The Prayer of Faith consists not only in saying "Lord, Lord," but in dispoSing the Heart to do the will of the Father. 70 Jesus calls his disciples to bring into their Prayer this concern for cooperating with the divine plan. 71

The Heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the Semitic or Biblical expression, the heart is the place "to which I withdraw." The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reaSon and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of Truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant.

Where does Prayer come from? Whether Prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who Prays. But in naming the Source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the Soul or the spirit, but most Often of the Heart (more than a thousand times). According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain.

"Prayer is the raiSing of one's mind and Heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." 2 But when we Pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or "out of the depths" of a Humble and contrite heart? 3 He who humbles himself will be exalted; 4 humility is the foundation of Prayer, Only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought," 5 are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. "Man is a beggar before God." 6

The economy of law and Grace turns men's Hearts away from avarice and envy. It initiates them into desire for the Sovereign Good; it instructs them in the desires of the Holy Spirit who satisfies man's heart. The God of the promises always warned man against seduction by what from the beginning has seemed "good for food . . . a delight to the eyes . . . to be desired to make one wise." 329

The tenth Commandment requires that envy be banished from the human Heart. When the prophet Nathan wanted to spur King David to repentance, he told him the story about the poor man who had only one ewe lamb that he treated Like his own daughter and the rich man who, despite the great number of his flocks, envied the poor man and ended by stealing his lamb. 322 Envy can lead to the worst crimes. 323 "Through the devil's envy death entered the world": 324

The tenth Commandment unfolds and completes the ninth, which is concerned with concupiscence of the flesh. It forbids coveting the goods of another, as the root of theft, robbery, and fraud, which the seventh commandment forbids. "Lust of the eyes" leads to the violence and injustice forbidden by the fifth commandment. 318 Avarice, Like fornication, originates in the idolatry prohibited by the first three prescriptions of the Law. 319 The tenth commandment concerns the intentions of the Heart; with the ninth, it summarizes all the precepts of the Law.

So called moral permissiveness rests on an erroneous conception of human Freedom; the necessary precondition for the development of true freedom is to let oneself be educated in the moral law. Those in charge of education can reaSonably be expected to give young people instruction respectful of the Truth, the qualities of the Heart, and the moral and spiritual dignity of man.

God calls man first. Man may forget his Creator or hide far from his face; he may run after idols or accuse the deity of having abandoned him; yet the living and true God tirelessly calls each perSon to that mysterious encounter known as Prayer. In Prayer, the Faithful God's initiative of Love always comes first; our own first step is always a response. As God gradually reveals himself and reveals man to himself, Prayer appears as a reciprocal call, a covenant drama. Through words and actions, this drama engages the Heart. It unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation.

Prayer is lived in the first place beginning with the realities of creation. the first nine chapters of Genesis describe this relationship with God as an offering of the first-born of Abel's flock, as the invocation of the divine name at the time of Enosh, and as "walking with God. 5 Noah's offering is pleaSing to God, who blesses him and through him all creation, because his Heart was upright and undivided; Noah, Like Enoch before him, "walks with God." 6 This kind of Prayer is lived by many righteous people in all religions. In his indefectible covenant with every living creature, 7 God has always called people to Prayer. But it is above all beginning with our Father Abraham that prayer is revealed in the Old Testament.

Once committed to Conversion, the Heart learns to Pray in Faith. Faith is a filial adherence to God beyond what we feel and understand. It is possible because the beLoved Son gives us access to the Father. He can ask us to "seek" and to "knock," Since he himself is the door and the way. 65

From the Sermon on the Mount onwards, Jesus insists on Conversion of Heart: reconciliation with one's brother before presenting an offering on the altar, Love of enemies, and Prayer for persecutors, Prayer to the Father in secret, not heaping up empty phrases, Prayerful forgiveness from the depths of the heart, purity of heart, and seeking the Kingdom before all else. 64 This filial conversion is entirely directed to the Father.

The second Prayer, before the raiSing of Lazarus, is recorded by St. John. 50 Thanksgiving precedes the event: "Father, I thank you for having heard me," which implies that the Father always hears his petitions. Jesus immediately adds: "I know that you always hear me," which implies that Jesus, on his part, constantly made such petitions. Jesus' Prayer, characterized by thanksgiving, reveals to us how to ask: before the gift is given, Jesus commits himself to the One who in giving gives himself. the Giver is more precious than the gift; he is the "treasure"; in him abides his Son's Heart; the gift is given "as well." 51

The evangelists have preserved two more explicit Prayers offered by Christ during his public ministry. Each begins with thanksgiving. In the first, Jesus confesses the Father, acknowledges, and blesses him because he has hidden the mysteries of the Kingdom from those who think themselves learned and has revealed them to infants, the poor of the Beatitudes. 48 His exclamation, "Yes, Father!" expresses the depth of his Heart, his adherence to the Father's "good pleasure," echoing his mother's Fiat at the time of his conception and prefiguring what he will say to the Father in his agony. the whole Prayer of Jesus is contained in this loving adherence of his human heart to the mystery of the will of the Father. 49

The Son of God who became Son of the Virgin learned to Pray in his human Heart. He learns to pray from his mother, who kept all the great things the Almighty had done and treasured them in her heart. 41 He learns to pray in the words and rhythms of the Prayer of his people, in the synagogue at Nazareth and the Temple at Jerusalem. But his Prayer springs from an otherwise secret Source, as he intimates at the age of twelve: "I must be in my Father's house." 42 Here the newness of prayer in the fullness of time begins to be revealed: his filial prayer, which the Father awaits from his children, is finally going to be lived out by the only Son in his humanity, with and for men.

The Psalter's many forms of Prayer take shape both in the liturgy of the Temple and in the human Heart. Whether hymns or Prayers of lamentation or thanksgiving, whether individual or communal, whether royal chants, Songs of pilgrimage or wisdom meditations, the Psalms are a mirror of God's marvelous deeds in the history of his people, as well as reflections of the human experiences of the Psalmist. Though a given psalm may reflect an event of the past, it still possesses such direct simplicity that it can be Prayed in Truth by men of all times and conditions.

For the People of God, the Temple was to be the place of their education in Prayer: pilgrimages, feasts and sacrifices, the evening offering, the incense, and the bread of the Presence (“shewbread") - all these signs of the holiness and glory of God Most High and Most Near were appeals to and ways of Prayer. But ritualism Often encouraged an excessively external worship. the people needed education in Faith and Conversion of Heart; this was the mission of the prophets, both before and after the Exile.

The Temple of Jerusalem, the house of Prayer that David wanted to build, will be the work of his Son, Solomon. the Prayer at the dedication of the Temple relies on God's promise and covenant, on the active presence of his name among his People, recalling his mighty deeds at the Exodus. 29 The king lifts his hands Toward heaven and begs the Lord, on his own behalf, on behalf of the entire people, and of the generations yet to come, for the forgiveness of their Sins and for their daily needs, so that the nations may know that He is the only God and that the Heart of his people may belong wholly and entirely to him.

David is par excellence the king "after God's own Heart," the shepherd who Prays for his people and prays in their name. His submission to the will of God, his praise, and his repentance, will be a model for the Prayer of the people. His Prayer, the prayer of God's Anointed, is a Faithful adherence to the divine promise and expresses a loving and joyful trust in God, the only King and Lord. 28 In the Psalms David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the first prophet of Jewish and Christian prayer. the prayer of Christ, the true Messiah and Son of David, will reveal and fulfill the meaning of this prayer.

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

When God calls him, Abraham goes forth "as the Lord had told him"; 8 Abraham's Heart is entirely submissive to the Word and so he obeys. Such attentiveness of the heart, whose decisions are made according to God's will, is essential to Prayer, while the words used count only in relation to it. Abraham's Prayer is expressed first by deeds: a man of silence, he constructs an altar to the Lord at each stage of his journey. Only later does Abraham's first Prayer in words appear: a veiled complaint reminding God of his promises which seem unfulfilled. 9 Thus one aspect of the drama of prayer appears from the beginning: the test of Faith in the fidelity of God.

Christian purity requires a purification of the social climate. It requires of the communications media that their presentations show concern for respect and restraint. Purity of Heart brings Freedom from widespread eroticism and avoids entertainment inclined to voyeurism and illusion.

Baptism confers on its recipient the Grace of purification from all Sins. But the baptized must continue to struggle against concupiscence of the flesh and disordered desires. With God's grace he will prevail - by the virtue and gift of chastity, for chastity lets us Love with upright and undivided Heart; - by purity of intention which consists in seeking the true end of man: with simplicity of vision, the baptized perSon seeks to find and to fulfill God's will in everything; 312 - by purity of vision, external and internal; by discipline of feelings and imagination; by refuSing all complicity in impure thoughts that incline us to turn aside from the path of God's Commandments: "Appearance arouses yearning in fools"; 313 - by Prayer:

Outward sacrifice, to be genuine, must be the expression of spiritual sacrifice: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit...." 17 The prophets of the Old Covenant Often denounced sacrifices that were not from the Heart or not coupled with Love of neighbor. 18 Jesus recalls the words of the prophet Hosea: "I desire Mercy, and not sacrifice." 19 The only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the Father's love and for our salvation. 20 By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice we can make our lives a sacrifice to God.

The acts of Faith, hope, and Charity enjoined by the first Commandment are accomplished in Prayer. Lifting up the mind Toward God is an expression of our adoration of God: Prayer of praise and thanksgiving, intercession and petition. Prayer is an indispensable condition for being able to obey God's commandments. " (We) ought always to pray and not lose Heart." 15

Jesus summed up man's duties Toward God in this saying: "You shall Love the Lord your God with all your Heart, and with all your Soul, and with all your mind." 1 This immediately echoes the solemn call: "Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD." 2 God has loved us first. the love of the One God is recalled in the first of the "ten words." the Commandments then make explicit the response of love that man is called to give to his God.

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:

Justification is at the same time the acceptance of God's righteousness through Faith in Jesus Christ. Righteousness (or "justice") here means the rectitude of divine Love. With justification, faith, hope, and Charity are poured into our Hearts, and obedience to the divine will is granted us.

Justification detaches man from Sin which contradicts the Love of God, and purifies his Heart of sin. Justification follows upon God's merciful initiative of offering forgiveness. It reconciles man with God. It frees from the enslavement to sin, and it heals.

The Law of the Gospel fulfills the Commandments of the Law. the Lord's Sermon on the Mount, far from abolishing or devaluing the moral prescriptions of the Old Law, releases their hidden potential and has new demands arise from them: it reveals their entire divine and human Truth. It does not add new external precepts, but proceeds to reform the Heart, the root of human acts, where man chooses between the pure and the impure, 22 where Faith, hope, and Charity are formed and with them the other virtues. the Gospel thus brings the Law to its fullness through imitation of the perfection of the heavenly Father, through forgiveness of enemies and Prayer for persecutors, in emulation of the divine generosity. 23

The Law of the Gospel "fulfills," refines, surpasses, and leads the Old Law to its perfection. 21 In the Beatitudes, the New Law fulfills the divine promises by elevating and orienting them Toward the "Kingdom of heaven." It is addressed to those open to accepting this new hope with Faith - the poor, the Humble, the afflicted, the pure of Heart, those persecuted on account of Christ and so marks out the surpriSing ways of the Kingdom.

The New Law or the Law of the Gospel is the perfection here on earth of the divine law, natural and revealed. It is the work of Christ and is expressed particularly in the Sermon on the Mount. It is also the work of the Holy Spirit and through him it becomes the interior law of Charity: "I will establish a New Covenant with the house of Israel. . . . I will put my laws into their hands, and write them on their Hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 19

According to Christian tradition, the Law is holy, spiritual, and good, 14 yet still imperfect. Like a tutor 15 it shows what must be done, but does not of itself give the strength, the Grace of the Spirit, to fulfill it. Because of Sin, which it cannot remove, it remains a law of bondage. According to St. Paul, its special function is to denounce and disclose sin, which constitutes a "law of concupiscence" in the human Heart. 16 However, the Law remains the first stage on the way to the Kingdom. It prepares and disposes the chosen people and each Christian for Conversion and Faith in the Savior God. It provides a teaching which endures for ever, like the Word of God.

The natural law is immutable and permanent throughout the variations of history; 10 it subsists under the flux of ideas and customs and supports their progress. the rules that express it remain substantially valid. Even when it is rejected in its very principles, it cannot be destroyed or removed from the Heart of man. It always rises again in the life of individuals and societies:

Atheism is Often based on a false conception of human autonomy, exaggerated to the point of refuSing any dependence on God. 63 Yet, "to acknowledge God is in no way to oppose the dignity of man, since such dignity is grounded and brought to perfection in God...." 64 "For the Church knows full well that her message is in harmony with the most secret desires of the human Heart." 65

The "pure in Heart" are promised that they will see God face to face and be Like him. 311 Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God. Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as "neighbors"; it lets us perceive the human body - ours and our neighbor's - as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty.

The sixth beatitude proclaims, "Blessed are the pure in Heart, for they shall see God." 306 "Pure in heart" refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God's holiness, chiefly in three areas: Charity; 307 chastity or sexual rectitude; 308 Love of Truth and orthodoxy of Faith. 309 There is a connection between purity of heart, of body, and of faith:

The Heart is the seat of moral perSonality: "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication...." 304 The struggle against carnal covetousness entails purifying the heart and practicing temperance:

The practice of goodness is accompanied by spontaneous spiritual joy and moral beauty. Likewise, Truth carries with it the joy and splendor of spiritual beauty. Truth is beautiful in itself. Truth in words, the rational expression of the knowledge of created and uncreated reality, is necessary to man, who is endowed with intellect. But truth can also find other complementary forms of human expression, above all when it is a matter of evoking what is beyond words: the depths of the human Heart, the exaltations of the Soul, the mystery of God. Even before revealing himself to man in words of truth, God reveals himself to him through the universal language of creation, the work of his Word, of his wisdom: the order and harmony of the cosmos - which both the child and the scientist discover - "from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator," "for the author of beauty created them." 289

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

"People should cultivate [chastity] in the way that is suited to their state of life. Some profess virginity or consecrated celibacy which enables them to give themselves to God alone with an undivided Heart in a remarkable manner. Others live in the way prescribed for all by the moral law, whether they are married or Single." 135 Married people are called to live conjugal chastity; others practice chastity in continence:

Jesus came to restore creation to the purity of its origins. In the Sermon on the Mount, he interprets God's plan strictly: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his Heart." 122 What God has joined together, let not man put asunder. 123 The tradition of the Church has understood the sixth Commandment as encompasSing the whole of human sexuality.

By recalling the Commandment, "You shall not kill," 93 our Lord asked for peace of Heart and denounced murderous anger and hatred as immoral. Anger is a desire for revenge. "To desire vengeance in order to do evil to someone who should be punished is illicit," but it is praiseworthy to impose restitution "to correct vices and maintain justice." 94 If anger reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound a neighbor, it is gravely against Charity; it is a mortal Sin. the Lord says, "Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment." 95

Education in the Faith by the parents should begin in the child's earliest years. This already happens when family members help one another to grow in faith by the witness of a Christian life in keeping with the Gospel. Family catechesis precedes, accompanies, and enriches other forms of instruction in the faith. Parents have the mission of teaching their children to Pray and to discover their vocation as children of God. 35 The parish is the Eucharistic community and the Heart of the liturgical life of Christian families; it is a privileged place for the catechesis of children and parents.

Respect for parents (filial piety) derives from gratitude Toward those who, by the gift of life, their Love and their work, have brought their children into the world and enabled them to grow in stature, wisdom, and Grace. "With all your Heart honor your Father, and do not forget the birth pangs of your mother. Remember that through your parents you were born; what can you give back to them that equals their gift to you?" 19

In response to the question about the first of the Commandments, Jesus says: "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall Love the Lord your God with all your Heart, and with all your Soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' the second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 2 The apostle St. Paul reminds us of this: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." 3

The Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is at the Heart of the Church's life. "Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church." 110

The celebration of Sunday observes the moral Commandment inscribed by nature in the human Heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all." 109 Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people.

The natural law, present in the Heart of each man and established by reaSon, is universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all men. It expresses the dignity of the person and determines the basis for his fundamental rights and duties:

Three principal parables on Prayer are transmitted to us by St. Luke: - the first, "the importunate friend," 75 invites us to urgent Prayer: "Knock, and it will be opened to you." To the one who Prays Like this, the heavenly Father will "give whatever he needs," and above all the Holy Spirit who contains all gifts. - the second, "the importunate widow," 76 is centered on one of the qualities of prayer: it is necessary to pray always without ceaSing and with the patience of Faith. "and yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" - the third parable, "the Pharisee and the tax collector," 77 concerns the humility of the Heart that prays. "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" the Church continues to make this prayer its own: Kyrie eleison!

In Baptism and Confirmation, the handing on (traditio) of the Lord's Prayer signifies new birth into the divine life. Since Christian Prayer is our speaking to God with the very word of God, those who are "born anew". . . through the living and abiding word of God" 20 learn to invoke their Father by the one Word he always hears. They can henceforth do so, for the seal of the Holy Spirit's anointing is indelibly placed on their Hearts, ears, lips, indeed their whole filial being. This is why most of the patristic commentaries on the Our Father are addressed to catechumens and neophytes. When the Church Prays the Lord's Prayer, it is always the people made up of the "new-born" who pray and obtain Mercy. 21

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

But Jesus does not give us a formula to repeat mechanically. 14 As in every vocal Prayer, it is through the Word of God that the Holy Spirit teaches the children of God to Pray to their Father. Jesus not only gives us the words of our filial Prayer; at the same time he gives us the Spirit by whom these words become in us "spirit and life." 15 Even more, the proof and possibility of our filial prayer is that the Father "sent the Spirit of his Son into our Hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'" 16 Since our prayer sets forth our desires before God, it is again the Father, "he who searches the hearts of men," who "knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." 17 The prayer to Our Father is inserted into the mysterious mission of the Son and of the Spirit.

The traditional expression "the Lord's Prayer" - oratio Dominica - means that the Prayer to our Father is taught and given to us by the Lord Jesus. the Prayer that comes to us from Jesus is truly unique: it is "of the Lord." On the one hand, in the words of this prayer the only Son gives us the words the Father gave him: 13 he is the master of our prayer. On the other, as Word incarnate, he knows in his human Heart the needs of his human brothers and sisters and reveals them to us: he is the model of our prayer.

Prayer is a vital necessity. Proof from the contrary is no less convincing: if we do not allow the Spirit to lead us, we fall back into the slavery of Sin. 38 How can the Holy Spirit be our life if our Heart is far from him?

"Pray constantly . . . always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father." 33 St. Paul adds, "Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all Prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance making supplication for all the saints." 34 For "we have not been commanded to work, to keep watch and to fast constantly, but it has been laid down that we are to pray without ceaSing." 35 This tireless fervor can come only from Love. Against our dullness and laziness, the battle of Prayer is that of Humble, trusting, and persevering love. This love opens our Hearts to three enlightening and life-giving facts of Faith about prayer.

The Prayer of Jesus makes Christian Prayer an efficacious petition. He is its model, he Prays in us and with us. Since the Heart of the Son seeks only what pleases the Father, how could the prayer of the children of adoption be centered on the gifts rather than the Giver?

For St. Paul, this trust is bold, founded on the Prayer of the Spirit in us and on the Faithful Love of the Father who has given us his only Son. 31 Transformation of the Praying Heart is the first response to our petition.

"You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." 26 If we ask with a divided Heart, we are "adulterers"; 27 God cannot answer us, for he desires our well-being, our life. "Or do you suppose that it is in vain that the scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us?'" 28 That our God is "jealous" for us is the sign of how true his Love is. If we enter into the desire of his Spirit, we shall be heard.

Another temptation, to which presumption opens the gate, is acedia. the spiritual writers understand by this a form of depression due to lax ascetical practice, decreaSing vigilance, carelessness of Heart. "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." 21 The greater the height, the harder the fall. Painful as discouragement is, it is the reverse of presumption. the Humble are not surprised by their distress; it leads them to trust more, to hold fast in constancy.

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

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

Before we make our own this first exclamation of the Lord's Prayer, we must humbly cleanse our Hearts of certain false images drawn "from this world." Humility makes us recognize that "no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him," that is, "to little children." 30 The purification of our hearts has to do with paternal or maternal images, stemming from our personal and cultural history, and influencing our relationship with God. God our Father transcends the categories of the created world. To impose our own ideas in this area "upon him" would be to fabricate idols to adore or pull down. To Pray to the Father is to enter into his mystery as he is and as the Son has revealed him to us.

Second, a Humble and trusting Heart that enables us "to turn and become Like children": 41 for it is to "little children" that the Father is revealed. 42

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

"Lead us not into temptation" implies a decision of the Heart: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.... No one can serve two masters." 156 "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." 157 In this assent to the Holy Spirit the Father gives us strength. "No testing has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is Faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, so that you may be able to endure it." 158

Christian Prayer extends to the forgiveness of enemies, 144 transfiguring the disciple by configuring him to his Master. Forgiveness is a high-point of Christian Prayer; only Hearts attuned to God's compassion can receive the gift of Prayer. Forgiveness also bears witness that, in our world, Love is stronger than Sin. the martyrs of yesterday and today bear this witness to Jesus. Forgiveness is the fundamental condition of the reconciliation of the children of God with their Father and of men with one another. 145

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.

This "as" is not unique in Jesus' teaching: "You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect"; "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful"; "A new Commandment I give to you, that you Love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." 139 It is impossible to keep the Lord's commandment by imitating the divine model from outside; there has to be a vital participation, coming from the depths of the Heart, in the holiness and the Mercy and the love of our God. Only the Spirit by whom we live can make "ours" the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. 140 Then the unity of forgiveness becomes possible and we find ourselves "forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave" us. 141

Now - and this is daunting - this outpouring of Mercy cannot penetrate our Hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us. Love, Like the Body of Christ, is indivisible; we cannot love the God we cannot see if we do not love the brother or sister we do see. 136 In refuSing to forgive our brothers and sisters, our hearts are closed and their hardness makes them impervious to the Father's merciful love; but in confessing our Sins, our hearts are opened to his Grace.

Finally, in Jesus the name of the Holy God is revealed and given to us, in the flesh, as Savior, revealed by what he is, by his word, and by his sacrifice. 75 This is the Heart of his priestly Prayer: "Holy Father . . . for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in Truth." 76 Because he "sanctifies" his own name, Jesus reveals to us the name of the Father. 77 At the end of Christ's Passover, the Father gives him the name that is above all names: "Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 78

After we have placed ourselves in the presence of God our Father to adore and to Love and to bless him, the Spirit of adoption stirs up in our Hearts seven petitions, seven blesSings. the first three, more theological, draw us Toward the glory of the Father; the last four, as ways toward him, commend our wretchedness to his Grace. "Deep calls to deep." 63

"Who art in heaven" does not refer to a place but to God's majesty and his presence in the Hearts of the just. Heaven, the Father's house, is the true homeland Toward which we are heading and to which, already, we belong.

Praying to our Father should develop in us the will to become Like him and foster in us a Humble and trusting Heart.

The symbol of the heavens refers us back to the mystery of the covenant we are living when we Pray to our Father. He is in heaven, his dwelling place; the Father's house is our homeland. Sin has exiled us from the land of the covenant, 56 but Conversion of Heart enables us to return to the Father, to heaven. 57 Jn Christ, then, heaven and earth are reconciled, 58 for the Son alone "descended from heaven" and causes us to ascend there with him, by his Cross, Resurrection, and Ascension. 59

This biblical expression does not mean a place (“space"), but a way of being; it does not mean that God is distant, but majestic. Our Father is not "elsewhere": he transcends everything we can conceive of his holiness. It is precisely because he is thrice holy that he is so close to the Humble and contrite Heart.

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

In positive terms, the battle against the possessive and dominating self requires vigilance, sobriety of Heart. When Jesus insists on vigilance, he always relates it to himself, to his coming on the last day and every day: today. the bridegroom comes in the middle of the night; the light that must not be extinguished is that of Faith: "'Come,' my heart says, 'seek his face!'" 17

The habitual difficulty in Prayer is distraction. It can affect words and their meaning in vocal Prayer; it can concern, more profoundly, him to whom we are Praying, in vocal prayer (liturgical or perSonal), meditation, and contemplative prayer. To set about hunting down distractions would be to fall into their trap, when all that is necessary is to turn back to our Heart: for a distraction reveals to us what we are attached to, and this Humble awareness before the Lord should awaken our preferential Love for him and lead us resolutely to offer him our heart to be purified. Therein lies the battle, the choice of which master to serve. 16

This simple invocation of Faith developed in the tradition of Prayer under many forms in East and West. the most usual formulation, transmitted by the spiritual writers of the Sinai, Syria, and Mt. Athos, is the invocation, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have Mercy on us sinners." It combines the Christological hymn of Philippians 2:6-11 with the cry of the publican and the blind men begging for light. 18 By it the Heart is opened to human wretchedness and the Savior's mercy.

The Prayer of the Church, nourished by the Word of God and the celebration of the liturgy, teaches us to Pray to the Lord Jesus. Even though her Prayer is addressed above all to the Father, it includes in all the liturgical traditions forms of prayer addressed to Christ. Certain psalms, given their use in the Prayer of the Church, and the New Testament place on our lips and engrave in our Hearts prayer to Christ in the form of invocations: Son of God, Word of God, Lord, Savior, Lamb of God, King, BeLoved Son, Son of the Virgin, Good Shepherd, our Life, our Light, our Hope, our Resurrection, Friend of mankind....

We learn to Pray at certain moments by hearing the Word of the Lord and sharing in his Paschal mystery, but his Spirit is offered us at all times, in the events of each day, to make Prayer spring up from us. Jesus' teaching about praying to our Father is in the same vein as his teaching about providence: 12 time is in the Father's hands; it is in the present that we encounter him, not yesterday nor tomorrow, but today: "O that today you would hearken to his voice! Harden not your Hearts." 13

"Hope does not disappoint us, because God's Love has been poured into our Hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." 10 Prayer, formed by the liturgical life, draws everything into the love by which we are loved in Christ and which enables us to respond to him by loving as he has loved us. Love is the Source of Prayer; whoever draws from it reaches the summit of Prayer. In the words of the Cure of Ars:

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 spiritual writers, paraphraSing Matthew 7:7, summarize in this way the dispositions of the Heart nourished by the word of God in Prayer "Seek in reading and you will find in meditating; knock in mental Prayer and it will be opened to you by contemplation." 5

The Holy Spirit is the living water "welling up to eternal life" 3 in the Heart that Prays. It is he who teaches us to accept it at its Source: Christ. Indeed in the Christian life there are several wellsprings where Christ awaits us to enable us to drink of the Holy Spirit.

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

"[Address] one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual Songs, Singing and making melody to the Lord with all your Heart." 124 Like the inspired writers of the New Testament, the first Christian communities read the Book of Psalms in a new way, singing in it the mystery of Christ. In the newness of the Spirit, they also composed hymns and canticles in the light of the unheard - of event that God accomplished in his Son: his Incarnation, his death which conquered death, his Resurrection, and Ascension to the right hand of the Father. 125 Doxology, the praise of God, arises from this "marvelous work" of the whole economy of salvation. 126

Praise is the form of Prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS. It shares in the blessed happiness of the pure of Heart who Love God in Faith before seeing him in glory. By praise, the Spirit is joined to our spirits to bear witness that we are children of God, 121 testifying to the only Son in whom we are adopted and by whom we glorify the Father. Praise embraces the other forms of Prayer and carries them Toward him who is its Source and goal: the "one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist." 122

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

BlesSing expresses the basic movement of Christian Prayer: it is an encounter between God and man. In blessing, God's gift and man's acceptance of it are united in dialogue with each other. the Prayer of blessing is man's response to God's gifts: because God blesses, the human Heart can in return bless the One who is the Source of every blessing.

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.

The Prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus just as it invokes his most holy name. It adores the incarnate Word and his Heart which, out of Love for men, he allowed to be pierced by our Sins. Christian Prayer loves to follow the way of the cross in the Savior's steps. the stations from the Praetorium to Golgotha and the tomb trace the way of Jesus, who by his holy Cross has redeemed the world.

Contemplation is a gaze of Faith, fixed on Jesus. "I look at him and he looks at me": this is what a certain peasant of Ars used to say to his holy cure about his Prayer before the tabernacle. This focus on Jesus is a renunciation of self. His gaze purifies our Heart; the light of the countenance of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in the light of his Truth and his compassion for all men. Contemplation also turns its gaze on the mysteries of the life of Christ. Thus it learns the "interior knowledge of our Lord," the more to Love him and follow him. 11

Contemplative Prayer is also the pre-eminently intense time of Prayer. In it the Father strengthens our inner being with power through his Spirit "that Christ may dwell in (our) Hearts through Faith" and we may be "grounded in Love." 10

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."

Contemplative Prayer is the Prayer of the child of God, of the forgiven Sinner who agrees to welcome the Love by which he is loved and who wants to respond to it by loving even more. 8 But he knows that the love he is returning is poured out by the Spirit in his Heart, for everything is Grace from God. Contemplative Prayer is the poor and Humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with his beloved Son.

Entering into contemplative Prayer is Like entering into the Eucharistic liturgy: we "gather up:" the Heart, recollect our whole being under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, abide in the dwelling place of the Lord which we are, awaken our Faith in order to enter into the presence of him who awaits us. We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who Loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified and transformed.

The choice of the time and duration of the Prayer arises from a determined will, revealing the secrets of the Heart. One does not undertake contemplative Prayer only when one has the time: one makes time for the Lord, with the firm determination not to give up, no matter what trials and dryness one may encounter. One cannot always meditate, but one can always enter into inner Prayer, independently of the conditions of health, work, or emotional state. the heart is the place of this quest and encounter, in poverty ant in Faith.

Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of Faith, prompt the Conversion of our Heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian Prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of Prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian Prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the Love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.

To meditate on what we read helps us to make it our own by confronting it with ourselves. Here, another book is opened: the book of life. We pass from thoughts to reality. To the extent that we are Humble and Faithful, we discover in meditation the movements that stir the Heart and we are able to discern them. It is a question of acting Truthfully in order to come into the light: "Lord, what do you want me to do?"

Through his Word, God speaks to man. By words, mental or vocal, our Prayer takes flesh. Yet it is most important that the Heart should be present to him to whom we are speaking in Prayer: "Whether or not our Prayer is heard depends not on the number of words, but on the fervor of our Souls." 2

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

Prayer is the life of the new Heart. It ought to animate us at every moment. But we tend to forget him who is our life and our all. This is why the Fathers of the spiritual life in the Deuteronomic and prophetic traditions insist that Prayer is a remembrance of God Often awakened by the memory of the heart "We must remember God more often than we draw breath." 1 But we cannot Pray "at all times" if we do not pray at specific times, consciously willing it These are the special times of Christian prayer, both in intensity and duration.

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

The dove. At the end of the flood, whose symbolism refers to Baptism, a dove released by Noah returns with a fresh olive-tree branch in its beak as a sign that the earth was again habitable. 58 When Christ comes up from the water of his baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes down upon him and remains with him. 59 The Spirit comes down and remains in the purified Hearts of the baptized. In certain Churches, the Eucharist is reserved in a metal receptacle in the form of a dove (columbarium) suspended above the altar. Christian iconography traditionally uses a dove to suggest the Spirit.

The finger. "It is by the finger of God that [Jesus] cast out demons." 55 If God's law was written on tablets of stone "by the finger of God," then the "letter from Christ" entrusted to the care of the apostles, is written "with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human Hearts." 56 The hymn Veni Creator Spiritus invokes the Holy Spirit as the "finger of the Father's right hand." 57

The One whom the Father has sent into our Hearts, the Spirit of his Son, is truly God. 10 Consubstantial with the Father and the Son, the Spirit is inseparable from them, in both the inner life of the Trinity and his gift of Love for the world. In adoring the Holy Trinity, life-giving, consubstantial, and indivisible, the Church's Faith also professes the distinction of persons. When the Father sends his Word, he always sends his Breath. In their joint mission, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable. To be sure, it is Christ who is seen, the visible image of the invisible God, but it is the Spirit who reveals him.

"No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." 1 "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our Hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!"' 2 This knowledge of Faith is possible only in the Holy Spirit: to be in touch with Christ, we must first have been touched by the Holy Spirit. He comes to meet us and kindles faith in us. By virtue of our Baptism, the first sacrament of the faith, the Holy Spirit in the Church communicates to us, intimately and personally, the life that originates in the Father and is offered to us in the Son.

Christ is Lord of eternal life. Full right to pass definitive judgement on the works and Hearts of men belongs to him as redeemer of the world. He "acquired" this right by his cross. the Father has given "all judgement to the Son". 586 Yet the Son did not come to judge, but to save and to give the life he has in himself. 587 By rejecting Grace in this life, one already judges oneself, receives according to one's works, and can even condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the Spirit of Love. 588

Following in the steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus announced the judgement of the Last Day in his preaching. 581 Then will the conduct of each one and the secrets of Hearts be brought to light. 582 Then will the culpable unbelief that counted the offer of God's Grace as nothing be condemned. 583 Our attitude to our neighbour will disclose acceptance or refusal of grace and divine Love. 584 On the Last Day Jesus will say: "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." 585

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

O truly blessed Night, Sings the Exsultet of the Easter Vigil, which alone deserved to know the time and the hour when Christ rose from the realm of the dead! 512 But no one was an eyewitness to Christ's Resurrection and no evangelist describes it. No one can say how it came about physically. Still less was its innermost essence, his passing over to another life, perceptible to the senses. Although the Resurrection was an historical event that could be verified by the sign of the empty tomb and by the reality of the apostles' encounters with the risen Christ, still it remains at the very Heart of the mystery of Faith as something that transcends and surpasses history. This is why the risen Christ does not reveal himself to the world, but to his disciples, "to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people." 513

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

By embracing in his human Heart the Father's Love for men, Jesus "loved them to the end", for "greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." 425 In suffering and death his humanity became the free and perfect instrument of his divine love which desires the salvation of men. 426 Indeed, out of love for his Father and for men, whom the Father wants to save, Jesus freely accepted his Passion and death: "No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord." 427 Hence the sovereign Freedom of God's Son as he went out to his death. 428

Going even further, Jesus perfects the dietary law, so important in Jewish daily life, by revealing its pedagogical meaning through a divine interpretation: "Whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him. . . (Thus he declared all foods clean.). . . What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the Heart of man, come evil thoughts. . ." 346 In presenting with divine authority the definitive interpretation of the Law, Jesus found himself confronted by certain teachers of the Law who did not accept his interpretation of the Law, guaranteed though it was by the divine signs that accompanied it. 347 This was the case especially with the sabbath laws, for he recalls, Often with rabbinical arguments, that the sabbath rest is not violated by serving God and neighbour, 348 which his own healings did.

The perfect fulfilment of the Law could be the work of none but the divine legislator, born subject to the Law in the perSon of the Son. 337 In Jesus, the Law no longer appears engraved on tables of stone but "upon the Heart" of the Servant who becomes "a covenant to the people", because he will "Faithfully bring forth justice". 338 Jesus fulfils the Law to the point of taking upon himself "the curse of the Law" incurred by those who do not "abide by the things written in the book of the Law, and do them", for his death took place to redeem them "from the transgressions under the first covenant". 339

The Law, the sign of God's promise and covenant, ought to have governed the Hearts and institutions of that people to whom Abraham's Faith gave birth. "If you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, . . . you shall be to me a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation." 75 But after David, Israel gave in to the temptation of becoming a kingdom Like other nations. the Kingdom, however, the object of the promise made to David, 76 would be the work of the Holy Spirit; it would belong to the poor according to the Spirit.

The prophetic texts that directly concern the sending of the Holy Spirit are oracles by which God speaks to the Heart of his people in the language of the promise, with the accents of "Love and fidelity." 85 St. Peter will proclaim their fulfillment on the morning of Pentecost. 86 According to these promises, at the "end time" the Lord's Spirit will renew the hearts of men, engraving a new law in them. He will gather and reconcile the scattered and divided peoples; he will transform the first creation, and God will dwell there with men in peace.

In the Church, which is Like the sacrament - the sign and instrument - of God's own life, the consecrated life is seen as a special sign of the mystery of redemption. To follow and imitate Christ more nearly and to manifest more clearly his self-emptying is to be more deeply present to one's contemporaries, in the Heart of Christ. For those who are on this "narrower" path encourage their brethren by their example, and bear striking witness "that the world cannot be transfigured and offered to God without the spirit of the beatitudes." 475

From apostolic times Christian virgins, called by the Lord to cling only to him with greater Freedom of Heart, body, and spirit, have decided with the Church's approval to live in a state of virginity "for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven." 461

The Church is ultimately one, holy, catholic, and apostolic in her deepest and ultimate identity, because it is in her that "the Kingdom of heaven," the "Reign of God," 380 already exists and will be fulfilled at the end of time. the kingdom has come in the perSon of Christ and grows mysteriously in the Hearts of those incorporated into him, until its full eschatological manifestation. Then all those he has redeemed and made "holy and blameless before him in Love," 381 will be gathered together as the one People of God, the "Bride of the Lamb," 382 "the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God." 383 For "the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." 384

"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

Certain things are required in order to respond adequately to this call: - a permanent renewal of the Church in greater fidelity to her vocation; such renewal is the driving-force of the movement Toward unity; 280 - Conversion of Heart as the Faithful "try to live holier lives according to the Gospel"; 281 for it is the unfaithfulness of the members to Christ's gift which causes divisions; - Prayer in common, because "change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private Prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the Soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name 'spiritual ecumenism;"' 282 -fraternal knowledge of each other; 283 - ecumenical formation of the faithful and especially of priests; 284 - dialogue among theologians and meetings among Christians of the different churches and communities; 285 - collaboration among Christians in various areas of service to mankind. 286 "Human service" is the idiomatic phrase.

The People of God is marked by characteristics that clearly distinguish it from all other religious, ethnic, political, or cultural groups found in history: - It is the People of God: God is not the property of any one people. But he acquired a people for himself from those who previously were not a people: "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation." 202 - One becomes a member of this people not by a physical birth, but by being "born anew," a birth "of water and the Spirit," 203 that is, by Faith in Christ, and Baptism. - This People has for its Head Jesus the Christ (the anointed, the Messiah). Because the same anointing, the Holy Spirit, flows from the head into the body, this is "the messianic people." - "The status of this people is that of the dignity and Freedom of the Sons of God, in whose Hearts the Holy Spirit dwells as in a temple." - "Its law is the new Commandment to Love as Christ loved us." 204 This is the "new" law of the Holy Spirit. 205 - Its mission is to be salt of the earth and light of the world. 206 This people is "a most sure seed of unity, hope, and salvation for the whole human race." -Its destiny, finally, "is the Kingdom of God which has been begun by God himself on earth and which must be further extended until it has been brought to perfection by him at the end of time." 207

The Church is born primarily of Christ's total self-giving for our salvation, anticipated in the institution of the Eucharist and fulfilled on the cross. "The origin and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and water which flowed from the open side of the crucified Jesus." 171 "For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth the 'wondrous sacrament of the whole Church.'" 172 As Eve was formed from the sleeping Adam's side, so the Church was born from the pierced Heart of Christ hanging dead on the cross. 173

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

"Christ is the light of humanity; and it is, accordingly, the Heart-felt desire of this sacred Council, being gathered together in the Holy Spirit, that, by proclaiming his Gospel to every creature, it may bring to all men that light of Christ which shines out visibly from the Church." 135 These words open the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. By chooSing this starting point, the Council demonstrates that the article of Faith about the Church depends entirely on the articles concerning Christ Jesus. the Church has no other light than Christ's; according to a favorite image of the Church Fathers, the Church is Like the moon, all its light reflected from the sun.

"God is Love" 124 and love is his first gift, containing all others. "God's love has been poured into our Hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." 125

The People of the "poor" 87 - those who, Humble and meek, rely solely on their God's mysterious plans, who await the justice, not of men but of the Messiah - are in the end the great achievement of the Holy Spirit's hidden mission during the time of the promises that prepare for Christ's coming. It is this quality of Heart, purified and enlightened by the Spirit, which is expressed in the Psalms. In these poor, the Spirit is making ready "a people prepared for the Lord." 88

Jesus recalls the martyrdom of the prophets who had been put to death in Jerusalem. Nevertheless he persists in calling Jerusalem to gather around him: "How Often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!" 306 When Jerusalem comes into view he weeps over her and expresses once again his Heart's desire: "Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes." 307

Faced with God's fascinating and mysterious presence, man discovers his own insignificance. Before the burning bush, Moses takes off his sandals and veils his face in the presence of God's holiness. 13 Before the glory of the thrice-holy God, Isaiah cries out: "Woe is me! I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips." 14 Before the divine signs wrought by Jesus, Peter exclaims: "Depart from me, for I am a Sinful man, O Lord." 15 But because God is holy, he can forgive the man who realizes that he is a sinner before him: "I will not execute my fierce anger. . . for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst." 16 The apostle John says Likewise: "We shall. . . reassure our Hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." 17

Jesus himself affirms that God is "the one Lord" whom you must Love "with all your Heart, and with all your Soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength". 6 At the same time Jesus gives us to understand that he himself is "the Lord". 7 To confess that Jesus is Lord is distinctive of Christian Faith. This is not contrary to belief in the One God. Nor does believing in the Holy Spirit as "Lord and giver of life" introduce any division into the One God:

To Israel, his chosen, God revealed himself as the only One: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one LORD; and you shall Love the LORD your God with all your Heart, and with all your Soul, and with all your might." 4 Through the prophets, God calls Israel and all nations to turn to him, the one and only God: "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.. . To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 'Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength.'" 5

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

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

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

The Gospels are the Heart of all the Scriptures "because they are our principal Source for the life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Saviour". 98

2. Read the Scripture within "the living Tradition of the whole Church". According to a saying of the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church's Heart rather than in documents and records, for the Church carries in her Tradition the living memorial of God's Word, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture (". . . according to the spiritual meaning which the Spirit grants to the Church" 81 ).

Be especially attentive "to the content and unity of the whole Scripture". Different as the books which compose it may be, Scripture is a unity by reaSon of the unity of God's plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and Heart, open Since his Passover. 79

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

There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas. Dogmas are lights along the path of Faith; they illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and Heart will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith. 50

Through the prophets, God forms his people in the hope of salvation, in the expectation of a new and everlasting Covenant intended for all, to be written on their Hearts. 22 The prophets proclaim a radical redemption of the People of God, purification from all their infidelities, a salvation which will include all the nations. 23 Above all, the poor and Humble of the Lord will bear this hope. Such holy women as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Judith and Esther kept alive the hope of Israel's salvation. the purest figure among them is Mary. 24

"Let the Hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice." 5 Although man can forget God or reject him, He never ceases to call every man to seek him, so as to find life and happiness. But this search for God demands of man every effort of intellect, a sound will, "an upright heart", as well as the witness of others who teach him to seek God.

The Holy Scriptures repeatedly confess the universal power of God. He is called the "Mighty One of Jacob", the "Lord of hosts", the "strong and mighty" one. If God is almighty "in heaven and on earth", it is because he made them. 105 Nothing is impossible with God, who disposes his works according to his will. 106 He is the Lord of the universe, whose order he established and which remains wholly subject to him and at his disposal. He is master of history, governing Hearts and events in keeping with his will: "It is always in your power to show great strength, and who can withstand the strength of your arm? 107

Since God could create everything out of nothing, he can also, through the Holy Spirit, give spiritual life to sinners by creating a pure Heart in them, 148 and bodily life to the dead through the Resurrection. God "gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist." 149 and since God was able to make light shine in darkness by his Word, he can also give the light of Faith to those who do not yet know him. 150

Jesus' invitation to enter his Kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching. 261 Through his parables he invites people to the feast of the kingdom, but he also asks for a radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give everything. 262 Words are not enough, deeds are required. 263 The parables are Like mirrors for man: will he be hard soil or good earth for the word? 264 What use has he made of the talents he has received? 265 Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this world are secretly at the Heart of the parables. One must enter the kingdom, that is, become a disciple of Christ, in order to "know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven". 266 For those who stay "outside", everything remains enigmatic. 267

The Kingdom belongs to the poor and lowly, which means those who have accepted it with Humble Hearts. Jesus is sent to "preach good news to the poor"; 253 he declares them blessed, for "theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 254 To them - the "little ones" the Father is pleased to reveal what remains hidden from the wise and the learned. 255 Jesus shares the life of the poor, from the cradle to the cross; he experiences hunger, thirst and privation. 256 Jesus identifies himself with the poor of every kind and makes active Love Toward them the condition for entering his kingdom. 257

Christ stands at the Heart of this gathering of men into the "family of God". By his word, through signs that manifest the reign of God, and by sending out his disciples, Jesus calls all people to come together around him. But above all in the great Paschal mystery - his death on the cross and his Resurrection - he would accomplish the coming of his Kingdom. "and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." Into this union with Christ all men are called. 250

The finding of Jesus in the temple is the only event that breaks the silence of the Gospels about the hidden years of Jesus. 226 Here Jesus lets us catch a glimpse of the mystery of his total consecration to a mission that flows from his divine Sonship: "Did you not know that I must be about my Father's work?" 227 Mary and Joseph did not understand these words, but they accepted them in Faith. Mary "kept all these things in her Heart" during the years Jesus remained hidden in the silence of an ordinary life.

The coming of God's Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it over centuries. He makes everything converge on Christ: all the rituals and sacrifices, figures and symbols of the "First Covenant". 195 He announces him through the mouths of the prophets who succeeded one another in Israel. Moreover, he awakens in the Hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of this coming.

At the announcement that she would give birth to "the Son of the Most High" without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded with the obedience of Faith, certain that "with God nothing will be impossible": "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." 139 Thus, giving her consent to God's word, Mary becomes the mother of Jesus. EspouSing the divine will for salvation wholeHeartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God's Grace: 140

Jesus knew and Loved us each and all during his life, his agony and his Passion, and gave himself up for each one of us: "The Son of God. . . loved me and gave himself for me." 116 He has loved us all with a human Heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our Sins and for our salvation, 117 "is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that. . . love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings" without exception. 118

But at the same time, this truly human knowledge of God's Son expressed the divine life of his person. 104 "The human nature of God's Son, not by itself but by its union with the Word, knew and showed forth in itself everything that pertains to God." 105 Such is first of all the case with the intimate and immediate knowledge that the Son of God made man has of his Father. 106 The Son in his human knowledge also showed the divine penetration he had into the secret thoughts of human Hearts. 107

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.

"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

Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his Heart and, abuSing his Freedom, disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of. 278 All subsequent sin would be disobedience Toward God and lack of trust in his goodness.

The spiritual tradition of the Church also emphasizes the Heart, in the biblical sense of the depths of one's being, where the perSon decides for or against God. 239

The sabbath is at the Heart of Israel's law. To keep the Commandments is to correspond to the wisdom and the will of God as expressed in his work of creation.

The desire for God is written in the human Heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the Truth and happiness he never stops searching for:

"We know neither the moment of the consummation of the earth and of man, nor the way in which the universe will be transformed. the form of this world, distorted by Sin, is passing away, and we are taught that God is preparing a new dwelling and a new earth in which righteousness dwells, in which happiness will fill and surpass all the desires of peace arising in the Hearts of men." 639

Moral perfection consists in man's being moved to the good not by his will alone, but also by his sensitive appetite, as in the words of the psalm: "My Heart and flesh Sing for joy to the living God." 46

"To Love is to will the good of another." 41 All other affections have their Source in this first movement of the human Heart Toward the good. Only the good can be loved. 42 Passions "are evil if love is evil and good if it is good." 43

The passions are natural components of the human psyche; they form the passageway and ensure the connection between the life of the senses and the life of the mind. Our Lord called man's Heart the Source from which the passions spring. 40

Freedom and Grace. the grace of Christ is not in the slightest way a rival of our freedom when this freedom accords with the sense of the true and the good that God has put in the human Heart. On the contrary, as Christian experience attests especially in Prayer, the more docile we are to the promptings of grace, the more we grow in inner freedom and confidence during trials, such as those we face in the pressures and constraints of the outer world. By the working of grace the Holy Spirit educates us in spiritual freedom in order to make us free collaborators in his work in the Church and in the world:

Freedom and Sin. Man's freedom is limited and fallible. In fact, man failed. He freely sinned. By refusing God's plan of Love, he deceived himself and became a slave to sin. This first alienation engendered a multitude of others. From its outset, human history attests the wretchedness and oppression born of the human Heart in consequence of the abuse of freedom.

The beatitude we are promised confronts us with decisive moral choices. It invites us to purify our Hearts of bad instincts and to seek the Love of God above all else. It teaches us that true happiness is not found in riches or well-being, in human fame or power, or in any human achievement - however beneficial it may be - such as science, technology, and art, or indeed in any creature, but in God alone, the Source of every good and of all love:

The New Testament uses several expressions to characterize the beatitude to which God calls man: - the coming of the Kingdom of God; 16 - the vision of God: "Blessed are the pure in Heart, for they shall see God" 17 - entering into the joy of the Lord; 18 - entering into God's rest: 19

The Beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness. This desire is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human Heart in order to draw man to the One who alone can fulfill it:

The Beatitudes are at the Heart of Jesus' preaching. They take up the promises made to the chosen people Since Abraham. the Beatitudes fulfill the promises by ordering them no longer merely to the possession of a territory, but to the Kingdom of heaven:

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.

"Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to Love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his Heart at the right moment.... For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God.... His conscience is man's most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths." 47

Moral conscience, 48 present at the Heart of the perSon, enjoins him at the appropriate moment to do good and to avoid evil. It also judges particular choices, approving those that are good and denouncing those that are evil. 49 It bears witness to the authority of Truth in reference to the supreme Good to which the human person is drawn, and it welcomes the Commandments. When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man can hear God speaking.

It is necessary, then, to appeal to the spiritual and moral capacities of the human perSon and to the permanent need for his inner Conversion, so as to obtain social changes that will really serve him. the acknowledged priority of the conversion of Heart in no way eliminates but on the contrary imposes the obligation of bringing the appropriate remedies to institutions and living conditions when they are an inducement to Sin, so that they conform to the norms of justice and advance the good rather than hinder it. 12

"Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal Sin." 136 There are no limits to the Mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his Sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. 137 Such hardness of Heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss.

Mortal Sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a perSonal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of Heart 133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.

Mortal Sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, Charity - necessitates a new initiative of God's Mercy and a Conversion of Heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation:

Mortal Sin destroys Charity in the Heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him. Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.

Sins can be distinguished according to their objects, as can every human act; or according to the virtues they oppose, by excess or defect; or according to the Commandments they violate. They can also be classed according to whether they concern God, neighbor, or oneself; they can be divided into spiritual and carnal Sins, or again as sins in thought, word, deed, or omission. the root of sin is in the Heart of man, in his free will, according to the teaching of the Lord: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man." 128 But in the heart also resides Charity, the Source of the good and pure works, which sin wounds.

Sin is an offense against God: "Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight." 122 Sin sets itself against God's Love for us and turns our Hearts away from it. Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become "like gods," 123 knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus "love of oneself even to contempt of God." 124 In this proud self-exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our salvation. 125

As St. Paul affirms, "Where Sin increased, Grace abounded all the more." 118 But to do its work grace must uncover sin so as to convert our Hearts and bestow on us "righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ ourLord." 119 Like a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God, by his Word and by his Spirit, casts a living light on sin:

The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the Heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men's activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from Charity.

Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. the temperate perSon directs the sensitive appetites Toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: "Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your Heart." 72 Temperance is Often praised in the Old Testament: "Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites." 73 In the New Testament it is called "moderation" or "sobriety." We ought "to live sober, upright, and Godly lives in this world." 74

A good and pure conscience is enlightened by true Faith, for Charity proceeds at the same time "from a pure Heart and a good conscience and Sincere faith." 60

The education of the conscience is a lifelong task. From the earliest years, it awakens the child to the knowledge and practice of the interior law recognized by conscience. Prudent education teaches virtue; it prevents or cures fear, selfishness and pride, resentment ariSing from guilt, and feelings of complacency, born of human weakness and faults. the education of the conscience guarantees Freedom and engenders peace of Heart.

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.

We must also remember the great number of Single perSons who, because of the particular circumstances in which they have to live - Often not of their choosing - are especially close to Jesus' Heart and therefore deserve the special affection and active solicitude of the Church, especially of pastors. Many remain without a human family often due to conditions of poverty. Some live their situation in the spirit of the Beatitudes, serving God and neighbor in exemplary fashion. the doors of homes, the "domestic churches," and of the great family which is the Church must be open to all of them. "No one is without a family in this world: the Church is a home and family for everyone, especially those who 'labor and are heavy laden.'" 170

The anaphora: with the Eucharistic Prayer - the Prayer of thanksgiving and consecration - we come to the Heart and summit of the celebration:

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

Christ himself declared that he was marked with his Father's seal. 107 Christians are also marked with a seal: "It is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has commissioned us; he has put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our Hearts as a guarantee." 108 This seal of the Holy Spirit marks our total belonging to Christ, our enrollment in his service for ever, as well as the promise of divine protection in the great eschatological trial. 109

"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 celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours demands not only harmonizing the voice with the Praying Heart, but also a deeper "understanding of the liturgy and of the Bible, especially of the Psalms." 52

"The beauty of the images moves me to contemplation, as a meadow delights the eyes and subtly infuses the Soul with the glory of God." 32 Similarly, the contemplation of sacred icons, united with meditation on the Word of God and the Singing of liturgical hymns, enters into the harmony of the signs of celebration so that the mystery celebrated is imprinted in the Heart's memory and is then expressed in the new life of the Faithful.

"The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. the main reaSon for this pre-eminence is that, as a combination of sacred music and words, it forms a necessary or integral part of solemn liturgy." 20 The composition and Singing of inspired psalms, Often accompanied by musical instruments, were already closely linked to the liturgical celebrations of the Old Covenant. the Church continues and develops this tradition: "Address . . . one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your Heart." "He who sings Prays twice." 21

Together with the anamnesis, the epiclesis is at the Heart of each sacramental celebration, most especially of the Eucharist:

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

The Holy Spirit gives a spiritual understanding of the Word of God to those who read or hear it, according to the dispositions of their Hearts. By means of the words, actions, and symbols that form the structure of a celebration, the Spirit puts both the Faithful and the ministers into a living relationship with Christ, the Word and Image of the Father, so that they can live out the meaning of what they hear, contemplate, and do in the celebration.

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 the liturgy the Holy Spirit is teacher of the Faith of the People of God and artisan of "God's masterpieces," the sacraments of the New Covenant. the desire and work of the Spirit in the Heart of the Church is that we may live from the life of the risen Christ. When the Spirit encounters in us the response of faith which he has aroused in us, he brings about genuine cooperation. Through it, the liturgy becomes the common work of the Holy Spirit and the Church.

"Conjugal Love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the perSon enter - appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of will. It aims at a deeply personal unity, a unity that, beyond union in one flesh, leads to forming one Heart and Soul; it demands indissolubility and Faithfulness in definitive mutual giving; and it is open to fertility. In a word it is a question of the normal characteristics of all natural conjugal love, but with a new significance which not only purifies and strengthens them, but raises them to the extent of making them the expression of specifically Christian values." 150

Difference of confession between the spouses does not constitute an insurmountable obstacle for marriage, when they succeed in placing in common what they have received from their respective communities, and learn from each other the way in which each lives in fidelity to Christ. But the difficulties of mixed marriages must not be underestimated. They arise from the fact that the separation of Christians has not yet been overcome. the spouses risk experiencing the tragedy of Christian disunity even in the Heart of their own home. Disparity of cult can further aggravate these difficulties. Differences about Faith and the very notion of marriage, but also different religious mentalities, can become Sources of tension in marriage, especially as regards the education of children. the temptation to religious indifference can then arise.

In his preaching Jesus unequivocally taught the original meaning of the union of man and woman as the Creator willed it from the beginning permission given by Moses to divorce one's wife was a concession to the hardness of Hearts. 106 The matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself has determined it "what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder." 107

Moral conscience concerning the unity and indissolubility of marriage developed under the pedagogy of the old law. In the Old Testament the polygamy of patriarchs and kings is not yet explicitly rejected. Nevertheless, the law given to Moses aims at protecting the wife from arbitrary domination by the husband, even though according to the Lord's words it still carries traces of man's "hardness of Heart" which was the reaSon Moses permitted men to divorce their wives. 101

All the ordained ministers of the Latin Church, with the exception of permanent deacons, are normally chosen from among men of Faith who live a celibate life and who intend to remain celibate "for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven." 70 Called to consecrate themselves with undivided Heart to the Lord and to "the affairs of the Lord," 71 they give themselves entirely to God and to men. Celibacy is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church's minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart celibacy radiantly proclaims the Reign of God. 72

"The whole power of the sacrament of Penance consists in restoring us to God's Grace and joining us with him in an intimate friendship." 73 Reconciliation with God is thus the purpose and effect of this sacrament. For those who receive the sacrament of Penance with contrite Heart and religious disposition, reconciliation "is usually followed by peace and serenity of conscience with strong spiritual consolation." 74 Indeed the sacrament of Reconciliation with God brings about a true "spiritual resurrection," restoration of the dignity and blesSings of the life of the children of God, of which the most precious is friendship with God. 75

"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

The process of Conversion and repentance was described by Jesus in the parable of the prodigal Son, the center of which is the merciful Father: 37 The fascination of illusory Freedom, the abandonment of the father's house; the extreme misery in which the son finds himself after squandering his fortune; his deep humiliation at finding himself obliged to feed swine, and still worse, at wanting to feed on the husks the pigs ate; his reflection on all he has lost; his repentance and decision to declare himself guilty before his father; the journey back; the father's generous welcome; the father's joy - all these are characteristic of the process of conversion. the beautiful robe, the ring, and the festive banquet are symbols of that new life - pure worthy, and joyful - of anyone who returns to God and to the bosom of his family, which is the Church. Only the Heart of Christ Who knows the depths of his Father's Love could reveal to us the abyss of his Mercy in so simple and beautiful a way.

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

The human Heart is heavy and hardened. God must give man a new heart. 25 Conversion is first of all a work of the Grace of God who makes our hearts return to him: "Restore us to thyself, O Lord, that we may be restored!" 26 God gives us the strength to begin anew. It is in discovering the greatness of God's Love that our heart is shaken by the horror and weight of Sin and begins to fear offending God by sin and being separated from him. the human heart is converted by looking upon him whom our Sins have pierced: 27

Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a Conversion to God with all our Heart, an end of Sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance Toward the evil actions we have committed. At the same time it entails the desire and resolution to change one's life, with hope in God's Mercy and trust in the help of his Grace. This conversion of heart is accompanied by a salutary pain and sadness which the Fathers called animi cruciatus (affliction of spirit) and compunctio cordis (repentance of heart). 24

Jesus' call to Conversion and penance, Like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the Heart, interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance. 23

Christ's call to Conversion continues to resound in the lives of Christians. This second conversion is an uninterrupted task for the whole Church who, "clasping Sinners to her bosom, (is) at once holy and always in need of purification, (and) follows constantly the path of penance and renewal." 18 This endeavor of conversion is not just a human work. It is the movement of a "contrite Heart," drawn and moved by Grace to respond to the merciful Love of God who loved us first. 19

In the Church's liturgy the divine blesSing is fully revealed and communicated. the Father is acknowledged and adored as the Source and the end of all the blessings of creation and salvation. In his Word who became incarnate, died, and rose for us, he fills us with his blessings. Through his Word, he pours into our Hearts the Gift that contains all gifts, the Holy Spirit.