Catechism index

2826. 2826 In committing ourselves to [Christ], we can become one spirit with him, and thereby accomplish his will, in such wise that it will be perfect on earth as it is in heaven. 106 By prayer we can discern "what is the will of God" and obtain the endurance to do it. 108 Jesus teaches us that one enters the kingdom of heaven not by speaking … →
2827. 2827 In committing ourselves to [Christ], we can become one spirit with him, and thereby accomplish his will, in such wise that it will be perfect on earth as it is in heaven. 106 "If any one is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him." 110 Such is the power of the Church's prayer in the name of her Lord, above … →
2828. 2828 IV. "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread" "Give us": the trust of children who look to their Father for everything is beautiful. "He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the … →
2829. 2829 IV. "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread" "Give us" also expresses the covenant. We are his and he is ours, for our sake. But this "us" also recognizes him as the Father of all men and we pray to … →
2830. 2830 IV. "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread" "Our bread": the Father who gives us life cannot not but give us the nourishment life requires - all appropriate goods and blessings, both material and spiritual. In the Sermon on the … →
2831. 2831 To those who seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, he has promised to give all else besides. Since everything indeed belongs to God, he who possesses God wants for nothing, if he himself is not found wanting before God. 117 But the presence of those who hunger because they lack bread opens up another profound meaning of this petition. the drama of hunger in the world calls Christians who pray sincerely to … →
2832. 2832 To those who seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, he has promised to give all else besides. Since everything indeed belongs to God, he who possesses God wants for nothing, if he himself is not found wanting before God. 117 As leaven in the dough, the newness of the kingdom should make the earth "rise" by the Spirit of Christ. 119 This must be shown by the establishment of justice in personal … →
2833. 2833 To those who seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, he has promised to give all else besides. Since everything indeed belongs to God, he who possesses God wants for nothing, if he himself is not found wanting before God. 117 "Our" bread is the "one" loaf for the "many." In the Beatitudes "poverty" is the virtue of sharing: it calls us to communicate and share both material and spiritual goods, not by … →
2834. 2834 To those who seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, he has promised to give all else besides. Since everything indeed belongs to God, he who possesses God wants for nothing, if he himself is not found wanting before God. 117 "Pray and work." 121 "Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you." 122 Even when we have done our work, the food we receive is … →
2835. 2835 To those who seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, he has promised to give all else besides. Since everything indeed belongs to God, he who possesses God wants for nothing, if he himself is not found wanting before God. 117 This petition, with the responsibility it involves, also applies to another hunger from which men are perishing: "Man does not live by bread alone, but . . . by every word that … →
2836. 2836 To those who seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, he has promised to give all else besides. Since everything indeed belongs to God, he who possesses God wants for nothing, if he himself is not found wanting before God. 117 "This day" is also an expression of trust taught us by the Lord, 126 which we would never have presumed to invent. Since it refers above all to his Word and to … →
2837. 2837 If you receive the bread each day, each day is today for you. If Christ is yours today, he rises for you every day. How can this be? "You are my Son, today I have begotten you." Therefore, "today" is when Christ rises. 127 "Daily" (epiousios) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. Taken in a temporal sense, this word is a pedagogical repetition of "this day," 128 to confirm us in trust "without reservation." Taken … →
2838. 2838 V. "And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, as We Forgive Those Who Trespass AGAINST US" This petition is astonishing. If it consisted only of the first phrase, "and forgive us our trespasses," it might have been included, implicitly, in the first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer, … →
2839. 2839 V. "And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, as We Forgive Those Who Trespass AGAINST US" With bold confidence, we began praying to our Father. In begging him that his name be hallowed, we were in fact asking him that we ourselves might be always made more holy. … →
2840. 2840 V. "And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, as We Forgive Those Who Trespass AGAINST US" Now - and this is daunting - this outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us. Love, like the Body … →
2841. 2841 V. "And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, as We Forgive Those Who Trespass AGAINST US" This petition is so important that it is the only one to which the Lord returns and which he develops explicitly in the Sermon on the Mount. 137 This crucial requirement of … →
2842. 2842 V. "And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, as We Forgive Those Who Trespass AGAINST US" This "as" is not unique in Jesus' teaching: "You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect"; "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful"; "A new commandment I give … →
2843. 2843 V. "And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, as We Forgive Those Who Trespass AGAINST US" Thus the Lord's words on forgiveness, the love that loves to the end, 142 become a living reality. the parable of the merciless servant, which crowns the Lord's teaching on ecclesial communion, … →
2844. 2844 V. "And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, as We Forgive Those Who Trespass AGAINST US" Christian prayer extends to the forgiveness of enemies, 144 transfiguring the disciple by configuring him to his Master. Forgiveness is a high-point of Christian prayer; only hearts attuned to God's compassion can … →
2845. 2845 V. "And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, as We Forgive Those Who Trespass AGAINST US" There is no limit or measure to this essentially divine forgiveness, 146 whether one speaks of "sins" as in Luke ( ⇒ 11:4), "debts" as in Matthew ( ⇒ 6:12). We are … →