Catechism of the Catholic Church
Share this paragraph of the Catechism:
Paragraph:
1584 Since it is ultimately Christ who acts and effects salvation through the ordained minister, the unworthiness of the latter does not prevent Christ from acting. 76 St. Augustine states this forcefully:
As for the proud minister, he is to be ranked with the devil. Christ's gift is not thereby profaned: what flows through him keeps its purity, and what passes through him remains dear and reaches the fertile earth.... The spiritual power of the sacrament is indeed comparable to light: those to be enlightened receive it in its purity, and if it should pass through defiled beings, it is not itself defiled. 77
Move forward or back a paragraph: Previous | Next
Where this paragraph appears in the Catechism:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 |
» |
PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY |
|
» |
SECTION TWO: THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH |
|
» |
CHAPTER THREE: THE SACRAMENTS AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNION |
|
» |
ARTICLE 6: THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS |
|
» |
VII. THE EFFECTS OF THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS |
Notes for the above paragraph:
76 Cf. Council of Trent DS 1612; DS 1154.77 St. Augustine, In Jo. ev. 5,15: PL 35, 1422.
English Translation of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.
