"Although he was a Son, [Jesus] learned obedience through what he suffered." 104 How much more reason have we sinful creatures to learn obedience - we who in him have become children of adoption. We ask our Father to unite our will to his Son's, in order to fulfill his will, his plan of salvation for the life of the world. We are radically incapable of this, but United with Jesus and with the power of his Holy Spirit, we can surrender our will to him and decide to choose what his Son has always chosen: to do what is pleasing to the Father. 105

"Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred ordination." 66 The Lord Jesus chose men (viri) to form the college of the twelve Apostles, and the apostles did the same when they chose collaborators to succeed them in their ministry. 67 The college of Bishops, with whom the priests are United in the priesthood, makes the college of the twelve an ever-present and ever-active reality until Christ's return. The Church recognizes herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord himself. For this reaSon, the ordination of women is not possible. 68

In imparting to his Apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church. This ecclesial dimension of their task is expressed most notably in Christ's solemn words to Simon Peter: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 45 "The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of the apostles United to its Head." 46

The Unity of the Mystical Body: the Eucharist makes the Church. Those who receive the Eucharist are United more closely to Christ. Through it Christ unites them to all the Faithful in one body - the Church. Communion renews, strengthens, and deepens this incorporation into the Church, already achieved by Baptism. In Baptism we have been called to form but one body. 230 The Eucharist fulfills this call: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? the bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread:" 231

To the Offering of Christ are United not only the members still here on earth, but also those already in the Glory of heaven. In Communion with and commemorating the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, the Church offers the Eucharistic sacrifice. In the Eucharist the Church is as it were at the foot of the cross with Mary, united with the offering and intercession of Christ.

The whole Church is United with the Offering and intercession of Christ. Since he has the ministry of Peter in the Church, the Pope is associated with every celebration of the Eucharist, wherein he is named as the sign and servant of the Unity of the universal Church. the bishop of the place is always responsible for the Eucharist, even when a priest presides; the bishop's name is mentioned to signify his presidency over the particular Church, in the midst of his presbyterium and with the assistance of deacons. the community intercedes also for all ministers who, for it and with it, offer the Eucharistic sacrifice:

The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of the Church. the Church which is the Body of Christ participates in the Offering of her Head. With him, she herself is offered whole and entire. She unites herself to his intercession with the Father for all men. In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. the lives of the Faithful, their praise, sufferings, Prayer, and work, are United with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ's sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with his offering.

In the first centuries Confirmation generally comprised one single celebration with Baptism, forming with it a "double sacrament," according to the expression of St. Cyprian. Among other reaSons, the multiplication of infant baptisms all through the year, the increase of rural parishes, and the growth of dioceses often prevented the bishop from being present at all baptismal celebrations. In the West the desire to reserve the completion of Baptism to the bishop caused the temporal separation of the two sacraments. the East has kept them United, so that Confirmation is conferred by the priest who baptizes. But he can do so only with the "myron" consecrated by a bishop. 100

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 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.

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

It is the whole commUnity, the Body of Christ United with its Head, that celebrates. "Liturgical services are not private functions but are celebrations of the Church which is 'the sacrament of unity,' namely, the holy people united and organized under the authority of the Bishops. Therefore, liturgical services pertain to the whole Body of the Church. They manifest it, and have effects upon it. But they touch individual members of the Church in different ways, depending on their orders, their role in the liturgical services, and their actual participation in them." 7 For this reaSon, "rites which are meant to be celebrated in common, with the Faithful present and actively participating, should as far as possible be celebrated in that way rather than by an individual and quasi-privately." 8

The nuptial covenant between God and his people Israel had prepared the way for the new and everlasting covenant in which the Son of God, by becoming incarnate and giving his life, has United to himself in a certain way all mankind saved by him, thus preparing for "the wedding-feast of the Lamb." 104

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

Jesus also prays for us - in our place and on our behalf. All our petitions were gathered up, once for all, in his cry on the Cross and, in his Resurrection, heard by the Father. This is why he never ceases to intercede for us with the Father. 32 If our Prayer is resolutely United with that of Jesus, in trust and boldness as children, we obtain all that we ask in his name, even more than any particular thing: the Holy Spirit himself, who contains all gifts.

Mary is the perfect Orans (Prayer), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus' mother into our homes, 39 for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. the prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and United with it in hope. 40

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.

Even more, what the Father gives us when our Prayer is United with that of Jesus is "another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth." 81 This new dimension of prayer and of its circumstances is displayed throughout the farewell discourse. 82 In the Holy Spirit, Christian prayer is a Communion of love with the Father, not only through Christ but also in him: "Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." 83

In the New Covenant, Prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Kingdom is "the union of the entire holy and royal Trinity . . . with the whole human spirit." 12 Thus, the life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of the thrice-holy God and in Communion with him. This communion of life is always possible because, through Baptism, we have already been United with Christ. 13 Prayer is Christian insofar as it is communion with Christ and extends throughout the Church, which is his Body. Its dimensions are those of Christ's love. 14

Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death. the martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose, to whom he is United by charity. He bears witness to the truth of the faith and of Christian doctrine. He endures death through an act of fortitude. "Let me become the food of the beasts, through whom it will be given me to reach God." 270

A man and a woman United in marriage, together with their children, form a family. This institution is prior to any recognition by public authority, which has an obligation to recognize it. It should be considered the normal reference point by which the different forms of family relationship are to be evaluated.

We can therefore hope in the Glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. 92 In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere "to the end" 93 and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. In hope, the Church prays for "all men to be saved." 94 She longs to be United with Christ, her Bridegroom, in the glory of heaven:

Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, Christians are "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" and so participate in the life of the Risen Lord. 8 Following Christ and United with him, 9 Christians can strive to be "imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love" 10 by conforming their thoughts, words and actions to the "mind . . . which is yours in Christ Jesus," 11 and by following his example. 12

In the Latin Rite the celebration of marriage between two Catholic Faithful normally takes place during Holy Mass, because of the connection of all the sacraments with the Paschal mystery of Christ. 120 In the Eucharist the memorial of the New Covenant is realized, the New Covenant in which Christ has United himself for ever to the Church, his beloved bride for whom he gave himself up. 121 It is therefore fitting that the spouses should seal their consent to give themselves to each other through the Offering of their own lives by uniting it to the offering of Christ for his Church made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice, and by receiving the Eucharist so that, communicating in the same Body and the same Blood of Christ, they may form but "one body" in Christ. 122

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

For man, this consummation will be the final realization of the Unity of the human race, which God willed from creation and of which the pilgrim Church has been "in the nature of sacrament." 634 Those who are United with Christ will form the community of the redeemed, "the holy city" of God, "the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." 635 She will not be wounded any longer by sin, stains, self-love, that destroy or wound the earthly community. 636 The beatific vision, in which God opens himself in an inexhaustible way to the elect, will be the ever-flowing well-spring of happiness, peace, and mutual Communion.

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

The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the "one mediator between God and men". 452 But because in his incarnate divine perSon he has in some way United himself to every man, "the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery" is offered to all men. 453 He calls his disciples to "take up [their] cross and follow (him)", 454 for "Christ also suffered for (us), leaving (us) an example so that (we) should follow in his steps." 455 In fact Jesus desires to associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries. 456 This is achieved supremely in the case of his mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of his redemptive suffering. 457 Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven. 458

Jesus did not experience reprobation as if he himself had sinned. 405 But in the redeeming love that always United him to the Father, he assumed us in the state of our waywardness of sin, to the point that he could say in our name from the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 406 Having thus established him in solidarity with us sinners, God "did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all", so that we might be "reconciled to God by the death of his Son". 407

Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself lived, and he lives it in us. "By his Incarnation, he, the Son of God, has in a certain way United himself with each man." 193 We are called only to become one with him, for he enables us as the members of his Body to share in what he lived for us in his flesh as our model:

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 name "Jesus" signifies that the very name of God is present in the perSon of his Son, made man for the universal and definitive redemption from sins. It is the divine name that alone brings salvation, and henceforth all can invoke his name, for Jesus United himself to all men through his Incarnation, 23 so that "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." 24

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 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.

From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. 202 "Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life." 203 Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men United in God.

The Apostles entrusted the "Sacred deposit" of the faith (the depositum fidei), 45 contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to the whole of the Church. "By adhering to [this heritage] the entire holy people, United to its pastors, remains always Faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and the Prayers. So, in maintaining, practising and professing the faith that has been handed on, there should be a remarkable harmony between the Bishops and the faithful." 46

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

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

It is in the Church that Christ fulfills and reveals his own mystery as the purpose of God's plan: "to unite all things in him." 189 St. Paul calls the nuptial union of Christ and the Church "a great mystery." Because she is United to Christ as to her bridegroom, she becomes a mystery in her turn. 190 Contemplating this mystery in her, Paul exclaims: "Christ in you, the hope of Glory." 191

We cannot be United with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." 610 Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren. 611 To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from Communion with God and the blessed is called "hell."

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

United with Christ by Baptism, believers already truly participate in the heavenly life of the risen Christ, but this life remains "hidden with Christ in God." 558 The Father has already "raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." 559 Nourished with his body in the Eucharist, we already belong to the Body of Christ. When we rise on the last day we "also will appear with him in Glory." 560

The intercession of the saints. "Being more closely United to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness.... They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus.... So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped." 493

"The college or body of Bishops has no authority unless United with the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, as its Head." As such, this college has "supreme and full authority over the universal Church; but this power cannot be exercised without the agreement of the Roman Pontiff." 404

The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the "rock" of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock. 400 "The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of Apostles United to its Head." 401 This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church's very foundation and is continued by the Bishops under the primacy of the Pope.

When Christ instituted the Twelve, "he constituted [them] in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the Head of which he placed Peter, chosen from among them." 398 Just as "by the Lord's institution, St. Peter and the rest of the Apostles constitute a single apostolic college, so in like fashion the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, and the Bishops, the successors of the apostles, are related with and United to one another." 399

"The Church of Christ is really present in all legitimately organized local groups of the Faithful, which, in so far as they are United to their pastors, are also quite appropriately called Churches in the New Testament.... In them the faithful are gathered together through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, and the mystery of the Lord's Supper is celebrated.... In these communities, though they may often be small and poor, or existing in the diaspora, Christ is present, through whose power and influence the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church is constituted." 312

The word "catholic" means "universal," in the sense of "according to the totality" or "in keeping with the whole." the Church is catholic in a double sense: First, the Church is catholic because Christ is present in her. "Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church." 307 In her subsists the fullness of Christ's body United with its Head; this implies that she receives from him "the fullness of the means of salvation" 308 which he has willed: correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and ordained ministry in apostolic succession. the Church was, in this fundamental sense, catholic on the day of Pentecost 309 and will always be so until the day of the Parousia.

United with Christ, the Church is sanctified by him; through him and with him she becomes sanctifying. "All the activities of the Church are directed, as toward their end, to the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God." 292 It is in the Church that "the fullness of the means of salvation" 293 has been deposited. It is in her that "by the grace of God we acquire holiness." 294

Believers who respond to God's word and become members of Christ's Body, become intimately United with him: "In that body the life of Christ is communicated to those who believe, and who, through the sacraments, are united in a hidden and real way to Christ in his Passion and glorification." 220 This is especially true of Baptism, which unites us to Christ's death and Resurrection, and the Eucharist, by which "really sharing in the body of the Lord, . . . we are taken up into Communion with him and with one another." 221

The compariSon of the Church with the body casts light on the intimate bond between Christ and his Church. Not only is she gathered around him; she is United in him, in his body. Three aspects of the Church as the Body of Christ are to be more specifically noted: the Unity of all her members with each other as a result of their union with Christ; Christ as Head of the Body; and the Church as bride of Christ.