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508 • Conclusion and Appendices
Spirit, which seals and confirms the
baptized in union with Christ and
calls them to greater participation
in the worship and apostolic life of
the Church.
CONSCIENCE:
The practical judg-
ment about the moral quality of
particular humans acts as well as
the inner ability to make such
a judgment.
CONTEMPLATION:
Wordless
prayer in which a person focuses
the whole person in loving adora-
tion on God and his very presence.
CONTRITION:
Sorrow for sin
with a firm purpose of amendment,
which is the intention to avoid sin
in the future. Contrition is imper-
fect when a person is motivated
by fear of punishment. Contrition
is perfect when the motive is a
response to God’s love for us.
Contrition on the part of the peni-
tent, either imperfect or perfect, is a
necessary part of the Sacrament of
Penance and Reconciliation.
CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY:
These are charitable actions by
which we help our neighbors in
their bodily needs. The corpo-
ral (bodily) works of mercy are
to feed the hungry, give drink
to the thirsty, shelter the home-
less, clothe the naked, visit the
sick, visit the prisoners, bury the
dead, and give alms to the poor.
COVENANT:
A solemn agreement
made between people or between
God and a person or persons. In
the Old Testament, God established
covenants with Noah, Abraham,
and Moses. The Prophets prepared
people for the new and eternal
covenant established by Jesus
Christ. Marriage is a covenant of
life and love.
CREATION:
God—Father, Son,
Holy Spirit—out of love for us
made the world out of nothing,
wanting to share divine life and
love with us. The original creation
became a new creation in
Jesus Christ.
CREED:
This term comes from
the Latin word
credo
, meaning
“I believe.” It is used to refer to a
statement of belief.
CREMATION:
The Church
permits cremation (the burning
of a deceased human body into
ashes), provided that it does not
demonstrate a denial of faith in the
resurrection of the body” (CCC, no.
2301). In cases where cremation
is planned, the Church counsels
that the body should be present for
the funeral. On March 21, 1997,
in response to a request from the