From the COMPENDIUM of the Catechism of the Catholic Church © Copyright 2005

As a means to offer our parishioners additional education on the tenets of the Catholic faith, we will be adding one page of the COMPENDIUM of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The Compendium, which I now present to the Universal Church, is a faithful and sure synthesis of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It contains, in concise form, all the essential and fundamental elements of the Church’s faith, thus constituting, as my Predecessor had wished, a kind of vademecum which allows believers and non-believers alike to behold the entire panorama of the Catholic faith.

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, 2005

Read the entire COMPENDIUM here.

Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 3 The Sacraments at the Service of Communion and Mission

12-25-2022Compendium

342. Are all obliged to get married?

Matrimony is not an obligation for everyone, especially since God calls some men and women to follow the Lord Jesus in a life of virginity or of celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. These renounce the great good of Matrimony to concentrate on the things of the Lord and seek to please him. They become a sign of the absolute supremacy of Christ’s love and of the ardent expectation of his glorious return.

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 3 The Sacraments at the Service of Communion and Mission

12-18-2022Compendium

The Sacrament of Matrimony

337. What is the plan of God regarding man and woman?

God who is love and who created man and woman for love has called them to love. By creating man and woman he called them to an intimate communion of life and of love in marriage: “So that they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Matthew 19:6). God said to them in blessing “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28).

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 3 The Sacraments at the Service of Communion and Mission

12-11-2022Compendium

332. Who can confer this sacrament?

Only validly ordained bishops, as successors of the apostles, can confer the sacrament of Holy Orders.

333. Who can receive this sacrament?

This sacrament can only be validly received by a baptized man. The Church recognizes herself as bound by this choice made by the Lord Himself. No one can demand to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders, but must be judged suitable for the ministry by the authorities of the Church.

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 3 The Sacraments at the Service of Communion and Mission

12-11-2022Compendium

332. Who can confer this sacrament?

Only validly ordained bishops, as successors of the apostles, can confer the sacrament of Holy Orders.

333. Who can receive this sacrament?

This sacrament can only be validly received by a baptized man. The Church recognizes herself as bound by this choice made by the Lord Himself. No one can demand to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders, but must be judged suitable for the ministry by the authorities of the Church.

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 3 The Sacraments at the Service of Communion and Mission

12-11-2022Compendium

332. Who can confer this sacrament?

Only validly ordained bishops, as successors of the apostles, can confer the sacrament of Holy Orders.

333. Who can receive this sacrament?

This sacrament can only be validly received by a baptized man. The Church recognizes herself as bound by this choice made by the Lord Himself. No one can demand to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders, but must be judged suitable for the ministry by the authorities of the Church.

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 3 The Sacraments at the Service of Communion and Mission

12-04-2022Compendium

327. What is the office confided to a Bishop in a particular Church?

The bishop to whom the care of a particular Church is entrusted is the visible head and foundation of unity for that Church. For the sake of that Church, as vicar of Christ, he fulfills the office of shepherd and is assisted by his own priests and deacons.

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 3 The Sacraments at the Service of Communion and Mission

11-27-2022Compendium

The Sacrament of Holy Orders

322. What is the sacrament of Holy Orders?

It is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time.

323. Why is this sacrament called Holy Orders?

Orders designates an ecclesial body into which one enters by means of a special consecration (ordination). Through a special gift of the Holy Spirit, this sacrament enables the ordained to exercise a sacred power in the name and with the authority of Christ for the service of the People of God.

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 2 The Sacraments of Healing

11-20-2022Compendium

318. How is this sacrament celebrated?

The celebration of this sacrament consists essentially in an anointing with oil which may be blessed by the bishop. The anointing is on the forehead and on the hands of the sick person (in the Roman rite) or also on other parts of the body (in the other rites) accompanied by the prayer of the priest who asks for the special grace of this sacrament.

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 2 The Sacraments of Healing

11-13-2022Compendium

The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick

313. How was sickness viewed in the Old Testament?

In the Old Testament sickness was experienced as a sign of weakness and at the same time perceived as mysteriously bound up with sin. The prophets intuited that sickness could also have a redemptive value for one’s own sins and those of others. Thus sickness was lived out in the presence of God from whom people implored healing.

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 2 The Sacraments of Healing

11-06-2022Compendium

308. To whom is the absolution of some sins reserved?

The absolution of certain particularly grave sins (like those punished by excommunication) is reserved to the Apostolic See or to the local bishop or to priests who are authorized by them. Any priest, however, can absolve a person who is in danger of death from any sin and excommunication.

309. Is a confessor bound to secrecy?

Given the delicacy and greatness of this ministry and the respect due to people every confessor, without any exception and under very severe penalties, is bound to maintain “the sacramental seal” which means absolute secrecy about the sins revealed to him in confession.

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 2 The Sacraments of Healing

10-30-2022Compendium

303. What are the acts of the penitent?

They are: a careful examination of conscience; contrition (or repentance), which is perfect when it is motivated by love of God and imperfect if it rests on other motives and which includes the determination not to sin again; confession, which consists in the telling of one’s sins to the priest; and satisfaction or the carrying out of certain acts of penance which the confessor imposes upon the penitent to repair the damage caused by sin.

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 2 The Sacraments of Healing

10-23-2022Compendium

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation

298. When did he institute this sacrament?

The risen Lord instituted this sacrament on the evening of Easter when he showed himself to his apostles and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:22-23).

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 1 The Sacraments of Initiation

10-16-2022Compendium

294. Why is the Eucharist a “pledge of future glory”?

The Eucharist is a pledge of future glory because it fills us with every grace and heavenly blessing. It fortifies us for our pilgrimage in this life and makes us long for eternal life. It unites us already to Christ seated at the right hand of the Father, to the Church in heaven and to the Blessed Virgin and all the saints. In the Eucharist, we “break the one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death and the food that makes us live forever in Jesus Christ.” (Saint Ignatius of Antioch)

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 1 The Sacraments of Initiation

10-09-2022Compendium

290. When must one receive Holy Communion?

The Church recommends that the faithful, if they have the required dispositions, receive Holy Communion whenever they participate at Holy Mass. However, the Church obliges them to receive Holy Communion at least once a year during the Easter season.

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Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrament of the Church - Chapter 1 The Sacraments of Initiation

10-02-2022Compendium

284. Does the breaking of the bread divide Christ?

The breaking of the bread does not divide Christ. He is present whole and entire in each of the eucharistic species and in each of their parts.

285. How long does the presence of Christ last in the Eucharist?

The presence of Christ continues in the Eucharist as long as the eucharistic species subsist.

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