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VI. Truth, Beauty, and Sacred Art
§2500
The practice of goodness is accompanied by spontaneous spiritual joy and moral
beauty. Likewise, truth carries with it the joy and splendor of spiritual
beauty. Truth is beautiful in itself. Truth in words, the rational expression
of the knowledge of created and uncreated reality, is necessary to man, who is
endowed with intellect. But truth can also find other complementary forms of
human expression, above all when it is a matter of evoking what is beyond
words: the depths of the human heart, the exaltations of the soul, the mystery
of God. Even before revealing himself to man in words of truth, God reveals
himself to him through the universal language of creation, the work of his
Word, of his wisdom: the order and harmony of the cosmos - which both the child
and the scientist discover - «from the greatness and beauty of created
things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator,» «for the
author of beauty created them.» 289
[Wisdom] is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.290 For [wisdom] is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail.291 I became enamored of her beauty.292
§2501
Created «in the image of God,» 293 man also expresses the
truth of his relationship with God the Creator by the beauty of his artistic
works. Indeed, art is a distinctively human form of expression; beyond the
search for the necessities of life which is common to all living creatures, art
is a freely given superabundance of the human being's inner riches. Arising
from talent given by the Creator and from man's own effort, art is a form of
practical wisdom, uniting knowledge and skill,294 to give form to the truth
of reality in a language accessible to sight or hearing. To the extent that it
is inspired by truth and love of beings, art bears a certain likeness to God's
activity in what he has created. Like any other human activity, art is not an
absolute end in itself, but is ordered to and ennobled by the ultimate end of
man.295
§2502
Sacred art is true and beautiful when its form corresponds to its particular
vocation: evoking and glorifying, in faith and adoration, the transcendent mystery
of God - the surpassing invisible beauty of truth and love visible in Christ,
who «reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his
nature,» in whom «the whole fullness of deity dwells
bodily.» 296 This spiritual beauty of God is reflected in the most
holy Virgin Mother of God, the angels, and saints. Genuine sacred art draws man
to adoration, to prayer, and to the love of God, Creator and Savior, the Holy
One and Sanctifier.
§2503
For this reason bishops, personally or through delegates, should see to the
promotion of sacred art, old and new, in all its forms and, with the same
religious care, remove from the liturgy and from places of worship everything
which is not in conformity with the truth of faith and the authentic beauty of
sacred art.297
IN BRIEF
§2504
«You shall not bear
false witness against your neighbor» (⇒ Ex
20:16). Christ's disciples have «put on the new man, created after
the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness"
(⇒ Eph 4:24).
§2505
Truth or truthfulness is
the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in
words, and guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.
§2506
The Christian is not to
«be ashamed of testifying to our Lord» (⇒ 2
Tim 1:8) in deed and word. Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to
the truth of the faith.
§2507
Respect for the
reputation and honor of persons forbids all detraction and calumny in word or
attitude.
§2508
Lying consists in saying
what is false with the intention of deceiving the neighbor who has the right to
the truth.
§2509
An offense committed
against the truth requires reparation.
§2510
The golden rule helps
one discern, in concrete situations, whether or not it would be appropriate to
reveal the truth to someone who asks for it.
§2511
«The sacramental
seal is inviolable» (⇒ CIC, can. 983 # 1).
Professional secrets must be kept. Confidences prejudicial to another are not
to be divulged.
§2512
Society has a right to
information based on truth, freedom, and justice. One should practice
moderation and discipline in the use of the social communications media.
§2513
The fine arts, but above
all sacred art, «of their nature are directed toward expressing in some
way the infinite beauty of God in works made by human hands. Their dedication
to the increase of God's praise and of his glory is more complete, the more
exclusively they are devoted to turning men's minds devoutly toward God"
(SC 122).
THE NINTH COMMANDMENT
You shall
not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or
his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is
your neighbor's.298
Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with
her in his heart.299
§2514
St. John distinguishes three kinds of covetousness or concupiscence: lust of
the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life.300 In the Catholic
catechetical tradition, the ninth commandment forbids carnal concupiscence; the
tenth forbids coveting another's goods.
§2515
Etymologically, «concupiscence» can refer to any intense form of
human desire. Christian theology has given it a particular meaning: the
movement of the sensitive appetite contrary to the operation of the human
reason. the apostle St. Paul identifies it with the rebellion of the
«flesh» against the «spirit.» 301 Concupiscence stems
from the disobedience of the first sin. It unsettles man's moral faculties and,
without being in itself an offense, inclines man to commit sins.302
§2516
Because man is a composite being, spirit and body, there already exists a
certain tension in him; a certain struggle of tendencies between
«spirit» and «flesh» develops. But in fact this struggle
belongs to the heritage of sin. It is a consequence of sin and at the same time
a confirmation of it. It is part of the daily experience of the spiritual battle:
For the Apostle it is not a matter of despising and condemning the body which with the spiritual soul constitutes man's nature and personal subjectivity. Rather, he is concerned with the morally good or bad works, or better, the permanent dispositions - virtues and vices - which are the fruit of submission (in the first case) or of resistance (in the second case) to the saving action of the Holy Spirit. For this reason the Apostle writes: «If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.» 303
I. Purification of the Heart
§2517
The heart is the seat of moral personality: «Out of the heart come evil
thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication....» 304 The struggle against
carnal covetousness entails purifying the heart and practicing temperance:
Remain simple and innocent, and you will be like little children who do not know the evil that destroys man's life.305
§2518
The sixth beatitude proclaims, «Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God.» 306 «Pure in heart» refers to those who
have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God's holiness,
chiefly in three areas: charity;307 chastity or sexual rectitude;308
love of truth and orthodoxy of faith.309 There is a connection between
purity of heart, of body, and of faith:
The faithful must believe the articles of the Creed «so that by believing they may obey God, by obeying may live well, by living well may purify their hearts, and with pure hearts may understand what they believe.» 310
§2519
The «pure in heart» are promised that they will see God face to face
and be like him.311 Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision
of God. Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as
«neighbors»; it lets us perceive the human body - ours and our
neighbor's - as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty.
II. The Battle for Purity
§2520
Baptism confers on its recipient the grace of purification from all sins. But
the baptized must continue to struggle against concupiscence of the flesh and
disordered desires. With God's grace he will prevail
- by the virtue and gift of chastity, for chastity lets us love with upright
and undivided heart;
- by purity of intention which consists in seeking the true end of man: with
simplicity of vision, the baptized person seeks to find and to fulfill God's
will in everything;312
- by purity of vision, external and internal; by discipline of feelings and
imagination; by refusing all complicity in impure thoughts that incline us to
turn aside from the path of God's commandments: «Appearance arouses
yearning in fools»;313
- by prayer:
I thought that continence arose from one's own powers, which I did not recognize in myself. I was foolish enough not to know . . . that no one can be continent unless you grant it. For you would surely have granted it if my inner groaning had reached your ears and I with firm faith had cast my cares on you.314
§2521
Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the
intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain
hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness. It
guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the
dignity of persons and their solidarity.
§2522
Modesty protects the mystery of persons and their love. It encourages patience
and moderation in loving relationships; it requires that the conditions for the
definitive giving and commitment of man and woman to one another be fulfilled.
Modesty is decency. It inspires one's choice of clothing. It keeps silence or
reserve where there is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. It is discreet.
§2523
There
is a modesty of the feelings as well as of the body. It protests, for example,
against the voyeuristic explorations of the human body in certain
advertisements, or against the solicitations of certain media that go too far
in the exhibition of intimate things. Modesty inspires a way of life which
makes it possible to resist the allurements of fashion and the pressures of
prevailing ideologies.
§2524
The
forms taken by modesty vary from one culture to another. Everywhere, however,
modesty exists as an intuition of the spiritual dignity proper to man. It is
born with the awakening consciousness of being a subject. Teaching modesty to
children and adolescents means awakening in them respect for the human person.
§2525
Christian purity requires a purification of the social climate. It requires of
the communications media that their presentations show concern for respect and
restraint. Purity of heart brings freedom from widespread eroticism and avoids
entertainment inclined to voyeurism and illusion.
§2526
So called moral permissiveness rests on an erroneous conception of human
freedom; the necessary precondition for the development of true freedom is to
let oneself be educated in the moral law. Those in charge of education can
reasonably be expected to give young people instruction respectful of the truth,
the qualities of the heart, and the moral and spiritual dignity of man.
§2527
«The Good News of Christ continually renews the life and culture of fallen
man; it combats and removes the error and evil which flow from the ever-present
attraction of sin. It never ceases to purify and elevate the morality of
peoples. It takes the spiritual qualities and endowments of every age and
nation, and with supernatural riches it causes them to blossom, as it were,
from within; it fortifies, completes, and restores them in
Christ.» 315
IN BRIEF
§2528
«Everyone who looks
at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart"
(⇒ Mt 5:28).
§2529
The ninth commandment
warns against lust or carnal concupiscence.
§2530
The struggle against
carnal lust involves purifying the heart and practicing temperance.
§2531
Purity of heart will
enable us to see God: it enables us even now to see things according to God.
§2532
Purification of the
heart demands prayer, the practice of chastity, purity of intention and of
vision.
§2533
Purity of heart requires
the modesty which is patience, decency, and discretion. Modesty protects the
intimate center of the person.
THE TENTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not covet ... anything that is your neighbor's....
You shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his
manservant, or his maidservant,, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is
your neighbor's.316
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.317
§2534
The tenth commandment unfolds and completes the ninth, which is concerned with
concupiscence of the flesh. It forbids coveting the goods of another, as the
root of theft, robbery, and fraud, which the seventh commandment forbids.
«Lust of the eyes» leads to the violence and injustice forbidden by
the fifth commandment.318 Avarice, like fornication, originates in the
idolatry prohibited by the first three prescriptions of the Law.319 The
tenth commandment concerns the intentions of the heart; with the ninth, it
summarizes all the precepts of the Law.
I. The Disorder of Covetous Desires
§2535
The sensitive appetite leads us to desire pleasant things we do not have, e.g.,
the desire to eat when we are hungry or to warm ourselves when we are cold.
These desires are good in themselves; but often they exceed the limits of
reason and drive us to covet unjustly what is not ours and belongs to another
or is owed to him.
§2536
The tenth commandment forbids greed and the desire to amass earthly goods
without limit. It forbids avarice arising from a passion for riches and their
attendant power. It also forbids the desire to commit injustice by harming our
neighbor in his temporal goods:
When the Law says, «You shall not covet,» these words mean that we should banish our desires for whatever does not belong to us. Our thirst for another's goods is immense, infinite, never quenched. Thus it is written: «He who loves money never has money enough.» 320
§2537
It is not a violation of this commandment to desire to obtain things that
belong to one's neighbor, provided this is done by just means. Traditional
catechesis realistically mentions «those who have a harder struggle
against their criminal desires» and so who «must be urged the more to
keep this commandment":
. . . merchants who desire scarcity and rising prices, who cannot bear not to be the only ones buying and selling so that they themselves can sell more dearly and buy more cheaply; those who hope that their peers will be impoverished, in order to realize a profit either by selling to them or buying from them . . . physicians who wish disease to spread; lawyers who are eager for many important cases and trials.321
§2538
The tenth commandment requires that envy be banished from the human heart. When
the prophet Nathan wanted to spur King David to repentance, he told him the
story about the poor man who had only one ewe lamb that he treated like his own
daughter and the rich man who, despite the great number of his flocks, envied
the poor man and ended by stealing his lamb.322 Envy can lead to the
worst crimes.323 «Through the devil's envy death entered the
world":324
We fight one another, and envy arms us against one another.... If everyone strives to unsettle the Body of Christ, where shall we end up? We are engaged in making Christ's Body a corpse.... We declare ourselves members of one and the same organism, yet we devour one another like beasts.325
§2539
Envy is a capital sin. It refers to the sadness at the sight of another's goods
and the immoderate desire to acquire them for oneself, even unjustly. When it
wishes grave harm to a neighbor it is a mortal sin:
St. Augustine saw envy as «the diabolical sin.» 326 «From envy are born hatred, detraction, calumny, joy caused by the misfortune of a neighbor, and displeasure caused by his prosperity.» 327
§2540
Envy represents a form of sadness and therefore a refusal of charity; the
baptized person should struggle against it by exercising good will. Envy often
comes from pride; the baptized person should train himself to live in humility:
Would you like to see God glorified by you? Then rejoice in your brother's progress and you will immediately give glory to God. Because his servant could conquer envy by rejoicing in the merits of others, God will be praised.328
II. The Desires of the Spirit
§2541
The economy of law and grace turns men's hearts away from avarice and envy. It
initiates them into desire for the Sovereign Good; it instructs them in the
desires of the Holy Spirit who satisfies man's heart.
The God of the promises always warned man against seduction by what from the
beginning has seemed «good for food . . . a delight to the eyes . . . to
be desired to make one wise.» 329
§2542
The Law entrusted to Israel never sufficed to justify those subject to it; it
even became the instrument of «lust.» 330 The gap between
wanting and doing points to the conflict between God's Law which is the
«law of my mind,» and another law «making me captive to the law
of sin which dwells in my members.» 331
§2543
«But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law,
although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God
through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.» 332 Henceforth,
Christ's faithful «have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires»; they are led by the Spirit and follow the desires of the
Spirit.333
III. Poverty of Heart
§2544
Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone, and bids
them «renounce all that [they have]» for his sake and that of the
Gospel.334 Shortly before his passion he gave them the example of the
poor widow of Jerusalem who, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live
on.335 The precept of detachment from riches is obligatory for entrance
into the Kingdom of heaven.
§2545
All Christ's faithful are to «direct their affections rightly, lest they
be hindered in their pursuit of perfect charity by the use of worldly things
and by an adherence to riches which is contrary to the spirit of evangelical
poverty.» 336
§2546
«Blessed are the poor in spirit.» 337 The Beatitudes reveal an
order of happiness and grace, of beauty and peace. Jesus celebrates the joy of
the poor, to whom the Kingdom already belongs:338
The Word speaks of voluntary humility as «poverty in spirit»; the Apostle gives an example of God's poverty when he says: «For your sakes he became poor.» 339
§2547
The Lord grieves over the rich, because they find their consolation in the
abundance of goods.340 «Let the proud seek and love earthly
kingdoms, but blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of
heaven.» 341 Abandonment to the providence of the Father in heaven
frees us from anxiety about tomorrow.342 Trust in God is a preparation
for the blessedness of the poor. They shall see God.
IV. «I Want to See God»
§2548
Desire for true happiness frees man from his immoderate attachment to the goods
of this world so that he can find his fulfillment in the vision and beatitude
of God. «The promise [of seeing God] surpasses all beatitude.... In Scripture,
to see is to possess.... Whoever sees God has obtained all the goods of which
he can conceive.» 343
§2549
It remains for the holy people to struggle, with grace from on high, to obtain
the good things God promises. In order to possess and contemplate God, Christ's
faithful mortify their cravings and, with the grace of God, prevail over the
seductions of pleasure and power.
§2550
On this way of perfection, the Spirit and the Bride call whoever hears them344
to perfect communion with God:
There will true glory be, where no one will be praised by mistake or flattery; true honor will not be refused to the worthy, nor granted to the unworthy; likewise, no one unworthy will pretend to be worthy, where only those who are worthy will be admitted. There true peace will reign, where no one will experience opposition either from self or others. God himself will be virtue's reward; he gives virtue and has promised to give himself as the best and greatest reward that could exist.... «I shall be their God and they will be my people....» This is also the meaning of the Apostle's words: «So that God may be all in all.» God himself will be the goal of our desires; we shall contemplate him without end, love him without surfeit, praise him without weariness. This gift, this state, this act, like eternal life itself, will assuredly be common to all.345
IN BRIEF
§2551
«Where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also» (⇒ Mt
6:21).
§2552
The tenth commandment
forbids avarice arising from a passion for riches and their attendant power.
§2553
Envy is sadness at the
sight of another's goods and the immoderate desire to have them for oneself. It
is a capital sin.
§2554
The baptized person
combats envy through good-will, humility, and abandonment to the providence of
God.
§2555
Christ's faithful
«have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires"
(⇒ Gal 5:24); they are led by the Spirit and follow his
desires.
§2556
Detachment from riches
is necessary for entering the Kingdom of heaven. «Blessed are the poor in
spirit.»
§2557
«I want to see
God» expresses the true desire of man. Thirst for God is quenched by the
water of eternal life (cf In 4:14).
CHRISTIAN PRAYER
SECTION ONE
PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
§2558
«Great is the mystery of the faith!»
The Church professes this mystery in the Apostles' Creed (Part One) and celebrates it in the sacramental liturgy (Part Two), so that the life of the faithful may be conformed to Christ in the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father (Part Three).
This mystery, then, requires that the faithful believe in it, that they celebrate it, and that they live from it in a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God. This relationship is prayer.
WHAT IS PRAYER?
For me, prayer is a surge of
the heart;
it is a simple look turned toward heaven,
it is a cry of recognition and of love,
embracing both trial and joy.1
Prayer as God's gift
§2559
«Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of
good things from God.» 2
But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or
«out of the depths» of a humble and contrite heart?3
He who humbles himself will be exalted;4 humility is the foundation of
prayer,
Only when we humbly acknowledge that «we do not know how to pray as we
ought,» 5 are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer.
«Man is a beggar before God.» 6
§2560
«If you knew the gift of God!» 7
The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water:
there, Christ comes to meet every human being.
It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking
arises from the depths of God's desire for us.
Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst with
ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him.8
§2561
«You would have asked him, and he would have given you living
water.» 9
Paradoxically our prayer of petition is a response to the plea of the living
God:
«They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn out
cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no
water!» 10
Prayer is the response of faith to the free promise of salvation and also a
response of love to the thirst of the only Son of God.11
Prayer as covenant
§2562
Where does prayer come from?
Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who
prays.
But in naming the source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the soul or
the spirit, but most often of the heart (more than a thousand times).
According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays.
If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain.
§2563
The heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the
Semitic or Biblical expression, the heart is the place «to which I
withdraw.»
The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others;
only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully.
The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives.
It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death.
It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation:
it is the place of covenant.
§2564
Christian prayer is a covenant relationship between God and man in Christ.
It is the action of God and of man, springing forth from both the Holy Spirit
and ourselves, wholly directed to the Father, in union with the human will of
the Son of God made man.
Prayer as communion
§2565
In the New Covenant, prayer is the living relationship of the children of God
with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and
with the Holy Spirit.
The grace of the Kingdom is «the union of the entire holy and royal
Trinity . . . with the whole human spirit.» 12
Thus, the life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of the
thrice-holy God and in communion with him.
This communion of life is always possible because, through Baptism, we have
already been united with Christ.13
Prayer is Christian insofar as it is communion with Christ and extends
throughout the Church, which is his Body.
Its dimensions are those of Christ's love.14
THE REVELATION OF PRAYER - THE UNIVERSAL CALL TO PRAYER
§2566
Man is in search of God. In the act of creation, God calls every being from
nothingness into existence. «Crowned with glory and honor,» man is,
after the angels, capable of acknowledging «how majestic is the name of
the Lord in all the earth.» 1 Even after losing through his sin his
likeness to God, man remains an image of his Creator, and retains the desire
for the one who calls him into existence. All religions bear witness to men's
essential search for God.2
§2567
God calls man first. Man may forget his Creator or hide far from his face; he
may run after idols or accuse the deity of having abandoned him; yet the living
and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as
prayer. In prayer, the faithful God's initiative of love always comes first;
our own first step is always a response. As God gradually reveals himself and
reveals man to himself, prayer appears as a reciprocal call, a covenant drama.
Through words and actions, this drama engages the heart. It unfolds throughout
the whole history of salvation.
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
§2568
In the Old Testament, the revelation of prayer comes between the fall and the
restoration of man, that is, between God's sorrowful call to his first
children: «Where are you? . . . What is this that you have
done?» 3 and the response of God's only Son on coming into the
world: «Lo, I have come to do your will, O God.» 4 Prayer is
bound up with human history, for it is the relationship with God in historical
events.
Creation - source of prayer
§2569
Prayer is lived in the first place beginning with the realities of creation.
the first nine chapters of Genesis describe this relationship with God as an
offering of the first-born of Abel's flock, as the invocation of the divine
name at the time of Enosh, and as «walking with God.5 Noah's
offering is pleasing to God, who blesses him and through him all creation,
because his heart was upright and undivided; Noah, like Enoch before him,
«walks with God.» 6 This kind of prayer is lived by many
righteous people in all religions.
In his indefectible covenant with every living creature,7 God has
always called people to prayer. But it is above all beginning with our father
Abraham that prayer is revealed in the Old Testament.
God's promise and the prayer of Faith
§2570
When God calls him, Abraham goes forth «as the Lord had told
him»;8 Abraham's heart is entirely submissive to the Word and so
he obeys. Such attentiveness of the heart, whose decisions are made according
to God's will, is essential to prayer, while the words used count only in
relation to it. Abraham's prayer is expressed first by deeds: a man of silence,
he constructs an altar to the Lord at each stage of his journey. Only later
does Abraham's first prayer in words appear: a veiled complaint reminding God
of his promises which seem unfulfilled.9 Thus one aspect of the drama
of prayer appears from the beginning: the test of faith in the fidelity of God.
§2571
Because Abraham believed in God and walked in his presence and in covenant with
him,10 The patriarch is ready to welcome a mysterious Guest into his
tent. Abraham's remarkable hospitality at Mamre foreshadows the annunciation of
the true Son of the promise.11 After that, once God had confided his
plan, Abraham's heart is attuned to his Lord's compassion for men and he dares
to intercede for them with bold confidence.12
§2572
As a final stage in the purification of his faith, Abraham, «who had
received the promises,» 13 is asked to sacrifice the son God had
given him. Abraham's faith does not weaken (“God himself will provide the lamb
for a burnt offering.»), for he «considered that God was able to
raise men even from the dead.» 14 and so the father of believers is
conformed to the likeness of the Father who will not spare his own Son but wiLl
deliver him up for us all.15 Prayer restores man to God's likeness and
enables him to share in the power of God's love that saves the
multitude.16
§2573
God renews his promise to Jacob, the ancestor of the twelve tribes of
Israel.17 Before confronting his elder brother Esau, Jacob wrestles all
night with a mysterious figure who refuses to reveal his name, but he blesses
him before leaving him at dawn. From this account, the spiritual tradition of
the Church has retained the symbol of prayer as a battle of faith and as the
triumph of perseverance.18
Moses and the prayer of the mediator
§2574
Once the promise begins to be fulfilled (Passover, the Exodus, the gift of the
Law, and the ratification of the covenant), the prayer of Moses becomes the
most striking example of intercessory prayer, which will be fulfilled in
«the one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus.» 19
§2575
Here again the initiative is God's. From the midst of the burning bush he calls
Moses.20 This event will remain one of the primordial images of prayer
in the spiritual tradition of Jews and Christians alike. When «the God of
Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob» calls Moses to be his servant, it is
because he is the living God who wants men to live. God reveals himself in
order to save them, though he does not do this alone or despite them: he caLls
Moses to be his messenger, an associate in his compassion, his work of
salvation. There is something of a divine plea in this mission, and only after
long debate does Moses attune his own will to that of the Savior God. But in
the dialogue in which God confides in him, Moses also learns how to pray: he
balks, makes excuses, above all questions: and it is in response to his question
that the Lord confides his ineffable name, which will be revealed through his
mighty deeds.
§2576
«Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his
friend.» 21 Moses' prayer is characteristic of contemplative prayer
by which God's servant remains faithful to his mission. Moses converses with
God often and at length, climbing the mountain to hear and entreat him and
coming down to the people to repeat the words of his God for their guidance.
Moses «is entrusted with all my house. With him I speak face to face,
clearly, not in riddles,» for «Moses was very humble, more so than
anyone else on the face of the earth.» 22
§2577
From this intimacy with the faithful God, slow to anger and abounding in
steadfast love,23 Moses drew strength and determination for his
intercession. He does not pray for himself but for the people whom God made his
own. Moses already intercedes for them during the battle with the Amalekites
and prays to obtain healing for Miriam.24 But it is chiefly after their
apostasy that Moses «stands in the breach» before God in order to
save the people.25 The arguments of his prayer - for intercession is
also a mysterious battle - will inspire the boldness of the great intercessors
among the Jewish people and in the Church: God is love; he is therefore
righteous and faithful; he cannot contradict himself; he must remember his
marvellous deeds, since his glory is at stake, and he cannot forsake this
people that bears his name.
David and the prayer of the king
§2578
The prayer of the People of God flourishes in the shadow of God's dwelling
place, first the ark of the covenant and later the Temple. At first the leaders
of the people - the shepherds and the prophets - teach them to pray. the infant
Samuel must have learned from his mother Hannah how «to stand before the
LORD» and from the priest Eli how to listen to his word: «Speak,
LORD, for your servant is listening.» 26 Later, he will also know
the cost and consequence of intercession: «Moreover, as for me, far be it
from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; and I
will instruct you in the good and the right way.» 27
§2579
David is par excellence the king «after God's own heart,» the
shepherd who prays for his people and prays in their name. His submission to
the will of God, his praise, and his repentance, will be a model for the prayer
of the people. His prayer, the prayer of God's Anointed, is a faithful
adherence to the divine promise and expresses a loving and joyful trust in God,
the only King and Lord.28 In the Psalms David, inspired by the Holy
Spirit, is the first prophet of Jewish and Christian prayer. the prayer of
Christ, the true Messiah and Son of David, will reveal and fulfill the meaning
of this prayer.
§2580
The Temple of Jerusalem, the house of prayer that David wanted to build, will
be the work of his son, Solomon. the prayer at the dedication of the Temple
relies on God's promise and covenant, on the active presence of his name among
his People, recalling his mighty deeds at the Exodus.29 The king lifts
his hands toward heaven and begs the Lord, on his own behalf, on behalf of the
entire people, and of the generations yet to come, for the forgiveness of their
sins and for their daily needs, so that the nations may know that He is the
only God and that the heart of his people may belong wholly and entirely to
him.
Elijah, the prophets and conversion of heart
§2581
For the People of God, the Temple was to be the place of their education in
prayer: pilgrimages, feasts and sacrifices, the evening offering, the incense,
and the bread of the Presence (“shewbread») - all these signs of the
holiness and glory of God Most High and Most Near were appeals to and ways of
prayer. But ritualism often encouraged an excessively external worship. the
people needed education in faith and conversion of heart; this was the mission
of the prophets, both before and after the Exile.
§2582
Elijah is the «father» of the prophets, «the generation of those
who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.» 30 Elijah's
name, «The Lord is my God,» foretells the people's cry in response to
his prayer on Mount Carmel.31 St. James refers to Elijah in order to
encourage us to pray: «The prayer of the righteous is powerful and
effective.» 32
§2583
After Elijah had learned mercy during his retreat at the Wadi Cherith, he
teaches the widow of Zarephath to believe in the Word of God and confirms her
faith by his urgent prayer: God brings the widow's child back to
life.33 The sacrifice on Mount Carmel is a decisive test for the faith
of the People of God. In response to Elijah's plea, «Answer me, O LORD,
answer me,» the Lord's fire consumes the holocaust, at the time of the
evening oblation. the Eastern liturgies repeat Elijah's plea in the Eucharistic
epiclesis.
Finally, taking the desert road that leads to the place where the living and
true God reveals himself to his people, Elijah, like Moses before him, hides
«in a cleft of he rock» until the mysterious presence of God has
passed by.34 But only on the mountain of the Transfiguration will Moses
and Elijah behold the unveiled face of him whom they sought; «the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God [shines] in the face of Christ,"
crucified and risen.35
§2584
In their «one to one» encounters with God, the prophets draw light
and strength for their mission. Their prayer is not flight from this unfaithful
world, but rather attentiveness to the Word of God. At times their prayer is an
argument or a complaint, but it is always an intercession that awaits and
prepares for the intervention of the Savior God, the Lord of history.36
The Psalms, the prayer of the assembly
§2585
From the time of David to the coming of the Messiah texts appearing in these
sacred books show a deepening in prayer for oneself and in prayer for
others.37 Thus the psalms were gradually collected into the five books
of the Psalter (or «Praises»), the masterwork of prayer in the Old
Testament.
§2586
The Psalms both nourished and expressed the prayer of the People of God
gathered during the great feasts at Jerusalem and each Sabbath in the
synagogues. Their prayer is inseparably personal and communal; it concerns both
those who are praying and all men. the Psalms arose from the communities of the
Holy Land and the Diaspora, but embrace all creation. Their prayer recalls the
saving events of the past, yet extends into the future, even to the end of
history; it commemorates the promises God has already kept, and awaits the Messiah
who will fulfill them definitively. Prayed by Christ and fulfilled in him, the
Psalms remain essential to the prayer of the Church.38
§2587
The Psalter is the book in which the Word of God becomes man's prayer. In other
books of the Old Testament, «the words proclaim [God's] works and bring to
light the mystery they contain.» 39 The words of the Psalmist, sung
for God, both express and acclaim the Lord's saving works; the same Spirit
inspires both God's work and man's response. Christ will unite the two. In him,
the psalms continue to teach us how to pray.
§2588
The Psalter's many forms of prayer take shape both in the liturgy of the Temple
and in the human heart. Whether hymns or prayers of lamentation or
thanksgiving, whether individual or communal, whether royal chants, songs of
pilgrimage or wisdom meditations, the Psalms are a mirror of God's marvelous
deeds in the history of his people, as well as reflections of the human
experiences of the Psalmist. Though a given psalm may reflect an event of the
past, it still possesses such direct simplicity that it can be prayed in truth
by men of all times and conditions.
§2589
Certain constant characteristics appear throughout the Psalms: simplicity and
spontaneity of prayer; the desire for God himself through and with all that is
good in his creation; the distraught situation of the believer who, in his
preferential love for the Lord, is exposed to a host of enemies and
temptations, but who waits upon what the faithful God will do, in the certitude
of his love and in submission to his will. the prayer of the psalms is always
sustained by praise; that is why the title of this collection as handed down to
us is so fitting: «The Praises.» Collected for the assembly's
worship, the Psalter both sounds the call to prayer and sings the response to
that call: Hallelu-Yah! (“Alleluia»), «Praise the Lord!»
What is more pleasing than a psalm? David expresses it well: «Praise the Lord, for a psalm is good: let there be praise of our God with gladness and grace!» Yes, a psalm is a blessing on the lips of the people, praise of God, the assembly's homage, a general acclamation, a word that speaks for all, the voice of the Church, a confession of faith in song.40
IN BRIEF
§2590
«Prayer is the
raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from
God» (St. John Damascene, Defide orth. 3, 24: PG 94, 1089C).
§2591
God tirelessly calls
each person to this mysterious encounter with Himself. Prayer unfolds
throughout the whole history of salvation as a reciprocal call between God and
man.
§2592
The prayer of Abraham
and Jacob is presented as a battle of faith marked by trust in God's
faithfulness and by certitude in the victory promised to perseverance.
§2593
The prayer of Moses
responds to the living God's initiative for the salvation of his people. It
foreshadows the prayer of intercession of the unique mediator, Christ Jesus.
§2594
The prayer of the People
of God flourished in the shadow of the dwelling place of God's presence on
earth, the ark of the covenant and the Temple, under the guidance of their
shepherds, especially King David, and of the prophets.
§2595
The prophets summoned
the people to conversion of heart and, while zealously seeking the face of God,
like Elijah, they interceded for the people.
§2596
The Psalms constitute
the masterwork of prayer in the Old Testament. They present two inseparable
qualities: the personal, and the communal. They extend to all dimensions of
history, recalling God's promises already fulfilled and looking for the coming
of the Messiah.
§2597
Prayed and fulfilled in
Christ, the Psalms are an essential and permanent element of the prayer of the
Church. They are suitable for men of every condition and time.
IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME
§2598
The drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the Word who became flesh and
dwells among us. To seek to understand his prayer through what his witnesses
proclaim to us in the Gospel is to approach the holy Lord Jesus as Moses
approached the burning bush: first to contemplate him in prayer, then to hear
how he teaches us to pray, in order to know how he hears our prayer.
Jesus prays
§2599
The Son of God who became Son of the Virgin learned to pray in his human heart.
He learns to pray from his mother, who kept all the great things the Almighty
had done and treasured them in her heart.41 He learns to pray in the
words and rhythms of the prayer of his people, in the synagogue at Nazareth and
the Temple at Jerusalem. But his prayer springs from an otherwise secret
source, as he intimates at the age of twelve: «I must be in my Father's
house.» 42 Here the newness of prayer in the fullness of time
begins to be revealed: his filial prayer, which the Father awaits from his children,
is finally going to be lived out by the only Son in his humanity, with and for
men.
Catéchisme de l'Église catholique © Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1992.
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