Catechism of the Catholic Church
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Sacred Scripture

41 numbers

  1. 101 I. Christ - The Unique Word of Sacred Scripture In order to reveal himself to men, in the condescension of his goodness God speaks to them in human words: "Indeed the words of God, expressed in the words of men, are …
  2. 102 I. Christ - The Unique Word of Sacred Scripture Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely: 64
  3. 103 You recall that one and the same Word of God extends throughout Scripture, that it is one and the same Utterance that resounds in the mouths of all the sacred writers, since he who was in the beginning God with God has no need of separate syllables; for he is not subject to time. 65 For this reason, the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord's Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one …
  4. 104 You recall that one and the same Word of God extends throughout Scripture, that it is one and the same Utterance that resounds in the mouths of all the sacred writers, since he who was in the beginning God with God has no need of separate syllables; for he is not subject to time. 65 In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it not as a human word, "but as what it really is, the word of God". 67 …
  5. 105 II. Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture God is the author of Sacred Scripture. "The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy …
  6. 106 II. Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture God inspired the human authors of the sacred books. "To compose the sacred books, God chose certain men who, all the while he employed them in this task, made full use of …
  7. 107 II. Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture The inspired books teach the truth. "Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books …
  8. 108 II. Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture Still, the Christian faith is not a "religion of the book". Christianity is the religion of the "Word" of God, "not a written and mute word, but incarnate and living". 73 If …
  9. 109 III. The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way. To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm, and to what …
  10. 110 III. The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture In order to discover the sacred authors' intention, the reader must take into account the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at that time, and the modes …
  11. 111 III. The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture But since Sacred Scripture is inspired, there is another and no less important principle of correct interpretation, without which Scripture would remain a dead letter. "Sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted …
  12. 112 The Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it. 78 Be especially attentive "to the content and unity of the whole Scripture". Different as the books which compose it may be, Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God's …
  13. 113 The Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it. 78 2. Read the Scripture within "the living Tradition of the whole Church". According to a saying of the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church's heart rather than in documents …
  14. 114 The Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it. 78 3. Be attentive to the analogy of faith. 82 By "analogy of faith" we mean the coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of Revelation. The …
  15. 115 The Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it. 78 According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. the profound concordance …
  16. 116 The Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it. 78 The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: "All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the …
  17. 117 The Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it. 78 The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God's plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs. 1. the allegorical …
  18. 118 The Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it. 78 A medieval couplet summarizes the significance of the four senses:
  19. 119 The Letter speaks of deeds; Allegory to faith; The Moral how to act; Anagogy our destiny. 87 "It is the task of exegetes to work, according to these rules, towards a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture in order that their research may help the …
  20. 120 IV. The Canon of Scripture It was by the apostolic Tradition that the Church discerned which writings are to be included in the list of the sacred books. 90 The Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, …
  21. 121 This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New. 91 The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture. Its books are divinely inspired and retain a permanent value, 92 for the Old Covenant has never been revoked.
  22. 122 This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New. 91 Indeed, "the economy of the Old Testament was deliberately SO oriented that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, redeemer of all men." 93 "Even though they …
  23. 123 This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New. 91 Christians venerate the Old Testament as true Word of God. the Church has always vigorously opposed the idea of rejecting the Old Testament under the pretext that the New has rendered it …
  24. 124 This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New. 91 "The Word of God, which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, is set forth and displays its power in a most wonderful way in the writings …
  25. 125 This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New. 91 The Gospels are the heart of all the Scriptures "because they are our principal source for the life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Saviour". 98
  26. 126 This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New. 91 We can distinguish three stages in the formation of the Gospels: 1. the life and teaching of Jesus. the Church holds firmly that the four Gospels, "whose historicity she unhesitatingly affirms, faithfully …
  27. 127 This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New. 91 The fourfold Gospel holds a unique place in the Church, as is evident both in the veneration which the liturgy accords it and in the surpassing attraction it has exercised on the …
  28. 128 But above all it's the gospels that occupy my mind when I'm at prayer; my poor soul has so many needs, and yet this is the one thing needful. I'm always finding fresh lights there; hidden meanings which had meant nothing to me hitherto. 103 The Church, as early as apostolic times, 104 and then constantly in her Tradition, has illuminated the unity of the divine plan in the two Testaments through typology, which discerns in God's …
  29. 129 But above all it's the gospels that occupy my mind when I'm at prayer; my poor soul has so many needs, and yet this is the one thing needful. I'm always finding fresh lights there; hidden meanings which had meant nothing to me hitherto. 103 Christians therefore read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen. Such typological reading discloses the inexhaustible content of the Old Testament; but it must not make us forget …
  30. 130 But above all it's the gospels that occupy my mind when I'm at prayer; my poor soul has so many needs, and yet this is the one thing needful. I'm always finding fresh lights there; hidden meanings which had meant nothing to me hitherto. 103 Typology indicates the dynamic movement toward the fulfilment of the divine plan when "God [will] be everything to everyone." 108 Nor do the calling of the patriarchs and the exodus from Egypt, …