Finally, Baptism is prefigured in the crosSing of the Jordan River by which the People of God received the gift of the land promised to Abraham's descendants, an Image of eternal life. the promise of this blessed inheritance is fulfilled in the New Covenant.

The Dignity of the human perSon is rooted in his Creation in the Image and likeness of God (article 1); it is fulfilled in his Vocation to divine beatitude (article 2). It is essential to a human being freely to direct himself to this fulfillment (article 3). By his deliberate actions (article 4), the human person does, or does not, conform to the good promised by God and attested by moral conscience (article 5). Human beings make their own contribution to their interior growth; they make their whole sentient and spiritual lives into means of this growth (article 6). With the help of Grace they grow in virtue (article 7), avoid Sin, and if they sin they entrust themselves as did the prodigal son 1 to the mercy of our Father in heaven (article 8). In this way they attain to the perfection of charity.

"Christ, . . . in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his Love, makes man fully manifest to himself and brings to light his exalted Vocation." 2 It is in Christ, "the Image of the invisible God," 3 that man has been Created "in the image and likeness" of the Creator. It is in Christ, Redeemer and Savior, that the divine image, disfigured in man by the first Sin, has been restored to its original beauty and ennobled by the Grace of God. 4

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

By virtue of his soul and his spiritual powers of intellect and will, man is endowed with freedom, an "outstanding manifestation of the divine Image." 8

Freedom is exercised in relationships between human beings. Every human perSon, Created in the Image of God, has the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other this duty of respect. the right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the Dignity of the human person. This right must be recognized and protected by civil authority within the limits of the common good and public order. 32

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.

The Vocation of humanity is to show forth the Image of God and to be transformed into the image of the Father's only Son. This vocation takes a personal form Since each of us is called to enter into the divine beatitude; it also concerns the human commUnity as a whole.

Created in the Image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal Dignity.

The Old Law is the first stage of revealed Law. Its moral prescriptions are summed up in the Ten Commandments. the precepts of the Decalogue lay the foundations for the Vocation of man fashioned in the Image of God; they prohibit what is contrary to the Love of God and neighbor and prescribe what is essential to it. the Decalogue is a light offered to the conscience of every man to make God's call and ways known to him and to protect him against evil:

The Old Law is a preparation for the Gospel. "The Law is a pedagogy and a prophecy of things to come." 17 It prophesies and presages the work of liberation from Sin which will be fulfilled in Christ: it provides the New Testament with Images, "types," and symbols for expressing the life according to the Spirit. Finally, the Law is completed by the teaching of the sapiential books and the prophets which set its course toward the New Covenant and the Kingdom of heaven.

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.

For the Christian the day of death inaugurates, at the end of his sacramental life, the fulfillment of his new birth begun at Baptism, the definitive "conformity" to "the Image of the Son" conferred by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and participation in the feast of the Kingdom which was anticipated in the Eucharist - even if final purifications are still necessary for him in order to be clothed with the nuptial garment.

Besides sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the forms of piety and popular devotions among the Faithful. the religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the Church's sacramental life, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrImages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary, medals, 178 etc.

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

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

The seaSons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church's penitential practice. 36 These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrImages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works).

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

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

Thus, just as the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist form a Unity called "the sacraments of Christian initiation," so too it can be said that Penance, the Anointing of the Sick and the Eucharist as viaticum constitute at the end of Christian life "the sacraments that prepare for our heavenly homeland" or the sacraments that complete the earthly pilgrImage.

Through the ordained ministry, especially that of bishops and priests, the presence of Christ as head of the Church is made visible in the midst of the commUnity of believers. 26 In the beautiful expression of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the bishop is typos tou Patros: he is like the living Image of God the Father. 27

"Whilst not having the supreme degree of the pontifical office, and notwithstanding the fact that they depend on the bishops in the exercise of their own proper power, the priests are for all that associated with them by reaSon of their sacerdotal Dignity; and in virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, after the Image of Christ, the supreme and eternal priest, they are consecrated in order to preach the Gospel and shepherd the Faithful as well as to celebrate divine worship as true priests of the New Testament." 46

Sacred Scripture begins with the Creation of man and Woman in the Image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of "the wedding-feast of the Lamb." 85 Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its "mystery," its institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and its end, its various realizations throughout the history of salvation, the difficulties ariSing from sin and its renewal "in the Lord" in the New Covenant of Christ and the Church. 86

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

Seeing God's Covenant with Israel in the Image of exclusive and Faithful married Love, the prophets prepared the Chosen People's conscience for a deepened understanding of the Unity and indissolubility of marriage. 102 The books of Ruth and Tobit bear moving witness to an elevated sense of marriage and to the fidelity and tenderness of spouses. Tradition has always seen in the Song of Solomon a unique expression of human love, a pure reflection of God's love - a love "strong as death" that "many waters cannot quench." 103

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:

"We know that in everything God works for good with those who Love him . . . For those whom he fore knew he also predestined to be conformed to the Image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. and those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified." 64

The one and true God first reveals his glory to Israel. 6 The revelation of the Vocation and truth of man is linked to the revelation of God. Man's vocation is to make God manifest by acting in conformity with his Creation "in the Image and likeness of God":

Created "in the Image of God," 293 man also expresses the truth of his relationship with God the Creator by the beauty of his artistic works. Indeed, art is a distinctively human form of expression; beyond the search for the necessities of life which is common to all living creatures, art is a freely given superabundance of the human being's inner riches. AriSing from talent given by the Creator and from man's own effort, art is a form of practical wisdom, uniting knowledge and skill, 294 to give form to the truth of reality in a language accessible to sight or hearing. To the extent that it is inspired by truth and Love of beings, art bears a certain likeness to God's activity in what he has created. Like any other human activity, art is not an absolute end in itself, but is ordered to and ennobled by the ultimate end of man. 295

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.

Man is in search of God. In the act of Creation, God calls every being from nothingness into existence. "Crowned with glory and honor," man is, after the angels, capable of acknowledging "how majestic is the name of the Lord in all the earth." 1 Even after loSing through his sin his likeness to God, man remains an Image of his Creator, and retains the desire for the one who calls him into existence. All religions bear witness to men's essential search for God. 2

Here again the initiative is God's. From the midst of the burning bush he calls Moses. 20 This event will remain one of the primordial Images of prayer in the spiritual tradition of Jews and Christians alike. When "the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob" calls Moses to be his servant, it is because he is the living God who wants men to live. God reveals himself in order to save them, though he does not do this alone or despite them: he caLls Moses to be his messenger, an associate in his compassion, his work of salvation. There is something of a divine plea in this mission, and only after long debate does Moses attune his own will to that of the Savior God. But in the dialogue in which God confides in him, Moses also learns how to pray: he balks, makes excuses, above all questions: and it is in response to his question that the Lord confides his ineffable name, which will be revealed through his mighty deeds.

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 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.

The Church, the house of God, is the proper place for the liturgical prayer of the parish commUnity. It is also the privileged place for adoration of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. the choice of a favorable place is not a matter of indifference for true prayer. - For perSonal prayer, this can be a "prayer corner" with the Sacred Scriptures and icons, in order to be there, in secret, before our Father. 48 In a Christian family, this kind of little oratory fosters prayer in common. - In regions where monasteries exist, the Vocation of these communities is to further the participation of the Faithful in the Liturgy of the Hours and to provide necessary solitude for more intense personal prayer. 49 - PilgrImages evoke our earthly journey toward heaven and are traditionally very special occasions for renewal in prayer. For pilgrims seeking living water, shrines are special places for living the forms of Christian prayer "in Church."

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."

In the first place, we ought to be astonished by this fact: when we praise God or give him thanks for his benefits in general, we are not particularly concerned whether or not our prayer is acceptable to him. On the other hand, we demand to see the results of our petitions. What is the Image of God that motivates our prayer: an instrument to be used? or the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ?

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.

The free gift of adoption requires on our part continual conversion and new life. Praying to our Father should develop in us two fundamental dispositions: First, the desire to become like him: though Created in his Image, we are restored to his likeness by Grace; and we must respond to this grace.

Human work proceeds directly from perSons Created in the Image of God and called to prolong the work of Creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another. 209 Hence work is a duty: "If any one will not work, let him not eat." 210 Work honors the Creator's gifts and the talents received from him. It can also be redemptive. By enduring the hardship of work 211 in union with Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth and the one crucified on Calvary, man collaborates in a certain fashion with the Son of God in his redemptive work. He shows himself to be a disciple of Christ by carrying the cross, daily, in the work he is called to accomplish. 212 Work can be a means of sanctification and a way of animating earthly realities with the Spirit of Christ.

God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he Created in his own Image. 197 Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing. They may be domesticated to help man in his work and leisure. Medical and scientific experimentation on animals is a morally acceptable practice, if it remains within reaSonable limits and contributes to caring for or saving human lives.

Adultery refers to marital infidelity. When two partners, of whom at least one is married to another party, have sexual relations - even transient ones - they commit adultery. Christ condemns even adultery of mere desire. 170 The sixth commandment and the New Testament forbid adultery absolutely. 171 The prophets denounce the gravity of adultery; they see it as an Image of the Sin of idolatry. 172

In many circumstances, the Christian is called to make promises to God. Baptism and Confirmation, Matrimony and Holy Orders always entail promises. Out of perSonal devotion, the Christian may also promise to God this action, that prayer, this alms-giving, that pilgrImage, and so forth. Fidelity to promises made to God is a sign of the respect owed to the divine majesty and of Love for a Faithful God.

The divine injunction included the prohibition of every representation of God by the hand of man. Deuteronomy explains: "Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a graven Image for yourselves, in the form of any figure...." 66 It is the absolutely transcendent God who revealed himself to Israel. "He is the all," but at the same time "he is greater than all his works." 67 He is "the author of beauty." 68

Nevertheless, already in the Old Testament, God ordained or permitted the making of Images that pointed symbolically toward salvation by the incarnate Word: so it was with the bronze serpent, the ark of the Covenant, and the cherubim. 69

BaSing itself on the mystery of the incarnate Word, the seventh ecumenical council at Nicaea (787) justified against the iconoclasts the veneration of icons - of Christ, but also of the Mother of God, the angels, and all the saints. By becoming incarnate, the Son of God introduced a new "economy" of Images.

The Christian veneration of Images is not contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols. Indeed, "the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype," and "whoever venerates an image venerates the perSon portrayed in it." 70 The honor paid to sacred images is a "respectful veneration," not the adoration due to God alone:

The Christian family is a communion of perSons, a sign and Image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. In the proCreation and education of children it reflects the Father's work of creation. It is called to partake of the prayer and sacrifice of Christ. Daily prayer and the reading of the Word of God strengthen it in charity. the Christian family has an evangelizing and missionary task.

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

"God is Love and in himself he lives a mystery of perSonal loving communion. Creating the human race in his own Image . . .. God inscribed in the humanity of man and Woman the Vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion." 114

"In creating men 'male and female,' God gives man and Woman an equal perSonal Dignity." 118 "Man is a person, man and woman equally so, Since both were Created in the Image and likeness of the personal God." 119

Each of the two sexes is an Image of the power and tenderness of God, with equal Dignity though in a different way. the union of man and Woman in marriage is a way of imitating in the flesh the Creator's generosity and fecundity: "Therefore a man leaves his Father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh." 120 All human generations proceed from this union. 121

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

The third part of the Catechism deals with the final end of man Created in the Image of God: beatitude, and the ways of reaching it - through right conduct freely chosen, with the help of God's law and Grace (Section One), and through conduct that fulfils the twofold commandment of charity, specified in God's Ten Commandments (Section Two).

The human body shares in the Dignity of "the Image of God": it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human perSon that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit: 232

Man and Woman have been Created, which is to say, Willed by God: on the one hand, in perfect equality as human perSons; on the other, in their respective beings as man and woman. "Being man" or "being woman" is a reality which is good and willed by God: man and woman possess an inalienable Dignity which comes to them immediately from God their Creator. 240 Man and woman are both with one and the same dignity "in the Image of God". In their "being-man" and "being-woman", they reflect the Creator's wisdom and goodness.

In no way is God in man's Image. He is neither man nor Woman. God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective "perfections" of man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of God: those of a mother and those of a Father and husband. 241

In God's plan man and Woman have the Vocation of "subduing" the earth 248 as stewards of God. This sovereignty is not to be an arbitrary and destructive domination. God calls man and woman, made in the Image of the Creator "who Loves everything that exists", 249 to share in his providence toward other creatures; hence their responsibility for the world God has entrusted to them.

God Created man in his Image and established him in his friendship. A spiritual creature, man can live this friendship only in free submission to God. the prohibition against eating "of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" spells this out: "for in the day that you eat of it, you shall die." 276 The "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" 277 symbolically evokes the insurmountable limits that man, being a creature, must freely recognize and respect with trust. Man is dependent on his Creator, and subject to the laws of Creation and to the moral norms that govern the use of freedom.

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

Since the Word became flesh in assuming a true humanity, Christ's body was finite. 112 Therefore the human face of Jesus can be portrayed; at the seventh ecumenical council (Nicaea II in 787) the Church recognized its representation in holy Images to be legitimate. 113

At the same time the Church has always acknowledged that in the body of Jesus "we see our God made visible and so are caught up in Love of the God we cannot see." 114 The individual characteristics of Christ's body express the divine perSon of God's Son. He has made the features of his human body his own, to the point that they can be venerated when portrayed in a holy Image, for the believer "who venerates the icon is venerating in it the person of the one depicted". 115

Jesus' obedience to his mother and legal Father fulfils the fourth commandment perfectly and was the temporal Image of his filial obedience to his Father in heaven. the everyday obedience of Jesus to Joseph and Mary both announced and anticipated the obedience of Holy Thursday: "Not my will. . ." 223 The obedience of Christ in the daily routine of his hidden life was already inaugurating his work of restoring what the disobedience of Adam had destroyed. 224

Like the prophets before him Jesus expressed the deepest respect for the Temple in Jerusalem. It was in the Temple that Joseph and Mary presented him forty days after his birth. 349 At the age of twelve he decided to remain in the Temple to remind his parents that he must be about his Father's buSiness. 350 He went there each year during his hidden life at least for Passover. 351 His public ministry itself was patterned by his pilgrImages to Jerusalem for the great Jewish feasts. 352

In Sacred Scripture the term "soul" often refers to human life or the entire human perSon. 230 But "soul" also refers to the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, 231 that by which he is most especially in God's Image: "soul" signifies the spiritual principle in man.

The human perSon, Created in the Image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. the biblical account expresses this reality in symbolic language when it affirms that "then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." 229 Man, whole and entire, is therefore Willed by God.

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

Created in God's Image and called to know and Love him, the perSon who seeks God discovers certain ways of coming to know him. These are also called proofs for the existence of God, not in the sense of proofs in the natural sciences, but rather in the sense of "converging and convincing arguments", which allow us to attain certainty about the truth. These "ways" of approaching God from Creation have a twofold point of departure: the physical world, and the human person.

"Our holy mother, the Church, holds and teaches that God, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the Created world by the natural light of human reaSon." 11 Without this capacity, man would not be able to welcome God's revelation. Man has this capacity because he is created "in the Image of God". 12

All creatures bear a certain resemblance to God, most especially man, Created in the Image and likeness of God. the manifold perfections of creatures - their truth, their goodness, their beauty all reflect the infinite perfection of God. Consequently we can name God by taking his creatures" perfections as our starting point, "for from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator". 15

God transcends all creatures. We must therefore continually purify our language of everything in it that is limited, Imagebound or imperfect, if we are not to confuse our image of God --"the inexpressible, the incomprehensible, the invisible, the ungraspable"-- with our human representations. 16 Our human words always fall short of the mystery of God.

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

It means knowing the Unity and true Dignity of all men: everyone is made in the Image and likeness of God. 50

By calling God "Father", the language of faith indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and transcendent authority; and that he is at the same time goodness and loving care for all his children. God's parental tenderness can also be expressed by the Image of motherhood, 62 which emphasizes God's immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature. the language of faith thus draws on the human experience of parents, who are in a way the first representatives of God for man. But this experience also tells us that human parents are fallible and can disfigure the face of fatherhood and motherhood. We ought therefore to recall that God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor Woman: he is God. He also transcends human fatherhood and motherhood, although he is their origin and standard: 63 no one is father as God is Father.

For this reaSon the apostles confess Jesus to be the Word: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"; as "the Image of the invisible God"; as the "radiance of the glory of God and the very stamp of his nature". 65

"O blessed light, O Trinity and first Unity!" 93 God is eternal blessedness, undying life, unfading light. God is Love: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God freely wills to communicate the glory of his blessed life. Such is the "plan of his loving kindness", conceived by the Father before the foundation of the world, in his beloved Son: "He destined us in love to be his sons" and "to be conformed to the Image of his Son", through "the spirit of sonship". 94 This plan is a "Grace [which] was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began", stemming immediately from Trinitarian love. 95 It unfolds in the work of Creation, the whole history of salvation after the fall, and the missions of the Son and the Spirit, which are continued in the mission of the Church. 96

Because God creates through wisdom, his Creation is ordered: "You have arranged all things by measure and number and weight." 151 The universe, Created in and by the eternal Word, the "Image of the invisible God", is destined for and addressed to man, himself created in the "image of God" and called to a perSonal relationship with God. 152 Our human understanding, which shares in the light of the divine intellect, can understand what God tells us by means of his creation, though not without great effort and only in a spirit of humility and respect before the Creator and his work. 153 Because creation comes forth from God's goodness, it shares in that goodness - "and God saw that it was good. . . very good" 154 - for God Willed creation as a gift addressed to man, an inheritance destined for and entrusted to him. On many occasions the Church has had to defend the goodness of creation, including that of the physical world. 155

"God Created man in his own Image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them." 218 Man occupies a unique place in Creation: (I) he is "in the image of God"; (II) in his own nature he unites the spiritual and material worlds; (III) he is created "male and female"; (IV) God established him in his friendship.

Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. 573 The persecution that accompanies her pilgrImage on earth 574 will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. the supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh. 575

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.

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

Death is the end of man's earthly pilgrImage, of the time of Grace and mercy which God offers him so as to work out his earthly life in keeping with the divine plan, and to decide his ultimate destiny. When "the Single course of our earthly life" is completed, 584 we shall not return to other earthly lives: "It is appointed for men to die once." 585 There is no "reincarnation" after death.

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

In the New Testament the word "liturgy" refers not only to the celebration of divine worship but also to the proclamation of the Gospel and to active charity. 6 In all of these situations it is a question of the service of God and neighbor. In a liturgical celebration the Church is servant in the Image of her Lord, the one "leitourgos"; 7 she shares in Christ's priesthood (worship), which is both prophetic (proclamation) and kingly (service of charity):

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

The sacred Image, the liturgical icon, principally represents Christ. It cannot represent the invisible and incomprehensible God, but the incarnation of the Son of God has ushered in a new "economy" of images:

Christian iconography expresses in Images the same Gospel message that Scripture communicates by words. Image and word illuminate each other:

All the signs in the liturgical celebrations are related to Christ: as are sacred Images of the holy Mother of God and of the saints as well. They truly signify Christ, who is glorified in them. They make manifest the "cloud of witnesses" 29 who continue to participate in the salvation of the world and to whom we are united, above all in sacramental celebrations. Through their icons, it is man "in the image of God," finally transfigured "into his likeness," 30 who is revealed to our faith. So too are the angels, who also are recapitulated in Christ:

"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.

"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

"Virgins who, committed to the holy plan of following Christ more closely, are consecrated to God by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical rite, are betrothed mystically to Christ, the Son of God, and are dedicated to the service of the Church." 462 By this solemn rite (Consecratio virginum), the virgin is "constituted . . . a sacred person, a transcendent sign of the Church's Love for Christ, and an eschatological Image of this heavenly Bride of Christ and of the life to come." 463

Intrinsically linked to the sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry is its character as service. Entirely dependent on Christ who gives mission and authority, ministers are truly "slaves of Christ," 392 in the Image of him who freely took "the form of a slave" for us. 393 Because the word and Grace of which they are ministers are not their own, but are given to them by Christ for the sake of others, they must freely become the slaves of all. 394

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

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

Cloud and light. These two Images occur together in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. In the theophanies of the Old Testament, the cloud, now obscure, now luminous, reveals the living and saving God, while veiling the transcendence of his glory - with Moses on Mount Sinai, 43 at the tent of meeting, 44 and during the wandering in the desert, 45 and with Solomon at the dedication of the Temple. 46 In the Holy Spirit, Christ fulfills these figures. the Spirit comes upon the Virgin Mary and "overshadows" her, so that she might conceive and give birth to Jesus. 47 On the mountain of Transfiguration, the Spirit in the "cloud came and overshadowed" Jesus, Moses and Elijah, Peter, James and John, and "a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!'" 48 Finally, the cloud took Jesus out of the sight of the disciples on the day of his ascension and will reveal him as Son of man in glory on the day of his final coming. 49

The seal is a symbol close to that of anointing. "The Father has set his seal" on Christ and also seals us in him. 50 Because this seal indicates the indelible effect of the anointing with the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, the Image of the seal (sphragis) has been used in some theological traditions to express the indelible "character" imprinted by these three unrepeatable sacraments.

Disfigured by Sin and death, man remains "in the Image of God," in the image of the Son, but is deprived "of the glory of God," 66 of his "likeness." the promise made to Abraham inaugurates the economy of salvation, at the culmination of which the Son himself will assume that "image" 67 and restore it in the Father's "likeness" by giving it again its Glory, the Spirit who is "the giver of life."

"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.

In Scripture, we find a host of interrelated Images and figures through which Revelation speaks of the inexhaustible mystery of the Church. the images taken from the Old Testament are variations on a profound theme: the People of God. In the New Testament, all these images find a new center because Christ has become the head of this people, which henceforth is his Body. 144 Around this center are grouped images taken "from the life of the shepherd or from cultivation of the land, from the art of building or from family life and marriage." 145

"The Church . . . will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven," 179 at the time of Christ's glorious return. Until that day, "the Church progresses on her pilgrImage amidst this world's persecutions and God's consolations." 180 Here below she knows that she is in exile far from the Lord, and longs for the full coming of the Kingdom, when she will "be united in glory with her king." 181 The Church, and through her the world, will not be perfected in glory without great trials. Only then will "all the just from the time of Adam, 'from Abel, the just one, to the last of the elect,' . . . be gathered together in the universal Church in the Father's presence." 182

Finally, the People of God shares in the royal office of Christ. He exercises his kingship by drawing all men to himself through his death and Resurrection. 211 Christ, King and Lord of the universe, made himself the servant of all, for he came "not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." 212 For the Christian, "to reign is to serve him," particularly when serving "the poor and the suffering, in whom the Church recognizes the Image of her poor and suffering founder." 213 The People of God fulfills its royal Dignity by a life in keeping with its Vocation to serve with Christ.

The Unity of Christ and the Church, head and members of one Body, also implies the distinction of the two within a perSonal relationship. This aspect is often expressed by the Image of bridegroom and bride. the theme of Christ as Bridegroom of the Church was prepared for by the prophets and announced by John the Baptist. 234 The Lord referred to himself as the "bridegroom." 235 The Apostle speaks of the whole Church and of each of the Faithful, members of his Body, as a bride "betrothed" to Christ the Lord so as to become but one spirit with him. 236 The Church is the spotless bride of the spotless Lamb. 237 "Christ Loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her." 238 He has joined her with himself in an everlasting Covenant and never stops caring for her as for his own body: 239

The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and Images, for the God who is unknown yet near Since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life." 332

In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors that disfigure the Image of God in them:

To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by Sin, the Father Willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son's Church. the Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its Unity and salvation. the Church is "the world reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail of the Lord's cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world." According to another Image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by Noah's ark, which alone saves from the flood. 334