Faith
Essentials of the Faith
A reader’s guide to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: what each part of it covers, where to find it, and the prayers the whole Church holds in common. The Catechism’s own text is the authority on everything summarised here.
How the Catechism is built
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is arranged in four parts, long called its pillars. Each section below says what its pillar covers and gives the paragraph numbers to read.
I
What we believe
The Profession of Faith — the Creed, article by article: God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church, the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. Catechism 26–1065.
II
How we celebrate
The Celebration of the Christian Mystery — the liturgy and the seven sacraments, with the Eucharist at the centre. Catechism 1066–1690.
III
How we live
Life in Christ — the Commandments, the Beatitudes, the virtues and the works of mercy. Catechism 1691–2557.
IV
How we pray
Christian Prayer — the tradition of prayer, and the Our Father line by line. Catechism 2558–2865.
The Creed: what the Church professes
A creed is a summary of the faith handed down from the Apostles. The Apostles’ Creed is the ancient baptismal creed of the Church of Rome; the longer Nicene Creed, professed at Sunday Mass, spells out the same faith against the errors of the fourth century. Catechism 185–197.
The Creed is arranged around the Holy Trinity. The first part professes faith in God the Father and creation; the second, the longest, in Jesus Christ, his incarnation, passion, death in Jerusalem, resurrection from the tomb the Order is named for, ascension and return in glory; the third in the Holy Spirit and the work he does in the Church.
Tradition counts twelve articles, one for each Apostle: creation, the Incarnation, the Paschal Mystery, the Church, the forgiveness of sins and the last things. The Catechism takes them in that order, at 198–1065.
The Nicene Creed adds what the Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) made explicit: that the Son is consubstantial with the Father and that the Holy Spirit is the Lord, the giver of life. It is the Creed of the whole Church, East and West.
How we celebrate
The seven sacraments
“The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us.” — Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1131. Three initiate us into Christian life, two heal, and two are ordered to the service of others. Catechism 1210–1666.
I
Baptism
The gateway to life in the Spirit: it frees us from original sin, makes us children of God and members of Christ’s Body, the Church.
In the Catechism: 1213–1284.
II
Confirmation
The seal of the Holy Spirit that completes baptismal grace and strengthens us to bear witness to Christ in word and deed.
In the Catechism: 1285–1321.
III
The Holy Eucharist
The source and summit of the Christian life: the true Body and Blood of Christ, offered in the Mass and received in Holy Communion.
In the Catechism: 1322–1419.
IV
Penance and Reconciliation
Christ’s forgiveness for sins committed after Baptism, through the ministry of the priest: contrition, confession, absolution and penance.
In the Catechism: 1422–1498.
V
Anointing of the Sick
Strength, peace and courage, and the forgiveness of sins, for those seriously ill, weakened by age or facing surgery.
In the Catechism: 1499–1532.
VI
Holy Orders
By which the mission entrusted by Christ to his Apostles continues in the Church: bishops, priests and deacons.
In the Catechism: 1536–1600.
VII
Matrimony
The covenant by which a man and a woman establish a lifelong partnership, ordered to their good and to the procreation and education of children.
In the Catechism: 1601–1666.
How we pray
Prayers the whole Church holds in common
These are the prayers of the universal Church, in their traditional English wording. They are set down here as they are received, not composed for this page. The Catechism treats the Our Father at 2759–2865 and prayer with Mary at 2673–2679.
The Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
The Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
The Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
The Hail, Holy Queen
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.
The Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
The Fatima Prayer
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.
The school of Mary
The Holy Rosary
As the Rosary is commonly prayed: the Sign of the Cross and the Apostles’ Creed; then, for each mystery, one Our Father, ten Hail Marys and a Glory Be; ending with the Hail, Holy Queen. The twenty mysteries are those set out by Saint John Paul II in Rosarium Virginis Mariae (2002).
The Annunciation; the Visitation; the Nativity; the Presentation in the Temple; the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple.
The Agony in the Garden; the Scourging at the Pillar; the Crowning with Thorns; the Carrying of the Cross; the Crucifixion.
The Resurrection; the Ascension; the Descent of the Holy Spirit; the Assumption; the Coronation of Mary.
The Baptism in the Jordan; the Wedding at Cana; the Proclamation of the Kingdom; the Transfiguration; the Institution of the Eucharist.
Every mystery of the Rosary happened on the soil the Order serves: Nazareth, Bethlehem, the Jordan, Cana, Tabor, the Upper Room, Gethsemane, Calvary and the empty tomb. To pray it is to walk the Holy Land in the heart.
Novenas: nine days of prayer
A novena is nine consecutive days of prayer, after the pattern of the Apostles who waited nine days in the Upper Room between the Ascension and Pentecost (Acts 1:14). Those below are long established in the Church; their texts are kept by the shrines and religious communities from which they come.
Ascension to Pentecost
Novena to the Holy Spirit
The oldest of them all, kept in the nine days between the Ascension and Pentecost.
Good Friday to Divine Mercy Sunday
Divine Mercy Novena
Given to Saint Faustina Kowalska; kept from Good Friday to Divine Mercy Sunday, with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
16 to 24 December
Christmas Novena
Nine days before the Nativity, keeping the great O Antiphons the Church sings at Vespers from 17 December.
June
Novena to the Sacred Heart
Kept in the nine days before the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, which falls on the Friday after the Second Sunday after Pentecost.
10 to 18 March
Novena to Saint Joseph
Nine days before the Solemnity of Saint Joseph on 19 March. Saint Joseph is Patron of Canada.
16 to 24 October, the Order’s own
Novena to Our Lady, Queen of Palestine
Nine days before the Order’s patronal feast on 25 October, for the peace of Jerusalem and the Christians of the Holy Land.
How we live
The Commandments and the life of grace
The lists below are given as the Catechism sets them out: the Commandments at 2052–2557, the Precepts of the Church at 2041–2043, and the works of mercy at 2447.
The Ten Commandments
I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange gods before me.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
Honour your father and your mother.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife.
You shall not covet your neighbour’s goods.
The Precepts of the Church
Attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, and rest from servile labour.
Confess your sins at least once a year.
Receive the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.
Observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church.
Help to provide for the needs of the Church.
The Corporal Works of Mercy
Feed the hungry.
Give drink to the thirsty.
Clothe the naked.
Shelter the homeless.
Visit the sick.
Visit the imprisoned.
Bury the dead.
The Spiritual Works of Mercy
Instruct the ignorant.
Counsel the doubtful.
Admonish the sinner.
Bear wrongs patiently.
Forgive offences willingly.
Comfort the afflicted.
Pray for the living and the dead.
From knowing the faith to living it
Pray in the Prayer Garden, read the stories of witness in Faith in Action, and keep the feasts of the Order through the year.
The Prayer Garden Faith in Action Read the CatechismThis page is a reader’s guide. The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the other official texts of the Church are the authority on everything summarised here, and nothing on this page is issued as catechetical instruction by the Lieutenancy. For instruction in the faith, speak with your parish priest or with one of the Lieutenancy’s chaplains.