This petition is astonishing. If it consisted only of the first phrase, "and forgive us our trespasses," it might have been included, implicitly, in the first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer, since Christ's sacrifice is "that sins may be forgiven." But, according to the second phrase, our petition will not be heard unless we have first met a strict requirement. Our petition looks to the future, but our Response must come first, for the two parts are joined by the single word "as."

God calls man first. Man may forget his Creator or hide far from his face; he may run after idols or accuse the deity of having abandoned him; yet the living and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as Prayer. In prayer, the Faithful God's initiative of Love always comes first; our own first step is always a Response. As God gradually reveals himself and reveals man to himself, prayer appears as a reciprocal call, a covenant drama. Through words and actions, this drama engages the heart. It unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation.

"You would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 9 Paradoxically our Prayer of petition is a Response to the plea of the living God: "They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water!" 10 Prayer is the response of Faith to the free promise of salvation and also a response of Love to the thirst of the only Son of God. 11

Charity and respect for the truth should dictate the Response to every request for information or communication. the good and safety of others, respect for privacy, and the common good are sufficient reasons for being silent about what ought not be known or for making use of a discreet language. the duty to avoid scandal often commands strict discretion. No one is bound to reveal the truth to someone who does not have the right to know it. 282

Direct aid is an appropriate Response to immediate, extraordinary needs caused by natural catastrophes, epidemics, and the like. But it does not suffice to repair the grave damage resulting from destitution or to provide a lasting solution to a country's needs. It is also necessary to reform international economic and financial institutions so that they will better promote equitable relationships with less advanced countries. 227 The efforts of poor countries working for growth and liberation must be supported. 228 This doctrine must be applied especially in the area of agricultural labor. Peasants, especially in the Third World, form the overwhelming majority of the poor.

Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate Response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.

In Response to the question about the first of the commandments, Jesus says: "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' the second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 2 The apostle St. Paul reminds us of this: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." 3

Jesus summed up man's duties toward God in this saying: "You shall Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." 1 This immediately echoes the solemn call: "Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD." 2 God has loved us first. the love of the One God is recalled in the first of the "ten words." the commandments then make explicit the Response of love that man is called to give to his God.

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:

In the Old Testament, the revelation of Prayer comes between the fall and the restoration of man, that is, between God's sorrowful call to his first children: "Where are you? . . . What is this that you have done?" 3 and the Response of God's only Son on coming into the world: "Lo, I have come to do your will, O God." 4 Prayer is bound up with human history, for it is the relationship with God in historical events.

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.

Jesus "was praying at a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.'" 1 In Response to this request the Lord entrusts to his disciples and to his Church the fundamental Christian Prayer. St. Luke presents a brief text of five petitions, 2 while St. Matthew gives a more developed version of seven petitions. 3 The liturgical tradition of the Church has retained St. Matthew's text:

For St. Paul, this trust is bold, founded on the Prayer of the Spirit in us and on the Faithful Love of the Father who has given us his only Son. 31 Transformation of the praying heart is the first Response to our petition.

Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined Response on our part. It always presupposes effort. the great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God. We pray as we live, because we live as we pray. If we do not want to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ, neither can we pray habitually in his name. the "spiritual battle" of the Christian's new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer.

Blessing expresses the basic movement of Christian Prayer: it is an encounter between God and man. In blessing, God's gift and man's acceptance of it are united in dialogue with each other. the prayer of blessing is man's Response to God's gifts: because God blesses, the human heart can in return bless the One who is the source of every blessing.

Certain constant characteristics appear throughout the Psalms: simplicity and spontaneity of Prayer; the desire for God himself through and with all that is good in his creation; the distraught situation of the believer who, in his preferential Love for the Lord, is exposed to a host of enemies and temptations, but who waits upon what the Faithful God will do, in the certitude of his love and in submission to his will. the prayer of the psalms is always sustained by praise; that is why the title of this collection as handed down to us is so fitting: "The Praises." Collected for the assembly's worship, the Psalter both sounds the call to prayer and sings the Response to that call: Hallelu-Yah! (“Alleluia"), "Praise the Lord!"

The Psalter is the book in which the Word of God becomes man's Prayer. In other books of the Old Testament, "the words proclaim [God's] works and bring to light the mystery they contain." 39 The words of the Psalmist, sung for God, both express and acclaim the Lord's saving works; the same Spirit inspires both God's work and man's Response. Christ will unite the two. In him, the psalms continue to teach us how to pray.

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

Elijah is the "father" of the prophets, "the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob." 30 Elijah's name, "The Lord is my God," foretells the people's cry in Response to his Prayer on Mount Carmel. 31 St. James refers to Elijah in order to encourage us to pray: "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." 32

Baptism is the sacrament of Faith. 54 But faith needs the community of believers. It is only within the faith of the Church that each of the Faithful can believe. the faith required for Baptism is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called to develop. the catechumen or the Godparent is asked: "What do you ask of God's Church?" the Response is: "Faith!"

The catechumenate, or formation of catechumens, aims at bringing their conversion and Faith to maturity, in Response to the divine initiative and in union with an ecclesial community. the catechumenate is to be "a formation in the whole Christian life . . . during which the disciples will be joined to Christ their teacher. the catechumens should be properly initiated into the mystery of salvation and the practice of the evangelical virtues, and they should be introduced into the life of faith, liturgy, and charity of the People of God by successive sacred rites." 47

The proclamation of the Word of God enlightens the candidates and the assembly with the revealed truth and elicits the Response of Faith, which is inseparable from Baptism. Indeed Baptism is "the sacrament of faith" in a particular way, since it is the sacramental entry into the life of faith.

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.

Human intelligence is surely already capable of finding a Response to the question of origins. the existence of God the Creator can be known with certainty through his works, by the light of human reason, 122 even if this knowledge is often obscured and disfigured by error. This is why Faith comes to confirm and enlighten reason in the correct understanding of this truth: "By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear." 123

Since the beginning the Christian Faith has been challenged by Responses to the question of origins that differ from its own. Ancient religions and cultures produced many myths concerning origins. Some philosophers have said that everything is God, that the world is God, or that the development of the world is the development of God (Pantheism). Others have said that the world is a necessary emanation arising from God and returning to him. Still others have affirmed the existence of two eternal principles, Good and Evil, Light and Darkness, locked, in permanent conflict (Dualism, Manichaeism). According to some of these conceptions, the world (at least the physical world) is evil, the product of a fall, and is thus to be rejected or left behind (Gnosticism). Some admit that the world was made by God, but as by a watch-maker who, once he has made a watch, abandons it to itself (Deism). Finally, others reject any transcendent origin for the world, but see it as merely the interplay of matter that has always existed (Materialism). All these attempts bear witness to the permanence and universality of the question of origins. This inquiry is distinctively human.

Catechesis on creation is of major importance. It concerns the very foundations of human and Christian life: for it makes explicit the Response of the Christian Faith to the basic question that men of all times have asked themselves: 120 "Where do we come from?" "Where are we going?" "What is our origin?" "What is our end?" "Where does everything that exists come from and where is it going?" the two questions, the first about the origin and the second about the end, are inseparable. They are decisive for the meaning and orientation of our life and actions.

Through the centuries many professions or symbols of Faith have been articulated in Response to the needs of the different eras: the creeds of the different apostolic and ancient Churches, 8 e.g., the Quicumque, also called the Athanasian Creed; 9 The professions of faith of certain Councils, such as Toledo, Lateran, Lyons, Trent; 10 or the symbols of certain popes, e.g., the Fides Damasi 11 or the Credo of the People of God of Paul VI. 12

Faith is a personal act - the free Response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. the believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others. Our Love for Jesus and for our neighbour impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith.

To be human, "man's Response to God by Faith must be free, and... therefore nobody is to be forced to embrace the faith against his will. the act of faith is of its very nature a free act." 39 "God calls men to serve him in spirit and in truth. Consequently they are bound to him in conscience, but not coerced. . . This fact received its fullest manifestation in Christ Jesus." 40 Indeed, Christ invited people to faith and conversion, but never coerced them. "For he bore witness to the truth but refused to use force to impose it on those who spoke against it. His kingdom... grows by the Love with which Christ, lifted up on the cross, draws men to himself." 41

By Faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God. 2 With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred Scripture calls this human Response to God, the author of revelation, "the obedience of faith". 3

By his Revelation, "the invisible God, from the fullness of his Love, addresses men as his friends, and moves among them, in order to invite and receive them into his own company." 1 The adequate Response to this invitation is Faith.

The Annunciation to Mary inaugurates "the fullness of time", 119 The time of the fulfilment of God's promises and preparations. Mary was invited to conceive him in whom the "whole fullness of deity" would dwell "bodily". 120 The divine Response to her question, "How can this be, since I know not man?", was given by the power of the Spirit: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you." 121

To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy. When therefore he establishes his eternal plan of "predestination", he includes in it each person's free Response to his grace: "In this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place." 395 For the sake of accomplishing his plan of salvation, God permitted the acts that flowed from their blindness. 396 "He died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures"

The hymns and litanies of the Liturgy of the Hours integrate the Prayer of the psalms into the age of the Church, expressing the symbolism of the time of day, the liturgical season, or the feast being celebrated. Moreover, the reading from the Word of God at each Hour (with the subsequent Responses or troparia) and readings from the Fathers and spiritual masters at certain Hours, reveal more deeply the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, assist in understanding the psalms, and prepare for silent prayer. the lectio divina, where the Word of God is so read and meditated that it becomes prayer, is thus rooted in the liturgical celebration.

The liturgy of the Word is an integral part of sacramental celebrations. To nourish the Faith of believers, the signs which accompany the Word of God should be emphasized: the book of the Word (a lectionary or a book of the Gospels), its veneration (procession, incense, candles), the place of its proclamation (lectern or ambo), its audible and intelligible reading, the minister's homily which extends its proclamation, and the Responses of the assembly (acclamations, meditation psalms, litanies, and profession of faith).

A sacramental celebration is a meeting of God's children with their Father, in Christ and the Holy Spirit; this meeting takes the form of a dialogue, through actions and words. Admittedly, the symbolic actions are already a language, but the Word of God and the Response of Faith have to accompany and give life to them, so that the seed of the Kingdom can bear its fruit in good soil. the liturgical actions signify what the Word of God expresses: both his free initiative and his people's response of faith.

"By the saving word of God, Faith . . . is nourished in the hearts of believers. By this faith then the congregation of the Faithful begins and grows." 21 The proclamation does not stop with a teaching; it elicits the Response of faith as consent and commitment, directed at the covenant between God and his people. Once again it is the Holy Spirit who gives the grace of faith, strengthens it and makes it grow in the community. the liturgical assembly is first of all a communion in faith.

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.

In the liturgy the Holy Spirit is teacher of the Faith of the People of God and artisan of "God's masterpieces," the sacraments of the New Covenant. the desire and work of the Spirit in the heart of the Church is that we may live from the life of the risen Christ. When the Spirit encounters in us the Response of faith which he has aroused in us, he brings about genuine cooperation. Through it, the liturgy becomes the common work of the Holy Spirit and the Church.

The dual dimension of the Christian liturgy as a Response of Faith and Love to the spiritual blessings the Father bestows on us is thus evident. On the one hand, the Church, united with her Lord and "in the Holy Spirit," 5 blesses the Father "for his inexpressible gift 6 in her adoration, praise, and thanksgiving. On the other hand, until the consummation of God's plan, the Church never ceases to present to the Father the offering of his own gifts and to beg him to send the Holy Spirit upon that offering, upon herself, upon the Faithful, and upon the whole world, so that through communion in the death and resurrection of Christ the Priest, and by the power of the Spirit, these divine blessings will bring forth the fruits of life "to the praise of his glorious grace." 7

"Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways." 325 The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People, 326 "the first to hear the Word of God." 327 The Jewish Faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a Response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ", 328 "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable." 329

We begin our profession of Faith by saying: "I believe" or "We believe". Before expounding the Church's faith, as confessed in the Creed, celebrated in the liturgy and lived in observance of God's commandments and in Prayer, we must first ask what "to believe" means. Faith is man's Response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life. Thus we shall consider first that search (Chapter One), then the divine Revelation by which God comes to meet man (Chapter Two), and finally the response of faith (Chapter Three).