Catechism index

2531 IN BRIEF Purity of heart will enable us to see God: it enables us even now to see things according to God.
2532 IN BRIEF Purification of the heart demands prayer, the practice of chastity, purity of intention and of vision.
2533 IN BRIEF Purity of heart requires the modesty which is patience, decency, and discretion. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. Previous - Next Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
2534 You shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant,, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's. 316 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 317 The tenth commandment unfolds and completes the ninth, which is concerned with concupiscence of the flesh. It forbids coveting the goods of another, as the root of theft, robbery, and fraud, which …
2535 I. The Disorder of Covetous Desires The sensitive appetite leads us to desire pleasant things we do not have, e.g., the desire to eat when we are hungry or to warm ourselves when we are cold. These desires …
2536 I. The Disorder of Covetous Desires The tenth commandment forbids greed and the desire to amass earthly goods without limit. It forbids avarice arising from a passion for riches and their attendant power. It also forbids the desire …
2537 When the Law says, "You shall not covet," these words mean that we should banish our desires for whatever does not belong to us. Our thirst for another's goods is immense, infinite, never quenched. Thus it is written: "He who loves money never has money enough." 320 It is not a violation of this commandment to desire to obtain things that belong to one's neighbor, provided this is done by just means. Traditional catechesis realistically mentions "those who have …
2538 When the Law says, "You shall not covet," these words mean that we should banish our desires for whatever does not belong to us. Our thirst for another's goods is immense, infinite, never quenched. Thus it is written: "He who loves money never has money enough." 320 The tenth commandment requires that envy be banished from the human heart. When the prophet Nathan wanted to spur King David to repentance, he told him the story about the poor man …
2539 We fight one another, and envy arms us against one another.... If everyone strives to unsettle the Body of Christ, where shall we end up? We are engaged in making Christ's Body a corpse.... We declare ourselves members of one and the same organism, yet we devour one another like beasts. 325 Envy is a capital sin. It refers to the sadness at the sight of another's goods and the immoderate desire to acquire them for oneself, even unjustly. When it wishes grave harm …
2540 St. Augustine saw envy as "the diabolical sin." 326 "From envy are born hatred, detraction, calumny, joy caused by the misfortune of a neighbor, and displeasure caused by his prosperity." 327 Envy represents a form of sadness and therefore a refusal of charity; the baptized person should struggle against it by exercising good will. Envy often comes from pride; the baptized person should …
2541 II. The Desires of the Spirit The economy of law and grace turns men's hearts away from avarice and envy. It initiates them into desire for the Sovereign Good; it instructs them in the desires of the Holy …
2542 II. The Desires of the Spirit The Law entrusted to Israel never sufficed to justify those subject to it; it even became the instrument of "lust." 330 The gap between wanting and doing points to the conflict between …
2543 II. The Desires of the Spirit "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for …
2544 III. Poverty of Heart Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone, and bids them "renounce all that [they have]" for his sake and that of the Gospel. 334 Shortly before his passion …
2545 III. Poverty of Heart All Christ's faithful are to "direct their affections rightly, lest they be hindered in their pursuit of perfect charity by the use of worldly things and by an adherence to riches which …
2546 III. Poverty of Heart "Blessed are the poor in spirit." 337 The Beatitudes reveal an order of happiness and grace, of beauty and peace. Jesus celebrates the joy of the poor, to whom the Kingdom already …
2547 The Word speaks of voluntary humility as "poverty in spirit"; the Apostle gives an example of God's poverty when he says: "For your sakes he became poor." 339 The Lord grieves over the rich, because they find their consolation in the abundance of goods. 340 "Let the proud seek and love earthly kingdoms, but blessed are the poor in spirit …
2548 IV. "I Want to See God" Desire for true happiness frees man from his immoderate attachment to the goods of this world so that he can find his fulfillment in the vision and beatitude of God. "The promise …
2549 IV. "I Want to See God" It remains for the holy people to struggle, with grace from on high, to obtain the good things God promises. In order to possess and contemplate God, Christ's faithful mortify their cravings …
2550 IV. "I Want to See God" On this way of perfection, the Spirit and the Bride call whoever hears them 344 to perfect communion with God: There will true glory be, where no one will be praised by …