Copyright © 2006 By Doug Lawrence. All Rights Reserved.
Catechism Of The Catholic Church Reprinted With Permission.
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God’s Truth From
The Catechism Of The Catholic Church
A "sure norm for teaching the faith," as well as a "sure and authentic reference text" for preparing local catechisms (cf.
I. JESUS
430 Jesus means in Hebrew: "God saves." At the annunciation, the angel Gabriel gave him the
name Jesus as his proper name, which expresses both his identity and his mission.
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Since God
alone can forgive sins, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son made man, "will save his people
from their sins".
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in Jesus, God recapitulates all of his history of salvation on behalf of men.
431 In the history of salvation God was not content to deliver Israel "out of the house of
bondage"
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by bringing them out of Egypt. He also saves them from their sin. Because sin is
always an offence against God, only he can forgive it.
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For this reason Israel, becoming more and
more aware of the universality of sin, will no longer be able to seek salvation except by invoking the
name of the Redeemer God.
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432 The name "Jesus" signifies that the very name of God is present in the person of his Son,
made man for the universal and definitive redemption from sins. It is the divine name that alone
brings salvation, and henceforth all can invoke his name, for Jesus united himself to all men
through his Incarnation,
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so that "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which
we must be saved."
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433 The name of the Savior God was invoked only once in the year by the high priest in
atonement for the sins of Israel, after he had sprinkled the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies with the
sacrificial blood. The mercy seat was the place of God's presence.
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When St. Paul speaks of
Jesus whom "God put forward as an expiation by his blood", he means that in Christ's humanity
"God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself."
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434 Jesus' Resurrection glorifies the name of the Savior God, for from that time on it is the name
of Jesus that fully manifests the supreme power of the "name which is above every name".
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The
evil spirits fear his name; in his name his disciples perform miracles, for the Father grants all they
ask in this name.
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435 The name of Jesus is at the heart of Christian prayer. All liturgical prayers conclude with the
words "through our Lord Jesus Christ". The Hail Mary reaches its high point in the words "blessed
is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." The Eastern prayer of the heart, the Jesus Prayer, says: "Lord
Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Many Christians, such as St. Joan of Arc,
have died with the one word "Jesus" on their lips.
II. CHRIST
436 The word "Christ" comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah, which means
"anointed". It became the name proper to Jesus only because he accomplished perfectly the divine
mission that "Christ" signifies. In effect, in Israel those consecrated to God for a mission that he
gave were anointed in his name. This was the case for kings, for priests and, in rare instances, for
prophets.
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This had to be the case all the more so for the Messiah whom God would send to
inaugurate his kingdom definitively.
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It was necessary that the Messiah be anointed by the Spirit of the Lord at once as king and priest,
and also as prophet.
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Jesus fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in his threefold office of priest,
prophet and king.
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