Catechism of the Catholic Church · Prologue (§§1–25)
Paragraphs · 25
The Catechism's text is under copyright, so each paragraph is quoted briefly here with a link to the full text at vatican.va.
I. The life of man - to know and love God
- §1 — God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life.vatican.va
- §2 — So that this call should resound throughout the world, Christ sent forth the apostles he had chosen, commissioning them to proclaim the gospel: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of…vatican.va
- §3 — Those who with God's help have welcomed Christ's call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world.vatican.va
II. Handing on the Faith: Catechesis
- §4 — Quite early on, the name catechesis was given to the totality of the Church's efforts to make disciples, to help men believe that Jesus is the Son of God so that believing they might have life in his name, and to educate and instruct them in this life, thus building up the body of Christ.vatican.va
- §5 — "Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people and adults which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life."vatican.va
- §6 — 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.vatican.va
- §7 — "Catechesis is intimately bound up with the whole of the Church's life. Not only her geographical extension and numerical increase, but even more her inner growth and correspondence with God's plan depend essentially on catechesis."vatican.va
- §8 — Periods of renewal in the Church are also intense moments of catechesis. In the great era of the Fathers of the Church, saintly bishops devoted an important part of their ministry to catechesis.vatican.va
- §9 — "The ministry of catechesis draws ever fresh energy from the councils. the Council of Trent is a noteworthy example of this. It gave catechesis priority in its constitutions and decrees.vatican.va
- §10 — It is therefore no surprise that catechesis in the Church has again attracted attention in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, which Pope Paul Vl considered the great catechism of modern times.vatican.va
III. The Aim and Intended Readership of the Catechism
- §11 — This catechism aims at presenting an organic synthesis of the essential and fundamental contents of Catholic doctrine, as regards both faith and morals, in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the whole of the Church's Tradition.vatican.va
- §12 — This work is intended primarily for those responsible for catechesis: first of all the bishops, as teachers of the faith and pastors of the Church.vatican.va
IV. Structure of this Catechism
- §13 — The plan of this catechism is inspired by the great tradition of catechisms which build catechesis on four pillars: the baptismal profession of faith (the Creed), the sacraments of faith, the life of faith (the Commandments), and the prayer of the believer (the Lord's Prayer).vatican.va
- §14 — Those who belong to Christ through faith and Baptism must confess their baptismal faith before men. First therefore the Catechism expounds revelation, by which God addresses and gives himself to man, and the faith by which man responds to God (Section One).vatican.va
- §15 — The second part of the Catechism explains how God's salvation, accomplished once for all through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, is made present in the sacred actions of the Church's liturgy (Section One), especially in the seven sacraments (Section Two).vatican.va
- §16 — The third part of the Catechism deals with the final end of man created in the image of God: beatitude, and the ways of reaching it - through right conduct freely chosen, with the help of God's law and grace (Section One), and through conduct…vatican.va
- §17 — The last part of the Catechism deals with the meaning and importance of prayer in the life of believers (Section One). It concludes with a brief commentary on the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer (Section Two), for indeed we find in these the sum…vatican.va
V. Practical Directions for Using this Catechism
- §18 — This catechism is conceived as an organic presentation of the Catholic faith in its entirety. It should be seen therefore as a unified whole. Numerous cross-references in the margin of the text (numbers found at the end of a sentence referring to other paragraphs that…vatican.va
- §19 — ). For a deeper understanding of such passages, the reader should refer to the Scriptural texts themselves. Such Biblical references are a valuable working-tool in catechesis.vatican.va
- §20 — The use of small print in certain passages indicates observations of an historical or apologetic nature, or supplementary doctrinal explanations.vatican.va
- §21 — The quotations, also in small print, from patristic, liturgical, magisterial or hagiographical sources, are intended to enrich the doctrinal presentations. These texts have often been chosen with a view to direct catechetical use.vatican.va
- §22 — At the end of each thematic unit, a series of brief texts in small italics sums up the essentials of that unit's teaching in condensed formulae.vatican.va
VI. Necessary Adaptations
- §23 — The Catechism emphasizes the exposition of doctrine. It seeks to help deepen understanding of faith. In this way it is oriented towards the maturing of that faith, its putting down roots in personal life, and its shining forth in personal conduct.vatican.va
- §24 — By design, this Catechism does not set out to provide the adaptation of doctrinal presentations and catechetical methods required by the differences of culture, age, spiritual maturity, and social and ecclesial condition among all those to whom it is addressed.vatican.va
- §25 — To conclude this Prologue, it is fitting to recall this pastoral principle stated by the Roman Catechism:vatican.va
Scripture cited · 8 verses
Matthew 10:32 · Matthew 28:19 · Matthew 28:20 · Mark 16:20 · Acts 2:42 · Romans 10:9 · 1 Corinthians 9:22 · 1 Peter 2:2