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

Conscience enables one to assume responsibility for the acts performed. If man commits evil, the just judgment of conscience can remain within him as the Witness to the universal Truth of the good, at the same time as the evil of his particular choice. the verdict of the judgment of conscience remains a pledge of hope and mercy. In attesting to the fault committed, it calls to mind the forgiveness that must be asked, the good that must still be practiced, and the virtue that must be constantly cultivated with the Grace of God:

In the formation of conscience the Word of God is the light for our path, 54 we must assimilate it in Faith and Prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord's Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the Witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church. 55

The disciple of Christ must not only keep the Faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear Witness to it, and spread it: "All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks." 82 Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for Salvation: "So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." 83

Sins can be distinguished according to their objects, as can every human act; or according to the virtues they oppose, by excess or defect; or according to the commandments they violate. They can also be classed according to whether they concern God, neighbor, or oneself; they can be divided into spiritual and carnal sins, or again as sins in thought, word, deed, or oMission. the root of sin is in the heart of man, in his free will, according to the teaching of the Lord: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false Witness, slander. These are what defile a man." 128 But in the heart also resides Charity, the source of the good and pure works, which sin wounds.

Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false Witness, Do not defraud, Honor your Father and your mother." 132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.

God has not willed to reserve to himself all exercise of power. He entrusts to every creature the functions it is capable of performing, according to the capacities of its own nature. This mode of governance ought to be followed in social life. the way God acts in governing the world, which Bears Witness to such great regard for human freedom, should inspire the wisdom of those who govern human communities. They should behave as ministers of divine providence.

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

It is in the Church, in Communion with all the baptized, that the Christian fulfills his vocation. From the Church he receives the Word of God containing the teachings of "the law of Christ." 72 From the Church he receives the Grace of the Sacraments that sustains him on the "way." From the Church he learns the example of holiness and recognizes its model and source in the all-holy Virgin Mary; he discerns it in the authentic Witness of those who live it; he discovers it in the spiritual Tradition and long history of the Saints who have gone before him and whom the Liturgy celebrates in the rhythms of the sanctoral cycle.

The fidelity of the baptized is a primordial condition for the proclamation of the Gospel and for the Church's Mission in the world. In order that the message of Salvation can show the power of its Truth and radiance before men, it must be authenticated by the Witness of the life of Christians. "The witness of a Christian life and good works done in a supernatural spirit have great power to draw men to the Faith and to God." 88

Our moral life has its source in Faith in God who reveals his Love to us. St. Paul speaks of the "obedience of faith" 9 as our first obligation. He shows that "ignorance of God" is the principle and explanation of all moral deviations. 10 Our duty toward God is to believe in him and to bear Witness to him.

The Faithful should bear Witness to the Lord's name by confessing the Faith without giving way to fear. 76 Preaching and catechizing should be permeated with adoration and respect for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The second commandment forbids false oaths. Taking an oath or swearing is to take God as Witness to what one affirms. It is to invoke the divine Truthfulness as a pledge of one's own Truthfulness. An oath engages the Lord's name. "You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve him, and swear by his name." 81

Rejection of false oaths is a duty toward God. As Creator and Lord, God is the norm of all Truth. Human speech is either in accord with or in opposition to God who is Truth itself. When it is truthful and legitimate, an oath highlights the relationship of human speech with God's truth. A false oath calls on God to be Witness to a lie.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained the second commandment: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not swear at all.... Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one." 82 Jesus teaches that every oath involves a reference to God and that God's presence and his Truth must be honored in all speech. Discretion in calling upon God is allied with a respectful awareness of his presence, which all our assertions either Witness to or mock.

Moral conscience, 48 present at the heart of the perSon, enjoins him at the appropriate moment to do good and to avoid evil. It also judges particular choices, approving those that are good and denouncing those that are evil. 49 It Bears Witness to the authority of Truth in reference to the supreme Good to which the human person is drawn, and it welcomes the commandments. When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man can hear God speaking.

By his reaSon, man recognizes the voice of God which urges him "to do what is good and avoid what is evil." 9 Everyone is obliged to follow this law, which makes itself heard in conscience and is fulfilled in the Love of God and of neighbor. Living a moral life Bears Witness to the Dignity of the person.

In the Latin Rite, the ordinary minister of Confirmation is the bishop. 130 Although the bishop may for grave reaSons concede to priests the faculty of administering Confirmation, 131 it is appropriate from the very meaning of the Sacrament that he should confer it himself, mindful that the Celebration of Confirmation has been temporally separated from Baptism for this reason. Bishops are the successors of the apostles. They have received the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders. the administration of this sacrament by them demonstrates clearly that its effect is to unite those who receive it more closely to the Church, to her apostolic origins, and to her Mission of bearing Witness to Christ.

As early as the second century we have the Witness of St. Justin Martyr for the basic lines of the order of the Eucharistic Celebration. They have stayed the same until our own day for all the great liturgical families. St. Justin wrote to the pagan emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161) around the year 155, explaining what Christians did:

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

Word and Sacrament form an indivisible whole. the Liturgy of the Word, preceded by an act of repentance, opens the Celebration. the words of Christ, the Witness of the apostles, awaken the Faith of the sick perSon and of the community to ask the Lord for the strength of his Spirit.

"Amongst those various offices which have been exercised in the Church from the earliest times the chief place, according to the Witness of Tradition, is held by the function of those who, through their appointment to the Dignity and responsibility of bishop, and in virtue consequently of the unbroken succession going back to the beginning, are regarded as transmitters of the apostolic line." 34

Seeing God's covenant with Israel in the image of exclusive and Faithful married Love, the Prophets prepared the Chosen People's conscience for a deepened understanding of the unity and indissolubility of marriage. 102 The books of Ruth and Tobit bear moving Witness to an elevated sense of marriage and to the fidelity and tenderness of spouses. Tradition has always seen in the Song of Solomon a unique expression of human love, a pure reflection of God's love - a love "strong as death" that "many waters cannot quench." 103

The priest (or deacon) who assists at the Celebration of a marriage receives the consent of the spouses in the name of the Church and gives the blessing of the Church. the presence of the Church's minister (and also of the Witnesses) visibly expresses the fact that marriage is an ecclesial reality.

This is the reaSon why the Church normally requires that the Faithful contract marriage according to the ecclesiastical form. Several reasons converge to explain this requirement: 132 - Sacramental marriage is a liturgical act. It is therefore appropriate that it should be celebrated in the public Liturgy of the Church; - Marriage introduces one into an ecclesial order, and creates rights and duties in the Church between the spouses and towards their children; - Since marriage is a state of life in the Church, certainty about it is necessary (hence the obligation to have Witnesses); - the public character of the consent protects the "I do" once given and helps the spouses remain Faithful to it.

The deepest reaSon is found in the fidelity of God to his covenant, in that of Christ to his Church. Through the Sacrament of Matrimony the spouses are enabled to represent this fidelity and Witness to it. Through the sacrament, the indissolubility of marriage receives a new and deeper meaning.

It can seem difficult, even impossible, to bind oneself for life to another human being. This makes it all the more important to proclaim the Good News that God Loves us with a definitive and irrevocable love, that married couples share in this love, that it supports and sustains them, and that by their own Faithfulness they can be Witnesses to God's Faithful love. Spouses who with God's Grace give this witness, often in very difficult conditions, deserve the gratitude and support of the ecclesial community. 156

It is here that the Father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way "by the reception of the Sacraments, Prayer and thanksgiving, the Witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active Charity." 168 Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and "a school for human enrichment." 169 Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal Love, generous - even repeated - forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one's life.

Following St. Paul, 83 The Tradition of the Church has understood Jesus' words as not excluding oaths made for grave and right reaSons (for example, in court). "An oath, that is the invocation of the divine name as a Witness to Truth, cannot be taken unless in Truth, in judgment, and in justice." 84

Participation in the communal Celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being Faithful to Christ and to his Church. the Faithful give Witness by this to their Communion in faith and Charity. Together they testify to God's holiness and their hope of Salvation. They strengthen one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Detraction and calumny destroy the reputation and honor of one's neighbor. Honor is the social Witness given to human Dignity, and everyone enjoys a natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and to respect. Thus, detraction and calumny offend against the virtues of justice and Charity.

Moral judgment must condemn the plague of totalitarian states which systematically falsify the Truth, exercise political control of opinion through the media, manipulate defendants and Witnesses at public trials, and imagine that they secure their tyranny by strangling and repressing everything they consider "thought crimes."

Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the perSon. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it Bears Witness. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the Dignity of persons and their solidarity.

"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the Prophets bear Witness to it, the righteousness of God through Faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." 332 Henceforth, Christ's Faithful "have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires"; they are led by the Spirit and follow the desires of the Spirit. 333

Man is in search of God. In the act of creation, God calls every being from nothingness into existence. "Crowned with glory and honor," man is, after the angels, capable of acknowledging "how majestic is the name of the Lord in all the earth." 1 Even after losing through his sin his likeness to God, man remains an image of his Creator, and retains the desire for the one who calls him into existence. All religions bear Witness to men's essential search for God. 2

The drama of Prayer is fully revealed to us in the Word who became flesh and dwells among us. To seek to understand his prayer through what his Witnesses proclaim to us in the Gospel is to approach the holy Lord Jesus as Moses approached the burning bush: first to contemplate him in prayer, then to hear how he teaches us to pray, in order to know how he hears our prayer.

The Gospel according to St. Luke emphasizes the action of the Holy Spirit and the meaning of Prayer in Christ's ministry. Jesus prays before the decisive moments of his Mission: before his Father's Witness to him during his Baptism and Transfiguration, and before his own fulfillment of the Father's plan of Love by his Passion. 43 He also prays before the decisive moments involving the mission of his apostles: at his election and call of the Twelve, before Peter's confession of him as "the Christ of God," and again that the Faith of the chief of the Apostles may not fail when tempted. 44 Jesus' prayer before the events of Salvation that the Father has asked him to fulfill is a humble and trusting commitment of his human will to the loving will of the Father.

Praise is the form of Prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS. It shares in the blessed happiness of the pure of heart who Love God in Faith before seeing him in glory. By praise, the Spirit is joined to our spirits to bear Witness that we are children of God, 121 testifying to the only Son in whom we are adopted and by whom we glorify the Father. Praise embraces the other forms of prayer and carries them toward him who is its source and goal: the "one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist." 122

The Revelation of "what must soon take place," the Apocalypse, is borne along by the Songs of the heavenly Liturgy 127 but also by the intercession of the "Witnesses" (martyrs). 128 The Prophets and the Saints, all those who were slain on earth for their witness to Jesus, the vast throng of those who, having come through the great tribulation, have gone before us into the Kingdom, all sing the praise and glory of him who sits on the throne, and of the Lamb. 129 In Communion with them, the Church on earth also sings these songs with Faith in the midst of trial. By means of petition and intercession, faith hopes against all hope and gives thanks to the "Father of lights," from whom "every perfect gift" comes down. 130 Thus faith is pure praise.

The Witnesses who have preceded us into the kingdom, 41 especially those whom the Church recognizes as Saints, share in the living Tradition of Prayer by the example of their lives, the transMission of their writings, and their prayer today. They contemplate God, praise him and constantly care for those whom they have left on earth. When they entered into the joy of their Master, they were "put in charge of many things." 42 Their intercession is their most exalted service to God's plan. We can and should ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world.

In the Communion of Saints, many and varied spiritualities have been developed throughout the history of the Churches. the perSonal charism of some Witnesses to God's Love for men has been handed on, like "the spirit" of Elijah to Elisha and John the Baptist, so that their followers may have a share in this spirit. 43 A distinct spirituality can also arise at the point of convergence of liturgical and theological currents, bearing witness to the integration of the Faith into a particular human environment and its history. the different schools of Christian spirituality share in the living Tradition of Prayer and are essential guides for the Faithful. In their rich diversity they are refractions of the one pure light of the Holy Spirit.

The Christian family is the first place of education in Prayer. Based on the Sacrament of marriage, the family is the "domestic Church" where God's children learn to pray "as the Church" and to persevere in prayer. For young children in particular, daily family prayer is the first Witness of the Church's living memory as awakened patiently by the Holy Spirit.

False Witness and perjury. When it is made publicly, a statement contrary to the Truth takes on a particular gravity. In court it becomes false witness. 275 When it is under oath, it is perjury. Acts such as these contribute to condemnation of the innocent, exoneration of the guilty, or the increased punishment of the accused. 276 They gravely compromise the exercise of justice and the fairness of judicial decisions.

The Church has painstakingly collected the records of those who persevered to the end in Witnessing to their Faith. These are the acts of the Martyrs. They form the archives of Truth written in letters of blood:

Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear Witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. the home is well suited for education in the virtues. This requires an apprenticeship in self-denial, sound judgment, and self-mastery - the preconditions of all true freedom. Parents should teach their children to subordinate the "material and instinctual dimensions to interior and spiritual ones." 31 Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. By knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents will be better able to guide and correct them:

Education in the Faith by the parents should begin in the child's earliest years. This already happens when family members help one another to grow in faith by the Witness of a Christian life in keeping with the Gospel. Family catechesis precedes, accompanies, and enriches other forms of instruction in the faith. Parents have the Mission of teaching their children to pray and to discover their vocation as children of God. 35 The parish is the Eucharistic community and the heart of the liturgical life of Christian families; it is a privileged place for the catechesis of children and parents.

Those who renounce violence and bloodshed and, in order to safeguard human rights, make use of those means of defense available to the weakest, bear Witness to evangelical Charity, provided they do so without harming the rights and obligations of other men and societies. They bear legitimate witness to the gravity of the physical and moral risks of recourse to violence, with all its destruction and death. 103

Charity is the form of all the virtues. Under its influence, chastity appears as a school of the gift of the perSon. Self-mastery is ordered to the gift of self. Chastity leads him who practices it to become a Witness to his neighbor of God's fidelity and loving kindness.

Fidelity expresses constancy in keeping one's given word. God is Faithful. the Sacrament of Matrimony enables man and woman to enter into Christ's fidelity for his Church. Through conjugal chastity, they bear Witness to this mystery before the world.

"Christian revelation . . . promotes deeper understanding of the laws of social living." 198 The Church receives from the Gospel the full revelation of the Truth about man. When she fulfills her Mission of proclaiming the Gospel, she Bears Witness to man, in the name of Christ, to his Dignity and his vocation to the Communion of perSons. She teaches him the demands of justice and peace in conformity with divine wisdom.

It is not the role of the Pastors of the Church to intervene directly in the political structuring and organization of social life. This task is part of the vocation of the lay Faithful, acting on their own initiative with their fellow citizens. Social action can assume various concrete forms. It should always have the common good in view and be in conformity with the message of the Gospel and the teaching of the Church. It is the role of the laity "to animate temporal realities with Christian commitment, by which they show that they are Witnesses and agents of peace and justice." 230

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

The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the Truth in our relations with others. This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to bear Witness to their God who is the Truth and wills the truth. Offenses against the truth express by word or deed a refusal to commit oneself to moral uprightness: they are fundamental infidelities to God and, in this sense, they undermine the foundations of the covenant.

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

Before Pilate, Christ proclaims that he "has come into the world, to bear Witness to the Truth." 265 The Christian is not to "be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord." 266 In situations that require witness to the Faith, the Christian must profess it without equivocation, after the example of St. Paul before his judges. We must keep "a clear conscience toward God and toward men." 267

The duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act as Witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it. This witness is a transMission of the Faith in words and deeds. Witness is an act of justice that establishes the Truth or makes it known. 268 All Christians by the example of their lives and the witness of their word, wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they have put on in Baptism and to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were strengthened at Confirmation.

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

Christian Prayer extends to the forgiveness of enemies, 144 transfiguring the disciple by configuring him to his Master. Forgiveness is a high-point of Christian prayer; only hearts attuned to God's compassion can receive the gift of prayer. Forgiveness also Bears Witness that, in our world, Love is stronger than sin. the martyrs of yesterday and today bear this witness to Jesus. Forgiveness is the fundamental condition of the reconciliation of the children of God with their Father and of men with one another. 145

From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of Baptismal Grace: - it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!"; 115 - it unites us more firmly to Christ; - it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us; - it renders our bond with the Church more perfect; 116 - it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the Faith by word and action as true Witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross: 117

While not being formally identified with them, catechesis is built on a certain number of elements of the Church's pastoral Mission which have a catechetical aspect, that prepare for catechesis, or spring from it. They are: the initial proclamation of the Gospel or missionary preaching to arouse Faith; examination of the reaSons for belief; experience of Christian living; Celebration of the Sacraments; integration into the ecclesial community; and apostolic and missionary Witness. 9

"We know that in everything God works for good for those who Love him." 180 The constant Witness of the Saints confirms this Truth:

The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls "angels" is a Truth of Faith. the Witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition.

As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are perSonal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendour of their glory Bears Witness. 190

Scripture Witnesses to the disastrous influence of the one Jesus calls "a murderer from the beginning", who would even try to divert Jesus from the Mission received from his Father. 273 "The reaSon the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." 274 In its consequences the gravest of these works was the mendacious seduction that led man to disobey God.

People are sometimes troubled by the silence of St. Mark's Gospel and the New Testament Epistles about Jesus' virginal conception. Some might wonder if we were merely dealing with legends or theological constructs not claiming to be history. To this we must respond: Faith in the virginal conception of Jesus met with the lively opposition, mockery or incomprehension of non-believers, Jews and pagans alike; 151 so it could hardly have been motivated by pagan mythology or by some adaptation to the ideas of the age. the meaning of this event is accessible only to faith, which understands in it the "connection of these mysteries with one another" 152 in the totality of Christ's mysteries, from his Incarnation to his Passover. St. Ignatius of Antioch already Bears Witness to this connection: "Mary's virginity and giving birth, and even the Lord's death escaped the notice of the prince of this world: these three mysteries worthy of proclamation were accomplished in God's silence." 153

St. John the Baptist is the Lord's immediate precursor or forerunner, sent to prepare his way. 196 "Prophet of the Most High", John surpasses all the Prophets, of whom he is the last. 197 He inaugurates the Gospel, already from his mother's womb welcomes the coming of Christ, and rejoices in being "the friend of the bridegroom", whom he points out as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world". 198 Going before Jesus "in the spirit and power of Elijah", John Bears Witness to Christ in his preaching, by his Baptism of conversion, and through his Martyrdom. 199

Jesus was born in a humble stable, into a poor family. 202 Simple shepherds were the first Witnesses to this event. In this poverty heaven's glory was made manifest. 203 The Church never tires of singing the glory of this night:

The signs worked by Jesus attest that the Father has sent him. They invite belief in him. 269 To those who turn to him in Faith, he grants what they ask. 270 So miracles strengthen faith in the One who does his Father's works; they bear Witness that he is the Son of God. 271 But his miracles can also be occasions for "offence"; 272 they are not intended to satisfy people's curiosity or desire for magic Despite his evident miracles some people reject Jesus; he is even accused of acting by the power of demons. 273

From the day Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Master "began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things. . . and be killed, and on the third day be raised." 290 Peter scorns this prediction, nor do the others understand it any better than he. 291 In this context the mysterious episode of Jesus' Transfiguration takes place on a high mountain, 292 before three Witnesses chosen by himself: Peter, James and John. Jesus' face and clothes become dazzling with light, and Moses and Elijah appear, speaking "of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem". 293 A cloud covers him and a voice from heaven says: "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" 294

How will Jerusalem welcome her Messiah? Although Jesus had always refused popular attempts to make him king, he chooses the time and prepares the details for his messianic entry into the city of "his Father David". 308 Acclaimed as Son of David, as the one who brings Salvation (Hosanna means "Save!" or "Give salvation!"), the "King of glory" enters his City "riding on an ass". 309 Jesus conquers the Daughter of Zion, a figure of his Church, neither by ruse nor by violence, but by the humility that Bears Witness to the Truth. 310 and so the subjects of his kingdom on that day are children and God's poor, who acclaim him as had the angels when they announced him to the shepherds. 311 Their acclamation, "Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord", 312 is taken up by the Church in the Sanctus of the Eucharistic Liturgy that introduces the memorial of the Lord's Passover.

On the threshold of his Passion Jesus announced the coming destruction of this splendid building, of which there would not remain "one stone upon another". 356 By doing so, he announced a sign of the last days, which were to begin with his own Passover. 357 But this prophecy would be distorted in its telling by false Witnesses during his interrogation at the high priest's house, and would be thrown back at him as an insult when he was nailed to the cross. 358

In her Magisterial teaching of the Faith and in the Witness of her Saints, the Church has never forgotten that "sinners were the authors and the ministers of all the sufferings that the divine Redeemer endured." 389 Taking into account the fact that our sins affect Christ himself, 390 The Church does not hesitate to impute to Christians the gravest responsibility for the torments inflicted upon Jesus, a responsibility with which they have all too often burdened the Jews alone:

The mystery of Christ's resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were historically verified, as the New Testament Bears Witness. In about A.D. 56 St. Paul could already write to the Corinthians: "I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. . ." 490 The Apostle speaks here of the living Tradition of the Resurrection which he had learned after his conversion at the gates of Damascus. 491

The Witness of Scripture is unanimous that the solicitude of divine providence is concrete and immediate; God cares for all, from the least things to the great events of the world and its history. the sacred books powerfully affirm God's absolute sovereignty over the course of events: "Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases." 162 and so it is with Christ, "who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens". 163 As the book of Proverbs states: "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established." 164

Scripture Bears Witness to Faith in creation "out of nothing" as a Truth full of promise and hope. Thus the mother of seven Sons encourages them for Martyrdom:

"Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice." 5 Although man can forget God or reject him, He never ceases to call every man to seek him, so as to find life and happiness. But this search for God demands of man every effort of intellect, a sound will, "an upright heart", as well as the Witness of others who teach him to seek God.

This living transMission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, "the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes." 37 "The sayings of the holy Fathers are a Witness to the life-giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her belief and her Prayer." 38

Indeed, "the economy of the Old Testament was deliberately SO oriented that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, redeemer of all men." 93 "Even though they contain matters imperfect and provisional, 94 The books of the OldTestament bear Witness to the whole divine pedagogy of God's saving Love: these writings "are a storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful treasury of Prayers; in them, too, the mystery of our Salvation is present in a hidden way." 95

The Old Testament is rich in Witnesses to this Faith. the Letter to the Hebrews proclaims its eulogy of the exemplary faith of the ancestors who "received divine approval". 10 Yet "God had foreseen something better for us": the Grace of believing in his Son Jesus, "the pioneer and perfecter of our faith". 11

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

It is then we must turn to the Witnesses of Faith: to Abraham, who "in hope... believed against hope"; 51 to the Virgin Mary, who, in "her pilgrimage of faith", walked into the "night of faith" 52 in sharing the darkness of her Son's suffering and death; and to so many others: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith." 53

Through the centuries, in so many languages, cultures, peoples and nations, the Church has constantly confessed this one Faith, received from the one Lord, transmitted by one Baptism, and grounded in the conviction that all people have only one God and Father. 58 St. Irenaeus of Lyons, a Witness of this faith, declared:

God is also Truthful when he reveals himself - the teaching that comes from God is "true instruction". 35 When he sends his Son into the world it will be "to bear Witness to the Truth": 36 "We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, to know him who is true." 37

And so the readings of the Easter Vigil, the Celebration of the new creation in Christ, begin with the creation account; likewise in the Byzantine Liturgy, the account of creation always constitutes the first reading at the vigils of the great feasts of the Lord. According to ancient Witnesses the instruction of catechumens for Baptism followed the same itinerary. 119

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.

Thus the revelation of creation is inseparable from the revelation and forging of the covenant of the one God with his People. Creation is revealed as the first step towards this covenant, the first and universal Witness to God's all-powerful Love. 126 and so, the Truth of creation is also expressed with growing vigour in the message of the Prophets, the Prayer of the psalms and the Liturgy, and in the wisdom sayings of the Chosen People. 127

Everything that happened during those Paschal days involves each of the apostles - and Peter in particular - in the building of the new era begun on Easter morning. As Witnesses of the Risen One, they remain the foundation stones of his Church. the Faith of the first community of believers is based on the witness of concrete men known to the Christians and for the most part still living among them. Peter and the Twelve are the primary "witnesses to his Resurrection", but they are not the only ones - Paul speaks clearly of more than five hundred perSons to whom Jesus appeared on a single occasion and also of James and of all the apostles. 501

O truly blessed Night, sings the Exsultet of the Easter Vigil, which alone deserved to know the time and the hour when Christ rose from the realm of the dead! 512 But no one was an eyeWitness to Christ's Resurrection and no evangelist describes it. No one can say how it came about physically. Still less was its innermost essence, his passing over to another life, perceptible to the senses. Although the Resurrection was an historical event that could be verified by the sign of the empty tomb and by the reality of the apostles' encounters with the risen Christ, still it remains at the very heart of the mystery of Faith as something that transcends and surpasses history. This is why the risen Christ does not reveal himself to the world, but to his disciples, "to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people." 513

Being seated at the Father's right hand signifies the inauguration of the Messiah's kingdom, the fulfilment of the prophet Daniel's vision concerning the Son of man: "To him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." 546 After this event the apostles became Witnesses of the "kingdom [that] will have no end". 547

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

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

By a "life perfectly and entirely consecrated to [such] sanctification," the members of these institutes share in the Church's task of evangelization, "in the world and from within the world," where their presence acts as "leaven in the world." 471 "Their Witness of a Christian life" aims "to order temporal things according to God and inform the world with the power of the gospel." They commit themselves to the evangelical counsels by sacred bonds and observe among themselves the Communion and fellowship appropriate to their "particular secular way of life." 472

In the Church, which is like the Sacrament - the sign and instrument - of God's own life, the consecrated life is seen as a special sign of the mystery of redemption. To follow and imitate Christ more nearly and to manifest more clearly his self-emptying is to be more deeply present to one's contemporaries, in the heart of Christ. For those who are on this "narrower" path encourage their brethren by their example, and bear striking Witness "that the world cannot be transfigured and offered to God without the spirit of the beatitudes." 475

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:

To be a Witness to Christ is to be a "witness to his Resurrection," to "[have eaten and drunk] with him after he rose from the dead." 547 Encounters with the risen Christ characterize the Christian hope of resurrection. We shall rise like Christ, with him, and through him.

It is this mystery of Christ that the Church proclaims and celebrates in her Liturgy so that the Faithful may live from it and bear Witness to it in the world:

The epiclesis is also a Prayer for the full effect of the assembly's Communion with the mystery of Christ. "The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit" 28 have to remain with us always and bear fruit beyond the Eucharistic Celebration. the Church therefore asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit to make the lives of the Faithful a living sacrifice to God by their spiritual transformation into the image of Christ, by concern for the Church's unity, and by taking part in her Mission through the Witness and service of Charity.

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.

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:

The mystery of Christ is so unfathomably rich that it cannot be exhausted by its expression in any single liturgical Tradition. the history of the blossoming and development of these rites Witnesses to a remarkable complementarity. When the Churches lived their respective liturgical traditions in the Communion of the Faith and the Sacraments of the faith, they enriched one another and grew in fidelity to Tradition and to the common Mission of the whole Church. 66

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

"Thus, every perSon, through these gifts given to him, is at once the Witness and the living instrument of the Mission of the Church itself 'according to the measure of Christ's bestowal."' 452

"Christ . . . fulfills this prophetic office, not only by the hierarchy . . . but also by the laity. He accordingly both establishes them as Witnesses and provides them with the sense of the Faith [sensus fidei] and the Grace of the word" 438

Before his Ascension Christ affirmed that the hour had not yet come for the glorious establishment of the messianic kingdom awaited by Israel 561 which, according to the Prophets, was to bring all men the definitive order of justice, Love and peace. 562 According to the Lord, the present time is the time of the Spirit and of Witness, but also a time still marked by "distress" and the trial of evil which does not spare the Church 563 and ushers in the struggles of the last days. It is a time of waiting and watching. 564

The Church, a Communion living in the Faith of the apostles which she transmits, is the place where we know the Holy Spirit: - in the Scriptures he inspired; - in the Tradition, to which the Church Fathers are always timely Witnesses; - in the Church's Magisterium, which he assists; - in the Sacramental Liturgy, through its words and symbols, in which the Holy Spirit puts us into communion with Christ; - in Prayer, wherein he intercedes for us; - in the charisms and ministries by which the Church is built up; - in the signs of apostolic and Missionary life; - in the witness of Saints through whom he manifests his holiness and continues the work of Salvation.

This divine pedagogy appears especially in the gift of the Law. 72 God gave the letter of the Law as a "pedagogue" to lead his people towards Christ. 73 But the Law's powerlessness to save man deprived of the divine "likeness," along with the growing awareness of sin that it imparts, 74 enkindles a desire for the Holy Spirit. the lamentations of the Psalms bear Witness to this.

John the Baptist is "more than a prophet." 94 In him, the Holy Spirit concludes his speaking through the Prophets. John completes the cycle of prophets begun by Elijah. 95 He proclaims the imminence of the consolation of Israel; he is the "voice" of the Consoler who is coming. 96 As the Spirit of Truth will also do, John "came to bear Witness to the light." 97 In John's sight, the Spirit thus brings to completion the careful search of the prophets and fulfills the longing of the angels. 98 "He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. and I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.... Behold, the Lamb of God." 99

Jesus does not reveal the Holy Spirit fully, until he himself has been glorified through his Death and Resurrection. Nevertheless, little by little he alludes to him even in his teaching of the multitudes, as when he reveals that his own flesh will be food for the life of the world. 110 He also alludes to the Spirit in speaking to Nicodemus, 111 to the Samaritan woman, 112 and to those who take part in the feast of Tabernacles. 113 To his disciples he speaks openly of the Spirit in connection with Prayer 114 and with the Witness they will have to bear. 115

Only when the hour has arrived for his glorification does Jesus promise the coming of the Holy Spirit, since his Death and Resurrection will fulfill the promise made to the Fathers. 116 The Spirit of Truth, the other Paraclete, will be given by the Father in answer to Jesus' Prayer; he will be sent by the Father in Jesus' name; and Jesus will send him from the Father's side, since he comes from the Father. the Holy Spirit will come and we shall know him; he will be with us for ever; he will remain with us. the Spirit will teach us everything, remind us of all that Christ said to us and bear Witness to him. the Holy Spirit will lead us into all Truth and will glorify Christ. He will prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment.

Thus the Church's Mission is not an addition to that of Christ and the Holy Spirit, but is its Sacrament: in her whole being and in all her members, the Church is sent to announce, bear Witness, make present, and spread the mystery of the Communion of the Holy Trinity (the topic of the next article):

Because the Holy Spirit is the anointing of Christ, it is Christ who, as the head of the Body, pours out the Spirit among his members to nourish, heal, and organize them in their mutual functions, to give them life, send them to bear Witness, and associate them to his self-offering to the Father and to his intercession for the whole world. Through the Church's Sacraments, Christ communicates his Holy and sanctifying Spirit to the members of his Body. (This will be the topic of Part Two of the Catechism.)

"The holy People of God shares also in Christ's prophetic office," above all in the supernatural sense of Faith that belongs to the whole People, lay and clergy, when it "unfailingly adheres to this faith . . . once for all delivered to the Saints," 210 and when it deepens its understanding and becomes Christ's Witness in the midst of this world.

Only Faith can recognize that the Church possesses these properties from her divine source. But their historical manifestations are signs that also speak clearly to human reaSon. As the First Vatican Council noted, the "Church herself, with her marvellous propagation, eminent holiness, and inexhaustible fruitfulness in everything good, her catholic unity and invincible stability, is a great and perpetual motive of credibility and an irrefutable Witness of her divine Mission." 258

The Church is apostolic because she is founded on the apostles, in three ways: - she was and remains built on "the foundation of the Apostles," 362 The Witnesses chosen and sent on Mission by Christ himself; 363 - with the help of the Spirit dwelling in her, the Church keeps and hands on the teaching, 364 The "good deposit," the salutary words she has heard from the apostles; 365 - she continues to be taught, sanctified, and guided by the apostles until Christ's return, through their successors in pastoral office: the college of bishops, "assisted by priests, in union with the successor of Peter, the Church's supreme pastor": 366

In the office of the apostles there is one aspect that cannot be transmitted: to be the chosen Witnesses of the Lord's Resurrection and so the foundation stones of the Church. But their office also has a permanent aspect. Christ promised to remain with them always. the divine Mission entrusted by Jesus to them "will continue to the end of time, since the Gospel they handed on is the lasting source of all life for the Church. Therefore, . . . the apostles took care to appoint successors." 373

Likewise, it belongs to the Sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry that it have a collegial character. In fact, from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus instituted the Twelve as "the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy." 395 Chosen together, they were also sent out together, and their fraternal unity would be at the service of the fraternal Communion of all the Faithful: they would reflect and Witness to the communion of the divine perSons. 396 For this reason every bishop exercises his ministry from within the episcopal college, in communion with the bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter and head of the college. So also priests exercise their ministry from within the presbyterium of the diocese, under the direction of their bishop.

Finally, it belongs to the Sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry that it have a perSonal character. Although Chnst's ministers act in Communion with one another, they also always act in a personal way. Each one is called personally: "You, follow me" 397 in order to be a personal Witness within the common Mission, to bear personal responsibility before him who gives the mission, acting "in his person" and for other persons: "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ..."; "I absolve you...."

Baptism, the Eucharist, and the Sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the "sacraments of Christian initiation," whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the Faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal Grace. 88 For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true Witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the Faith by word and deed." 89