§772It is in the Church that Christ fulfills and reveals his own mystery as the purpose of God's plan: "to unite all things in him."189 St. Paul calls the nuptial union of Christ and the Church "a great mystery." Because she is united to Christ as to her bridegroom, she becomes a mystery in her turn.190 Contemplating this mystery in her, Paul exclaims: "Christ in you, the hope of g…

§796The unity of Christ and the Church, head and members of one Body, also implies the distinction of the two within a personal relationship. This aspect is often expressed by the image of bridegroom and bride. the theme of Christ as Bridegroom of the Church was prepared for by the prophets and announced by John the Baptist.234 The Lord referred to himself as the "bridegroom."235 T…

§1602Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of "the wedding-feast of the Lamb."85 Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its "mystery," its institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and its end, its various realizations throughout the history of salvation, the difficulties arising fr…

How the Valentinians pervert the Scriptures to support their own pious opinions. 1. Such, then, is their system, which neither the prophets announced, nor the Lord taught, nor the apostles delivered, but of which they boast that beyond all others they have a perfect knowledge. They gather their views from other sources than the Scriptures; and, to use a common proverb, they str…

2. And see thou even herein His bounty; As many as you shall find, says He, bid to the marriage. For before this, as I said, they addressed themselves both to Jews and Greeks, tarrying for the most part in Judæa; but since they continued to lay plots against them, hear Paul interpreting this parable, and saying thus, It was necessary that the word of God should first have…

What is "to believe," which is the internal act of faith? In how many ways is it expressed? Is it necessary for salvation to believe in anything above natural reason? Is it necessary to believe those things that are attainable by natural reason? Is it necessary for salvation to believe certain things explicitly? Are all equally bound to explicit faith? Is explicit faith in Chri…

Is it fitting for God to become incarnate? Was it necessary for the restoration of the human race? If there had been no sin, would God have become incarnate? Did He become incarnate to take away original sin rather than actual? Was it fitting for God to become incarnate from the beginning of the world? Should His Incarnation have been deferred to the end of the world? Article 1…

If anyone saith that the sacraments of the New Law were not all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord; or that they are more or less than seven, to wit, Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Order, and Matrimony; or even that any one of these seven is not truly and properly a sacrament — let him be anathema.

We believe that there are in the Church Evangelical Mysteries [i.e. Sacraments], and that they are seven. For a less or greater number of the Mysteries we have not in the Church; since any number of the Mysteries other than seven hath no foundation in Scripture, or in the Doctors and Councils of the Church. And these seven are as follows: Baptism, Confirmation (Chrismation), th…