" of 1 Cor 13) is the source of the new life in Christ, made possible because we have received "power" from the Holy Spirit. 128

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

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 consequences of original Sin and of all men's Personal sins put the world as a whole in the sinful condition aptly described in St. John's expression, "the sin of the world". 300 This expression can also refer to the negative influence exerted on people by communal situations and social structures that are the Fruit of men's sins. 301

The name of Jesus is at the heart of Christian Prayer. All liturgical prayers conclude with the words "through our Lord Jesus Christ". the Hail Mary reaches its high point in the words "blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus." the Eastern prayer of the heart, the Jesus Prayer, says: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a Sinner." Many Christians, such as St. Joan of Arc, have died with the one word "Jesus" on their lips.

The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Saviour of the world. the great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. 212 In the magi, representatives of the neighbouring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-Fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation. the magi's coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations. 213 Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Saviour of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament. 214 The Epiphany shows that "the full number of the nations" now takes its "place in the family of the patriarchs", and acquires Israelitica dignitas 215 (is made "worthy of the heritage of Israel").

Finally, Christ's Resurrection - and the risen Christ himself is the principle and source of our future resurrection: "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first Fruits of those who have fallen asleep. . . For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." 528 The risen Christ lives in the hearts of his Faithful while they await that fulfilment. In Christ, Christians "have tasted. . . the powers of the age to come" 529 and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may "live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised." 530

Fire. While water signifies birth and the Fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. the Prayer of the prophet Elijah, who "arose like fire" and whose "word burned like a torch," brought down fire from heaven on the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. 37 This event was a "figure" of the fire of the Holy Spirit, who transforms what he touches. John the Baptist, who goes "before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah," proclaims Christ as the one who "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." 38 Jesus will say of the Spirit: "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!" 39 In the form of tongues "as of fire," the Holy Spirit rests on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself 40 The spiritual tradition has retained this symbolism of fire as one of the most expressive images of the Holy Spirit's actions. 41 "Do not quench the Spirit." 42

Against all human hope, God promises descendants to Abraham, as the Fruit of Faith and of the power of the Holy Spirit. 68 In Abraham's progeny all the nations of the earth will be blessed. This progeny will be Christ himself, 69 in whom the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will "gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad." 70 God commits himself by his own solemn oath to giving his beLoved Son and "the promised Holy Spirit . . . [who is] the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it." 71

In Mary, the Holy Spirit fulfills the plan of the Father's loving goodness. With and through the Holy Spirit, the Virgin conceives and gives birth to the Son of God. By the Holy Spirit's power and her Faith, her virginity became uniquely Fruitful. 105

Belief in the resurrection of the dead has been an essential element of the Christian Faith from its beginnings. "The confidence of Christians is the resurrection of the dead; believing this we live." 536 How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.... But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first Fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 537

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

God speaks to man through the visible creation. the material cosmos is so presented to man's intelligence that he can read there traces of its Creator. 16 Light and darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree and its Fruit speak of God and symbolize both his greatness and his nearness.

A sacramental celebration is a meeting of God's children with their Father, in Christ and the Holy Spirit; this meeting takes the form of a dialogue, through actions and words. Admittedly, the symbolic actions are already a language, but the Word of God and the response of Faith have to accompany and give life to them, so that the seed of the Kingdom can bear its Fruit in good soil. the liturgical actions signify what the Word of God expresses: both his free initiative and his people's response of faith.

The harmony of signs (Song, music, words, and actions) is all the more expressive and Fruitful when expressed in the cultural richness of the People of God who celebrate. 25 Hence "religious Singing by the Faithful is to be intelligently fostered so that in devotions and sacred exercises as well as in liturgical services," in conformity with the Church's norms, "the voices of the faithful may be heard." But "the texts intended to be sung must always be in conformity with Catholic doctrine. Indeed they should be drawn chiefly from the Sacred Scripture and from liturgical sources." 26

In the liturgical year the various aspects of the one Paschal mystery unfold. This is also the case with the cycle of feasts surrounding the mystery of the incarnation (Annunciation, Christmas, Epiphany). They commemorate the beginning of our salvation and communicate to us the first Fruits of the Paschal mystery.

"In celebrating this annual cycle of the mysteries of Christ, Holy Church honors the Blessed Mary, Mother of God, with a special Love. She is inseparably linked with the saving work of her Son. In her the Church admires and exalts the most excellent Fruit of redemption and joyfully contemplates, as in a faultless image, that which she herself desires and hopes wholly to be." 44

Since the beginning of the world, water, so humble and wonderful a creature, has been the source of life and Fruitfulness. Sacred Scripture sees it as "oveshadowed" by the Spirit of God: 12

The Church has always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death for the sake of the Faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death for and with Christ. This Baptism of blood, like the desire for Baptism, brings about the Fruits of Baptism without being a sacrament.

Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, the perSon baptized is configured to Christ. Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to Christ. No Sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the Fruits of salvation. 82 Given once for all, Baptism cannot be repeated.

Very early, the better to signify the gift of the Holy Spirit, an anointing with perfumed oil (chrism) was added to the laying on of hands. This anointing highlights the name "Christian," which means "anointed" and derives from that of Christ himself whom God "anointed with the Holy Spirit." 99 This rite of anointing has continued ever Since, in both East and West. For this reaSon the Eastern Churches call this sacrament Chrismation, anointing with chrism, or myron which means "chrism." In the West, Confirmation suggests both the ratification of Baptism, thus completing Christian initiation, and the strengthening of baptismal Grace - both Fruits of the Holy Spirit.

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

"When we have spread on earth the Fruits of our nature and our enterprise . . . according to the command of the Lord and in his Spirit, we will find them once again, cleansed this time from the stain of Sin, illuminated and transfigured, when Christ presents to his Father an eternal and universal kingdom." 641 God will then be "all in all" in eternal life: 642

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

"The sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church": 10 it must be preceded by evangelization, Faith, and conversion. It can then produce its Fruits in the lives of the faithful: new life in the Spirit, involvement in the mission of the Church, and service to her unity.

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

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

The assembly should prepare itself to encounter its Lord and to become "a people well disposed." the preparation of hearts is the joint work of the Holy Spirit and the assembly, especially of its ministers. the Grace of the Holy Spirit seeks to awaken Faith, conversion of heart, and adherence to the Father's will. These dispositions are the precondition both for the reception of other graces conferred in the celebration itself and the Fruits of new life which the celebration is intended to produce afterward.

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 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.

This is the meaning of the Church's affirmation 49 that the Sacraments act ex opere operato (literally: "by the very fact of the action's being performed"), i.e., by virtue of the saving work of Christ, accomplished once for all. It follows that "the sacrament is not wrought by the righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of God." 50 From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through it, independently of the Personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the Fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.

At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ's Body and Blood. Faithful to the Lord's command the Church continues to do, in his memory and until his glorious return, what he did on the eve of his Passion: "He took bread...." "He took the cup filled with wine...." the signs of bread and wine become, in a way surpasSing understanding, the Body and Blood of Christ; they continue also to signify the goodness of creation. Thus in the Offertory we give thanks to the Creator for bread and wine, 152 Fruit of the "work of human hands," but above all as "fruit of the earth" and "of the vine" - gifts of the Creator. the Church sees in the gesture of the king-priest Melchizedek, who "brought out bread and wine," a prefiguring of her own offering. 153