Catechism of the Catholic Church

Share this paragraph of the Catechism:

To Catechism home page

Paragraph:

797 "What the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the Church." ²⁴³ "To this Spirit of Christ, as an invisible principle, is to be ascribed the fact that all the parts of the body are joined one with the other and with their exalted head; for the whole Spirit of Christ is in the head, the whole Spirit is in the body, and the whole Spirit is in each of the members." ²⁴⁴ The Holy Spirit makes the Church "the temple of the living God": ²⁴⁵

Indeed, it is to the Church herself that the "Gift of God" has been entrusted.... In it is in her that communion with Christ has been deposited, that is to say: the Holy Spirit, the pledge of incorruptibility, the strengthening of our faith and the ladder of our ascent to God.... For where the Church is, there also is God's Spirit; where God's Spirit is, there is the Church and every grace. ²⁴⁶

Move forward or back a paragraph: Previous | Next

Where this paragraph appears in the Catechism:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

»

PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

»

SECTION TWO: THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

»

CHAPTER THREE: I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

»

ARTICLE 9: "I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH"

»

Paragraph 2. The Church - People of God, Body of Christ, Temple of the Holy Spirit

Notes for the above paragraph:

243 St. Augustine, Sermo 267, 4: PL 38, 1231D.

244 Pius XII, encyclical, Mystici Corporis: DS 3808.

245 2 Cor 6:16; cf. I Cor 3:16-17; Eph 2:21.

246 St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 24, 1: PG 7/1, 966.

English Translation of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.

To Catechism home page