Catechism of the Catholic Church · Part One › Section Two › Chapter Two › Article 3 · Paragraph 3 (§§512–570)
Paragraphs · 59
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 3. THE MYSTERIES OF CHRIST'S LIFE
- §512 — Concerning Christ's life the Creed speaks only about the mysteries of the Incarnation (conception and birth) and Paschal mystery (passion, crucifixion, death, burial, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension).vatican.va
- §513 — According to circumstances catechesis will make use of all the richness of the mysteries of Jesus. Here it is enough merely to indicate some elements common to all the mysteries of Christ's life (I), in order then to sketch the principal mysteries of Jesus' hidden (II) and public (III) life.vatican.va
I. Christ's Whole Life is Mystery
- §514 — Many things about Jesus of interest to human curiosity do not figure in the Gospels. Almost nothing is said about his hidden life at Nazareth, and even a great part of his public life is not recounted.vatican.va
- §515 — The Gospels were written by men who were among the first to have the faith and wanted to share it with others. Having known in faith who Jesus is, they could see and make others see the traces of his mystery in all his earthly life.vatican.va
- §516 — Christ's whole earthly life - his words and deeds, his silences and sufferings, indeed his manner of being and speaking - is Revelation of the Father.vatican.va
- §517 — Christ's whole life is a mystery of redemption. Redemption comes to us above all through the blood of his cross, but this mystery is at work throughout Christ's entire life: -already in his Incarnation through which by becoming poor he enriches us with his poverty;…vatican.va
- §518 — Christ's whole life is a mystery of recapitulation. All Jesus did, said and suffered had for its aim restoring fallen man to his original vocation:vatican.va
- §519 — All Christ's riches "are for every individual and are everybody's property." Christ did not live his life for himself but for us, from his Incarnation "for us men and for our salvation" to his death "for our sins" and Resurrection "for our justification".vatican.va
- §520 — In all of his life Jesus presents himself as our model. He is "the perfect man", who invites us to become his disciples and follow him.vatican.va
- §521 — 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."vatican.va
Ii. the Mysteries of Jesus' Infancy and Hidden Life
- §522 — The coming of God's Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it over centuries. He makes everything converge on Christ: all the rituals and sacrifices, figures and symbols of the "First Covenant".vatican.va
- §523 — St. John the Baptist is the Lord's immediate precursor or forerunner, sent to prepare his way. "Prophet of the Most High", John surpasses all the prophets, of whom he is the last.vatican.va
- §524 — When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Saviour's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming.vatican.va
- §525 — Jesus was born in a humble stable, into a poor family. Simple shepherds were the first witnesses to this event. In this poverty heaven's glory was made manifest.vatican.va
- §526 — To become a child in relation to God is the condition for entering the kingdom. For this, we must humble ourselves and become little. Even more: to become "children of God" we must be "born from above" or "born of God".vatican.va
- §527 — Jesus' circumcision, on the eighth day after his birth, is the sign of his incorporation into Abraham's descendants, into the people of the covenant. It is the sign of his submission to the Law and his deputation to Israel's worship, in which he will participate throughout his life.vatican.va
- §528 — The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Saviour of the world. the great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee.vatican.va
- §529 — The presentation of Jesus in the temple shows him to be the firstborn Son who belongs to the Lord. With Simeon and Anna, all Israel awaits its encounter with the Saviour - the name given to this event in the Byzantine tradition.vatican.va
- §530 — The flight into Egypt and the massacre of the innocents make manifest the opposition of darkness to the light: "He came to his own home, and his own people received him not."vatican.va
- §531 — During the greater part of his life Jesus shared the condition of the vast majority of human beings: a daily life spent without evident greatness, a life of manual labour.vatican.va
- §532 — Jesus' obedience to his mother and legal father fulfils the fourth commandment perfectly and was the temporal image of his filial obedience to his Father in heaven.vatican.va
- §533 — The hidden life at Nazareth allows everyone to enter into fellowship with Jesus by the most ordinary events of daily life:vatican.va
- §534 — The finding of Jesus in the temple is the only event that breaks the silence of the Gospels about the hidden years of Jesus. Here Jesus lets us catch a glimpse of the mystery of his total consecration to a mission that flows from his…vatican.va
Iii. the Mysteries of Jesus' Public Life
- §535 — Jesus' public life begins with his baptism by John in the Jordan. John preaches "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins". A crowd of sinners - tax collectors and soldiers, Pharisees and Sadducees, and prostitutes - come to be baptized by him.vatican.va
- §536 — The baptism of Jesus is on his part the acceptance and inauguration of his mission as God's suffering Servant. He allows himself to be numbered among sinners; he is already "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world".vatican.va
- §537 — Through Baptism the Christian is sacramentally assimilated to Jesus, who in his own baptism anticipates his death and resurrection. the Christian must enter into this mystery of humble self-abasement and repentance, go down into the water with Jesus in order to rise with him, be…vatican.va
- §538 — The Gospels speak of a time of solitude for Jesus in the desert immediately after his baptism by John. Driven by the Spirit into the desert, Jesus remains there for forty days without eating; he lives among wild beasts, and angels minister to him.vatican.va
- §539 — The evangelists indicate the salvific meaning of this mysterious event: Jesus is the new Adam who remained faithful just where the first Adam had given in to temptation.vatican.va
- §540 — Jesus' temptation reveals the way in which the Son of God is Messiah, contrary to the way Satan proposes to him and the way men wish to attribute to him.vatican.va
- §541 — '" "To carry out the will of the Father Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth." Now the Father's will is "to raise up men to share in his own divine life".vatican.va
- §542 — Christ stands at the heart of this gathering of men into the "family of God". By his word, through signs that manifest the reign of God, and by sending out his disciples, Jesus calls all people to come together around him.vatican.va
- §543 — Everyone is called to enter the kingdom. First announced to the children of Israel, this messianic kingdom is intended to accept men of all nations.vatican.va
- §544 — The kingdom belongs to the poor and lowly, which means those who have accepted it with humble hearts. Jesus is sent to "preach good news to the poor"; he declares them blessed, for "theirs is the kingdom of heaven."vatican.va
- §545 — Jesus invites sinners to the table of the kingdom: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." He invites them to that conversion without which one cannot enter the kingdom, but shows them in word and deed his Father's boundless mercy for them and the vast "joy in heaven over one sinner who repents".vatican.va
- §546 — Jesus' invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching. Through his parables he invites people to the feast of the kingdom, but he also asks for a radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give everything.vatican.va
- §547 — Jesus accompanies his words with many "mighty works and wonders and signs", which manifest that the kingdom is present in him and attest that he was the promised Messiah.vatican.va
- §548 — The signs worked by Jesus attest that the Father has sent him. They invite belief in him. To those who turn to him in faith, he grants what they ask.vatican.va
- §549 — By freeing some individuals from the earthly evils of hunger, injustice, illness and death, Jesus performed messianic signs. Nevertheless he did not come to abolish all evils here below, but to free men from the gravest slavery, sin, which thwarts them in their vocation as God's sons and causes all forms of human bondage.vatican.va
- §550 — The coming of God's kingdom means the defeat of Satan's: "If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."vatican.va
- §551 — From the beginning of his public life Jesus chose certain men, twelve in number, to be with him and to participate in his mission. He gives the Twelve a share in his authority and 'sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal."vatican.va
- §552 — Simon Peter holds the first place in the college of the Twelve; Jesus entrusted a unique mission to him. Through a revelation from the Father, Peter had confessed: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."vatican.va
- §553 — Jesus entrusted a specific authority to 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."vatican.va
- §554 — 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.vatican.va
- §555 — For a moment Jesus discloses his divine glory, confirming Peter's confession. He also reveals that he will have to go by the way of the cross at Jerusalem in order to "enter into his glory".vatican.va
- §556 — On the threshold of the public life: the baptism; on the threshold of the Passover: the Transfiguration. Jesus' baptism proclaimed "the mystery of the first regeneration", namely, our Baptism; the Transfiguration "is the sacrament of the second regeneration": our own Resurrection.vatican.va
- §557 — "When the days drew near for him to be taken up [Jesus] set his face to go to Jerusalem." By this decision he indicated that he was going up to Jerusalem prepared to die there.vatican.va
- §558 — Jesus recalls the martyrdom of the prophets who had been put to death in Jerusalem. Nevertheless he persists in calling Jerusalem to gather around him: "How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!"vatican.va
- §559 — 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".vatican.va
- §560 — Jesus' entry into Jerusalem manifested the coming of the kingdom that the King-Messiah was going to accomplish by the Passover of his Death and Resurrection.vatican.va
In Brief
- §561 — "The whole of Christ's life was a continual teaching: his silences, his miracles, his gestures, his prayer, his love for people, his special affection for the little and the poor, his acceptance of the total sacrifice on the Cross for the redemption of the world,…vatican.va
- §562 — Christ's disciples are to conform themselves to him until he is formed in them (cf Gal 4:19). "For this reason we, who have been made like to him, who have died with him and risen with him, are taken up into the mysteries of his…vatican.va
- §563 — No one, whether shepherd or wise man, can approach God here below except by kneeling before the manger at Bethlehem and adoring him hidden in the weakness of a new-born child.vatican.va
- §564 — By his obedience to Mary and Joseph, as well as by his humble work during the long years in Nazareth, Jesus gives us the example of holiness in the daily life of family and work.vatican.va
- §565 — From the beginning of his public life, at his baptism, Jesus is the "Servant", wholly consecrated to the redemptive work that he will accomplish by the "baptism" of his Passion.vatican.va
- §566 — The temptation in the desert shows Jesus, the humble Messiah, who triumphs over Satan by his total adherence to the plan of salvation willed by the Father.vatican.va
- §567 — The kingdom of heaven was inaugurated on earth by Christ. "This kingdom shone out before men in the word, in the works and in the presence of Christ" (LG 5).vatican.va
- §568 — Christ's Transfiguration aims at strengthening the apostles' faith in anticipation of his Passion: the ascent on to the "high mountain" prepares for the ascent to Calvary.vatican.va
- §569 — Jesus went up to Jerusalem voluntarily, knowing well that there he would die a violent death because of the opposition of sinners (cf Heb 12:3).vatican.va
- §570 — Jesus' entry into Jerusalem manifests the coming of the kingdom that the Messiah-King, welcomed into his city by children and the humble of heart, is going to accomplish by the Passover of his Death and Resurrection.vatican.va
Scripture cited · 423 verses
Exodus 13:2 · Exodus 13:12 · Exodus 13:13 · Numbers 24:17 · Numbers 24:18 · Numbers 24:19 · Psalm 8:3 · Psalm 24:7 · Psalm 24:8 · Psalm 24:9 · Psalm 24:10 · Psalm 95:10 · Psalm 118:26 · Isaiah 11:2 · Isaiah 42:1 · Isaiah 53:4 · Isaiah 53:12 · Hosea 11:1 · Zechariah 9:9 · Matthew 2:1 · Matthew 2:2 · Matthew 2:4 · Matthew 2:5 · Matthew 2:6 · Matthew 2:13 · Matthew 2:14 · Matthew 2:15 · Matthew 2:16 · Matthew 2:17 · Matthew 2:18 · Matthew 3:3 · Matthew 3:7 · Matthew 3:13 · Matthew 3:14 · Matthew 3:15 · Matthew 3:16 · Matthew 3:17 · Matthew 5:3 · Matthew 5:11 · Matthew 5:12 · Matthew 8:11 · Matthew 8:17 · Matthew 11:5 · Matthew 11:6 · Matthew 11:13 · Matthew 11:25 · Matthew 12:26 · Matthew 12:28 · Matthew 13:3 · Matthew 13:4 · Matthew 13:5 · Matthew 13:6 · Matthew 13:7 · Matthew 13:8 · Matthew 13:9 · Matthew 13:10 · Matthew 13:11 · Matthew 13:12 · Matthew 13:13 · Matthew 13:14 · Matthew 13:15 · Matthew 13:44 · Matthew 13:45 · Matthew 16:2 · Matthew 16:18 · Matthew 16:19 · Matthew 16:21 · Matthew 16:22 · Matthew 16:23 · Matthew 17:1 · Matthew 17:2 · Matthew 17:3 · Matthew 17:4 · Matthew 17:5 · Matthew 17:6 · Matthew 17:7 · Matthew 17:8 · Matthew 17:23 · Matthew 18:3 · Matthew 18:4 · Matthew 18:18 · Matthew 21:1 · Matthew 21:2 · Matthew 21:3 · Matthew 21:4 · Matthew 21:5 · Matthew 21:6 · Matthew 21:7 · Matthew 21:8 · Matthew 21:9 · Matthew 21:10 · Matthew 21:11 · Matthew 21:15 · Matthew 21:16 · Matthew 21:18 · Matthew 21:28 · Matthew 21:29 · Matthew 21:30 · Matthew 21:31 · Matthew 21:32 · Matthew 22:1 · Matthew 22:2 · Matthew 22:3 · Matthew 22:4 · Matthew 22:5 · Matthew 22:6 · Matthew 22:7 · Matthew 22:8 · Matthew 22:9 · Matthew 22:10 · Matthew 22:11 · Matthew 22:12 · Matthew 22:13 · Matthew 22:14 · Matthew 23:12 · Matthew 23:37 · Matthew 25:14 · Matthew 25:15 · Matthew 25:16 · Matthew 25:17 · Matthew 25:18 · Matthew 25:19 · Matthew 25:20 · Matthew 25:21 · Matthew 25:22 · Matthew 25:23 · Matthew 25:24 · Matthew 25:25 · Matthew 25:26 · Matthew 25:27 · Matthew 25:28 · Matthew 25:29 · Matthew 25:30 · Matthew 25:31 · Matthew 25:32 · Matthew 25:33 · Matthew 25:34 · Matthew 25:35 · Matthew 25:36 · Matthew 25:37 · Matthew 25:38 · Matthew 25:39 · Matthew 25:40 · Matthew 25:41 · Matthew 25:42 · Matthew 25:43 · Matthew 25:44 · Matthew 25:45 · Matthew 25:46 · Matthew 26:28 · Matthew 26:39 · Matthew 27:48 · Matthew 28:19 · Mark 1:1 · Mark 1:12 · Mark 1:13 · Mark 1:14 · Mark 1:15 · Mark 2:17 · Mark 2:23 · and 263 more