Catechism of the Catholic Church · Part One › Section Two › Chapter Three › Article 9 · Paragraph 1 (§§751–780)
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.
I. Names and Images of the Church
- §751 — The word "Church" (Latin ecclesia, from the Greek ek-ka-lein, to "call out of") means a convocation or an assembly. It designates the assemblies of the people, usually for a religious purpose.vatican.va
- §752 — In Christian usage, the word "church" designates the liturgical assembly, but also the local community or the whole universal community of believers. These three meanings are inseparable.vatican.va
- §753 — In Scripture, we find a host of interrelated images and figures through which Revelation speaks of the inexhaustible mystery of the Church. the images taken from the Old Testament are variations on a profound theme: the People of God.vatican.va
- §754 — "The Church is, accordingly, a sheepfold, the sole and necessary gateway to which is Christ. It is also the flock of which God himself foretold that he would be the shepherd, and whose sheep, even though governed by human shepherds, are unfailingly nourished and led…vatican.va
- §755 — "The Church is a cultivated field, the tillage of God. On that land the ancient olive tree grows whose holy roots were the prophets and in which the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles has been brought about and will be brought about again.vatican.va
- §756 — "Often, too, the Church is called the building of God. the Lord compared himself to the stone which the builders rejected, but which was made into the comer-stone.vatican.va
- §757 — "The Church, further, which is called 'that Jerusalem which is above' and 'our mother', is described as the spotless spouse of the spotless lamb. '"vatican.va
Ii. the Church's Origin, Foundation and Mission
- §758 — We begin our investigation of the Church's mystery by meditating on her origin in the Holy Trinity's plan and her progressive realization in history.vatican.va
- §759 — "The eternal Father, in accordance with the utterly gratuitous and mysterious design of his wisdom and goodness, created the whole universe and chose to raise up men to share in his own divine life," to which he calls all men in his Son.vatican.va
- §760 — Christians of the first centuries said, "The world was created for the sake of the Church." God created the world for the sake of communion with his divine life, a communion brought about by the "convocation" of men in Christ, and this "convocation" is the Church.vatican.va
- §761 — The gathering together of the People of God began at the moment when sin destroyed the communion of men with God, and that of men among themselves.vatican.va
- §762 — The remote preparation for this gathering together of the People of God begins when he calls Abraham and promises that he will become the father of a great people.vatican.va
- §763 — It was the Son's task to accomplish the Father's plan of salvation in the fullness of time. Its accomplishment was the reason for his being sent.vatican.va
- §764 — "This Kingdom shines out before men in the word, in the works and in the presence of Christ." To welcome Jesus' word is to welcome "the Kingdom itself."vatican.va
- §765 — The Lord Jesus endowed his community with a structure that will remain until the Kingdom is fully achieved. Before all else there is the choice of the Twelve with Peter as their head.vatican.va
- §766 — The Church is born primarily of Christ's total self-giving for our salvation, anticipated in the institution of the Eucharist and fulfilled on the cross. "The origin and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and water which flowed from the open side of the crucified Jesus."vatican.va
- §767 — "When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth was accomplished, the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify the Church."vatican.va
- §768 — So that she can fulfill her mission, the Holy Spirit "bestows upon [the Church] varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her."vatican.va
- §769 — "The Church . . will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven," at the time of Christ's glorious return. Until that day, "the Church progresses on her pilgrimage amidst this world's persecutions and God's consolations."vatican.va
Iii. the Mystery of the Church
- §770 — The Church is in history, but at the same time she transcends it. It is only "with the eyes of faith" that one can see her in her visible reality and at the same time in her spiritual reality as bearer of divine life.vatican.va
- §771 — "The one mediator, Christ, established and ever sustains here on earth his holy Church, the community of faith, hope, and charity, as a visible organization through which he communicates truth and grace to all men."vatican.va
- §772 — It is in the Church that Christ fulfills and reveals his own mystery as the purpose of God's plan: "to unite all things in him."vatican.va
- §773 — In the Church this communion of men with God, in the "love [that] never ends," is the purpose which governs everything in her that is a sacramental means, tied to this passing world.vatican.va
- §774 — The Greek word mysterion was translated into Latin by two terms: mystenum and sacramentum. In later usage the term sacramentum emphasizes the visible sign of the hidden reality of salvation which was indicated by the term mystenum.vatican.va
- §775 — "The Church, in Christ, is like a sacrament - a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all men."vatican.va
- §776 — As sacrament, the Church is Christ's instrument. "She is taken up by him also as the instrument for the salvation of all," "the universal sacrament of salvation," by which Christ is "at once manifesting and actualizing the mystery of God's love for men."vatican.va
In Brief
- §777 — The word "Church" means "convocation." , gathers together to form the People of God, and who themselves, nourished with the Body of Christ, become the Body of Christ.vatican.va
- §778 — The Church is both the means and the goal of God's plan: prefigured in creation, prepared for in the Old Covenant, founded by the words and actions of Jesus Christ, fulfilled by his redeeming cross and his Resurrection, the Church has been manifested as the mystery of salvation by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.vatican.va
- §779 — The Church is both visible and spiritual, a hierarchical society and the Mystical Body of Christ. She is one, yet formed of two components, human and divine.vatican.va
- §780 — The Church in this world is the sacrament of salvation, the sign and the instrument of the communion of God and men.vatican.va
Scripture cited · 154 verses
Genesis 12:2 · Genesis 15:5 · Genesis 15:6 · Exodus 19:5 · Exodus 19:6 · Deuteronomy 7:6 · Psalm 118:22 · Isaiah 1:2 · Isaiah 1:3 · Isaiah 1:4 · Isaiah 2:2 · Isaiah 2:3 · Isaiah 2:4 · Isaiah 2:5 · Isaiah 40:11 · Isaiah 55:3 · Jeremiah 31:31 · Jeremiah 31:32 · Jeremiah 31:33 · Jeremiah 31:34 · Ezekiel 34:11 · Ezekiel 34:12 · Ezekiel 34:13 · Ezekiel 34:14 · Ezekiel 34:15 · Ezekiel 34:16 · Ezekiel 34:17 · Ezekiel 34:18 · Ezekiel 34:19 · Ezekiel 34:20 · Ezekiel 34:21 · Ezekiel 34:22 · Ezekiel 34:23 · Ezekiel 34:24 · Ezekiel 34:25 · Ezekiel 34:26 · Ezekiel 34:27 · Ezekiel 34:28 · Ezekiel 34:29 · Ezekiel 34:30 · Ezekiel 34:31 · Micah 4:1 · Micah 4:2 · Micah 4:3 · Micah 4:4 · Matthew 10:16 · Matthew 10:25 · Matthew 12:49 · Matthew 19:28 · Matthew 21:32 · Matthew 21:33 · Matthew 21:34 · Matthew 21:35 · Matthew 21:36 · Matthew 21:37 · Matthew 21:38 · Matthew 21:39 · Matthew 21:40 · Matthew 21:41 · Matthew 21:42 · Matthew 21:43 · Matthew 26:31 · Matthew 28:19 · Matthew 28:20 · Mark 3:14 · Mark 3:15 · Mark 6:7 · Luke 10:1 · Luke 10:2 · Luke 12:32 · Luke 22:30 · John 10:1 · John 10:2 · John 10:3 · John 10:4 · John 10:5 · John 10:6 · John 10:7 · John 10:8 · John 10:9 · John 10:10 · John 10:11 · John 10:12 · John 10:13 · John 10:14 · John 10:15 · John 10:16 · John 15:1 · John 15:2 · John 15:3 · John 15:4 · John 15:5 · John 15:20 · John 17:4 · John 19:34 · Acts 4:11 · Acts 10:35 · Acts 19:39 · Romans 11:13 · Romans 11:14 · Romans 11:15 · Romans 11:16 · Romans 11:17 · Romans 11:18 · Romans 11:19 · Romans 11:20 · Romans 11:21 · Romans 11:22 · Romans 11:23 · Romans 11:24 · Romans 11:25 · Romans 11:26 · 1 Corinthians 1:2 · 1 Corinthians 3:9 · 1 Corinthians 3:11 · 1 Corinthians 13:8 · 1 Corinthians 15:9 · 1 Corinthians 16:1 · 2 Corinthians 5:6 · Galatians 1:13 · Galatians 4:26 · Ephesians 1:10 · Ephesians 1:22 · Ephesians 2:19 · Ephesians 2:20 · Ephesians 2:21 · Ephesians 2:22 · Ephesians 3:9 · Ephesians 3:10 · Ephesians 3:11 · Ephesians 5:25 · Ephesians 5:26 · Ephesians 5:27 · Ephesians 5:29 · Ephesians 5:32 · Philippians 3:6 · Colossians 1:18 · Colossians 1:27 · 1 Timothy 3:15 · Hebrews 13:14 · 1 Peter 2:5 · 1 Peter 2:7 · 1 Peter 5:4 · Revelation 7:9 · Revelation 12:17 · Revelation 19:7 · Revelation 21:1 · Revelation 21:2 · Revelation 21:3 · Revelation 21:9 · Revelation 21:12 · Revelation 21:13 · Revelation 21:14 · Revelation 22:17