Catechism of the Catholic Church · Part Two › Section One › Chapter One · Article 1 (§§1077–1112)
Paragraphs · 36
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 Father-Source and Goal of the Liturgy
- §1077 — "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.vatican.va
- §1078 — Blessing is a divine and life-giving action, the source of which is the Father; his blessing is both word and gift. When applied to man, the word "blessing" means adoration and surrender to his Creator in thanksgiving.vatican.va
- §1079 — From the beginning until the end of time the whole of God's work is a blessing. From the liturgical poem of the first creation to the canticles of the heavenly Jerusalem, the inspired authors proclaim the plan of salvation as one vast divine blessing.vatican.va
- §1080 — From the very beginning God blessed all living beings, especially man and woman. the covenant with Noah and with all living things renewed this blessing of fruitfulness despite man's sin which had brought a curse on the ground.vatican.va
- §1081 — The divine blessings were made manifest in astonishing and saving events: the birth of Isaac, the escape from Egypt (Passover and Exodus), the gift of the promised land, the election of David, the presence of God in the Temple, the purifying exile, and return of a "small remnant."vatican.va
- §1082 — In the Church's liturgy the divine blessing is fully revealed and communicated. the Father is acknowledged and adored as the source and the end of all the blessings of creation and salvation.vatican.va
- §1083 — The dual dimension of the Christian liturgy as a response of faith and love to the spiritual blessings the Father bestows on us is thus evident.vatican.va
Christ glorified . . .
- §1084 — "Seated at the right hand of the Father" and pouring out the Holy Spirit on his Body which is the Church, Christ now acts through the sacraments he instituted to communicate his grace.vatican.va
- §1085 — In the liturgy of the Church, it is principally his own Paschal mystery that Christ signifies and makes present. During his earthly life Jesus announced his Paschal mystery by his teaching and anticipated it by his actions.vatican.va
- §1086 — "Accordingly, just as Christ was sent by the Father so also he sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit. This he did so that they might preach the Gospel to every creature and proclaim that the Son of God by his death and resurrection…vatican.va
- §1087 — Thus the risen Christ, by giving the Holy Spirit to the apostles, entrusted to them his power of sanctifying: they became sacramental signs of Christ.vatican.va
- §1088 — "To accomplish so great a work" - the dispensation or communication of his work of salvation - "Christ is always present in his Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations.vatican.va
- §1089 — "Christ, indeed, always associates the Church with himself in this great work in which God is perfectly glorified and men are sanctified. the Church is his beloved Bride who calls to her Lord and through him offers worship to the eternal Father."vatican.va
- §1090 — "In the earthly liturgy we share in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the Holy City of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle.vatican.va
III. The Holy Spirit and the Church in the Liturgy
- §1091 — In the liturgy the Holy Spirit is teacher of the faith of the People of God and artisan of "God's masterpieces," the sacraments of the New Covenant.vatican.va
- §1092 — In this sacramental dispensation of Christ's mystery the Holy Spirit acts in the same way as at other times in the economy of salvation: he prepares the Church to encounter her Lord; he recalls and makes Christ manifest to the faith of the assembly.vatican.va
- §1093 — In the sacramental economy the Holy Spirit fulfills what was prefigured in the Old Covenant. Since Christ's Church was "prepared in marvellous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and in the Old Covenant," The Church's liturgy has retained certain elements of the…vatican.va
- §1094 — It is on this harmony of the two Testaments that the Paschal catechesis of the Lord is built, and then, that of the Apostles and the Fathers of the Church.vatican.va
- §1095 — For this reason the Church, especially during Advent and Lent and above all at the Easter Vigil, re-reads and re-lives the great events of salvation history in the "today" of her liturgy.vatican.va
- §1096 — Jewish liturgy and Christian liturgy. A better knowledge of the Jewish people's faith and religious life as professed and lived even now can help our better understanding of certain aspects of Christian liturgy.vatican.va
- §1097 — In the liturgy of the New Covenant every liturgical action, especially the celebration of the Eucharist and the sacraments, is an encounter between Christ and the Church.vatican.va
- §1098 — The assembly should prepare itself to encounter its Lord and to become "a people well disposed." the preparation of hearts is the joint work of the Holy Spirit and the assembly, especially of its ministers.vatican.va
- §1099 — The Spirit and the Church cooperate to manifest Christ and his work of salvation in the liturgy. Primarily in the Eucharist, and by analogy in the other sacraments, the liturgy is the memorial of the mystery of salvation.vatican.va
- §1100 — The Word of God. the Holy Spirit first recalls the meaning of the salvation event to the liturgical assembly by giving life to the Word of God, which is proclaimed so that it may be received and lived:vatican.va
- §1101 — The Holy Spirit gives a spiritual understanding of the Word of God to those who read or hear it, according to the dispositions of their hearts.vatican.va
- §1102 — "By the saving word of God, faith . . is nourished in the hearts of believers. By this faith then the congregation of the faithful begins and grows."vatican.va
- §1103 — Anamnesis. the liturgical celebration always refers to God's saving interventions in history. "The economy of Revelation is realized by deeds and words which are intrinsically bound up with each other....vatican.va
- §1104 — Christian liturgy not only recalls the events that saved us but actualizes them, makes them present. the Paschal mystery of Christ is celebrated, not repeated.vatican.va
- §1105 — The Epiclesis ("invocation upon") is the intercession in which the priest begs the Father to send the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, so that the offerings may become the body and blood of Christ and that the faithful by receiving them, may themselves become a living offering to God.vatican.va
- §1106 — Together with the anamnesis, the epiclesis is at the heart of each sacramental celebration, most especially of the Eucharist:vatican.va
- §1107 — The Holy Spirit's transforming power in the liturgy hastens the coming of the kingdom and the consummation of the mystery of salvation. While we wait in hope he causes us really to anticipate the fullness of communion with the Holy Trinity.vatican.va
- §1108 — In every liturgical action the Holy Spirit is sent in order to bring us into communion with Christ and so to form his Body. the Holy Spirit is like the sap of the Father's vine which bears fruit on its branches.vatican.va
- §1109 — The epiclesis is also a prayer for the full effect of the assembly's communion with the mystery of Christ. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit" have to remain with us always and bear fruit beyond the Eucharistic celebration.vatican.va
In Brief
- §1110 — In the liturgy of the Church, God the Father is blessed and adored as the source of all the blessings of creation and salvation with which he has blessed us in his Son, in order to give us the Spirit of filial adoption.vatican.va
- §1111 — Christ's work in the liturgy is sacramental: because his mystery of salvation is made present there by the power of his Holy Spirit; because his Body, which is the Church, is like a sacrament (sign and instrument) in which the Holy Spirit dispenses the mystery…vatican.va
- §1112 — The mission of the Holy Spirit in the liturgy of the Church is to prepare the assembly to encounter Christ; to recall and manifest Christ to the faith of the assembly; to make the saving work of Christ present and active by his transforming power;…vatican.va
Scripture cited · 91 verses
Matthew 18:20 · Luke 10:21 · Luke 24:13 · Luke 24:14 · Luke 24:15 · Luke 24:16 · Luke 24:17 · Luke 24:18 · Luke 24:19 · Luke 24:20 · Luke 24:21 · Luke 24:22 · Luke 24:23 · Luke 24:24 · Luke 24:25 · Luke 24:26 · Luke 24:27 · Luke 24:28 · Luke 24:29 · Luke 24:30 · Luke 24:31 · Luke 24:32 · Luke 24:33 · Luke 24:34 · Luke 24:35 · Luke 24:36 · Luke 24:37 · Luke 24:38 · Luke 24:39 · Luke 24:40 · Luke 24:41 · Luke 24:42 · Luke 24:43 · Luke 24:44 · Luke 24:45 · Luke 24:46 · Luke 24:47 · Luke 24:48 · Luke 24:49 · John 1:3 · John 1:4 · John 1:5 · John 1:6 · John 1:7 · John 6:32 · John 13:1 · John 14:26 · John 15:1 · John 15:2 · John 15:3 · John 15:4 · John 15:5 · John 15:6 · John 15:7 · John 15:8 · John 15:9 · John 15:10 · John 15:11 · John 15:12 · John 15:13 · John 15:14 · John 15:15 · John 15:16 · John 15:17 · John 17:1 · John 20:21 · John 20:22 · John 20:23 · Romans 6:10 · Romans 12:1 · 1 Corinthians 10:1 · 1 Corinthians 10:2 · 1 Corinthians 10:3 · 1 Corinthians 10:4 · 1 Corinthians 10:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:6 · 2 Corinthians 1:22 · 2 Corinthians 3:14 · 2 Corinthians 3:15 · 2 Corinthians 3:16 · 2 Corinthians 9:15 · 2 Corinthians 13:13 · Galatians 5:22 · Ephesians 1:3 · Ephesians 1:4 · Ephesians 1:5 · Ephesians 1:6 · Ephesians 1:14 · Hebrews 7:27 · Hebrews 9:12 · 1 Peter 3:21