At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. After the universal judgment, the righteous will reign for ever with Christ, glorified in body and Soul. the universe itself will be renewed:

Among the penitent's acts contrition occupies first place. Contrition is "sorrow of the Soul and detestation for the Sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again." 50

Confession to a priest is an essential part of the Sacrament of Penance: "All mortal Sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these Sins sometimes wound the Soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly." 54

Christ's compassion toward the sick and his many healings of every kind of infirmity are a resplendent sign that "God has visited his people" 103 and that the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive Sins; 104 he has come to heal the whole man, Soul and body; he is the physician the sick have need of. 105 His compassion toward all who suffer goes so far that he identifies himself with them: "I was sick and you visited me." 106 His preferential Love for the sick has not ceased through the centuries to draw the very special attention of Christians toward all those who suffer in body and soul. It is the source of tireless efforts to comfort them.

"Heal the sick!" 120 The Church has received this charge from the Lord and strives to carry it out by taking care of the sick as well as by accompanying them with her Prayer of intercession. She believes in the life-giving presence of Christ, the physician of Souls and bodies. This presence is particularly active through the Sacraments, and in an altogether special way through the Eucharist, the bread that gives eternal life and that St. Paul suggests is connected with bodily health. 121

A particular Gift of the Holy Spirit. the first Grace of this Sacrament is one of strengthening, peace and courage to overcome the difficulties that go with the condition of serious illness or the frailty of old age. This grace is a gift of the Holy Spirit, who renews trust and Faith in God and strengthens against the temptations of the evil one, the temptation to discouragement and anguish in the face of death. 134 This assistance from the Lord by the power of his Spirit is meant to lead the sick perSon to healing of the Soul, but also of the body if such is God's will. 135 Furthermore, "if he has committed Sins, he will be forgiven." 136

"Conjugal Love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the perSon enter - appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of will. It aims at a deeply personal Unity, a unity that, beyond union in one Flesh, leads to forming one Heart and Soul; it demands indissolubility and Faithfulness in definitive mutual giving; and it is open to fertility. In a word it is a question of the normal characteristics of all natural conjugal love, but with a new significance which not only purifies and strengthens them, but raises them to the extent of making them the expression of specifically Christian values." 150

Endowed with "a spiritual and immortal" Soul, 5 The human perSon is "the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake." 6 From his conception, he is destined for eternal beatitude.

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

The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our Souls and bodies, who forgave the Sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health, 3 has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation, even among her own members. This is the purpose of the two Sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

In an ancient Prayer the Church acclaims the Mystery of the Eucharist: "O sacred banquet in which Christ is received as food, the memory of his Passion is renewed, the Soul is filled with Grace and a pledge of the life to come is given to us." If the Eucharist is the memorial of the Passover of the Lord Jesus, if by our Communion at the altar we are filled "with every heavenly blesSing and grace," 239 then the Eucharist is also an anticipation of the heavenly glory.

"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.

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

Like Baptism which it completes, Confirmation is given only once, for it too imprints on the Soul an indelible spiritual mark, the "character," which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit by clothing him with power from on high so that he may be his witness. 119

The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the Sacraments as "the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend." 199 In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist "the body and blood, together with the Soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained." 200 "This presence is called 'real' - by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be 'real' too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present." 201

Before so great a Sacrament, the Faithful can only echo humbly and with ardent Faith the words of the Centurion: "Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea" ("Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my Soul will be healed."). 217 and in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom the faithful pray in the same spirit:

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

Sexuality affects all aspects of the human perSon in the Unity of his body and Soul. It especially concerns affectivity, the capacity to Love and to procreate, and in a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of Communion with others.

The Church makes a moral judgment about economic and social matters, "when the fundamental rights of the perSon or the salvation of Souls requires it." 199 In the moral order she bears a mission distinct from that of political authorities: the Church is concerned with the temporal aspects of the common good because they are ordered to the sovereign Good, our ultimate end. She strives to inspire right attitudes with respect to earthly goods and in socio-economic relationships.

The practice of goodness is accompanied by spontaneous spiritual joy and moral beauty. Likewise, truth carries with it the joy and splendor of spiritual beauty. Truth is beautiful in itself. Truth in words, the rational expression of the knowledge of created and uncreated reality, is necessary to man, who is endowed with intellect. But truth can also find other complementary forms of human expression, above all when it is a matter of evoking what is beyond words: the depths of the human Heart, the exaltations of the Soul, the Mystery of God. Even before revealing himself to man in words of truth, God reveals himself to him through the universal language of creation, the work of his Word, of his wisdom: the order and harmony of the cosmos - which both the child and the scientist discover - "from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator," "for the author of beauty created them." 289

Where does Prayer come from? Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming the source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the Soul or the spirit, but most often of the Heart (more than a thousand times). According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain.

Through his Word, God speaks to man. By words, mental or vocal, our Prayer takes Flesh. Yet it is most important that the Heart should be present to him to whom we are speaking in prayer: "Whether or not our prayer is heard depends not on the number of words, but on the fervor of our Souls." 2

This need also corresponds to a divine requirement. God seeks worshippers in Spirit and in Truth, and consequently living Prayer that rises from the depths of the Soul. He also wants the external expression that associates the body with interior prayer, for it renders him that perfect homage which is his due.

What is contemplative Prayer? St. Teresa answers: "Contemplative prayer [oracion mental] in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know Loves us." 6 Contemplative prayer seeks him "whom my Soul loves." 7 It is Jesus, and in him, the Father. We seek him, because to desire him is always the beginning of love, and we seek him in that pure Faith which causes us to be born of him and to live in him. In this inner prayer we can still meditate, but our attention is fixed on the Lord himself.

Grammatically, "our" qualifies a reality common to more than one perSon. There is only one God, and he is recognized as Father by those who, through Faith in his only Son, are reborn of him by water and the Spirit. 47 The Church is this new Communion of God and men. United with the only Son, who has become "the firstborn among many brethren," she is in communion with one and the same Father in one and the same Holy Spirit. 48 In praying "our" Father, each of the baptized is praying in this communion: "The company of those who believed were of one Heart and Soul." 49

Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our Souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.

It is a part of the Church's mission "to pass moral judgments even in matters related to politics, whenever the fundamental rights of man or the salvation of Souls requires it. the means, the only means, she may use are those which are in accord with the Gospel and the welfare of all men according to the diversity of times and circumstances." 53

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

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

Venial Sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the Soul's progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not set us in direct opposition to the will and friendship of God; it does not break the covenant with God. With God's Grace it is humanly reparable. "Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness." 134

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 Grace of Christ is the gratuitous Gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our Soul to heal it of Sin and to sanctify it. It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism. It is in us the source of the work of sanctification: 48

Sanctifying Grace is an habitual Gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the Soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his Love. Habitual grace, the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God's call, is distinguished from actual graces which refer to God's interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification.

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

The Church, the "pillar and bulwark of the truth," "has received this solemn command of Christ from the apostles to announce the saving truth." 74 "To the Church belongs the right always and everywhere to announce moral principles, including those pertaining to the social order, and to make judgments on any human affairs to the extent that they are required by the fundamental rights of the human perSon or the salvation of Souls." 75

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.

The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, 152 and temptation, which leads to Sin and death. 153 We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a "delight to the eyes" and desirable, 154 when in reality its fruit is death. God does not want to impose the good, but wants free beings.... There is a certain usefulness to temptation. No one but God knows what our Soul has received from him, not even we ourselves. But temptation reveals it in order to teach us to know ourselves, and in this way we discover our evil inclinations and are obliged to give thanks for the goods that temptation has revealed to us. 155

The human perSon: with his openness to truth and beauty, his sense of moral goodness, his freedom and the voice of his conscience, with his longings for the infinite and for happiness, man questions himself about God's existence. In all this he discerns signs of his spiritual Soul. the soul, the "seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material", 9 can have its origin only in God.

Following St. Paul, the Church has always taught that the overwhelming misery which oppresses men and their inclination towards evil and death cannot be understood apart from their connection with Adam's Sin and the fact that he has transmitted to us a sin with which we are all born afflicted, a sin which is the "death of the Soul". 291 Because of this certainty of Faith, the Church baptizes for the remission of Sins even tiny infants who have not committed perSonal sin. 292

The Nestorian heresy regarded Christ as a human perSon joined to the divine person of God's Son. OppoSing this heresy, St. Cyril of Alexandria and the third ecumenical council, at Ephesus in 431, confessed "that the Word, uniting to himself in his person the Flesh animated by a rational Soul, became man." 89 Christ's humanity has no other Subject than the divine person of the Son of God, who assumed it and made it his own, from his conception. For this reason the Council of Ephesus proclaimed in 431 that Mary truly became the Mother of God by the human conception of the Son of God in her womb: "Mother of God, not that the nature of the Word or his divinity received the beginning of its existence from the holy Virgin, but that, since the holy body, animated by a rational soul, which the Word of God United to himself according to the hypostasis, was born from her, the Word is said to be born according to the flesh." 90

The Monophysites affirmed that the human nature had ceased to exist as such in Christ when the divine perSon of God's Son assumed it. Faced with this heresy, the fourth ecumenical council, at Chalcedon in 451, confessed: Following the holy Fathers, we unanimously teach and confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, composed of rational Soul and body; consubstantial with the Father as to his divinity and consubstantial with us as to his humanity; "like us in all things but Sin". He was begotten from the Father before all ages as to his divinity and in these last days, for us and for our salvation, was born as to his humanity of the virgin Mary, the Mother of God. 91

Because "human nature was assumed, not absorbed", 97 in the mysterious union of the Incarnation, the Church was led over the course of centuries to confess the full reality of Christ's human Soul, with its operations of intellect and will, and of his human body. In parallel fashion, she had to recall on each occasion that Christ's human nature belongs, as his own, to the divine perSon of the Son of God, who assumed it. Everything that Christ is and does in this nature derives from "one of the Trinity".

Apollinarius of Laodicaea asserted that in Christ the divine Word had replaced the Soul or spirit. Against this error the Church confessed that the eternal Son also assumed a rational, human soul. 100

This human Soul that the Son of God assumed is endowed with a true human knowledge. As such, this knowledge could not in itself be unlimited: it was exercised in the historical conditions of his existence in space and time. This is why the Son of God could, when he became man, "increase in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man", 101 and would even have to inquire for himself about what one in the human condition can learn only from experience. 102 This corresponded to the reality of his voluntary emptying of himself, taking "the form of a slave". 103

"By the Grace of God" Jesus tasted death "for every one". 459 In his plan of salvation, God ordained that his Son should not only "die for our Sins" 460 but should also "taste death", experience the condition of death, the separation of his Soul from his body, between the time he expired on the cross and the time he was raised from the dead. the state of the dead Christ is the Mystery of the tomb and the descent into hell. It is the mystery of Holy Saturday, when Christ, lying in the tomb, 461 reveals God's great sabbath rest 462 after the fulfilment 463 of man's salvation, which brings peace to the whole universe. 464

Since the "Author of life" who was killed 467 is the same "living one [who has] risen", 468 The divine perSon of the Son of God necessarily continued to possess his human Soul and body, separated from each other by death:

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

The harmony in which they had found themselves, thanks to original justice, is now destroyed: the control of the Soul's spiritual faculties over the body is shattered; the union of man and woman becomes Subject to tensions, their relations henceforth marked by lust and domination. 282 Harmony with creation is broken: visible creation has become alien and hostile to man. 283 Because of man, creation is now subject "to its bondage to decay". 284 Finally, the consequence explicitly foretold for this disobedience will come true: man will "return to the ground", 285 for out of it he was taken. Death makes its entrance into human history. 286

Sometimes the Soul is distinguished from the spirit: St. Paul for instance prays that God may sanctify his people "wholly", with "spirit and soul and body" kept sound and blameless at the Lord's coming. 236 The Church teaches that this distinction does not introduce a duality into the soul. 237 "Spirit" signifies that from creation man is ordered to a supernatural end and that his soul can gratuitously be raised beyond all it deserves to Communion with God. 238

"It is clear therefore that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of Souls." 62

"and such is the force and power of the Word of God that it can serve the Church as her support and vigour, and the children of the Church as strength for their Faith, food for the Soul, and a pure and lasting fount of spiritual life." 109 Hence "access to Sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian Faithful." 110

"Therefore, the study of the sacred page should be the very Soul of sacred theology. the ministry of the Word, too - pastoral preaching, catechetics and all forms of Christian instruction, among which the liturgical homily should hold pride of place - is healthily nourished and thrives in holiness through the Word of Scripture." 111

"Indeed, the Church, though scattered throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, having received the Faith from the apostles and their disciples. . . guards [this preaching and faith] with care, as dwelling in but a Single house, and similarly believes as if having but one Soul and a single Heart, and preaches, teaches and hands on this faith with a unanimous voice, as if possessing only one mouth." 59

To Israel, his chosen, God revealed himself as the only One: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one LORD; and you shall Love the LORD your God with all your Heart, and with all your Soul, and with all your might." 4 Through the prophets, God calls Israel and all nations to turn to him, the one and only God: "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.. . To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 'Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength.'" 5

Jesus himself affirms that God is "the one Lord" whom you must Love "with all your Heart, and with all your Soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength". 6 At the same time Jesus gives us to understand that he himself is "the Lord". 7 To confess that Jesus is Lord is distinctive of Christian Faith. This is not contrary to belief in the One God. Nor does believing in the Holy Spirit as "Lord and giver of life" introduce any division into the One God:

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 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

The Unity of Soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the "form" of the body: 234 i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures United, but rather their union forms a Single nature.

The Church teaches that every spiritual Soul is created immediately by God - it is not "produced" by the parents - and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reUnited with the body at the final Resurrection. 235

The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was "raised from the dead" presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his Resurrection. 477 This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ's descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his Soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Saviour, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits impriSoned there. 478

Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God. 479 Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into "Abraham's bosom": 480 "It is precisely these holy Souls, who awaited their Saviour in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell." 481 Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him. 482

The term "Flesh" refers to man in his state of weakness and mortality. 534 The "Resurrection of the flesh" (the literal formulation of the Apostles' Creed) means not only that the immortal Soul will live on after death, but that even our "mortal body" will come to life again. 535

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

What is "riSing"? In death, the separation of the Soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus' Resurrection.

In expectation of that day, the believer's body and Soul already participate in the dignity of belonging to Christ. This dignity entails the demand that he should treat with respect his own body, but also the body of every other perSon, especially the suffering:

To rise with Christ, we must die with Christ: we must "be away from the body and at home with the Lord." 562 In that "departure" which is death the Soul is separated from the body. 563 It will be reUnited with the body on the day of Resurrection of the dead. 564

Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine Grace manifested in Christ. 590 The New Testament speaks of judgment primarily in its aspect of the final encounter with Christ in his second coming, but also repeatedly affirms that each will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and Faith. the parable of the poor man Lazarus and the words of Christ on the cross to the good thief, as well as other New Testament texts speak of a final destiny of the Soul -a destiny which can be different for some and for others. 591

Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal Soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification 592 or immediately, 593 -or immediate and everlasting damnation. 594

Jesus often speaks of "Gehenna" of "the unquenchable fire" reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted, where both Soul and body can be lost. 612 Jesus solemnly proclaims that he "will send his angels, and they will gather . . . all evil doers, and throw them into the furnace of fire," 613 and that he will pronounce the condemnation: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire!" 614

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

"Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original Sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and Soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death." 506 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians:

The Fathers contemplate the Resurrection from the perspective of the divine perSon of Christ who remained United to his Soul and body, even when these were separated from each other by death: "By the Unity of the divine nature, which remains present in each of the two components of man, these are reunited. For as death is produced by the separation of the human components, so Resurrection is achieved by the union of the two." 519

"What the Soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the Church." 243 "To this Spirit of Christ, as an invisible principle, is to be ascribed the fact that all the parts of the body are joined one with the other and with their exalted head; for the whole Spirit of Christ is in the head, the whole Spirit is in the body, and the whole Spirit is in each of the members." 244 The Holy Spirit makes the Church "the temple of the living God": 245

The Church is one because of her source: "the highest exemplar and source of this Mystery is the Unity, in the Trinity of PerSons, of one God, the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit." 259 The Church is one because of her founder: for "the Word made Flesh, the prince of peace, reconciled all men to God by the cross, . . . restoring the unity of all in one people and one body." 260 The Church is one because of her "Soul": "It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who believe and pervading and ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that wonderful Communion of the Faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that he is the principle of the Church's unity." 261 Unity is of the essence of the Church:

Certain things are required in order to respond adequately to this call: - a permanent renewal of the Church in greater fidelity to her vocation; such renewal is the driving-force of the movement toward Unity; 280 - conversion of Heart as the Faithful "try to live holier lives according to the Gospel"; 281 for it is the unFaithfulness of the members to Christ's Gift which causes divisions; - Prayer in common, because "change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the Soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name 'spiritual ecumenism;"' 282 -fraternal knowledge of each other; 283 - ecumenical formation of the faithful and especially of priests; 284 - dialogue among theologians and meetings among Christians of the different churches and communities; 285 - collaboration among Christians in various areas of service to mankind. 286 "Human service" is the idiomatic phrase.

Charity is the Soul of the holiness to which all are called: it "governs, shapes, and perfects all the means of sanctification." 297

By her very mission, "the Church . . . travels the same journey as all humanity and shares the same earthly lot with the world: she is to be a leaven and, as it were, the Soul of human society in its renewal by Christ and transformation into the family of God." 351 Missionary endeavor requires patience. It begins with the proclamation of the Gospel to peoples and groups who do not yet believe in Christ, 352 continues with the establishment of Christian communities that are "a sign of God's presence in the world," 353 and leads to the foundation of local churches. 354 It must involve a process of inculturation if the Gospel is to take Flesh in each people's culture. 355 There will be times of defeat. "With regard to individuals, groups, and peoples it is only by degrees that [the Church] touches and penetrates them and so receives them into a fullness which is Catholic." 356

"Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the Church's whole apostolate"; thus the fruitfulness of apostolate for ordained ministers as well as for lay people clearly depends on their vital union with Christ. 378 In keeping with their vocations, the demands of the times and the various Gifts of the Holy Spirit, the apostolate assumes the most varied forms. But charity, drawn from the Eucharist above all, is always "as it were, the Soul of the whole apostolate." 379

The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the Souls of those who die in a state of mortal Sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire." 615 The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.