Catechesis has to reveal in all clarity the joy and the demands of the way of Christ. 22 Catechesis for the "newness of life" 23 in him should be: -a catechesis of the Holy Spirit, the interior Master of life according to Christ, a gentle guest and friend who inspires, guides, corrects, and strengthens this life; -a catechesis of Grace, for it is by grace that we are saved and again it is by grace that our works can bear fruit for eternal life; -a catechesis of the beatitudes, for the way of Christ is summed up in the beatitudes, the only path that leads to the eternal beatitude for which the human heart longs; -a catechesis of sin and forgiveness, for unless man acknowledges that he is a sinner he cannot know the Truth about himself, which is a condition for acting justly; and without the offer of forgiveness he would not be able to bear this truth; -a catechesis of the human Virtues which causes one to grasp the beauty and attraction of right dispositions towards goodness; -a catechesis of the Christian virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity, generously inspired by the example of the saints; -a catechesis of the twofold Commandment of charity set forth in the Decalogue; -an ecclesial catechesis, for it is through the manifold exchanges of "spiritual goods" in the "communion of saints" that Christian life can grow, develop, and be communicated.

The 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 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

To the Lord's Sermon on the Mount it is fitting to add the moral catechesis of the apostolic teachings, such as Romans 12-15, 1 Corinthians 12-13, Colossians 3-4, Ephesians 4-5, etc. This doctrine hands on the Lord's teaching with the authority of the apostles, particularly in the presentation of the Virtues that flow from Faith in Christ and are animated by Charity, the principal gift of the Holy Spirit. "Let charity be genuine.... Love one another with brotherly affection.... Rejoice in your Hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in Prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality." 29 This catechesis also teaches us to deal with cases of conscience in the light of our relationship to Christ and to the Church. 30

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.

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

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

The Roman Pontiff and the bishops are "authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach the Faith to the people entrusted to them, the faith to be believed and put into practice." 76 The ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Pope and the bishops in communion with him teach the Faithful the Truth to believe, the Charity to practice, the beatitude to Hope for.

"The First Commandment embraces Faith, Hope, and Charity. When we say 'God' we confess a constant, unchangeable being, always the same, Faithful and just, without any evil. It follows that we must necessarily accept his words and have complete faith in him and acknowledge his authority. He is almighty, merciful, and infinitely beneficent. Who could not place all hope in him? Who could not Love him when contemplating the treasures of goodness and love he has poured out on us? Hence the formula God employs in the Scripture at the beginning and end of his Commandments: 'I am the Lord.'" 8

When God reveals Himself and calls him, man cannot fully respond to the divine Love by his own powers. He must Hope that God will give him the capacity to love Him in return and to act in conformity with the Commandments of Charity. Hope is the confident expectation of divine blessing and the beatific vision of God; it is also the fear of offending God's love and of incurring punishment.

"If I . . . have not Charity," says the Apostle, "I am nothing." Whatever my privilege, service, or even virtue, "if I . . . have not charity, I gain nothing." 103 Charity is superior to all the Virtues. It is the first of the Theological Virtues: "So Faith, Hope, charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity." 104

We can therefore Hope in the Glory of heaven promised by God to those who Love him and do his will. 92 In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the Grace of God, to persevere "to the end" 93 and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. In hope, the Church prays for "all men to be saved." 94 She longs to be united with Christ, her Bridegroom, in the glory of heaven:

The first and last point of reference of this catechesis will always be Jesus Christ himself, who is "the way, and the Truth, and the life." 24 It is by looking to him in Faith that Christ's Faithful can Hope that he himself fulfills his Promises in them, and that, by loving him with the same Love with which he has loved them, they may perform works in keeping with their dignity:

The Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his Charity. They express the vocation of the Faithful associated with the Glory of his Passion and Resurrection; they shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life; they are the paradoxical Promises that sustain Hope in the midst of tribulations; they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ's disciples; they have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints.

There are many passions. the most fundamental passion is Love, aroused by the attraction of the good. Love causes a Desire for the absent good and the Hope of obtaining it; this movement finds completion in the pleasure and joy of the good possessed. the apprehension of evil causes hatred, aversion, and fear of the impending evil; this movement ends in sadness at some present evil, or in the anger that resists it.

Conscience enables one to assume responsibility for the acts performed. If man commits evil, the just judgment of conscience can remain within him as the witness to the universal Truth of the good, at the same time as the evil of his particular choice. the verdict of the judgment of conscience remains a pledge of Hope and mercy. In attesting to the fault committed, it calls to mind the forgiveness that must be asked, the good that must still be practiced, and the virtue that must be constantly cultivated with the Grace of God:

The Theological Virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all the moral Virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the Faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being. There are three theological virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity. 77

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

Hope is the theological virtue by which we Desire the Kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's Promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the Grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is Faithful." 84 "The Holy Spirit . . . he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life." 85

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.

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

Christian Hope unfolds from the beginning of Jesus' preaching in the proclamation of the beatitudes. the beatitudes raise our hope toward heaven as the new Promised Land; they trace the path that leads through the trials that await the disciples of Jesus. But through the merits of Jesus Christ and of his Passion, God keeps us in the "hope that does not disappoint." 88 Hope is the "sure and steadfast anchor of the soul . . . that enters . . . where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf." 89 Hope is also a weapon that protects us in the struggle of Salvation: "Let us . . . put on the breastplate of Faith and Charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation." 90 It affords us joy even under trial: "Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation." 91 Hope is expressed and nourished in Prayer, especially in the Our Father, the sumMary of everything that hope leads us to Desire.

The First Commandment is also concerned with sins against Hope, namely, Despair and Presumption: By despair, man ceases to hope for his perSonal Salvation from God, for help in attaining it or for the forgiveness of his sins. Despair is contrary to God's goodness, to his justice - for the Lord is Faithful to his Promises - and to his mercy.

The Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity inform and give life to the moral Virtues. Thus charity leads us to render to God what we as creatures owe him in all justice. the virtue of religion disposes us to have this attitude.

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

The Holy Spirit, who instructs us to celebrate the liturgy in expectation of Christ's return, teaches us - to pray in Hope. Conversely, the Prayer of the Church and perSonal prayer nourish hope in us. the psalms especially, with their concrete and varied language, teach us to fix our hope in God: "I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry." 8 As St. Paul prayed: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." 9

"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:

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....

Mary is the perfect Orans (Prayer), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beLoved disciple we welcome Jesus' mother into our homes, 39 for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. the prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in Hope. 40

Ordained ministers are also responsible for the formation in Prayer of their brothers and sisters in Christ. Servants of the Good Shepherd, they are ordained to lead the People of God to the living waters of prayer: the Word of God, the liturgy, the theological life (the life of Faith, Hope, and Charity), and the Today of God in concrete situations. 45

Very early on, liturgical usage concluded the Lord's Prayer with a doxology. In the Didache, we find, "For yours are the power and the Glory for ever." 4 The Apostolic Constitutions add to the beginning: "the Kingdom," and this is the formula retained to our day in ecumenical prayer. 5 The Byzantine tradition adds after "the glory" the words "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." the Roman Missal develops the last petition in the explicit perspective of "awaiting our Blessed Hope" and of the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 6 Then comes the assembly's acclamation or the repetition of the doxology from the Apostolic Constitutions.

From this unshakeable Faith springs forth the Hope that sustains each of the seven petitions, which express the groanings of the present age, this time of patience and expectation during which "it does not yet appear what we shall be." 22 The Eucharist and the Lord's Prayer look eagerly for the Lord's return, "until he comes." 23

Since the Lord's Prayer is that of his people in the "endtime," this "our" also expresses the certitude of our Hope in God's ultimate promise: in the new Jerusalem he will say to the victor, "I will be his God and he shall be my Son." 46

The first series of petitions carries us toward him, for his own sake: thy name, thy Kingdom, thy will! It is characteristic of Love to think first of the one whom we love. In none of the three petitions do we mention ourselves; the burning Desire, even anguish, of the beloved Son for his Father's Glory seizes us: 64 "hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done...." These three supplications were already answered in the saving sacrifice of Christ, but they are henceforth directed in Hope toward their final fulfillment, for God is not yet all in all. 65

By the three first petitions, we are strengthened in Faith, filled with Hope, and set aflame by Charity. Being creatures and still sinners, we have to petition for us, for that "us" bound by the world and history, which we offer to the boundless Love of God. For through the name of his Christ and the reign of his Holy Spirit, our Father accomplishes his plan of Salvation, for us and for the whole world.

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

The New Testament contains scarcely any Prayers of lamentation, so frequent in the Old Testament. In the risen Christ the Church's petition is buoyed by Hope, even if we still wait in a state of expectation and must be converted anew every day. Christian petition, what St. Paul calls {"groaning," arises from another depth, that of creation "in labor pains" and that of ourselves "as we wait for the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved." 103 In the end, however, "with sighs too deep for words" the Holy Spirit "helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words." 104

That is why the Canticle of Mary, 91 The Magnificat (Latin) or Megalynei (byzantine) is the Song both of the Mother of God and of the Church; the song of the Daughter of Zion and of the new People of God; the song of thanksgiving for the fullness of Graces poured out in the economy of Salvation and the song of the "poor" whose Hope is met by the fulfillment of the Promises made to our ancestors, "to Abraham and to his posterity for ever."

The name "atheism" covers many very different phenomena. One common form is the practical materialism which restricts its needs and aspirations to space and time. Atheistic humanism falsely considers man to be "an end to himself, and the sole maker, with supreme control, of his own history." 59 Another form of contemporary atheism looks for the liberation of man through economic and social liberation. "It holds that religion, of its very nature, thwarts such emancipation by raising man's Hopes in a future life, thus both deceiving him and discouraging him from working for a better form of life on earth." 60

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

Armed resistance to oppression by political authority is not legitimate, unless all the following conditions are met: 1) there is certain, grave, and prolonged violation of fundamental rights; 2) all other means of redress have been exhausted; 3) such resistance will not provoke worse disorders; 4) there is well-founded Hope of success; and 5) it is impossible reaSonably to foresee any better solution.

The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and Charity, in Faith and Hope of the Resurrection. the burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy; 91 it honors the children of God, who are temples of the Holy Spirit.

Those who are engaged to marry are called to live chastity in continence. They should see in this time of testing a discovery of mutual respect, an apprenticeship in fidelity, and the Hope of receiving one another from God. They should reserve for marriage the expressions of affection that belong to married Love. They will help each other grow in chastity.

All the troubles, for all time, of humanity enslaved by sin and death, all the petitions and intercessions of Salvation history are summed up in this cry of the incarnate Word. Here the Father accepts them and, beyond all Hope, answers them by raising his Son. Thus is fulfilled and brought to completion the drama of Prayer in the economy of creation and salvation. the Psalter gives us the key to prayer in Christ. In the "today" of the Resurrection the Father says: "You are my Son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession." 62

When Jesus prays he is already teaching us how to pray. His Prayer to his Father is the theological path (the path of Faith, Hope, and Charity) of our prayer to God. But the Gospel also gives us Jesus' explicit teaching on prayer. Like a wise teacher he takes hold of us where we are and leads us progressively toward the Father. Addressing the crowds following him, Jesus builds on what they already know of prayer from the Old Covenant and opens to them the newness of the coming Kingdom. Then he reveals this newness to them in parables. Finally, he will speak openly of the Father and the Holy Spirit to his disciples who will be the teachers of prayer in his Church.

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

With bold confidence, we began praying to our Father. In begging him that his name be hallowed, we were in fact asking him that we ourselves might be always made more holy. But though we are clothed with the baptismal garment, we do not cease to sin, to turn away from God. Now, in this new petition, we return to him like the prodigal Son and, like the tax collector, recognize that we are sinners before him. 133 Our petition begins with a "confession" of our wretchedness and his mercy. Our Hope is firm because, in his Son, "we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." 134 We find the efficacious and undoubted sign of his forgiveness in the sacraments of his Church. 135

The greeting of the community. A greeting of Faith begins the celebration. Relatives and friends of the deceased are welcomed with a word of "consolation" (in the New Testament sense of the Holy Spirit's power in Hope). 187 The community assembling in Prayer also awaits the "words of eternal life." the death of a member of the community (or the anniversary of a death, or the seventh or fortieth day after death) is an event that should lead beyond the perspectives of "this world" and should draw the Faithful into the true perspective of faith in the risen Christ.

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

The Council of Trent emphasizes the unique character of Christ's sacrifice as "the source of eternal Salvation" 449 and teaches that "his most holy Passion on the wood of the cross merited justification for us." 450 and the Church venerates his cross as she sings: "Hail, O Cross, our only Hope." 451

Christ's death was a real death in that it put an end to his earthly human existence. But because of the union his body retained with the perSon of the Son, his was not a mortal corpse like others, for "divine power preserved Christ's body from corruption." 470 Both of these statements can be said of Christ: "He was cut off out of the land of the living", 471 and "My flesh will dwell in Hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption." 472 Jesus' Resurrection "on the third day" was the proof of this, for bodily decay was held to begin on the fourth day after death. 473

The AntiChrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic Hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgement. the Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the Kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, 576 especially the "intrinsically perverse" political form of a secular messianism. 577

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

"Behold, I am doing a new thing." 78 Two prophetic lines were to develop, one leading to the expectation of the Messiah, the other pointing to the announcement of a new Spirit. They converge in the small Remnant, the people of the poor, who await in Hope the "consolation of Israel" and "the redemption of Jerusalem." 79

"The one mediator, Christ, established and ever sustains here on earth his holy Church, the community of Faith, Hope, and Charity, as a visible organization through which he communicates Truth and Grace to all men." 184 The Church is at the same time: - a "society structured with hierarchical organs and the mystical body of Christ; - the visible society and the spiritual community; - the earthly Church and the Church endowed with heavenly riches." 185 These dimensions together constitute "one complex reality which comes together from a human and a divine element": 186

It is in the Church that Christ fulfills and reveals his own mystery as the purpose of God's plan: "to unite all things in him." 189 St. Paul calls the nuptial union of Christ and the Church "a great mystery." Because she is united to Christ as to her bridegroom, she becomes a mystery in her turn. 190 Contemplating this mystery in her, Paul exclaims: "Christ in you, the Hope of Glory." 191

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

"Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of Truth" 273 are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of Grace; Faith, Hope, and Charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements." 274 Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of Salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, 275 and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity." 276

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

Throughout the Old Covenant the mission of many holy women prepared for that of Mary. At the very beginning there was Eve; despite her disobedience, she receives the promise of a posterity that will be victorious over the evil one, as well as the promise that she will be the mother of all the living. 128 By virtue of this promise, Sarah conceives a Son in spite of her old age. 129 Against all human expectation God chooses those who were considered powerless and weak to show forth his Faithfulness to his Promises: Hannah, the mother of Samuel; Deborah; Ruth; Judith and Esther; and many other women. 130 Mary "stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord, who confidently Hope for and receive Salvation from him. After a long period of waiting the times are fulfilled in her, the exalted Daughter of Sion, and the new plan of salvation is established." 131

This revelation was not broken off by our first parents' sin. "After the fall, (God) buoyed them up with the Hope of Salvation, by promising redemption; and he has never ceased to show his solicitude for the human race. For he wishes to give eternal life to all those who seek salvation by patience in well-doing." 7

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

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

Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. We can lose this priceless gift, as St. Paul indicated to St. Timothy: "Wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain perSons have made shipwreck of their faith." 44 To live, grow and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; 45 it must be "working through Charity," abounding in Hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church. 46

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

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

Among all the Scriptural texts about creation, the first three chapters of Genesis occupy a unique place. From a literary standpoint these texts may have had diverse sources. the inspired authors have placed them at the beginning of Scripture to express in their solemn language the Truths of creation - its origin and its end in God, its order and goodness, the vocation of man, and finally the drama of sin and the Hope of Salvation. Read in the light of Christ, within the unity of Sacred Scripture and in the living Tradition of the Church, these texts remain the principal source for catechesis on the mysteries of the "beginning": creation, fall, and promise of salvation.

Scripture bears witness to Faith in creation "out of nothing" as a Truth full of promise and Hope. Thus the mother of seven Sons encourages them for martyrdom:

The word "Christ" comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah, which means "anointed". It became the name proper to Jesus only because he accomplished perfectly the divine mission that "Christ" signifies. In effect, in Israel those consecrated to God for a mission that he gave were anointed in his name. This was the case for kings, for priests and, in rare instances, for prophets. 29 This had to be the case all the more so for the Messiah whom God would send to inaugurate his Kingdom definitively. 30 It was necessary that the Messiah be anointed by the Spirit of the Lord at once as king and priest, and also as prophet. 31 Jesus fulfilled the messianic Hope of Israel in his threefold office of priest, prophet and king.

Many Jews and even certain Gentiles who shared their Hope recognized in Jesus the fundamental attributes of the messianic "Son of David", promised by God to Israel. 38 Jesus accepted his rightful title of Messiah, though with some reserve because it was understood by some of his contemporaries in too human a sense, as essentially political. 39

Christian Prayer is characterized by the title "Lord", whether in the invitation to prayer ("The Lord be with you"), its conclusion ("through Christ our Lord") or the exclamation full of trust and Hope: Maranatha ("Our Lord, come!") or Maranatha ("Come, Lord!") - "Amen Come Lord Jesus!" 69

Concern for achieving unity "involves the whole Church, Faithful and clergy alike." 287 But we must realize "that this holy objective - the reconciliation of all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ - transcends human powers and gifts." That is why we place all our Hope "in the Prayer of Christ for the Church, in the Love of the Father for us, and in the power of the Holy Spirit." 288

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

As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who Desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them," 63 allow us to Hope that there is a way of Salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.

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

The Holy Spirit has marked us with the seal of the Lord ("Dominicus character") "for the day of redemption." 85 "Baptism indeed is the seal of eternal life." 86 The Faithful Christian who has "kept the seal" until the end, remaining Faithful to the demands of his Baptism, will be able to depart this life "marked with the sign of faith," 87 with his baptismal faith, in expectation of the Blessed vision of God - the consummation of faith - and in the Hope of Resurrection.

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

The Church knows that the Lord comes even now in his Eucharist and that he is there in our midst. However, his presence is veiled. Therefore we celebrate the Eucharist "awaiting the Blessed Hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ," 243 asking "to share in your Glory when every tear will be wiped away. On that day we shall see you, our God, as you are. We shall become like you and praise you for ever through Christ our Lord." 244

There is no surer pledge or dearer sign of this great Hope in the new heavens and new earth "in which righteousness dwells," 245 than the Eucharist. Every time this mystery is celebrated, "the work of our redemption is carried on" and we "break the one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ." 246

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

The ministerial or hierarchical priesthood of bishops and priests, and the common priesthood of all the Faithful participate, "each in its own proper way, in the one priesthood of Christ." While being "ordered one to another," they differ essentially. 22 In what sense? While the common priesthood of the Faithful is exercised by the unfolding of baptismal Grace - a life of faith, Hope, and Charity, a life according to the Spirit - ,the ministerial priesthood is at the service of the common priesthood. It is directed at the unfolding of the baptismal grace of all Christians. the ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads his Church. For this reaSon it is transmitted by its own sacrament, the sacrament of Holy Orders.

All the sacraments, and principally those of Christian initiation, have as their goal the last Passover of the child of God which, through death, leads him into the life of the Kingdom. Then what he confessed in Faith and Hope will be fulfilled: "I look for the Resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come." 182

The Christian meaning of death is revealed in the light of the Paschal mystery of the death and Resurrection of Christ in whom resides our only Hope. the Christian who dies in Christ Jesus is "away from the body and at home with the Lord." 183

Catechumens "are already joined to the Church, they are already of the household of Christ, and are quite frequently already living a life of Faith, Hope, and Charity." 48 "With Love and solicitude mother Church already embraces them as her own." 49

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

Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. "In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, Faith, Hope, and burning Charity in the Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reaSon she is a mother to us in the order of Grace." 509

There is no offense, however serious, that the Church cannot forgive. "There is no one, however wicked and guilty, who may not confidently Hope for forgiveness, provided his repentance is honest. 527 Christ who died for all men Desires that in his Church the gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone who turns away from sin. 528

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

God revealed the Resurrection of the dead to his people progressively. Hope in the bodily resurrection of the dead established itself as a consequence intrinsic to Faith in God as creator of the whole man, soul and body. the creator of heaven and earth is also the one who Faithfully maintains his covenant with Abraham and his posterity. It was in this double perspective that faith in the resurrection came to be expressed. In their trials, the Maccabean martyrs confessed:

The Pharisees and many of the Lord's contemporaries Hoped for the Resurrection. Jesus teaches it firmly. To the Sadducees who deny it he answers, "Is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God?" 540 Faith in the resurrection rests on faith in God who "is not God of the dead, but of the living." 541

To be a witness to Christ is to be a "witness to his Resurrection," to "[have eaten and drunk] with him after he rose from the dead." 547 Encounters with the risen Christ characterize the Christian Hope of resurrection. We shall rise like Christ, with him, and through him.

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

"In the earthly liturgy we share in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the Holy City of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle. With all the warriors of the heavenly army we sing a hymn of Glory to the Lord; venerating the memory of the saints, we Hope for some part and fellowship with them; we eagerly await the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, until he, our life, shall appear and we too will appear with him in glory." 13

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

The Church celebrates the mystery of her Lord "until he comes," when God will be "everything to everyone." 53 Since the apostolic age the liturgy has been drawn toward its goal by the Spirit's groaning in the Church: Marana tha! 54 The liturgy thus shares in Jesus' Desire: "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you . . . until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." 55 In the sacraments of Christ the Church already receives the guarantee of her inheritance and even now shares in everlasting life, while "awaiting our Blessed Hope, the appearing of the Glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus." 56 The "Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come . . . Come, Lord Jesus!"' 57

Sunday is the pre-eminent day for the liturgical assembly, when the Faithful gather "to listen to the word of God and take part in the Eucharist, thus calling to mind the Passion, Resurrection, and Glory of the Lord Jesus, and giving thanks to God who 'has begotten them again, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead' unto a living Hope": 40

The Church who, as Mother, has borne the Christian sacramentally in her womb during his earthly pilgrimage, accompanies him at his journey's end, in order to surrender him "into the Father's hands." She offers to the Father, in Christ, the child of his Grace, and she commits to the earth, in Hope, the seed of the body that will rise in Glory. 184 This offering is fully celebrated in the Eucharistic sacrifice; the blessings before and after Mass are sacramentals.