Dignity in Christ

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Simplified

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God's Greatest Work (1691-1692)

"Christian, recognize your dignity. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness" (Pope St. Leo the Great).

The creeds confess God's great works (man's creation, redemption, and sanctification). The sacraments communicate these gifts to man. Christians through Christ and the Spirit must live a life "worthy of the Gospel of Christ" (Phil 1:27).

Called to Be Perfect (1693-1695)

Christians are invited to become "perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48).

Because they are to be "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom 6:11) they must become "imitators of God as beloved children" (Eph 5:1-2).

The Spirit teaches believers to "pray to the Father" (Eph 4:23) and to bring forth "the fruit of the Spirit" (Gal 5:22).

Church catechesis stresses the "two ways" (to life or to death) and the importance of moral decisions for our salvation. "There are two ways, the one of life, the other of death, but between the two, there is a great difference" (Didache).

The Seven Catechetical Needs (1696-1698)

There must be a catechesis:

1. Of the Spirit - Who inspires, corrects and strengthens
2. Of grace - Which alone saves and bears fruit
3. Of the beatitudes - Which sum up Christ's way
4. Of sin and forgiveness by which man acknowledges his sinfulness and learns of the possibility of forgiveness
5. Of human virtues - Which grasp the beauty of goodness
6. Of Christian virtues - Which follow the example of the saints
7. Of the Ten Commandments - Which give clear teaching
8. Of the Church - In which the believer "shares spiritual goods"

All Catechesis must lead to Christ. Only in Christ, can the believer gain the promises. "I ask you to consider that our Lord Jesus Christ is your true Lord. All that is his is yours. You belong to him" (St. John Eudes). "For to me, to live is Christ" (Phil 1:21).

Aspects of Man's Call (1699)

This section has three parts:

1. The vocation of man in the Spirit
2. A life of charity toward God and solidarity with man
3. Salvation

Man's Vocation (1700)

This first part has eight articles:

1. Man, the Image of God
2. Man's Call to Happiness
3. Man's Freedom
4. The Morality of Human Acts
5. The Morality of the Passions
6. Moral Conscience
7. The Virtues
8. Sin

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