Catechism of the Catholic Church · Part One › Section Two › Chapter One › Article 1 · Paragraph 5 (§§325–354)
Paragraphs · 30
The Catechism's text is under copyright, so each paragraph is quoted briefly here with a link to the full text at vatican.va.
Paragraph 5. HEAVEN AND EARTH
- §325 — The Apostles' Creed professes that God is "creator of heaven and earth". the Nicene Creed makes it explicit that this profession includes "all that is, seen and unseen".vatican.va
- §326 — The Scriptural expression "heaven and earth" means all that exists, creation in its entirety. It also indicates the bond, deep within creation, that both unites heaven and earth and distinguishes the one from the other: "the earth" is the world of men, while "heaven" or…vatican.va
- §327 — The profession of faith of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) affirms that God "from the beginning of time made at once (simul) out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal, that is, the angelic and the earthly, and then (deinde) the…vatican.va
I. the Angels
- §328 — 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.vatican.va
- §329 — St. Augustine says: "'Angel' is the name of their office, not of their nature. '" With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God.vatican.va
- §330 — 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.vatican.va
- §331 — Christ is the centre of the angelic world. They are his angels: "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him.vatican.va
- §332 — Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham's hand; communicated the law…vatican.va
- §333 — From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. '" Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church's praise: "Glory to God in the highest!"vatican.va
- §334 — In the meantime, the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels.vatican.va
- §335 — In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance (in the Roman Canon's Supplices te rogamus.vatican.va
- §336 — From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. "Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life."vatican.va
Ii. the Visible World
- §337 — God himself created the visible world in all its richness, diversity and order. Scripture presents the work of the Creator symbolically as a succession of six days of divine "work", concluded by the "rest" of the seventh day.vatican.va
- §338 — Nothing exists that does not owe its existence to God the Creator. the world began when God's word drew it out of nothingness; all existent beings, all of nature, and all human history are rooted in this primordial event, the very genesis by which the world was constituted and time begun.vatican.va
- §339 — Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection. For each one of the works of the "six days" it is said: "and God saw that it was good."vatican.va
- §340 — God wills the interdependence of creatures. the sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient.vatican.va
- §341 — The beauty of the universe: the order and harmony of the created world results from the diversity of beings and from the relationships which exist among them.vatican.va
- §342 — The hierarchy of creatures is expressed by the order of the "six days", from the less perfect to the more perfect. God loves all his creatures and takes care of each one, even the sparrow.vatican.va
- §343 — Man is the summit of the Creator's work, as the inspired account expresses by clearly distinguishing the creation of man from that of the other creatures.vatican.va
- §344 — There is a solidarity among all creatures arising from the fact that all have the same Creator and are all ordered to his glory: May you be praised, O Lord, in all your creatures, especially brother sun, by whom you give us light for the…vatican.va
- §345 — The sabbath - the end of the work of the six days. the sacred text says that "on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done", that the "heavens and the earth were finished", and that God "rested" on this day and sanctified and blessed it.vatican.va
- §346 — In creation God laid a foundation and established laws that remain firm, on which the believer can rely with confidence, for they are the sign and pledge of the unshakeable faithfulness of God's covenant.vatican.va
- §347 — Creation was fashioned with a view to the sabbath and therefore for the worship and adoration of God. Worship is inscribed in the order of creation.vatican.va
- §348 — The sabbath is at the heart of Israel's law. To keep the commandments is to correspond to the wisdom and the will of God as expressed in his work of creation.vatican.va
- §349 — The eighth day. But for us a new day has dawned: the day of Christ's Resurrection. the seventh day completes the first creation. the eighth day begins the new creation.vatican.va
In Brief
- §350 — Angels are spiritual creatures who glorify God without ceasing and who serve his saving plans for other creatures: "The angels work together for the benefit of us all" (St.vatican.va
- §351 — The angels surround Christ their Lord. They serve him especially in the accomplishment of his saving mission to men.vatican.va
- §352 — The Church venerates the angels who help her on her earthly pilgrimage and protect every human being.vatican.va
- §353 — God willed the diversity of his creatures and their own particular goodness, their interdependence and their order. He destined all material creatures for the good of the human race.vatican.va
- §354 — Respect for laws inscribed in creation and the relations which derive from the nature of things is a principle of wisdom and a foundation for morality.vatican.va
Scripture cited · 149 verses
Genesis 1:1 · Genesis 1:2 · Genesis 1:3 · Genesis 1:4 · Genesis 1:5 · Genesis 1:6 · Genesis 1:7 · Genesis 1:8 · Genesis 1:9 · Genesis 1:10 · Genesis 1:11 · Genesis 1:12 · Genesis 1:13 · Genesis 1:14 · Genesis 1:15 · Genesis 1:16 · Genesis 1:17 · Genesis 1:18 · Genesis 1:19 · Genesis 1:20 · Genesis 1:21 · Genesis 1:22 · Genesis 1:23 · Genesis 1:24 · Genesis 1:25 · Genesis 1:26 · Genesis 1:27 · Genesis 1:28 · Genesis 1:29 · Genesis 1:30 · Genesis 1:31 · Genesis 2:1 · Genesis 2:2 · Genesis 2:3 · Genesis 2:4 · Genesis 3:24 · Genesis 21:17 · Genesis 22:11 · Exodus 23:20 · Exodus 23:21 · Exodus 23:22 · Exodus 23:23 · Judges 6:11 · Judges 6:12 · Judges 6:13 · Judges 6:14 · Judges 6:15 · Judges 6:16 · Judges 6:17 · Judges 6:18 · Judges 6:19 · Judges 6:20 · Judges 6:21 · Judges 6:22 · Judges 6:23 · Judges 6:24 · 1 Kings 19:5 · Tobit 12:12 · Job 33:23 · Job 33:24 · Job 38:7 · Psalm 19:2 · Psalm 34:7 · Psalm 91:10 · Psalm 91:11 · Psalm 91:12 · Psalm 91:13 · Psalm 103:20 · Psalm 115:16 · Psalm 145:9 · Isaiah 6:6 · Jeremiah 31:35 · Jeremiah 31:36 · Jeremiah 31:37 · Jeremiah 33:19 · Jeremiah 33:20 · Jeremiah 33:21 · Jeremiah 33:22 · Jeremiah 33:23 · Jeremiah 33:24 · Jeremiah 33:25 · Jeremiah 33:26 · Daniel 10:9 · Daniel 10:10 · Daniel 10:11 · Daniel 10:12 · Zechariah 1:12 · Matthew 1:20 · Matthew 2:13 · Matthew 2:19 · Matthew 4:11 · Matthew 5:16 · Matthew 12:12 · Matthew 13:41 · Matthew 18:10 · Matthew 24:31 · Matthew 25:31 · Matthew 26:53 · Mark 1:13 · Mark 16:5 · Mark 16:6 · Mark 16:7 · Luke 1:11 · Luke 1:26 · Luke 2:8 · Luke 2:9 · Luke 2:10 · Luke 2:11 · Luke 2:12 · Luke 2:13 · Luke 2:14 · Luke 11:8 · Luke 12:6 · Luke 12:7 · Luke 12:8 · Luke 12:9 · Luke 16:22 · Luke 20:36 · Luke 22:43 · Acts 1:10 · Acts 1:11 · Acts 5:18 · Acts 5:19 · Acts 5:20 · Acts 7:53 · Acts 8:26 · Acts 8:27 · Acts 8:28 · Acts 8:29 · Acts 10:3 · Acts 10:4 · Acts 10:5 · Acts 10:6 · Acts 10:7 · Acts 10:8 · Acts 12:6 · Acts 12:7 · Acts 12:8 · Acts 12:9 · Acts 12:10 · Acts 12:11 · Acts 27:23 · Acts 27:24 · Acts 27:25 · Colossians 1:16 · Hebrews 1:6 · Hebrews 1:14 · Hebrews 4:3 · Hebrews 4:4