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§1900
The duty of obedience requires all to give due honor to authority and to treat
those who are charged to exercise it with respect, and, insofar as it is
deserved, with gratitude and good-will.
Pope St. Clement of Rome provides the Church's most ancient prayer for political authorities:18 «Grant to them, Lord, health, peace, concord, and stability, so that they may exercise without offense the sovereignty that you have given them. Master, heavenly King of the ages, you give glory, honor, and power over the things of earth to the sons of men. Direct, Lord, their counsel, following what is pleasing and acceptable in your sight, so that by exercising with devotion and in peace and gentleness the power that you have given to them, they may find favor with you.» 19
§1901
If authority belongs to the order established by God, «the choice of the
political regime and the appointment of rulers are left to the free decision of
the citizens.» 20
The diversity of political regimes is morally acceptable, provided they serve
the legitimate good of the communities that adopt them. Regimes whose nature is
contrary to the natural law, to the public order, and to the fundamental rights
of persons cannot achieve the common good of the nations on which they have
been imposed.
§1902
Authority does not derive its moral legitimacy from itself. It must not behave
in a despotic manner, but must act for the common good as a «moral force
based on freedom and a sense of responsibility":21
A human law has the character of law to the extent that it accords with right reason, and thus derives from the eternal law. Insofar as it falls short of right reason it is said to be an unjust law, and thus has not so much the nature of law as of a kind of violence.22
§1903
Authority is exercised legitimately only when it seeks the common good of the
group concerned and if it employs morally licit means to attain it. If rulers
were to enact unjust laws or take measures contrary to the moral order, such
arrangements would not be binding in conscience. In such a case,
«authority breaks down completely and results in shameful
abuse.» 23
§1904
«It is preferable that each power be balanced by other powers and by other
spheres of responsibility which keep it within proper bounds. This is the
principle of the 'rule of law,' in which the law is sovereign and not the
arbitrary will of men.»
II. The Common Good
§1905
In keeping with the social nature of man, the good of each individual is
necessarily related to the common good, which in turn can be defined only in
reference to the human person:
Do not live entirely isolated, having retreated into yourselves, as if you were already justified, but gather instead to seek the common good together.25
§1906
By common good is to be understood «the sum total of social conditions
which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their
fulfillment more fully and more easily.» 26 The common good
concerns the life of all. It calls for prudence from each, and even more from
those who exercise the office of authority. It consists of three essential
elements:
§1907
First, the common good presupposes respect for the person as such. In the name
of the common good, public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and
inalienable rights of the human person. Society should permit each of its
members to fulfill his vocation. In particular, the common good resides in the
conditions for the exercise of the natural freedoms indispensable for the
development of the human vocation, such as «the right to act according to
a sound norm of conscience and to safeguard . . . privacy, and rightful freedom
also in matters of religion.» 27
§1908
Second, the common good requires the social well-being and development of the
group itself. Development is the epitome of all social duties. Certainly, it is
the proper function of authority to arbitrate, in the name of the common good,
between various particular interests; but it should make accessible to each
what is needed to lead a truly human life: food, clothing, health, work,
education and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family,
and so on.28
§1909
Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of
a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable
means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to
legitimate personal and collective defence.
§1910
Each human community possesses a common good which permits it to be recognized
as such; it is in the political community that its most complete realization is
found. It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of
civil society, its citizens, and intermediate bodies.
§1911
Human interdependence is increasing and gradually spreading throughout the
world. the unity of the human family, embracing people who enjoy equal natural
dignity, implies a universal common good. This good calls for an organization
of the community of nations able to «provide for the different needs of
men; this will involve the sphere of social life to which belong questions of
food, hygiene, education, . . . and certain situations arising here and there,
as for example . . . alleviating the miseries of refugees dispersed throughout
the world, and assisting migrants and their families.» 29
§1912
The common good is always oriented towards the progress of persons: «The
order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons, and not the other
way around.» 30 This order is founded on truth, built up in
justice, and animated by love.
III. Responsibility and Participation
§1913
«Participation» is the voluntary and generous engagement of a person
in social interchange. It is necessary that all participate, each according to
his position and role, in promoting the common good. This obligation is
inherent in the dignity of the human person.
§1914
Participation is achieved first of all by taking charge of the areas for which
one assumes personal responsibility: by the care taken for the education of his
family, by conscientious work, and so forth, man participates in the good of
others and of society.31
§1915
As far as possible citizens should take an active part in public life. the
manner of this participation may vary from one country or culture to another.
«One must pay tribute to those nations whose systems permit the largest
possible number of the citizens to take part in public life in a climate of
genuine freedom.» 32
§1916
As with any ethical obligation, the participation of all in realizing the
common good calls for a continually renewed conversion of the social partners.
Fraud and other subterfuges, by which some people evade the constraints of the
law and the prescriptions of societal obligation, must be firmly condemned
because they are incompatible with the requirements of justice. Much care
should be taken to promote institutions that improve the conditions of human
life.33
§1917
It is incumbent on those who exercise authority to strengthen the values that
inspire the confidence of the members of the group and encourage them to put
themselves at the service of others. Participation begins with education and
culture. «One is entitled to think that the future of humanity is in the
hands of those who are capable of providing the generations to come with
reasons for life and optimism.» 34
IN BRIEF
§1918
«There is no
authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been
instituted by God» (⇒ Rom 13:1).
§1919
Every human community
needs an authority in order to endure and develop.
§1920
«The political
community and public authority are based on human nature and therefore . . .
belong to an order established by God» (GS 74 # 3).
§1921
Authority is exercised
legitimately if it is committed to the common good of society. To attain this
it must employ morally acceptable means.
§1922
The diversity of
political regimes is legitimate, provided they contribute to the good of the
community.
§1923
Political authority must
be exercised within the limits of the moral order and must guarantee the
conditions for the exercise of freedom.
§1924
The common good
comprises «the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either
as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more
easily» (GS 26 1).
§1925
The common good consists
of three essential elements: respect for and promotion of the fundamental
rights of the person; prosperity, or the development of the spiritual and
temporal goods of society; the peace and security of the group and of its
members.
§1926
The dignity of the human
person requires the pursuit of the common good. Everyone should be concerned to
create and support institutions that improve the conditions of human life.
§1927
It is the role of the
state to defend and promote the common good of civil society. the common good
of the whole human family calls for an organization of society on the
international level.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
§1928
Society ensures social justice when it provides the conditions that allow
associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their
nature and their vocation. Social justice is linked to the common good and the
exercise of authority.
I. Respect For the Human Person
§1929
Social justice can be obtained only in respecting the transcendent dignity of
man. the person represents the ultimate end of society, which is ordered to
him:
What is at stake is the dignity of the human person, whose defense and promotion have been entrusted to us by the Creator, and to whom the men and women at every moment of history are strictly and responsibly in debt.35
§1930
Respect for the human person entails respect for the rights that flow from his
dignity as a creature. These rights are prior to society and must be recognized
by it. They are the basis of the moral legitimacy of every authority: by
flouting them, or refusing to recognize them in its positive legislation, a
society undermines its own moral legitimacy.36 If it does not respect
them, authority can rely only on force or violence to obtain obedience from its
subjects. It is the Church's role to remind men of good will of these rights
and to distinguish them from unwarranted or false claims.
§1931
Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that
«everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as
'another self,' above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for
living it with dignity.» 37 No legislation could by itself do away
with the fears, prejudices, and attitudes of pride and selfishness which
obstruct the establishment of truly fraternal societies. Such behavior will
cease only through the charity that finds in every man a «neighbor,"
a brother.
§1932
The duty of making oneself a neighbor to others and actively serving them
becomes even more urgent when it involves the disadvantaged, in whatever area
this may be. «As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you
did it to me.» 38
§1933
This same duty extends to those who think or act differently from us. the
teaching of Christ goes so far as to require the forgiveness of offenses. He
extends the commandment of love, which is that of the New Law, to all
enemies.39 Liberation in the spirit of the Gospel is incompatible with
hatred of one's enemy as a person, but not with hatred of the evil that he does
as an enemy.
II. Equality and Differences Among Men
§1934
Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls,
all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of
Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all
therefore enjoy an equal dignity.
§1935
The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the
rights that flow from it:
Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God's design.40
§1936
On coming into the world, man is not equipped with everything he needs for
developing his bodily and spiritual life. He needs others. Differences appear
tied to age, physical abilities, intellectual or moral aptitudes, the benefits
derived from social commerce, and the distribution of wealth.41 The
«talents» are not distributed equally.42
§1937
These differences belong to God's plan, who wills that each receive what he
needs from others, and that those endowed with particular «talents"
share the benefits with those who need them. These differences encourage and
often oblige persons to practice generosity, kindness, and sharing of goods;
they foster the mutual enrichment of cultures:
I distribute the virtues quite diversely; I do not give all of them to each person, but some to one, some to others.... I shall give principally charity to one; justice to another; humility to this one, a living faith to that one.... and so I have given many gifts and graces, both spiritual and temporal, with such diversity that I have not given everything to one single person, so that you may be constrained to practice charity towards one another.... I have willed that one should need another and that all should be my ministers in distributing the graces and gifts they have received from me.43
§1938
There exist also sinful inequalities that affect millions of men and women.
These are in open contradiction of the Gospel:
Their equal dignity as persons demands that we strive for fairer and more humane conditions. Excessive economic and social disparity between individuals and peoples of the one human race is a source of scandal and militates against social justice, equity, human dignity, as well as social and international peace.44
III. Human Solidarity
§1939
The principle of solidarity, also articulated in terms of
«friendship» or «social charity,» is a direct demand of
human and Christian brotherhood.45
An error, «today abundantly widespread, is disregard for the law of human solidarity and charity, dictated and imposed both by our common origin and by the equality in rational nature of all men, whatever nation they belong to. This law is sealed by the sacrifice of redemption offered by Jesus Christ on the altar of the Cross to his heavenly Father, on behalf of sinful humanity.» 46
§1940
Solidarity is manifested in the first place by the distribution of goods and
remuneration for work. It also presupposes the effort for a more just social
order where tensions are better able to be reduced and conflicts more readily
settled by negotiation.
§1941
Socio-economic problems can be resolved only with the help of all the forms of
solidarity: solidarity of the poor among themselves, between rich and poor, of
workers among themselves, between employers and employees in a business,
solidarity among nations and peoples. International solidarity is a requirement
of the moral order; world peace depends in part upon this.
§1942
The virtue of solidarity goes beyond material goods. In spreading the spiritual
goods of the faith, the Church has promoted, and often opened new paths for,
the development of temporal goods as well. and so throughout the centuries has
the Lord's saying been verified: «Seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well":47
For two thousand years this sentiment has lived and endured in the soul of the Church, impelling souls then and now to the heroic charity of monastic farmers, liberators of slaves, healers of the sick, and messengers of faith, civilization, and science to all generations and all peoples for the sake of creating the social conditions capable of offering to everyone possible a life worthy of man and of a Christian.48
IN BRIEF
§1943
Society ensures social
justice by providing the conditions that allow associations and individuals to
obtain their due.
§1944
Respect for the human
person considers the other «another self.» It presupposes respect for
the fundamental rights that flow from the dignity intrinsic of the person.
§1945
The equality of men
concerns their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it.
§1946
The differences among
persons belong to God's plan, who wills that we should need one another. These
differences should encourage charity.
§1947
The equal dignity of
human persons requires the effort to reduce excessive social and economic
inequalities. It gives urgency to the elimination of sinful inequalities.
§1948
Solidarity is an
eminently Christian virtue. It practices the sharing of spiritual goods even
more than material ones.
GOD'S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE
§1949
Called to beatitude but wounded by sin, man stands in need of salvation from
God. Divine help comes to him in Christ through the law that guides him and the
grace that sustains him:
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.1
THE MORAL LAW
§1950
The moral law is the work of divine Wisdom. Its biblical meaning can be defined
as fatherly instruction, God's pedagogy. It prescribes for man the ways, the
rules of conduct that lead to the promised beatitude; it proscribes the ways of
evil which turn him away from God and his love. It is at once firm in its
precepts and, in its promises, worthy of love.
§1951
Law is a rule of conduct enacted by competent authority for the sake of the
common good. the moral law presupposes the rational order, established among
creatures for their good and to serve their final end, by the power, wisdom,
and goodness of the Creator. All law finds its first and ultimate truth in the
eternal law. Law is declared and established by reason as a participation in
the providence of the living God, Creator and Redeemer of all. «Such an
ordinance of reason is what one calls law.» 2
Alone among all animate beings, man can boast of having been counted worthy to receive a law from God: as an animal endowed with reason, capable of understanding and discernment, he is to govern his conduct by using his freedom and reason, in obedience to the One who has entrusted everything to him.3
§1952
There are different expressions of the moral law, all of them interrelated:
eternal law - the source, in God, of all law; natural law; revealed law,
comprising the Old Law and the New Law, or Law of the Gospel; finally, civil
and ecclesiastical laws.
§1953
The moral law finds its fullness and its unity in Christ. Jesus Christ is in
person the way of perfection. He is the end of the law, for only he teaches and
bestows the justice of God: «For Christ is the end of the law, that every
one who has faith may be justified.» 4
I. The Natural Moral Law
§1954
Man participates in the wisdom and goodness of the Creator who gives him
mastery over his acts and the ability to govern himself with a view to the true
and the good.
The natural law expresses the original moral sense which enables man to discern by reason the good and the evil, the truth and the lie:
The natural law is written and engraved in the soul of each and every man, because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to sin . . . But this command of human reason would not have the force of law if it were not the voice and interpreter of a higher reason to which our spirit and our freedom must be submitted.5
§1955
The «divine and natural» law6 shows man the way to follow so
as to practice the good and attain his end. the natural law states the first
and essential precepts which govern the moral life. It hinges upon the desire
for God and submission to him, who is the source and judge of all that is good,
as well as upon the sense that the other is one's equal. Its principal precepts
are expressed in the Decalogue. This law is called «natural,» not in
reference to the nature of irrational beings, but because reason which decrees
it properly belongs to human nature:
Where then are these rules written, if not in the book of that light we call the truth? In it is written every just law; from it the law passes into the heart of the man who does justice, not that it migrates into it, but that it places its imprint on it, like a seal on a ring that passes onto wax, without leaving the ring.7
The natural law is nothing other than the light of understanding placed in us by God; through it we know what we must do and what we must avoid. God has given this light or law at the creation.8
§1956
The natural law, present in the heart of each man and established by reason, is
universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all men. It expresses
the dignity of the person and determines the basis for his fundamental rights
and duties:
For there is a true law: right reason. It is in conformity with nature, is diffused among all men, and is immutable and eternal; its orders summon to duty; its prohibitions turn away from offense .... To replace it with a contrary law is a sacrilege; failure to apply even one of its provisions is forbidden; no one can abrogate it entirely.9
§1957
Application of the natural law varies greatly; it can demand reflection that
takes account of various conditions of life according to places, times, and
circumstances. Nevertheless, in the diversity of cultures, the natural law
remains as a rule that binds men among themselves and imposes on them, beyond
the inevitable differences, common principles.
§1958
The natural law is immutable and permanent throughout the variations of
history;10 it subsists under the flux of ideas and customs and supports
their progress. the rules that express it remain substantially valid. Even when
it is rejected in its very principles, it cannot be destroyed or removed from
the heart of man. It always rises again in the life of individuals and
societies:
Theft is surely punished by your law, O Lord, and by the law that is written in the human heart, the law that iniquity itself does not efface.11
§1959
The natural law, the Creator's very good work, provides the solid foundation on
which man can build the structure of moral rules to guide his choices. It also
provides the indispensable moral foundation for building the human community.
Finally, it provides the necessary basis for the civil law with which it is
connected, whether by a reflection that draws conclusions from its principles,
or by additions of a positive and juridical nature.
§1960
The precepts of natural law are not perceived by everyone clearly and
immediately. In the present situation sinful man needs grace and revelation so
moral and religious truths may be known «by everyone with facility, with
firm certainty and with no admixture of error.» 12 The natural law
provides revealed law and grace with a foundation prepared by God and in
accordance with the work of the Spirit.
II. The Old Law
§1961
God, our Creator and Redeemer, chose Israel for himself to be his people and
revealed his Law to them, thus preparing for the coming of Christ. the Law of
Moses expresses many truths naturally accessible to reason. These are stated
and authenticated within the covenant of salvation.
§1962
The Old Law is the first stage of revealed Law. Its moral prescriptions are
summed up in the Ten Commandments. the precepts of the Decalogue lay the
foundations for the vocation of man fashioned in the image of God; they
prohibit what is contrary to the love of God and neighbor and prescribe what is
essential to it. the Decalogue is a light offered to the conscience of every
man to make God's call and ways known to him and to protect him against evil:
God wrote on the tables of the Law what men did not read in their hearts.13
§1963
According to Christian tradition, the Law is holy, spiritual, and
good,14 yet still imperfect. Like a tutor15 it shows what must
be done, but does not of itself give the strength, the grace of the Spirit, to
fulfill it. Because of sin, which it cannot remove, it remains a law of
bondage. According to St. Paul, its special function is to denounce and
disclose sin, which constitutes a «law of concupiscence» in the human
heart.16 However, the Law remains the first stage on the way to the
kingdom. It prepares and disposes the chosen people and each Christian for
conversion and faith in the Savior God. It provides a teaching which endures
for ever, like the Word of God.
§1964
The Old Law is a preparation for the Gospel. «The Law is a pedagogy and a
prophecy of things to come.» 17 It prophesies and presages the work
of liberation from sin which will be fulfilled in Christ: it provides the New
Testament with images, «types,» and symbols for expressing the life
according to the Spirit. Finally, the Law is completed by the teaching of the
sapiential books and the prophets which set its course toward the New Covenant
and the Kingdom of heaven.
There were . . . under the regimen of the Old Covenant, people who possessed the charity and grace of the Holy Spirit and longed above all for the spiritual and eternal promises by which they were associated with the New Law. Conversely, there exist carnal men under the New Covenant still distanced from the perfection of the New Law: the fear of punishment and certain temporal promises have been necessary, even under the New Covenant, to incite them to virtuous works. In any case, even though the Old Law prescribed charity, it did not give the Holy Spirit, through whom «God's charity has been poured into our hearts.» 18
III. The New Law or the Law of the Gospel
§1965
The New Law or the
Law of the Gospel is the perfection here on earth of the divine law, natural
and revealed. It is the work of Christ and is expressed particularly in the
Sermon on the Mount. It is also the work of the Holy Spirit and through him it
becomes the interior law of charity: «I will establish a New Covenant with
the house of Israel. . . . I will put my laws into their hands, and
write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.» 19
§1966
The New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit given to the faithful through faith
in Christ. It works through charity; it uses the Sermon on the Mount to teach
us what must be done and makes use of the sacraments to give us the grace to do
it:
If anyone should meditate with devotion and perspicacity on the sermon our Lord gave on the mount, as we read in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, he will doubtless find there . . . the perfect way of the Christian life.... This sermon contains ... all the precepts needed to shape one's life.20
§1967
The Law of the Gospel «fulfills,» refines, surpasses, and leads the
Old Law to its perfection.21 In the Beatitudes, the New Law fulfills
the divine promises by elevating and orienting them toward the «kingdom of
heaven.» It is addressed to those open to accepting this new hope with
faith - the poor, the humble, the afflicted, the pure of heart, those
persecuted on account of Christ and so marks out the surprising ways of the
Kingdom.
§1968
The Law of the Gospel fulfills the commandments of the Law. the Lord's Sermon
on the Mount, far from abolishing or devaluing the moral prescriptions of the
Old Law, releases their hidden potential and has new demands arise from them:
it reveals their entire divine and human truth. It does not add new external
precepts, but proceeds to reform the heart, the root of human acts, where man
chooses between the pure and the impure,22 where faith, hope, and
charity are formed and with them the other virtues. the Gospel thus brings the
Law to its fullness through imitation of the perfection of the heavenly Father,
through forgiveness of enemies and prayer for persecutors, in emulation of the
divine generosity.23
§1969
The New Law practices the acts of religion: almsgiving, prayer and fasting,
directing them to the «Father who sees in secret,» in contrast with
the desire to «be seen by men.» 24 Its prayer is the Our
Father.25
§1970
The Law of the Gospel requires us to make the decisive choice between «the
two ways» and to put into practice the words of the Lord.26 It is
summed up in the Golden Rule, «Whatever you wish that men would do to you,
do so to them; this is the law and the prophets.» 27
The entire Law of the Gospel is contained in the «new commandment» of
Jesus, to love one another as he has loved us.28
§1971
To the Lord's Sermon on the Mount it is fitting to add the moral catechesis of
the apostolic teachings, such as Romans 12-15, 1 Corinthians 12-13, Colossians
3-4, Ephesians 4-5, etc. This doctrine hands on the Lord's teaching with the
authority of the apostles, particularly in the presentation of the virtues that
flow from faith in Christ and are animated by charity, the principal gift of
the Holy Spirit. «Let charity be genuine.... Love one another with
brotherly affection.... Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be
constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice
hospitality.» 29 This catechesis also teaches us to deal with cases
of conscience in the light of our relationship to Christ and to the
Church.30
§1972
The New Law is called a law of love because it makes us act out of the love
infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear; a law of grace, because it
confers the strength of grace to act, by means of faith and the sacraments; a
law of freedom, because it sets us free from the ritual and juridical
observances of the Old Law, inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting
of charity and, finally, lets us pass from the condition of a servant who
«does not know what his master is doing» to that of a friend of
Christ - «For all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to
you» - or even to the status of son and heir.31
§1973
Besides its precepts, the New Law also includes the evangelical counsels. the
traditional distinction between God's commandments and the evangelical counsels
is drawn in relation to charity, the perfection of Christian life. the precepts
are intended to remove whatever is incompatible with charity. the aim of the
counsels is to remove whatever might hinder the development of charity, even if
it is not contrary to it.32
§1974
The evangelical counsels manifest the living fullness of charity, which is
never satisfied with not giving more. They attest its vitality and call forth
our spiritual readiness. the perfection of the New Law consists essentially in
the precepts of love of God and neighbor. the counsels point out the more
direct ways, the readier means, and are to be practiced in keeping with the
vocation of each:
(God) does not want each person to keep all the counsels, but only those appropriate to the diversity of persons, times, opportunities, and strengths, as charity requires; for it is charity, as queen of all virtues, all commandments, all counsels, and, in short, of all laws and all Christian actions that gives to all of them their rank, order, time, and value.33
IN BRIEF
§1975
According to Scripture
the Law is a fatherly instruction by God which prescribes for man the ways that
lead to the promised beatitude, and proscribes the ways of evil.
§1976
«Law is an
ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by the one who is in
charge of the community» (St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I-II, 90, 4).
§1977
Christ is the end of the
law (cf ⇒ Rom 10:4); only he teaches and bestows the
justice of God.
§1978
The natural law is a
participation in God's wisdom and goodness by man formed in the image of his
Creator. It expresses the dignity of the human person and forms the basis of
his fundamental rights and duties.
§1979
The natural law is
immutable, permanent throughout history. the rules that express it remain
substantially valid. It is a necessary foundation for the erection of moral
rules and civil law.
§1980
The Old Law is the first
stage of revealed law. Its moral prescriptions are summed up in the Ten
Commandments.
§1981
The Law of Moses
contains many truths naturally accessible to reason. God has revealed them
because men did not read them in their hearts.
§1982
The Old Law is a
preparation for the Gospel.
§1983
The New Law is the grace
of the Holy Spirit received by faith in Christ, operating through charity. It
finds expression above all in the Lord's Sermon on the Mount and uses the
sacraments to communicate grace to us.
§1984
The Law of the Gospel
fulfills and surpasses the Old Law and brings it to perfection: its promises,
through the Beatitudes of the Kingdom of heaven; its commandments, by reforming
the heart, the root of human acts.
§1985
The New Law is a law of
love, a law of grace, a law of freedom.
§1986
Besides its precepts the
New Law includes the evangelical counsels. «The Church's holiness is
fostered in a special way by the manifold counsels which the Lord proposes to
his disciples in the Gospel» (LG 42 # 2).
GRACE AND JUSTIFICATION
I. Justification
§1987
The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us, that is, to cleanse
us from our sins and to communicate to us «the righteousness of God
through faith in Jesus Christ» and through Baptism:34
But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves as dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.35
§1988
Through the power of the Holy Spirit we take part in Christ's Passion by dying
to sin, and in his Resurrection by being born to a new life; we are members of
his Body which is the Church, branches grafted onto the vine which is
himself:36
(God) gave himself to us through his Spirit. By the participation of the Spirit, we become communicants in the divine nature.... For this reason, those in whom the Spirit dwells are divinized.37
§1989
The first work of the grace of the Holy Spirit is conversion, effecting
justification in accordance with Jesus' proclamation at the beginning of the
Gospel: «Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.» 38
Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting
forgiveness and righteousness from on high. «Justification is not only the
remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior
man.39
§1990
Justification detaches man from sin which contradicts the love of God, and
purifies his heart of sin. Justification follows upon God's merciful initiative
of offering forgiveness. It reconciles man with God. It frees from the
enslavement to sin, and it heals.
§1991
Justification is at the same time the acceptance of God's righteousness through
faith in Jesus Christ. Righteousness (or «justice») here means the
rectitude of divine love. With justification, faith, hope, and charity are
poured into our hearts, and obedience to the divine will is granted us.
§1992
Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered
himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and whose
blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men.
Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us
to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his
mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal
life:40
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. For there is no distinction: since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus.41
§1993
Justification establishes cooperation between God's grace and man's freedom. On
man's part it is expressed by the assent of faith to the Word of God, which
invites him to conversion, and in the cooperation of charity with the prompting
of the Holy Spirit who precedes and preserves his assent:
When God touches man's heart through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, man himself is not inactive while receiving that inspiration, since he could reject it; and yet, without God's grace, he cannot by his own free will move himself toward justice in God's sight.42
§1994
Justification is the most excellent work of God's love made manifest in Christ
Jesus and granted by the Holy Spirit. It is the opinion of St. Augustine that
«the justification of the wicked is a greater work than the creation of
heaven and earth,» because «heaven and earth will pass away but the
salvation and justification of the elect . . . will not pass
away.» 43 He holds also that the justification of sinners surpasses
the creation of the angels in justice, in that it bears witness to a greater
mercy.
§1995
The Holy Spirit is the master of the interior life. By giving birth to the
«inner man,» 44 justification entails the sanctification of
his whole being:
Just as you once yielded your members to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now yield your members to righteousness for sanctification.... But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life.45
II. Grace
§1996
Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favor, the free and
undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of
God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal
life.46
§1997
Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy
of Trinitarian life: by Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of
Christ, the Head of his Body. As an «adopted son» he can henceforth
call God «Father,» in union with the only Son. He receives the life
of the Spirit who breathes charity into him and who forms the Church.
§1998
This vocation to eternal life is supernatural. It depends entirely on God's
gratuitous initiative, for he alone can reveal and give himself. It surpasses
the power of human intellect and will, as that of every other
creature.47
§1999
The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own
life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify
it. It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism. It is in us
the source of the work of sanctification:48
Therefore if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself.49
Catéchisme de l'Église catholique © Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1992.
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