Paragraph 2. "Conceived by the Power of the Holy
Spirit and Born of the Virgin Mary"
I. CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT. . .
484 The Annunciation to Mary inaugurates "the fullness of time",[119] the time of the
fulfilment of God's promises and preparations. Mary was invited to conceive him in
whom the "whole fullness of deity" would dwell "bodily".[120] The divine response to
her question, "How can this be, since I know not man?", was given by the power of the
Spirit: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you."[121]
485 The mission of the Holy Spirit is always conjoined and ordered to that of the
Son.[122] The Holy Spirit, "the Lord, the giver of Life", is sent to sanctify the womb of
the Virgin Mary and divinely fecundate it, causing her to conceive the eternal Son of the
Father in a humanity drawn from her own.
486 The Father's only Son, conceived as man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, is
"Christ", that is to say, anointed by the Holy Spirit, from the beginning of his human
existence, though the manifestation of this fact takes place only progressively: to the
shepherds, to the magi, to John the Baptist, to the disciples.[123] Thus the whole life of
Jesus Christ will make manifest "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy
Spirit and with power."[124]
II.... BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY
487 What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about
Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ.
Mary's predestination
488 "God sent forth his Son", but to prepare a body for him,[125] he wanted the free
co-operation of a creature. For this, from all eternity God chose for the mother of his
Son a daughter of Israel, a young Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, "a virgin
betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's
name was Mary":[126]
The Father of mercies willed that the Incarnation should be preceded by assent on the
part of the predestined mother, so that just as a woman had a share in the coming of
death, so also should a woman contribute to the coming of life.[127]
489 Throughout the Old Covenant the mission of many holy women prepared for that
of Mary. At the very beginning there was Eve; despite her disobedience, she receives the
promise of a posterity that will be victorious over the evil one, as well as the promise
that she will be the mother of all the living.[128] By virtue of this promise, Sarah
conceives a son in spite of her old age.[129] Against all human expectation God chooses
those who were considered powerless and weak to show forth his faithfulness to his
promises: Hannah, the mother of Samuel; Deborah; Ruth; Judith and Esther; and many
other women.[130] Mary "stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord, who
confidently hope for and receive salvation from him. After a long period of waiting the
times are fulfilled in her, the exalted Daughter of Sion, and the new plan of salvation is
established."[131]
The Immaculate Conception
490 To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts
appropriate to such a role."[132] The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation
salutes her as "full of grace".[133] In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free
assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be
wholly borne by God's grace.
491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of
grace" through God,[134] was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is
what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed
in 1854:
The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a
singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ,
Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.[135]
492 The "splendour of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the
first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more
exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son".[136] The Father blessed Mary more
than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and
blameless before him in love".[137]
493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All-Holy"
(Panagia), and celebrate her as "free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the
Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature".[138] By the grace of God Mary remained free
of every personal sin her whole life long.
"Let it be done to me according to your word. . ."
494 At the announcement that she would give birth to "the Son of the Most High"
without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded with the
obedience of faith, certain that "with God nothing will be impossible": "Behold, I am
the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word."[139] Thus,
giving her consent to God's word, Mary becomes the mother of Jesus. Espousing the
divine will for salvation wholeheartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave
herself entirely to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the
mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God's grace:[140]
As St. Irenaeus says, "Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and
for the whole human race."[141] Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert. . .:
"The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve
bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith."[142] Comparing her with
Eve, they call Mary "the Mother of the living" and frequently claim: "Death through
Eve, life through Mary."[143]
Mary's divine motherhood
495 Called in the Gospels "the mother of Jesus", Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the
prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the mother of my
Lord".[144] In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly
became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the
second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly
"Mother of God" (Theotokos).[145]
Mary's virginity
496 From the first formulations of her faith, the Church has confessed that Jesus was
conceived solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary,
affirming also the corporeal aspect of this event: Jesus was conceived "by the Holy Spirit
without human seed".[146] The Fathers see in the virginal conception the sign that it
truly was the Son of God who came in a humanity like our own. Thus St. Ignatius of
Antioch at the beginning of the second century says:
You are firmly convinced about our Lord, who is truly of the race of David according
to the flesh, Son of God according to the will and power of God, truly born of a virgin,.
. . he was truly nailed to a tree for us in his flesh under Pontius Pilate. . . he truly
suffered, as he is also truly risen.[147]
497 The Gospel accounts understand the virginal conception of Jesus as a divine work
that surpasses all human understanding and possibility:[148] "That which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Spirit", said the angel to Joseph about Mary his fiancee.[149] The
Church sees here the fulfilment of the divine promise given through the prophet Isaiah:
"Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son."[150]
498 People are sometimes troubled by the silence of St. Mark's Gospel and the New
Testament Epistles about Jesus' virginal conception. Some might wonder if we were
merely dealing with legends or theological constructs not claiming to be history. To this
we must respond: Faith in the virginal conception of Jesus met with the lively
opposition, mockery or incomprehension of non-believers, Jews and pagans alike;[151]
so it could hardly have been motivated by pagan mythology or by some adaptation to
the ideas of the age. The meaning of this event is accessible only to faith, which
understands in it the "connection of these mysteries with one another"[152] in the
totality of Christ's mysteries, from his Incarnation to his Passover. St. Ignatius of
Antioch already bears witness to this connection: "Mary's virginity and giving birth, and
even the Lord's death escaped the notice of the prince of this world: these three
mysteries worthy of proclamation were accomplished in God's silence."[153]
Mary-"ever-virgin"
499 The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary's
real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made
man.[154] In fact, Christ's birth "did not diminish his mother's virginal integrity but
sanctified it."[155] And so the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the
"Ever-virgin".[156]
500 Against this doctrine the objection is sometimes raised that the Bible mentions
brothers and sisters of Jesus.[157] The Church has always understood these passages as
not referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. In fact James and Joseph, "brothers
of Jesus", are the sons of another Mary, a disciple of Christ, whom St. Matthew
significantly calls "the other Mary".[158] They are close relations of Jesus, according to
an Old Testament expression.[159]
501 Jesus is Mary's only son, but her spiritual motherhood extends to all men whom
indeed he came to save: "The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as
the first-born among many brethren, that is, the faithful in whose generation and
formation she co-operates with a mother's love."[160]
Mary's virginal motherhood in God's plan
502 The eyes of faith can discover in the context of the whole of Revelation the
mysterious reasons why God in his saving plan wanted his Son to be born of a virgin.
These reasons touch both on the person of Christ and his redemptive mission, and on
the welcome Mary gave that mission on behalf of all men.
503 Mary's virginity manifests God's absolute initiative in the Incarnation. Jesus has only
God as Father. "He was never estranged from the Father because of the human nature
which he assumed. . . He is naturally Son of the Father as to his divinity and naturally
son of his mother as to his humanity, but properly Son of the Father in both
natures."[161]
504 Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary's womb because he is the
New Adam, who inaugurates the new creation: "The first man was from the earth, a
man of dust; the second man is from heaven."[162] From his conception, Christ's
humanity is filled with the Holy Spirit, for God "gives him the Spirit without
measure."[163] From "his fullness" as the head of redeemed humanity "we have all
received, grace upon grace."[164]
505 By his virginal conception, Jesus, the New Adam, ushers in the new birth of children
adopted in the Holy Spirit through faith. "How can this be?"[165] Participation in the
divine life arises "not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of
God".[166] The acceptance of this life is virginal because it is entirely the Spirit's gift to
man. The spousal character of the human vocation in relation to God[167] is fulfilled
perfectly in Mary's virginal motherhood.
506 Mary is a virgin because her virginity is the sign of her faith "unadulterated by any
doubt", and of her undivided gift of herself to God's will.[168] It is her faith that enables
her to become the mother of the Saviour: "Mary is more blessed because she embraces
faith in Christ than because she conceives the flesh of Christ."[169]
507 At once virgin and mother, Mary is the symbol and the most perfect realization of
the Church: "the Church indeed. . . by receiving the word of God in faith becomes
herself a mother. By preaching and Baptism she brings forth sons, who are conceived by
the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life. She herself is a virgin, who
keeps in its entirety and purity the faith she pledged to her spouse."[170]
IN BRIEF
508 From among the descendants of Eve, God chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother
of his Son. "Full of grace", Mary is "the most excellent fruit of redemption" (SC 103):
from the first instant of her conception, she was totally preserved from the stain of
original sin and she remained pure from all personal sin throughout her life.
509 Mary is truly "Mother of God" since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God
made man, who is God himself.
510 Mary "remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to him, a
virgin in carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a virgin" (St.
Augustine, Serm. 186, 1: PL 38, 999): with her whole being she is "the handmaid of the
Lord" (Lk 1:38).
511 The Virgin Mary "co-operated through free faith and obedience in human salvation"
(LG 56). She uttered her yes "in the name of all human nature" (St. Thomas Aquinas, S
Th III, 30, 1). By her obedience she became the new Eve, mother of the living.
Paragraph 3. The Mysteries of Christ's Life
512 Concerning Christ's life the Creed speaks only about the mysteries of the
Incarnation (conception and birth) and Paschal mystery (passion, crucifixion, death,
burial, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension). It says nothing explicitly about the
mysteries of Jesus' hidden or public life, but the articles of faith concerning his
Incarnation and Passover do shed light on the whole of his earthly life. "All that Jesus
did and taught, from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven",[171]
is to be seen in the light of the mysteries of Christmas and Easter.
513 According to circumstances catechesis will make use of all the richness of the
mysteries of Jesus. Here it is enough merely to indicate some elements common to all
the mysteries of Christ's life (I), in order then to sketch the principal mysteries of Jesus'
hidden (II) and public (III) life.
I. CHRIST'S WHOLE LIFE IS MYSTERY
514 Many things about Jesus of interest to human curiosity do not figure in the Gospels.
Almost nothing is said about his hidden life at Nazareth, and even a great part of his
public life is not recounted.[172] What is written in the Gospels was set down there "so
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may
have life in his name."[173]
515 The Gospels were written by men who were among the first to have the faith[174]
and wanted to share it with others. Having known in faith who Jesus is, they could see
and make others see the traces of his mystery in all his earthly life. From the swaddling
clothes of his birth to the vinegar of his Passion and the shroud of his Resurrection,
everything in Jesus' life was a sign of his mystery.[175] His deeds, miracles and words all
revealed that "in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily."[176] His humanity
appeared as "sacrament", that is, the sign and instrument, of his divinity and of the
salvation he brings: what was visible in his earthly life leads to the invisible mystery of his
divine sonship and redemptive mission
Characteristics common to Jesus' mysteries
516 Christ's whole earthly life - his words and deeds, his silences and sufferings, indeed
his manner of being and speaking - is Revelation of the Father. Jesus can say: "Whoever
has seen me has seen the Father", and the Father can say: "This is my Son, my Chosen;
listen to him!"[177] Because our Lord became man in order to do his Father's will, even
the least characteristics of his mysteries manifest "God's love. . . among us".[178]
517 Christ's whole life is a mystery of redemption. Redemption comes to us above all
through the blood of his cross,[179] but this mystery is at work throughout Christ's
entire life: -already in his Incarnation through which by becoming poor he enriches us
with his poverty;[180] - in his hidden life which by his submission atones for our
disobedience;[181] - in his word which purifies its hearers;[182]- in his healings and
exorcisms by which "he took our infirmities and bore our diseases";[183] - and in his
Resurrection by which he justifies us.[184]
518 Christ's whole life is a mystery of recapitulation. All Jesus did, said and suffered had
for its aim restoring fallen man to his original vocation:
When Christ became incarnate and was made man, he recapitulated in himself the long
history of mankind and procured for us a "short cut" to salvation, so that what we had
lost in Adam, that is, being in the image and likeness of God, we might recover in
Christ Jesus.[185] For this reason Christ experienced all the stages of life, thereby giving
communion with God to all men.[186]
Our communion in the mysteries of Jesus
519 All Christ's riches "are for every individual and are everybody's property."[187]
Christ did not live his life for himself but for us, from his Incarnation "for us men and
for our salvation" to his death "for our sins" and Resurrection "for our
justification".[188] He is still "our advocate with the Father", who "always lives to make
intercession" for us.[189] He remains ever "in the presence of God on our behalf,
bringing before him all that he lived and suffered for us."[190]
520 In all of his life Jesus presents himself as our model. He is "the perfect man",[191]
who invites us to become his disciples and follow him. In humbling himself, he has
given us an example to imitate, through his prayer he draws us to pray, and by his
poverty he calls us to accept freely the privation and persecutions that may come our
way.[192]
521 Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself lived, and he lives it in us. "By his
Incarnation, he, the Son of God, has in a certain way united himself with each
man."[193] We are called only to become one with him, for he enables us as the
members of his Body to share in what he lived for us in his flesh as our model:
We must continue to accomplish in ourselves the stages of Jesus' life and his mysteries
and often to beg him to perfect and realize them in us and in his whole Church. . . For
it is the plan of the Son of God to make us and the whole Church partake in his
mysteries and to extend them to and continue them in us and in his whole Church. This
is his plan for fulfilling his mysteries in us.[194]
II. THE MYSTERIES OF JESUS' INFANCY AND
HIDDEN LIFE
The preparations
522 The coming of God's Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to
prepare for it over centuries. He makes everything converge on Christ: all the rituals and
sacrifices, figures and symbols of the "First Covenant".[195] He announces him through
the mouths of the prophets who succeeded one another in Israel. Moreover, he awakens
in the hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of this coming.
523 St. John the Baptist is the Lord's immediate precursor or forerunner, sent to prepare
his way.[196] "Prophet of the Most High", John surpasses all the prophets, of whom he
is the last.[197] He inaugurates the Gospel, already from his mother's womb welcomes
the coming of Christ, and rejoices in being "the friend of the bridegroom", whom he
points out as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world".[198] Going
before Jesus "in the spirit and power of Elijah", John bears witness to Christ in his
preaching, by his Baptism of conversion, and through his martyrdom.[199]
524 When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this
ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the
Saviour's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming.[200]
By celebrating the precursor's birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his
desire: "He must increase, but I must decrease."[201]
The Christmas mystery
525 Jesus was born in a humble stable, into a poor family.[202] Simple shepherds were
the first witnesses to this event. In this poverty heaven's glory was made manifest.[203]
The Church never tires of singing the glory of this night:
The Virgin today brings into the world the Eternal And the earth offers a cave to the
Inaccessible. The angels and shepherds praise him And the magi advance with the star,
For you are born for us, Little Child, God eternal![204]
526 To become a child in relation to God is the condition for entering the
kingdom.[205] For this, we must humble ourselves and become little. Even more: to
become "children of God" we must be "born from above" or "born of God".[206] Only
when Christ is formed in us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us.[207]
Christmas is the mystery of this "marvellous exchange":
O marvellous exchange! Man's Creator has become man, born of the Virgin. We have
been made sharers in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share our
humanity.[208]
The mysteries of Jesus' infancy
527 Jesus' circumcision, on the eighth day after his birth,[209] is the sign of his
incorporation into Abraham's descendants, into the people of the covenant. It is the sign
of his submission to the Law[210] and his deputation to Israel's worship, in which he
will participate throughout his life. This sign prefigures that "circumcision of Christ"
which is Baptism.[211]
528 The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and
Saviour of the world. The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by
the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the
wedding feast at Cana in Galilee.[212] In the magi, representatives of the neighbouring
pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good
news of salvation through the Incarnation. The magi's coming to Jerusalem in order to
pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light
of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations.[213] Their coming means
that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Saviour of the world
only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as
contained in the Old Testament.[214] The Epiphany shows that "the full number of the
nations" now takes its "place in the family of the patriarchs", and acquires Israelitica
dignitas[215] (is made "worthy of the heritage of Israel").
529 The presentation of Jesus in the temple shows him to be the firstborn Son who
belongs to the Lord.[216] With Simeon and Anna, all Israel awaits its encounter with the
Saviour-the name given to this event in the Byzantine tradition. Jesus is recognized as
the long-expected Messiah, the "light to the nations" and the "glory of Israel", but also
"a sign that is spoken against". The sword of sorrow predicted for Mary announces
Christ's perfect and unique oblation on the cross that will impart the salvation God had
"prepared in the presence of all peoples".
530 The flight into Egypt and the massacre of the innocents[217] make manifest the
opposition of darkness to the light: "He came to his own home, and his own people
received him not."[218] Christ's whole life was lived under the sign of persecution. His
own share it with him.[219] Jesus' departure from Egypt recalls the exodus and presents
him as the definitive liberator of God's people.[220]
The mysteries of Jesus' hidden life
531 During the greater part of his life Jesus shared the condition of the vast majority of
human beings: a daily life spent without evident greatness, a life of manual labour. His
religious life was that of a Jew obedient to the law of God,[221] a life in the community.
From this whole period it is revealed to us that Jesus was "obedient" to his parents and
that he "increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man."[222]
532 Jesus' obedience to his mother and legal father fulfils the fourth commandment
perfectly and was the temporal image of his filial obedience to his Father in heaven. The
everyday obedience of Jesus to Joseph and Mary both announced and anticipated the
obedience of Holy Thursday: "Not my will. . ."[223] The obedience of Christ in the daily
routine of his hidden life was already inaugurating his work of restoring what the
disobedience of Adam had destroyed.[224]
533 The hidden life at Nazareth allows everyone to enter into fellowship with Jesus by
the most ordinary events of daily life: The home of Nazareth is the school where we
begin to understand the life of Jesus - the school of the Gospel. First, then, a lesson of
silence. May esteem for silence, that admirable and indispensable condition of mind,
revive in us. . . A lesson on family life. May Nazareth teach us what family life is, its
communion of love, its austere and simple beauty, and its sacred and inviolable
character... A lesson of work. Nazareth, home of the "Carpenter's Son", in you I would
choose to understand and proclaim the severe and redeeming law of human work. . . To
conclude, I want to greet all the workers of the world, holding up to them their great
pattern their brother who is God.[225]
534 The finding of Jesus in the temple is the only event that breaks the silence of the
Gospels about the hidden years of Jesus.[226] Here Jesus lets us catch a glimpse of the
mystery of his total consecration to a mission that flows from his divine sonship: "Did
you not know that I must be about my Father's work?"[227] Mary and Joseph did not
understand these words, but they accepted them in faith. Mary "kept all these things in
her heart" during the years Jesus remained hidden in the silence of an ordinary life.
III. THE MYSTERIES OF JESUS' PUBLIC LIFE
The baptism of Jesus
535 Jesus' public life begins with his baptism by John in the Jordan.[228] John preaches
"a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins".[229] A crowd of sinners[230] - tax
collectors and soldiers, Pharisees and Sadducees, and prostitutes- come to be baptized
by him. "Then Jesus appears." The Baptist hesitates, but Jesus insists and receives
baptism. Then the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes upon Jesus and a voice
from heaven proclaims, "This is my beloved Son."[231] This is the manifestation
("Epiphany") of Jesus as Messiah of Israel and Son of God.
536 The baptism of Jesus is on his part the acceptance and inauguration of his mission
as God's suffering Servant. He allows himself to be numbered among sinners; he is
already "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world".[232] Already he is
anticipating the "baptism" of his bloody death.[233] Already he is coming to "fulfil all
righteousness", that is, he is submitting himself entirely to his Father's will: out of love
he consents to this baptism of death for the remission of our sins.[234] The Father's
voice responds to the Son's acceptance, proclaiming his entire delight in his Son.[235]
The Spirit whom Jesus possessed in fullness from his conception comes to "rest on
him".[236] Jesus will be the source of the Spirit for all mankind. At his baptism "the
heavens were opened"[237] - the heavens that Adam's sin had closed - and the waters
were sanctified by the descent of Jesus and the Spirit, a prelude to the new creation.
537 Through Baptism the Christian is sacramentally assimilated to Jesus, who in his own
baptism anticipates his death and resurrection. The Christian must enter into this
mystery of humble self-abasement and repentance, go down into the water with Jesus in
order to rise with him, be reborn of water and the Spirit so as to become the Father's
beloved son in the Son and "walk in newness of life":[238] Let us be buried with Christ
by Baptism to rise with him; let us go down with him to be raised with him; and let us
rise with him to be glorified with him.[239]
Everything that happened to Christ lets us know that, after the bath of water, the Holy
Spirit swoops down upon us from high heaven and that, adopted by the Father's voice,
we become sons of God.[240]
Jesus' temptations
538 The Gospels speak of a time of solitude for Jesus in the desert immediately after his
baptism by John. Driven by the Spirit into the desert, Jesus remains there for forty days
without eating; he lives among wild beasts, and angels minister to him.[241] At the end
of this time Satan tempts him three times, seeking to compromise his filial attitude
toward God. Jesus rebuffs these attacks, which recapitulate the temptations of Adam in
Paradise and of Israel in the desert, and the devil leaves him "until an opportune
time".[242]
539 The evangelists indicate the salvific meaning of this mysterious event: Jesus is the
new Adam who remained faithful just where the first Adam had given in to temptation.
Jesus fulfils Israel's vocation perfectly: in contrast to those who had once provoked God
during forty years in the desert, Christ reveals himself as God's Servant, totally obedient
to the divine will. In this, Jesus is the devil's conqueror: he "binds the strong man" to
take back his plunder.[243] Jesus' victory over the tempter in the desert anticipates
victory at the Passion, the supreme act of obedience of his filial love for the Father.
540 Jesus' temptation reveals the way in which the Son of God is Messiah, contrary to
the way Satan proposes to him and the way men wish to attribute to him.[244] This is
why Christ vanquished the Tempter for us: "For we have not a high priest who is unable
to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tested as we
are, yet without sinning."[245] By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites
herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert.
"The kingdom of God is at hand"
541 "Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,
and saying: 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe
in the gospel.'"[246] "To carry out the will of the Father Christ inaugurated the kingdom
of heaven on earth."[247] Now the Father's will is "to raise up men to share in his own
divine life".[248] He does this by gathering men around his Son Jesus Christ. This
gathering is the Church, "on earth the seed and beginning of that kingdoms".[249]
542 Christ stands at the heart of this gathering of men into the "family of God". By his
word, through signs that manifest the reign of God, and by sending out his disciples,
Jesus calls all people to come together around him. But above all in the great Paschal
mystery - his death on the cross and his Resurrection - he would accomplish the coming
of his kingdom. "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to
myself." Into this union with Christ all men are called.[250]
The proclamation of the kingdom of God
543 Everyone is called to enter the kingdom. First announced to the children of Israel,
this messianic kingdom is intended to accept men of all nations.[251] To enter it, one
must first accept Jesus' word:
The word of the Lord is compared to a seed which is sown in a field; those who hear it
with faith and are numbered among the little flock of Christ have truly received the
kingdom. Then, by its own power, the seed sprouts and grows until the harvest.[252]
544 The kingdom belongs to the poor and lowly, which means those who have accepted
it with humble hearts. Jesus is sent to "preach good news to the poor";[253] he declares
them blessed, for "theirs is the kingdom of heaven."[254] To them - the "little ones" the
Father is pleased to reveal what remains hidden from the wise and the learned.[255]
Jesus shares the life of the poor, from the cradle to the cross; he experiences hunger,
thirst and privation.[256] Jesus identifies himself with the poor of every kind and makes
active love toward them the condition for entering his kingdom.[257]
545 Jesus invites sinners to the table of the kingdom: "I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners."[258] He invites them to that conversion without which one cannot enter
the kingdom, but shows them in word and deed his Father's boundless mercy for them
and the vast "joy in heaven over one sinner who repents".[259] The supreme proof of
his love will be the sacrifice of his own life "for the forgiveness of sins".[260]
546 Jesus' invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic
feature of his teaching.[261] Through his parables he invites people to the feast of the
kingdom, but he also asks for a radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give
everything.[262] Words are not enough, deeds are required.[263] The parables are like
mirrors for man: will he be hard soil or good earth for the word?[264] What use has he
made of the talents he has received?[265] Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this
world are secretly at the heart of the parables. One must enter the kingdom, that is,
become a disciple of Christ, in order to "know the secrets of the kingdom of
heaven".[266] For those who stay "outside", everything remains enigmatic.[267]
The signs of the kingdom of God
547 Jesus accompanies his words with many "mighty works and wonders and signs",
which manifest that the kingdom is present in him and attest that he was the promised
Messiah.[268]
548 The signs worked by Jesus attest that the Father has sent him. They invite belief in
him.[269] To those who turn to him in faith, he grants what they ask.[270] So miracles
strengthen faith in the One who does his Father's works; they bear witness that he is the
Son of God.[271] But his miracles can also be occasions for "offence";[272] they are not
intended to satisfy people's curiosity or desire for magic Despite his evident miracles
some people reject Jesus; he is even accused of acting by the power of demons.[273]
549 By freeing some individuals from the earthly evils of hunger, injustice, illness and
death,[274] Jesus performed messianic signs. Nevertheless he did not come to abolish all
evils here below,[275] but to free men from the gravest slavery, sin, which thwarts them
in their vocation as God's sons and causes all forms of human bondage.[276]
550 The coming of God's kingdom means the defeat of Satan's: "If it is by the Spirit of
God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."[277] Jesus'
exorcisms free some individuals from the domination of demons. They anticipate Jesus'
great victory over "the ruler of this world".[278] The kingdom of God will be definitively
established through Christ's cross: "God reigned from the wood."[279]
"The keys of the kingdom"
551 From the beginning of his public life Jesus chose certain men, twelve in number, to
be with him and to participate in his mission.[280] He gives the Twelve a share in his
authority and 'sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal."[281] They
remain associated for ever with Christ's kingdom, for through them he directs the
Church:
As my Father appointed a kingdom for me, so do I appoint for you that you may eat
and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of
Israel.[282]
552 Simon Peter holds the first place in the college of the Twelve;[283] Jesus entrusted a
unique mission to him. Through a revelation from the Father, Peter had confessed:
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Our Lord then declared to him: "You
are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not
prevail against it."[284] Christ, the "living Stone",[285] thus assures his Church, built on
Peter, of victory over the powers of death. Because of the faith he confessed Peter will
remain the unshakeable rock of the Church. His mission will be to keep this faith from
every lapse and to strengthen his brothers in it.[286]
553 Jesus entrusted a specific authority to Peter: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom
of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."[287] The "power of the keys" designates
authority to govern the house of God, which is the Church. Jesus, the Good Shepherd,
confirmed this mandate after his Resurrection: "Feed my sheep."[288] The power to
"bind and loose" connotes the authority to absolve sins, to pronounce doctrinal
judgements, and to make disciplinary decisions in the Church. Jesus entrusted this
authority to the Church through the ministry of the apostles[289] and in particular
through the ministry of Peter, the only one to whom he specifically entrusted the keys of
the kingdom.
A foretaste of the kingdom: the Transfiguration
554 From the day Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the
Master "began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many
things. . . and be killed, and on the third day be raised."[290] Peter scorns this prediction,
nor do the others understand it any better than he.[291] In this context the mysterious
episode of Jesus' Transfiguration takes place on a high mountain,[292] before three
witnesses chosen by himself: Peter, James and John. Jesus' face and clothes become
dazzling with light, and Moses and Elijah appear, speaking "of his departure, which he
was to accomplish at Jerusalem".[293] A cloud covers him and a voice from heaven says:
"This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"[294]
555 For a moment Jesus discloses his divine glory, confirming Peter's confession. He
also reveals that he will have to go by the way of the cross at Jerusalem in order to "enter
into his glory".[295]
Moses and Elijah had seen God's glory on the Mountain; the Law and the Prophets had
announced the Messiah's sufferings.[296] Christ's Passion is the will of the Father: the
Son acts as God's servant;[297] the cloud indicates the presence of the Holy Spirit.
"The whole Trinity appeared: the Father in the voice; the Son in the man; the Spirit in
the shining cloud."[298]
You were transfigured on the mountain, and your disciples, as much as they were
capable of it, beheld your glory, O Christ our God, so that when they should see you
crucified they would understand that your Passion was voluntary, and proclaim to the
world that you truly are the splendour of the Father.[299]
556 On the threshold of the public life: the baptism; on the threshold of the Passover:
the Transfiguration. Jesus' baptism proclaimed "the mystery of the first regeneration",
namely, our Baptism; the Transfiguration "is the sacrament of the second regeneration":
our own Resurrection.[300] From now on we share in the Lord's Resurrection through
the Spirit who acts in the sacraments of the Body of Christ. The Transfiguration gives us
a foretaste of Christ's glorious coming, when he "will change our lowly body to be like
his glorious body."[301] But it also recalls that "it is through many persecutions that we
must enter the kingdom of God":[302]
Peter did not yet understand this when he wanted to remain with Christ on the
mountain. It has been reserved for you, Peter, but for after death. For now, Jesus says:
"Go down to toil on earth, to serve on earth, to be scorned and crucified on earth. Life
goes down to be killed; Bread goes down to suffer hunger; the Way goes down to be
exhausted on his journey; the Spring goes down to suffer thirst; and you refuse to
suffer?"[303]
Jesus' ascent to Jerusalem
557 "When the days drew near for him to be taken up [Jesus] set his face to go to
Jerusalem."[304] By this decision he indicated that he was going up to Jerusalem
prepared to die there. Three times he had announced his Passion and Resurrection; now,
heading toward Jerusalem, Jesus says: "It cannot be that a prophet should perish away
from Jerusalem."[305]
558 Jesus recalls the martyrdom of the prophets who had been put to death in
Jerusalem. Nevertheless he persists in calling Jerusalem to gather around him: "How
often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her
wings, and you would not!"[306] When Jerusalem comes into view he weeps over her
and expresses once again his heart's desire: "Would that even today you knew the things
that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes."[307]
Jesus' messianic entrance into Jerusalem
559 How will Jerusalem welcome her Messiah? Although Jesus had always refused
popular attempts to make him king, he chooses the time and prepares the details for his
messianic entry into the city of "his father David".[308] Acclaimed as son of David, as
the one who brings salvation (Hosanna means "Save!" or "Give salvation!"), the "King
of glory" enters his City "riding on an ass".[309] Jesus conquers the Daughter of Zion, a
figure of his Church, neither by ruse nor by violence, but by the humility that bears
witness to the truth.[310] And so the subjects of his kingdom on that day are children
and God's poor, who acclaim him as had the angels when they announced him to the
shepherds.[311] Their acclamation, "Blessed be he who comes in the name of the
Lord",[312] is taken up by the Church in the Sanctus of the Eucharistic liturgy that
introduces the memorial of the Lord's Passover.
560 Jesus' entry into Jerusalem manifested the coming of the kingdom that the King-
Messiah was going to accomplish by the Passover of his Death and Resurrection. It is
with the celebration of that entry on Palm Sunday that the Church's liturgy solemnly
opens Holy Week.
IN BRIEF
561 "The whole of Christ's life was a continual teaching: his silences, his miracles, his
gestures, his prayer, his love for people, his special affection for the little and the poor,
his acceptance of the total sacrifice on the Cross for the redemption of the world, and
his Resurrection are the actualization of his word and the fulfilment of Revelation" John
Paul II, CT 9).
562 Christ's disciples are to conform themselves to him until he is formed in them (cf.
Gal 4:19). "For this reason we, who have been made like to him, who have died with
him and risen with him, are taken up into the mysteries of his life, until we reign together
with him" (LG 7 # 4).
563 No one, whether shepherd or wise man, can approach God here below except by
kneeling before the manger at Bethlehem and adoring him hidden in the weakness of a
new-born child.
564 By his obedience to Mary and Joseph, as well as by his humble work during the long
years in Nazareth, Jesus gives us the example of holiness in the daily life of family and
work.
565 From the beginning of his public life, at his baptism, Jesus is the "Servant", wholly
consecrated to the redemptive work that he will accomplish by the "baptism" of his
Passion.
566 The temptation in the desert shows Jesus, the humble Messiah, who triumphs over
Satan by his total adherence to the plan of salvation willed by the Father.
567 The kingdom of heaven was inaugurated on earth by Christ. "This kingdom shone
out before men in the word, in the works and in the presence of Christ" (LG 5). The
Church is the seed and beginning of this kingdom. Its keys are entrusted to Peter.
568 Christ's Transfiguration aims at strengthening the apostles' faith in anticipation of
his Passion: the ascent on to the "high mountain" prepares for the ascent to Calvary.
Christ, Head of the Church, manifests what his Body contains and radiates in the
sacraments: "the hope of glory" (Col 1:27; cf.: St. Leo the Great, Sermo 51, 3: PL 54,
310C).
569 Jesus went up to Jerusalem voluntarily, knowing well that there he would die a
violent death because of the opposition of sinners (cf. Heb 12:3).
570 Jesus' entry into Jerusalem manifests the coming of the kingdom that the Messiah-
King, welcomed into his city by children and the humble of heart, is going to accomplish
by the Passover of his Death and Resurrection.
No comments:
Post a Comment