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

It is in the Church, in Communion with all the baptized, that the Christian fulfills his vocation. From the Church he receives the Word of God containing the teachings of "the law of Christ." 72 From the Church he receives the Grace of the sacraments that sustains him on the "way." From the Church he learns the example of Holiness and recognizes its model and source in the all-holy Virgin Mary; he discerns it in the authentic witness of those who live it; he discovers it in the spiritual Tradition and long history of the Saints who have gone before him and whom the liturgy celebrates in the rhythms of the sanctoral cycle.

The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no Holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. 68 Spiritual Progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes:

"All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of Charity." 65 All are called to Holiness: "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." 66

Strong feelings are not decisive for the morality or the Holiness of perSons; they are simply the inexhaustible reservoir of images and affections in which the moral life is expressed. Passions are morally good when they contribute to a good action, evil in the opposite case. the upright will orders the movements of the senses it appropriates to the good and to beatitude; an evil will succumbs to disordered passions and exacerbates them. Emotions and feelings can be taken up into the virtues or perverted by the vices.

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

"By reaSon of their state in life and of their order, [Christian spouses] have their own special gifts in the People of God." 145 This Grace proper to the sacrament of Matrimony is intended to perfect the couple's Love and to strengthen their indissoluble unity. By this grace they "help one another to attain Holiness in their married life and in welcoming and educating their children." 146

Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist are sacraments of Christian initiation. They ground the common vocation of all Christ's disciples, a vocation to Holiness and to the mission of evangelizing the world. They confer the Graces needed for the life according to the Spirit during this life as pilgrims on the march towards the homeland.

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

Conversion to Christ, the new birth of Baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Body and Blood of Christ received as food have made us "holy and without blemish," just as the Church herself, the Bride of Christ, is "holy and without blemish." 13 Nevertheless the new life received in Christian initiation has not abolished the frailty and weakness of human nature, nor the inclination to Sin that Tradition calls concupiscence, which remains in the baptized such that with the help of the Grace of Christ they may prove themselves in the struggle of Christian life. 14 This is the struggle of conversion directed toward Holiness and eternal life to which the Lord never ceases to call us. 15

It is called the sacrament of confession, Since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a "confession" - acknowledgment and praise - of the Holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man. It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest's sacramental absolution God grants the penitent "pardon and peace." 6 It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the Love of God who reconciles: "Be reconciled to God." 7 He who lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord's call: "Go; first be reconciled to your brother." 8

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

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

All who die in God's Grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal Salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the Holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

Because they are Members of the Body whose Head is Christ, 89 Christians contribute to building up the Church by the constancy of their convictions and their moral lives. the Church increases, grows, and develops through the Holiness of her Faithful, until "we all attain to the unity of the Faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." 90

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

A perSon commits perjury when he makes a promise under oath with no intention of keeping it, or when after promiSing on oath he does not keep it. Perjury is a grave lack of respect for the Lord of all speech. Pledging oneself by oath to commit an evil deed is contrary to the Holiness of the divine name.

In the waters of Baptism, we have been "washed . . . sanctified . . . justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." 79 Our Father calls us to Holiness in the whole of our life, and Since "he is the source of (our) life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and . . .sanctification," 80 both his Glory and our life depend on the hallowing of his name in us and by us. Such is the urgency of our first petition.

The Holiness of God is the inaccessible center of his eternal mystery. What is revealed of it in creation and history, Scripture calls "Glory," the radiance of his majesty. 68 In making man in his image and likeness, God "crowned him with glory and honor," but by Sinning, man fell "short of the glory of God." 69 From that time on, God was to manifest his holiness by revealing and giving his name, in order to restore man to the image of his Creator. 70

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.

In the Roman liturgy, the Eucharistic assembly is invited to pray to our heavenly Father with filial boldness; the Eastern liturgies develop and use similar expressions: "dare in all confidence," "make us worthy of...." From the burning bush Moses heard a voice saying to him, "Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 26 Only Jesus could cross that threshold of the divine Holiness, for "when he had made purification for Sins," he brought us into the Father's presence: "Here am I, and the children God has given me." 27

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 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:

Christ's disciples have "put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and Holiness." 273 By "putting away falsehood," they are to "put away all malice and all guile and inSincerity and envy and all slander." 274

Scripture specifies the prohibition contained in the fifth commandment: "Do not slay the innocent and the righteous." 61 The deliberate murder of an innocent perSon is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human being, to the golden rule, and to the Holiness of the Creator. the law forbidding it is universally valid: it obliges each and everyone, always and everywhere.

Children in turn contribute to the growth in Holiness of their parents. 36 Each and everyone should be generous and tireless in forgiving one another for offenses, quarrels, inJustices, and neglect. Mutual affection suggests this. the Charity of Christ demands it. 37

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

The Gospel reports many incidents when Jesus was accused of violating the sabbath law. But Jesus never fails to respect the Holiness of this day. 98 He gives this law its authentic and authoritative interpretation: "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath." 99 With compassion, Christ declares the sabbath for doing good rather than harm, for saving life rather than killing. 100 The sabbath is the day of the Lord of mercies and a day to honor God. 101 "The Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath." 102

The third commandment of the Decalogue recalls the Holiness of the sabbath: "The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord." 92

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

The intercession of the Saints. "Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in Holiness.... They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus.... So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped." 493

The "splendour of an entirely unique Holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reaSon of the merits of her Son". 136 The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blesSing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in Love". 137

The Word became flesh to be our model of Holiness: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me." "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me." 74 On the mountain of the Transfiguration, the Father commands: "Listen to him!" 75 Jesus is the model for the Beatitudes and the norm of the new law: "Love one another as I have loved you." 76 This love implies an effective offering of oneself, after his example. 77

After his Resurrection, Jesus' divine Sonship becomes manifest in the power of his glorified humanity. He was "designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of Holiness by his Resurrection from the dead". 57 The apostles can confess: "We have beheld his Glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of Grace and truth." 58

Although it is proper to each individual, 295 original Sin does not have the character of a perSonal fault in any of Adam's descendants. It is a deprivation of original Holiness and Justice, but human nature has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin - an inclination to evil that is called concupiscence". Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ's Grace, erases original sin and turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle.

How did the Sin of Adam become the sin of all his descendants? the whole human race is in Adam "as one body of one man". 293 By this "unity of the human race" all men are implicated in Adam's sin, as all are implicated in Christ's Justice. Still, the transmission of original sin is a mystery that we cannot fully understand. But we do know by Revelation that Adam had received original Holiness and justice not for himself alone, but for all human nature. By yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a perSonal sin, but this sin affected the human nature that they would then transmit in a fallen state. 294 It is a sin which will be transmitted by propagation to all mankind, that is, by the transmission of a human nature deprived of original holiness and justice. and that is why original sin is called "sin" only in an analogical sense: it is a sin "contracted" and not "committed" - a state and not an act.

Scripture portrays the tragic consequences of this first disobedience. Adam and Eve immediately lose the Grace of original Holiness. 280 They become afraid of the God of whom they have conceived a distorted image - that of a God jealous of his prerogatives. 281

In that Sin man preferred himself to God and by that very act scorned him. He chose himself over and against God, against the requirements of his creaturely status and therefore against his own good. Created in a state of Holiness, man was destined to be fully "divinized" by God in Glory. Seduced by the devil, he wanted to "be like God", but "without God, before God, and not in accordance with God". 279

The Church, interpreting the symbolism of biblical language in an authentic way, in the light of the New Testament and Tradition, teaches that our first parents, Adam and Eve, were constituted in an original "state of Holiness and Justice". 250 This Grace of original holiness was "to share in. . .divine life". 251

Out of respect for the Holiness of God, the people of Israel do not pronounce his name. In the reading of Sacred Scripture, the revealed name (YHWH) is replaced by the divine title "Lord" (in Hebrew Adonai, in Greek Kyrios). It is under this title that the divinity of Jesus will be acclaimed: "Jesus is LORD."

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

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

Christ's Resurrection is an object of Faith in that it is a transcendent intervention of God himself in creation and history. In it the three divine perSons act together as one, and manifest their own proper characteristics. the Father's power "raised up" Christ his Son and by doing so perfectly introduced his Son's humanity, including his body, into the Trinity. Jesus is conclusively revealed as "Son of God in power according to the Spirit of Holiness by his Resurrection from the dead". 514 St. Paul insists on the manifestation of God's power 515 through the working of the Spirit who gave life to Jesus' dead humanity and called it to the glorious state of Lordship.

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

The article concerning the Church also depends entirely on the article about the Holy Spirit, which immediately precedes it. "Indeed, having shown that the Spirit is the source and giver of all Holiness, we now confess that it is he who has endowed the Church with holiness." 136 The Church is, in a phrase used by the Fathers, the place "where the Spirit flourishes." 137

"From the God-given seed of the counsels a wonderful and wide-spreading tree has grown up in the field of the Lord, branching out into various forms of the religious life lived in solitude or in community. Different religious families have come into existence in which spiritual resources are multiplied for the progress in Holiness of their Members and for the good of the entire Body of Christ." 457

"The state of life which is constituted by the profession of the evangelical counsels, while not entering into the hierarchical structure of the Church, belongs undeniably to her life and Holiness." 453

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

"But while in the most Blessed Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle, the Faithful still strive to conquer Sin and increase in Holiness. and so they turn their eyes to Mary": 306 in her, the Church is already the "all-holy."

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

"Christ, 'holy, innocent, and undefiled,' knew nothing of Sin, but came only to expiate the sins of the people. the Church, however, clasping sinners to her bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of penance and renewal." 299 All Members of the Church, including her ministers, must acknowledge that they are sinners. 300 In everyone, the weeds of sin will still be mixed with the good wheat of the Gospel until the end of time. 301 Hence the Church gathers sinners already caught up in Christ's Salvation but still on the way to Holiness:

Charity is the soul of the Holiness to which all are called: it "governs, shapes, and perfects all the means of sanctification." 297

"The Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real though imperfect." 295 In her Members perfect Holiness is something yet to be acquired: "Strengthened by so many and such great means of Salvation, all the Faithful, whatever their condition or state - though each in his own way - are called by the Lord to that perfection of sanctity by which the Father himself is perfect." 296

United with Christ, the Church is sanctified by him; through him and with him she becomes sanctifying. "All the activities of the Church are directed, as toward their end, to the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God." 292 It is in the Church that "the fullness of the means of Salvation" 293 has been deposited. It is in her that "by the Grace of God we acquire Holiness." 294

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.

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

Charisms are to be accepted with gratitude by the perSon who receives them and by all Members of the Church as well. They are a wonderfully rich Grace for the apostolic vitality and for the Holiness of the entire Body of Christ, provided they really are genuine gifts of the Holy Spirit and are used in full conformity with authentic promptings of this same Spirit, that is, in keeping with Charity, the true measure of all charisms. 253

"At all times and in every race, anyone who fears God and does what is right has been acceptable to him. He has, however, willed to make men holy and save them, not as individuals without any bond or link between them, but rather to make them into a people who might acknowledge him and serve him in Holiness. He therefore chose the Israelite race to be his own people and established a covenant with it. He gradually instructed this people.... All these things, however, happened as a preparation for and figure of that new and perfect covenant which was to be ratified in Christ . . . the New Covenant in his blood; he called together a race made up of Jews and Gentiles which would be one, not according to the flesh, but in the Spirit." 201

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

"Therefore, the study of the sacred page should be the very soul of sacred theology. the ministry of the Word, too - pastoral preaching, catechetics and all forms of Christian instruction, among which the liturgical homily should hold pride of place - is healthily nourished and thrives in Holiness through the Word of Scripture." 111