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Chapter 23. Life in Christ—Part One • 309
dations for a life of authentic Christian discipleship and the attainment of
ultimate happiness. They give spirit to the Law of the Ten Commandments
and bring perfection to moral life. That spirit is ultimately the spirit of love.
In response to a question from the leader of the people, Jesus taught that
love is at the heart of all law.
You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first com-
mandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as
yourself. (Mt 22:37-39)
Jesus is the teacher sent by the Father to bring us to perfect happi-
ness in God. Jesus teaches us the way to the Father.
•
LIFE IN CHRIST—PART ONE: THE FOUNDATIONS
OF CHRISTIAN MORALITY
Part One of the
Catechism of the Catholic Church
presents the Creed—
the revealed truths of the divine plan of salvation and the invitation to
faith in this Revelation.
Part Two presents the Seven Sacraments by which the saving grace
of God is made available to us. We receive this gift of divine love by our
participation in the Christian mysteries.
Part Three explores our life in Christ and the Holy Spirit, which
we have received through Revelation and the Sacraments. It unfolds the
various ways we respond to divine love through our personal and social
moral behavior.
In Section One of Part Three, the
Catechism
explores the various
elements, principles, and foundations of Christian morality by address-
ing the dignity of the human person, the human community, and God’s
salvation through God’s law and grace. In Section Two, it applies these
principles to each of the Ten Commandments.
We will follow this order, beginning in this chapter with who we are
as human beings called to live a moral life.