Many Religious have Consecrated their whole lives to prayer. Hermits, monks, and nuns since the time of the desert fathers have devoted their time to praising God and interceding for his people. the consecrated life cannot be sustained or spread without prayer; it is one of the living sources of contemplation and the spiritual life of the Church.

Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. "He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, Especially in Religious matters." 53

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

Pastoral discernment is needed to sustain and support popular piety and, if necessary, to purify and correct the Religious sense which underlies these devotions so that the Faithful may advance in knowledge of the Mystery of Christ. 180 Their Exercise is subject to the care and judgment of the bishops and to the general norms of the Church.

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.

Certain blessings have a lasting importance because they consecrate persons to God, or reserve objects and places for liturgical use. Among those blessings which are intended for persons - not to be confused with sacramental ordination - are the blessing of the abbot or abbess of a monastery, the consecration of virgins, the rite of Religious profession and the blessing of certain ministries of the Church (readers, acolytes, catechists, etc.). the dedication or blessing of a church or an altar, the blessing of holy oils, vessels, and vestments, bells, etc., can be mentioned as examples of blessings that concern objects.

In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to Faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith. For this reason the Second Vatican Council, using an ancient expression, calls the family the Ecclesia domestica. 166 It is in the bosom of the family that parents are "by word and example . . . the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children. They should encourage them in the vocation which is proper to each child, fostering with special care any Religious vocation." 167

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

Integration into one of these bodies in the Church was accomplished by a rite called ordinatio, a Religious and liturgical act which was a consecration, a blessing or a sacrament. Today the word "ordination" is reserved for the sacramental act which integrates a man into the order of bishops, presbyters, or deacons, and goes beyond a simple election, designation, delegation, or institution by the Community, for it confers a gift of the Holy Spirit that permits the Exercise of a "sacred power" (sacra potestas) 5 which can come only from Christ himself through his Church. Ordination is also called consecratio, for it is a setting apart and an investiture by Christ himself for his Church. the laying on of hands by the bishop, with the consecratory prayer, constitutes the visible sign of this ordination.

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

Forgiveness of sins brings reconciliation with God, but also with the Church. Since ancient times the bishop, visible head of a particular Church, has thus rightfully been considered to be the one who principally has the power and ministry of reconciliation: he is the moderator of the penitential discipline. 66 Priests, his collaborators, Exercise it to the extent that they have received the commission either from their bishop (or Religious superior) or the Pope, according to the law of the Church. 67

Incorporated into the Church by Baptism, the Faithful have received the sacramental character that consecrates them for Christian Religious worship. 83 The baptismal seal enables and commits Christians to serve God by a vital participation in the holy Liturgy of the Church and to Exercise their baptismal priesthood by the witness of holy lives and practical charity. 84

The liturgical traditions or rites presently in use in the Church are the Latin (principally the Roman rite, but also the rites of certain local churches, such as the Ambrosian rite, or those of certain Religious orders) and the Byzantine, Alexandrian or Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Maronite and Chaldean rites. In "Faithful obedience to tradition, the sacred Council declares that Holy Mother Church holds all lawfully recognized rites to be of equal right and Dignity, and that she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way." 69

When the Exercise of Religious liberty is not thwarted, 56 Christians construct buildings for divine worship. These visible Churches are not simply gathering places but signify and make visible the Church living in this place, the dwelling of God with men reconciled and united in Christ.

The precepts of natural law are not perceived by everyone clearly and immediately. In the present situation sinful man needs grace and revelation so moral and Religious truths may be known "by everyone with facility, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error." 12 The natural law provides revealed law and grace with a foundation prepared by God and in accordance with the work of the Spirit.

"Nobody may be forced to act against his convictions, nor is anyone to be restrained from acting in accordance with his conscience in Religious matters in private or in public, alone or in association with others, within due limits." 34 This right is based on the very nature of the human person, whose Dignity enables him freely to assent to the divine truth which transcends the temporal order. For this reason it "continues to exist even in those who do not live up to their obligation of seeking the truth and adhering to it." 35

"If because of the circumstances of a particular people special civil recognition is given to one Religious Community in the constitutional organization of a state, the right of all citizens and religious communities to religious freedom must be recognized and respected as well." 36

For this reason bishops, personally or through delegates, should see to the promotion of sacred art, old and new, in all its forms and, with the same Religious care, remove from the Liturgy and from places of worship everything which is not in conformity with the truth of Faith and the authentic beauty of sacred art. 297

Man tends by nature toward the truth. He is obliged to honor and bear witness to it: "It is in accordance with their Dignity that all men, because they are persons . . . are both impelled by their nature and bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, Especially Religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to the truth once they come to know it and direct their whole lives in accordance with the demands of truth." 261

"The Church's love for the poor . . . is a part of her constant tradition." This love is inspired by the Gospel of the Beatitudes, of the poverty of Jesus, and of his concern for the poor. 234 Love for the poor is even one of the motives for the duty of working so as to "be able to give to those in need." 235 It extends not only to material poverty but also to the many forms of cultural and Religious poverty. 236

Various causes of a Religious, political, economic, and financial nature today give "the social question a worldwide dimension." 224 There must be solidarity among nations which are already politically interdependent. It is even more essential when it is a question of dismantling the "perverse mechanisms" that impede the development of the less advanced countries. 225 In place of abusive if not usurious financial systems, iniquitous commercial relations among nations, and the arms race, there must be substituted a common effort to mobilize resources toward objectives of moral, cultural, and economic development, "redefining the priorities and hierarchies of values." 226

The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity. 194 Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a Religious respect for the integrity of creation. 195

The political Community has a duty to honor the family, to assist it, and to ensure Especially: - the freedom to establish a family, have children, and bring them up in keeping with the family's own moral and Religious convictions; - the protection of the stability of the marriage bond and the institution of the family; - the freedom to profess one's Faith, to hand it on, and raise one's children in it, with the necessary means and institutions; - the right to private property, to free enterprise, to obtain work and housing, and the right to emigrate; - in keeping with the country's institutions, the right to medical care, assistance for the aged, and family benefits; - the protection of security and health, especially with respect to dangers like drugs, pornography, alcoholism, etc.; - the freedom to form associations with other families and so to have representation before civil authority. 15

In respecting Religious liberty and the common good of all, Christians should seek recognition of Sundays and the Church's holy days as legal holidays. They have to give everyone a public example of prayer, respect, and joy and defend their traditions as a precious contribution to the spiritual life of society. If a country's legislation or other reasons require work on Sunday, the day should nevertheless be lived as the day of our deliverance which lets us share in this "festal gathering," this "assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven." 125

Just as God "rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done," 121 human life has a rhythm of work and rest. the institution of the Lord's Day helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and Religious lives. 122

Since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the virtue of religion. 61 The imputability of this offense can be significantly diminished in virtue of the intentions and the circumstances. "Believers can have more than a little to do with the rise of atheism. To the extent that they are careless about their instruction in the Faith, or present its teaching falsely, or even fail in their Religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion." 62

Human life finds its unity in the adoration of the one God. the commandment to worship the Lord alone integrates man and saves him from an endless disintegration. Idolatry is a perversion of man's innate Religious sense. An idolater is someone who "transfers his indestructible notion of God to anything other than God." 47

Superstition is the deviation of Religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition. 41

The right to Religious liberty can of itself be neither unlimited nor limited only by a "public order" conceived in a positivist or naturalist manner. 39 The "due limits" which are inherent in it must be determined for each social situation by political prudence, according to the requirements of the common good, and ratified by the civil authority in accordance with "legal principles which are in conformity with the objective moral order." 40

The right to Religious liberty is neither a moral license to adhere to error, nor a supposed right to error, 37 but rather a natural right of the human person to civil liberty, i.e., immunity, within just limits, from external constraint in religious matters by political authorities. This natural right ought to be acknowledged in the juridical order of society in such a way that it constitutes a civil right. 38

The Liturgy of the Hours is intended to become the prayer of the whole People of God. In it Christ himself "continues his priestly work through his Church." 50 His members participate according to their own place in the Church and the circumstances of their lives: Priests devoted to the pastoral ministry, because they are called to remain diligent in prayer and the service of the word; Religious, by the charism of their Consecrated lives; all the Faithful as much as possible: "Pastors of souls should see to it that the principal hours, Especially Vespers, are celebrated in common in church on Sundays and on the more solemn feasts. the laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office, either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually." 51

The Mystery of Christ, his Incarnation and Passover, which we celebrate in the Eucharist Especially at the Sunday assembly, permeates and transfigures the time of each day, through the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, "the divine office." 46 This celebration, Faithful to the apostolic exhortations to "pray constantly," is "so devised that the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praise of God." 47 In this "public prayer of the Church," 48 The Faithful (clergy, Religious, and lay people) Exercise the royal priesthood of the baptized. Celebrated in "the form approved" by the Church, the Liturgy of the Hours "is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the Father. 49

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 Religious authorities in Jerusalem were not unanimous about what stance to take towards Jesus. 380 The Pharisees threatened to excommunicate his followers. 381 To those who feared that "everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation", the high priest Caiaphas replied by prophesying: "It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish." 382 The Sanhedrin, having declared Jesus deserving of death as a blasphemer but having lost the right to put anyone to death, hands him over to the Romans, accusing him of political revolt, a charge that puts him in the same category as Barabbas who had been accused of sedition. 383 The chief Priests also threatened Pilate politically so that he would condemn Jesus to death. 384

Among the Religious authorities of Jerusalem, not only were the Pharisee Nicodemus and the prominent Joseph of Arimathea both secret disciples of Jesus, but there was also long-standing dissension about him, so much so that St. John says of these authorities on the very eve of Christ's Passion, "many.. . believed in him", though very imperfectly. 378 This is not surprising, if one recalls that on the day after Pentecost "a great many of the Priests were obedient to the Faith" and "some believers. . . belonged to the party of the Pharisees", to the point that St. James could tell St. Paul, "How many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed; and they are all zealous for the Law." 379

Jesus asked the Religious authorities of Jerusalem to believe in him because of the Father's works which he accomplished. 373 But such an act of Faith must go through a mysterious death to self, for a new "birth from above" under the influence of divine grace. 374 Such a demand for conversion in the face of so surprising a fulfilment of the promises 375 allows one to understand the Sanhedrin's tragic misunderstanding of Jesus: they judged that he deserved the death sentence as a blasphemer. 376 The members of the Sanhedrin were thus acting at the same time out of "ignorance" and the "hardness" of their "unbelief". 377

Jesus gave scandal above all when he identified his merciful conduct toward sinners with God's own attitude toward them. 367 He went so far as to hint that by sharing the table of sinners he was admitting them to the messianic banquet. 368 But it was most Especially by forgiving sins that Jesus placed the Religious authorities of Israel on the horns of a dilemma. Were they not entitled to demand in consternation, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 369 By forgiving sins Jesus either is blaspheming as a man who made himself God's equal, or is speaking the truth and his person really does make present and reveal God's name. 370

If the Law and the Jerusalem Temple could be occasions of opposition to Jesus by Israel's Religious authorities, his role in the redemption of sins, the divine work par excellence, was the true stumbling-block for them. 363

This principle of integral observance of the Law not only in letter but in spirit was dear to the Pharisees. By giving Israel this principle they had led many Jews of Jesus' time to an extreme Religious zeal. 334 This zeal, were it not to lapse into "hypocritical" casuistry, 335 could only prepare the People for the unprecedented intervention of God through the perfect fulfilment of the Law by the only Righteous One in place of all sinners. 336

Many of Jesus' deeds and words constituted a "sign of contradiction", 321 but more so for the Religious authorities in Jerusalem, whom the Gospel according to John often calls simply "the Jews", 322 than for the ordinary People of God. 323 To be sure, Christ's relations with the Pharisees were not exclusively polemical. Some Pharisees warn him of the danger he was courting; 324 Jesus praises some of them, like the scribe of Mark 12:34, and dines several times at their homes. 325 Jesus endorses some of the teachings imparted by this religious elite of God's people: the resurrection of the dead, 326 certain forms of piety (almsgiving, fasting and prayer), 327 The custom of addressing God as Father, and the centrality of the commandment to love God and neighbour. 328

From the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, certain Pharisees and partisans of Herod together with Priests and scribes agreed together to destroy him. 317 Because of certain acts of his expelling demons, forgiving sins, healing on the sabbath day, his novel interpretation of the precepts of the Law regarding purity, and his familiarity with tax collectors and public sinners 318 --some ill-intentioned persons suspected Jesus of demonic possession. 319 He is accused of blasphemy and false prophecy, Religious crimes which the Law punished with death by stoning. 320

During the greater part of his life Jesus shared the condition of the vast majority of human beings: a daily life spent without evident greatness, a life of manual labour. His Religious life was that of a Jew obedient to the law of God, 221 a life in the Community. From this whole period it is revealed to us that Jesus was "obedient" to his parents and that he "increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man." 222

This state of division into many nations, each entrusted by divine providence to the guardianship of angels, is at once cosmic, social and Religious. It is intended to limit the pride of fallen humanity 10 united only in its perverse ambition to forge its own unity as at Babel. 11 But, because of sin, both polytheism and the idolatry of the nation and of its rulers constantly threaten this provisional economy with the perversion of paganism. 12

This is why man stands in need of being enlightened by God's revelation, not only about those things that exceed his understanding, but also "about those Religious and moral truths which of themselves are not beyond the grasp of human reason, so that even in the present condition of the human race, they can be known by all men with ease, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error". 14

But this "intimate and vital bond of man to God" (GS 19 # 1) can be forgotten, overlooked, or even explicitly rejected by man. 3 Such attitudes can have different causes: revolt against evil in the world; Religious ignorance or indifference; the cares and riches of this world; the scandal of bad example on the part of believers; currents of thought hostile to religion; finally, that attitude of sinful man which makes him hide from God out of fear and flee his call. 4

The word "Church" (Latin ecclesia, from the Greek ek-ka-lein, to "call out of") means a convocation or an assembly. It designates the assemblies of the people, usually for a Religious purpose. 139 Ekklesia is used frequently in the Greek Old Testament for the assembly of the Chosen People before God, above all for their assembly on Mount Sinai where Israel received the Law and was established by God as his holy people. 140 By calling itself "Church," the first Community of Christian believers recognized itself as heir to that assembly. In the Church, God is "calling together" his people from all the ends of the earth. the equivalent Greek term Kyriake, from which the English word Church and the German Kirche are derived, means "what belongs to the Lord."

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

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

The harmony of signs (song, music, words, and actions) is all the more expressive and fruitful when expressed in the cultural richness of the People of God who celebrate. 25 Hence "Religious singing by the Faithful is to be intelligently fostered so that in devotions and sacred Exercises as well as in liturgical services," in conformity with the Church's norms, "the voices of the Faithful may be heard." But "the texts intended to be sung must always be in conformity with Catholic doctrine. Indeed they should be drawn chiefly from the Sacred Scripture and from liturgical sources." 26

The great religions of mankind witness, often impressively, to this cosmic and symbolic meaning of Religious rites. the Liturgy of the Church presupposes, integrates and sanctifies elements from creation and human culture, conferring on them the Dignity of signs of grace, of the new creation in Jesus Christ.

For this reason no sacramental rite may be modified or manipulated at the will of the minister or the Community. Even the supreme authority in the Church may not change the Liturgy arbitrarily, but only in the obedience of Faith and with Religious respect for the Mystery of the liturgy.

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.

Whether their witness is public, as in the Religious state, or less public, or even secret, Christ's coming remains for all those Consecrated both the origin and rising sun of their life:

Alongside the different forms of Consecrated life are "societies of apostolic life whose members without Religious vows pursue the particular apostolic purpose of their society, and lead a life as brothers or sisters in common according to a particular manner of life, strive for the perfection of charity through the observance of the constitutions. Among these there are societies in which the members embrace the evangelical counsels" according to their constitutions. 473

All Religious, whether exempt or not, take their place among the collaborators of the diocesan bishop in his pastoral duty. 467 From the outset of the work of evangelization, the missionary "planting" and expansion of the Church require the presence of the religious life in all its forms. 468 "History witnesses to the outstanding service rendered by religious families in the propagation of the Faith and in the formation of new Churches: from the ancient monastic institutions to the medieval orders, all the way to the more recent congregations." 469

Religious life derives from the Mystery of the Church. It is a gift she has received from her Lord, a gift she offers as a stable way of life to the Faithful called by God to profess the counsels. Thus, the Church can both show forth Christ and acknowledge herself to be the Savior's bride. Religious life in its various forms is called to signify the very charity of God in the language of our time.

Religious life was born in the East during the first centuries of Christianity. Lived within institutes canonically erected by the Church, it is distinguished from other forms of Consecrated life by its liturgical character, public profession of the evangelical counsels, fraternal life led in common, and witness given to the union of Christ with the Church. 466

From the very beginning of the Church there were men and women who set out to follow Christ with greater liberty, and to imitate him more closely, by practicing the evangelical counsels. They led lives dedicated to God, each in his own way. Many of them, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, became hermits or founded Religious families. These the Church, by virtue of her authority, gladly accepted and approved. 458

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

The Religious state is thus one way of experiencing a "more intimate" consecration, rooted in Baptism and dedicated totally to God. 455 In the Consecrated life, Christ's Faithful, moved by the Holy Spirit, propose to follow Christ more nearly, to give themselves to God who is loved above all and, pursuing the perfection of charity in the service of the Kingdom, to signify and proclaim in the Church the glory of the world to come. 456

"The term 'laity' is here understood to mean all the Faithful except those in Holy Orders and those who belong to a Religious state approved by the Church. That is, the Faithful, who by Baptism are incorporated into Christ and integrated into the People of God, are made sharers in their particular way in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ, and have their own part to play in the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the World." 430

Divine assistance is also given to the successors of the apostles, teaching in communion with the successor of Peter, and, in a particular way, to the bishop of Rome, pastor of the whole Church, when, without arriving at an infallible definition and without pronouncing in a "definitive manner," they propose in the Exercise of the ordinary Magisterium a teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in matters of Faith and morals. To this ordinary teaching the Faithful "are to adhere to it with Religious assent" 422 which, though distinct from the assent of faith, is nonetheless an extension of it.

In many ways, throughout history down to the present day, men have given expression to their quest for God in their Religious beliefs and behaviour: in their prayers, sacrifices, rituals, meditations, and so forth. These forms of religious expression, despite the ambiguities they often bring with them, are so universal that one may well call man a religious being: