Catechism of the Catholic Church

Prologue

I. The Life of Man - To Know and Love God

II. Handing on the Faith: Catechesis

III. The Aim and Intended Readership of This Catechism

IV. Structure of This Catechism

V. Practical Directions For Using This Catechism

VI. Necessary Adaptations

Part One: The Profession of Faith

Section One: "I Believe"—"We Believe"

Chapter One: Man's Capacity For God

I. The Desire For God

II. Ways of Coming to Know God

III. The Knowledge of God According to the Church

IV. How Can We Speak About God?

In Brief

Chapter Two: God Comes to Meet Man

Article 1. The Revelation of God

I. God Reveals His "Plan of Loving Goodness"

II. The Stages of Revelation

III. Christ Jesus—"Mediator and Fullness of All Revelation"

In Brief

Article 2. The Transmission of Divine Revelation

I. The Apostolic Tradition

II. The Relationship Between Tradition and Sacred Scripture

III. The Interpretation of the Heritage of Faith

In Brief

Article 3. Sacred Scripture

I. Christ—The Unique Word of Sacred Scripture

II. Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture

III. The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture

IV. The Canon of Scripture

V. Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church

In Brief

Chapter Three: Man's Response to God

Article 1. I Believe

I. The Obedience of Faith

II. "I Know Whom I Have Believed"

III. The Characteristics of Faith

Article 2. We Believe

I. "Lord, Look Upon the Faith of Your Church"

II. The Language of Faith

III. Only One Faith

In Brief

The Credo

Section Two: The Creeds

Chapter One: I Believe in God the Father

Article 1. "I Believe in God The Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth"

Paragraph 1. I Believe in God

I. "I Believe in One God"

II. God Reveals His Name

III. God, "He Who IS", is Truth and Love

IV. The Implications of Faith in One God

In Brief

Paragraph 2. The Father

I. "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"

II. The Revelation of God as Trinity

III. The Holy Trinity in the Teaching of the Faith

IV. The Divine Works and the Trinitarian Missions

In Brief

Paragraph 3. The Almighty

In Brief

Paragraph 4. The Creator

I. Catechesis on Creation

II. Creation—Work of the Holy Trinity

III. "The World Was Created For the Glory of God"

IV. The Mystery of Creation

V. God Carries Out His Plan: Divine Providence

In Brief

Paragraph 5. Heaven and Earth

I. The Angels

II. The Visible World

In Brief

Paragraph 6. Man

I. "In the Image of God"

II. "Body and Soul But Truly One"

III. "Male and Female He Created Them"

IV. Man in Paradise

In Brief

Paragraph 7. The Fall

I. Where Sin Abounded, Grace Abounded All The More

II. The Fall of the Angels

III. Original Sin

IV. "You Did Not Abandon Him To The Power of Death"

In Brief

Chapter Two: I Believe In Jesus Christ, The Only Son of God

Article 2. "And In Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord"

I. Jesus

II. Christ

III. The Only Son of God

IV. Lord

In Brief

Article 3. "He Was Conceived By the Power of the Holy Spirit, And Was Born of the Virgin Mary"

Paragraph 1. The Son of God Became Man

I. Why Did The Word Become Flesh?

II. The Incarnation

III. True God and True Man

IV. How is the Son of God Man?

In Brief

Paragraph 2. "Conceived By the Power of the Holy Spirit and Born of the Virgin Mary"

I. Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit…

II. …Born of the Virgin Mary

In Brief

Paragraph 3. The Mysteries of Christ's Life

I. Christ's Whole Life is Mystery

II. The Mysteries of Jesus' Infancy and Hidden Life

III. The Mysteries of Jesus' Public Life

In Brief

Article 4. "Jesus Christ Suffered Under Pontius Pilate, Was Crucified, Died, and Was Buried"

Paragraph 1. Jesus and Israel

I. Jesus and The Law

II. Jesus and The Temple

III. Jesus and Israel's Faith in the One God and Savior

In Brief

Paragraph 2. Jesus Died Crucified

I. The Trial of Jesus

II. Christ's Redemptive Death in God's Plan of Salvation

III. Christ Offered Himself To His Father For Our Sins

In Brief

Paragraph 3. Jesus Christ Was Buried

In Brief

Article 5. "He Descended Into Hell. On The Third Day He Rose Again"

Paragraph 1. Christ Descended Into Hell

In Brief

Paragraph 2. On the Third Day He Rose From the Dead

I. The Historical and Transcendent Event

II. The Resurrection—A Work of the Holy Trinity

III. The Meaning and Saving Significance of the Resurrection

In Brief

Article 6. "He Ascended Into Heaven and is Seated at the Right Hand of the Father

In Brief

Article 7. "From Thence He Will Come Again to Judge the Living and the Dead"

I. He Will Come Again in Glory

II. To Judge the Living and the Dead

In Brief

Chapter Three: I Believe in the Holy Spirit

Article 8. "I Believe in the Holy Spirit"

I. The Joint Mission of the Son and the Spirit

II. The Name, Titles, and Symbols of the Holy Spirit

III. God's Spirit and Word in the Time of the Promises

IV. The Spirit of Christ in the Fullness of Time

V. The Spirit and the Church in the Last Days

In Brief

Article 9. "I Believe in the Holy Catholic Church"

Paragraph 1. The Church in God's Plan

I. Names and Images of the Church

II. The Church's Origin, Foundation, and Mission

III. The Mystery of the Church

In Brief

Paragraph 2. The Church—People of God, Body of Christ, Temple of the Holy Spirit

I. The Church—People of God

II. The Church—Body of Christ

III. The Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit

In Brief

Paragraph 3. The Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic

I. The Church is One

II. The Church is Holy

III. The Church is Catholic

IV. The Church is Apostolic

In Brief

Paragraph 4. Christ's Faithful—Hierarchy, Laity, Consecrated Life

I. The Hierarchical Constitution of the Church

II. The Lay Faithful

III. The Consecrated Life

In Brief

Paragraph 5. The Communion of Saints

I. Communion in Spiritual Goods

II. The Communion of the Church of Heaven and Earth

In Brief

Paragraph 6. Mary—Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church

I. Mary's Motherhood With Regard to the Church

II. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin

III. Mary—Eschatological Icon of the Church

In Brief

Article 10. "I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins"

I. One Baptism For the Forgiveness of Sins

II. The Power of the Keys

Article 11. "I Believe in the Resurrection of the Body"

I. Christ's Resurrection and Ours

II. Dying in Christ Jesus

In Brief

Article 12. "I Believe in Life Everlasting"

I. The Particular Judgment

II. Heaven

III. The Final Purification, or Purgatory

IV. Hell

V. The Last Judgment

VI. Hope of the New Heaven and the New Earth

In Brief

"Amen"

Part Two: The Celebration of the Christian Mystery

Section One: The Sacramental Economy

Chapter One: The Paschal Mystery in the Age of the Church

Article 1. The Liturgy—Work of the Holy Trinity

I. The Father—Source and Goal of the Liturgy

II. Christ's Work in the Liturgy

III. The Holy Spirit and the Church in the Liturgy

In Brief

Article 2. The Paschal Mystery in the Church's Sacraments

I. The Sacraments of Christ

II. The Sacraments of the Church

III. The Sacraments of Faith

IV. The Sacraments of Salvation

V. The Sacraments of Eternal Life

In Brief

Chapter Two: The Sacramental Celebration of the Paschal Mystery

Article 1. Celebrating the Church's Liturgy

I. Who Celebrates?

II. How is the Liturgy Celebrated?

III. When is the Liturgy Celebrated?

IV. Where is the Liturgy Celebrated?

In Brief

Article 2. Liturgical Diversity and the Unity of the Mystery

In Brief

Section Two: The Seven Sacraments of the Church

Chapter One: The Sacraments of Christian Initiation

Article 1. The Sacrament of Baptism

I. What is This Sacrament Called?

II. Baptism in the Economy of Savlation

III. How is the Sacrament of Baptism Celebrated?

IV. Who Can Receive Baptism?

V. Who Can Baptize?

VI. The Necessity of Baptism

VII. The Grace of Baptism

In Brief

Article 2. The Sacrament of Confirmation

I. Confirmation in the Economy of Salvation

II. The Signs and the Rite of Confirmation

III. The Effects of Confirmation

IV. Who Can Receive This Sacrament?

V. The Minister of Confirmation

In Brief

Article 3. The Sacrament of the Eucharist

I. The Eucharist—Source and Summit of Ecclesial Life

II. What is This Sacrament Called?

III. The Eucharist in the Economy of Salvation

IV. The Liturgical Celebration of the Eucharist

V. The Sacramental Sacrifice Thanksgiving, Memorial, Presence

VI. The Paschal Banquet

VII. The Eucharist—"Pledge of the Glory to Come"

In Brief

Chapter Two: The Sacraments of Healing

Article 4. The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation

I. What is This Sacrament Called?

II. Why a Sacrament of Reconciliation after Baptism?

III. The Conversion of the Baptized

IV. Interior Penance

V. The Many Forms of Penance in Christian Life

VI. The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation

VII. The Acts of the Penitent

VIII. The Minister of This Sacrament

IX. The Effects of This Sacrament

X. Indulgences

XI. The Celebration of the Sacrament of Penance

In Brief

Article 5. The Anointing of the Sick

I. Its Foundation in the Economy of Salvation

II. Who Receives and Who Administers This Sacrament

III. How is This Sacrament Celebrated?

IV. The Effects of the Celebration of This Sacrament

V. Viaticum, the Last Sacrament of the Christian

In Brief

Chapter Three: The Sacraments at the Service of Communion

Article 6. The Sacrament of Holy Orders

I. Why Is This Sacrament Called "Orders"?

II. The Sacrament of Holy Orders in the Economy of Salvation

III. The Three Degrees of the Sacrament of Holy Orders

IV. The Celebration of This Sacrament

V. Who Can Confer This Sacrament?

VI. Who Can Receive This Sacrament?

VII. The Effects of the Sacrament of Holy Orders

In Brief

Article 7. The Sacrament of Matrimony

I. Marriage in God's Plan

II. The Celebration of Marriage

III. Matrimonial Consent

IV. The Effects of the Sacrament of Matrimony

V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love

VI. The Domestic Church

In Brief

Chapter Four: Other Liturgical Celebrations

Article 1. Sacramentals

In Brief

Article 2. Christian Funerals

I. The Christian's Last Passover

II. The Celebration of Funerals

Part Three: Life in Christ

Section One: Man's Vocation Life in the Spirit

Chapter One: The Dignity of the Human Person

Article 1. Man: The Image of God

In Brief

Article 2. Our Vocation to Beatitude

I. The Beatitudes

II. The Desire for Happiness

III. Christian Beatitude

In Brief

Article 3. Man's Freedom

I. Freedom and Responsibility

II. Human Freedom in the Economy of Salvation

In Brief

Article 4. The Morality of Human Acts

I. The Sources of Morality

II. Good Acts and Evil Acts

In Brief

Article 5. The Morality of the Passions

I. Passions

II. Passions and Moral Life

In Brief

Article 6. Moral Conscience

I. The Judgment of Conscience

II. The Formation of Conscience

III. To Choose in Accord With Conscience

IV. Erroneous Judgment

In Brief

Article 7. The Virtues

I. The Human Virtues

II. The Theological Virtues

III. The Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit

In Brief

Article 8. Sin

I. Mercy and Sin

II. The Definition of Sin

III. The Different Kinds of Sins

IV. The Gravity of Sin: Mortal and Venial Sin

V. The Proliferation of Sin

In Brief

Chapter Two: The Human Communion

Article 1. The Person and Society

I. The Communal Character of the Human Vocation

II. Conversion and Society

In Brief

Article 2. Participation in Social Life

I. Authority

II. The Common Good

III. Responsibility and Participation

In Brief

Article 3. Social Justice

I. Respect for the Human Person

II. Equality and Differences Among Men

III. Human Solidarity

In Brief

Chapter Three: God's Salvation—Law and Grace

Article 1. The Moral Law

I. The Natural Moral Law

II. The Old Law

III. The New Law or the Law of the Gospel

In Brief

Article 2. Grace and Justification

I. Justification

II. Grace

III. Merit

IV. Christian Holiness

In Brief

Article 3. The Church, Mother and Teacher

I. Moral Life and the Magisterium of the Church

II. The Precepts of the Church

III. Moral Life and Missionary Witness

In Brief

Section Two: The Ten Commandments

In Brief

Chapter One: You Shall Love the Lord Your God With All Your Heart, And With All Your Soul, And With All Your Mind

Article 1. The First Commandment

I. "You Shall Worship the Lord Your God and Him Only Shall You Serve"

II. "Him Only Shall You Serve"

III. "You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me"

IV. "You Shall Not Make For Yourself a Graven Image…"

In Brief

Article 2. The Second Commandment

I. The Name of the Lord is Holy

II. Taking the Name of the Lord in Vain

III. The Christian Name

In Brief

Article 3. The Third Commandment

I. The Sabbath Day

II. The Lord's Day

In Brief

Chapter Two: You Shall Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

Article 4. The Fourth Commandment

I. The Family in God's Plan

II. The Family and Society

III. The Duties of Family Members

IV. The Family and the Kingdom

V. The Authorities In Civil Society

In Brief

Article 5. The Fifth Commandment

I. Respect for Human Life

II. Respect for the Dignity of Persons

III. Safeguarding Peace

In Brief

Article 6. The Sixth Commandment

I. "Male and Female He Created Them…"

II. The Vocation to Chastity

III. The Love of Husband and Wife

IV. Offenses Against the Dignity of Marriage

In Brief

Article 7. The Seventh Commandment

I. The Universal Destination and the Private Ownership of Goods

II. Respect for Persons and Their Goods

III. The Social Doctrine of the Church

IV. Economic Activity and Social Justice

V. Justice and Solidarity Among Nations

VI. Love For the Poor

In Brief

Article 8. The Eighth Commandment

I. Living in the Truth

II. To Bear Witness to the Truth

III. Offenses Against Truth

IV. Respect for the Truth

V. The Use of the Social Communications Media

VI. Truth, Beauty, and Sacred Art

In Brief

Article 9. The Ninth Commandment

I. Purification of the Heart

II. The Battle for Purity

In Brief

Article 10. The Tenth Commandment

I. The Disorder of Covetous Desires

II. The Desires of the Spirit

III. Poverty of Heart

IV. "I Want to See God"

In Brief

Part Four: Christian Prayer

Section One: Prayer in the Christian Life

Chapter One: The Revelation of Prayer—The Universal Call to Prayer

Article 1. In the Old Testament

In Brief

Article 2. In the Fullness of Time

In Brief

Article 3. In the Age of the Church

I. Blessing and Adoration

II. Prayer of Petition

III. Prayer of Intercession

IV. Prayer of Thanksgiving

V. Prayer of Praise

In Brief

Chapter Two: The Tradition of Prayer

Article 1. At the Wellsprings of Prayer

In Brief

Article 2. The Way of Prayer

In Brief

Article 3. Guides for Prayer

In Brief

Chapter Three: The Life of Prayer

Article 1. Expressions of Prayer

I. Vocal Prayer

II. Meditation

III. Contemplative Prayer

In Brief

Article 2. The Battle of Prayer

I. Objections to Prayer

II. Humble Vigilance of Heart

III. Filial Trust

IV. Perservering in Love

Article 3. The Prayer of the Hour of Jesus

In Brief

Section Two: The Lord's Prayer "Our Father!"

Article 1. "The Summary of the Whole Gospel"

I. At the Center of the Scriptures

II. The Lord's Prayer

III. The Prayer of the Church

In Brief

Article 2. "Our Father Who Art in Heaven"

I. "We Dare to Say"

II. Abba—"Father!"

III. "Our" Father

IV. "Who Art in Heaven"

In Brief

Article 3. The Seven Petitions

I. "Hallowed be Thy Name"

II. "Thy Kingdom Come"

III. "Thy Will Be Done on Earth as It is in Heaven"

IV. "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread"

V. "And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, as We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us"

VI. "And Lead Us Not Into Temptation"

VII. "But Deliver Us From Evil"

Article 4. The Final Doxology

In Brief

Table of Contents