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

There are two kinds of presumption. Either man presumes upon his own capacities, (hoping to be able to save himself without Help from on high), or he presumes upon God's almighty power or his Mercy (hoping to obtain his Forgiveness without Conversion and glory without merit).

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.

Thus a true filial spirit toward the Church can develop among Christians. It is the normal flowering of the baptismal Grace which has begotten us in the womb of the Church and made us members of the Body of Christ. In her motherly care, the Church grants us the Mercy of God which prevails over all our Sins and is especially at work in the Sacrament of reconciliation. With a mother's foresight, she also lavishes on us day after day in her liturgy the nourishment of the Word and Eucharist of the Lord.

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

Justification is the most excellent work of God's Love made manifest in Christ Jesus and granted by the Holy Spirit. It is the opinion of St. Augustine that "the justification of the wicked is a greater work than the creation of heaven and earth," because "heaven and earth will pass away but the Salvation and justification of the elect . . . will not pass away." 43 He holds also that the justification of Sinners surpasses the creation of the angels in justice, in that it bears witness to a greater Mercy.

Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleaSing to God, and whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the Sins of all men. Justification is conferred in Baptism, the Sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his Mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life: 40

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

Mortal Sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is Love itself. It results in the loss of Charity and the privation of sanctifying Grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's Forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of perSons to the justice and Mercy of God.

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

It is precisely in the Passion, when the Mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that Sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms: unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the leaders and the people, Pilate's cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers, Judas' betrayal - so bitter to Jesus, Peter's denial and the disciples' flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world, 126 The sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the Forgiveness of our Sins will pour forth inexhaustibly.

On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord's Day, the performance of the works of Mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. 123 Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. the faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.

Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A perSon who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae," 76 "by the very commission of the offense," 77 and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. 78 The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of Mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

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

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

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

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

Holy Mary, Mother of God: With Elizabeth we marvel, "and why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" 36 Because she gives us Jesus, her Son, Mary is Mother of God and our mother; we can entrust all our cares and petitions to her: she prays for us as she prayed for herself: "Let it be to me according to your word." 37 By entrusting ourselves to her Prayer, we abandon ourselves to the will of God together with her: "Thy will be done." Pray for us Sinners, now and at the hour of our death: By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor Sinners and we address ourselves to the "Mother of Mercy," the All-Holy One. We give ourselves over to her now, in the Today of our lives. and our trust broadens further, already at the present moment, to surrender "the hour of our death" wholly to her care. May she be there as she was at her son's death on the cross. May she welcome us as our mother at the hour of our passing 38 to lead us to her son, Jesus, in paradise.

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

Since Abraham, intercession - asking on behalf of another has been characteristic of a Heart attuned to God's Mercy. In the age of the Church, Christian intercession participates in Christ's, as an expression of the communion of saints. In intercession, he who prays looks "not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others," even to the point of praying for those who do him harm. 115

Prayer to Jesus is answered by him already during his ministry, through signs that anticipate the power of his death and Resurrection: Jesus hears the prayer of faith, expressed in words (the leper, Jairus, the Canaanite woman, the good thief) 84 or in silence (the bearers of the paralytic, the woman with a hemorrhage who touches his clothes, the tears and ointment of the Sinful woman). 85 The urgent request of the blind men, "Have Mercy on us, Son of David" or "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" has-been renewed in the traditional prayer to Jesus known as the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" 86 Healing infirmities or forgiving Sins, Jesus always responds to a prayer offered in faith: "Your faith has made you well; go in peace."

After Elijah had learned Mercy during his retreat at the Wadi Cherith, he teaches the widow of Zarephath to believe in the Word of God and confirms her faith by his urgent Prayer: God brings the widow's child back to life. 33 The sacrifice on Mount Carmel is a decisive test for the faith of the People of God. In response to Elijah's plea, "Answer me, O Lord, answer me," the Lord's fire consumes the holocaust, at the time of the evening oblation. the Eastern liturgies repeat Elijah's plea in the Eucharistic epiclesis. Finally, taking the desert road that leads to the place where the living and true God reveals himself to his people, Elijah, like Moses before him, hides "in a cleft of he rock" until the mysterious presence of God has passed by. 34 But only on the mountain of the Transfiguration will Moses and Elijah behold the unveiled face of him whom they sought; "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God [shines] in the face of Christ," crucified and risen. 35

The works of Mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. 241 Instructing, adviSing, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. the corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and impriSoned, and burying the dead. 242 Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal Charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God: 243

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.

In times past, cruel practices were commonly used by legitimate governments to maintain law and order, often without protest from the Pastors of the Church, who themselves adopted in their own tribunals the prescriptions of Roman law concerning torture. Regrettable as these facts are, the Church always taught the duty of clemency and Mercy. She forbade clerics to shed blood. In recent times it has become evident that these cruel practices were neither necessary for public order, nor in conformity with the legitimate rights of the human perSon. On the contrary, these practices led to ones even more degrading. It is necessary to work for their abolition. We must pray for the victims and their tormentors.

"God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us." 116 To receive his Mercy, we must admit our faults. "If we say we have no Sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our Sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 117

The Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God's Mercy to Sinners. 113 The angel announced to Joseph: "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their Sins." 114 The same is true of the Eucharist, the Sacrament of redemption: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the Forgiveness of Sins." 115

"Those who approach the Sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God's Mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their Sins and which by Charity, by example, and by Prayer labors for their Conversion." 4

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.

Jewish liturgy and Christian liturgy. A better knowledge of the Jewish people's faith and religious life as professed and lived even now can Help our better understanding of certain aspects of Christian liturgy. For both Jews and Christians Sacred Scripture is an essential part of their respective liturgies: in the proclamation of the Word of God, the response to this word, Prayer of praise and intercession for the living and the dead, invocation of God's Mercy. In its characteristic structure the Liturgy of the Word originates in Jewish prayer. the Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical texts and formularies, as well as those of our most venerable prayers, including the Lord's Prayer, have parallels in Jewish prayer. the Eucharistic Prayers also draw their inspiration from the Jewish tradition. the relationship between Jewish liturgy and Christian liturgy, but also their differences in content, are particularly evident in the great feasts of the liturgical year, such as Passover. Christians and Jews both celebrate the Passover. For Jews, it is the Passover of history, tending toward the future; for Christians, it is the Passover fulfilled in the death and Resurrection of Christ, though always in expectation of its definitive consummation.

God predestines no one to go to hell; 618 for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal Sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end. In the Eucharistic liturgy and in the daily Prayers of her faithful, the Church implores the Mercy of God, who does not want "any to perish, but all to come to repentance": 619

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.

Jesus invites Sinners to the table of the kingdom: "I came not to call the righteous, but Sinners." 258 He invites them to that Conversion without which one cannot enter the kingdom, but shows them in word and deed his Father's boundless Mercy for them and the vast "joy in heaven over one sinner who repents". 259 The supreme proof of his Love will be the sacrifice of his own life "for the Forgiveness of Sins". 260

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

The name of the Saviour God was invoked only once in the year by the high priest in atonement for the Sins of Israel, after he had sprinkled the Mercy seat in the Holy of Holies with the sacrificial blood. the mercy seat was the place of God's presence. 25 When St. Paul speaks of Jesus whom "God put forward as an expiation by his blood", he means that in Christ's humanity "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself." 26

It is the irrevocable character of their choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine Mercy, that makes the angels' Sin unforgivable. "There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death." 272

God is the Father Almighty, whose fatherhood and power shed light on one another: God reveals his fatherly omnipotence by the way he takes care of our needs; by the filial adoption that he gives us ("I will be a father to you, and you shall be my Sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty"): 109 finally by his infinite Mercy, for he displays his power at its height by freely forgiving Sins.

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

St. Peter's Conversion after he had denied his master three times bears witness to this. Jesus' look of infinite Mercy drew tears of repentance from Peter and, after the Lord's resurrection, a threefold affirmation of Love for him. 20 The second conversion also has a communitarian dimension, as is clear in the Lord's call to a whole Church: "Repent!" 21

The fruits of Charity are joy, peace, and Mercy; charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains diSinterested and generous; it is friendship and communion: Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works. There is the goal; that is why we run: we run toward it, and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest. 108

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 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.

In his Mercy God has not forsaken Sinful man. the punishments consequent upon sin, "pain in childbearing" and toil "in the sweat of your brow," 100 also embody remedies that limit the damaging effects of sin. After the fall, marriage Helps to overcome self-absorption, egoism, pursuit of one's own pleasure, and to open oneself to the other, to mutual aid and to self-giving.

Nevertheless, the order of creation persists, though seriously disturbed. To heal the wounds of Sin, man and woman need the Help of the Grace that God in his infinite Mercy never refuses them. 99 Without his help man and woman cannot achieve the union of their lives for which God created them "in the beginning."

The Forgiveness of Sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a Grace. He should strive by works of Mercy and Charity, as well as by Prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the "old man" and to put on the "new man." 84

The confessor is not the master of God's Forgiveness, but its servant. the minister of this Sacrament should unite himself to the intention and Charity of Christ. 71 He should have a proven knowledge of Christian behavior, experience of human affairs, respect and sensitivity toward the one who has fallen; he must Love the truth, be faithful to the Magisterium of the Church, and lead the penitent with patience toward healing and full maturity. He must pray and do penance for his penitent, entrusting him to the Lord's Mercy.

The penance the confessor imposes must take into account the penitent's perSonal situation and must seek his spiritual good. It must correspond as far as possible with the gravity and nature of the Sins committed. It can consist of Prayer, an offering, works of Mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear. Such penances Help configure us to Christ, who alone expiated our Sins once for all. They allow us to become co-heirs with the risen Christ, "provided we suffer with him." 63

Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial Sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church. 59 Indeed the regular confession of our venial Sins Helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this Sacrament the gift of the Father's Mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful: 60

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

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 divine name, "I Am" or "He Is", expresses God's faithfulness: despite the faithlessness of men's Sin and the punishment it deserves, he keeps "steadfast Love for thousands". 21 By going so far as to give up his own Son for us, God reveals that he is "rich in Mercy". 22 By giving his life to free us from sin, Jesus reveals that he himself bears the divine name: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will realize that "I AM"." 23