Catechism of the Catholic Church

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117 The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God's plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs. (1) The allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian Baptism. ⁸⁴ (2) The moral sense. The events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As St. Paul says, they were written "for our instruction". ⁸⁵ (3) The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, "leading"). We can view realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem. ⁸⁶

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

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SECTION ONE: "I BELIEVE"-"WE BELIEVE"

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CHAPTER TWO: GOD COMES TO MEET MAN

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ARTICLE 3: SACRED SCRIPTURE

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III. THE HOLY SPIRIT, INTERPRETER OF SCRIPTURE

Notes for the above paragraph:

84 Cf. I Cor 10:2.

85 I Cor 10:11; cf. Heb 3:1 -4:11.

86 Cf. Rev 21:1 - 22:5.

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

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