Church Documents

Following the final Mass of the Jubilee year — the Mass of the Ephiany, the Holy Father signed an Apostolic Letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte ("At the Beginning of the New Millennium"), which calls for a "pastoral plan" for the new millennium, and expresses the Holy Father’s hope for the future in Catholic youth...

The document is an instrument of the papal post-synodal Magisterium which provides particularly applicable pastoral teaching to assist the Church in Oceania in her work of evangelizing all — Church members and others — in the Pacific region. Ecclesia in Oceania is mainly composed of four chapters based on the elements in the formulation of the synod theme: “Jesus Christ and the Peoples of Oceania: Walking His Way, Teaching His Truth, Living His Life”. In this regard, the Holy Father states: “the theme is inspired by the words of John´s Gospel where Jesus refers to himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn 14:6) and it recalls the invitation which he extends to all the peoples of Oceania; they are invited to meet him, to believe in him, and to proclaim him as the Lord of all. It also reminds the Church in Oceania that she gathers together as the People of God journeying on pilgrimage to the Father. Through the Holy Spirit, the Father calls believers — individually and in community..

Second (revised) pocket-sized edition of the complete text of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which includes a glossary of terms. Attractive vinyl cover. ..

Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, was one of the chief accomplishments of the Second Vatican Council. The document was approved by a vote of 2,307 to 75 of the bishops assembled at the council, and was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 7, 1965, the day the council ended. As is customary with Catholic documents, the title is from the first sentence and means "Joy and Hope" in Latin. Contents - The numbers given correspond to section numbers within the text. Gaudium et Spes was promulgated by Pope Paul VI Preface (1-3) Introduction: The Situation of Men in the Modern World (4-10) Part 1: The Church and Man's Calling (11-45) The Dignity of the Human Person (12-22) The Community of Mankind (23-32) Man's Activity Throughout the World (33-39) The Role of the Church in the Modern World (40-45) Part 2: Some Problems of Special Urgency (46-93) Fostering the Nobility of Marriage and the Family (47-52) The Proper Development of Culture (53-62) The..

Dei Verbum. One of the principle documents of the Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 18, 1965. The document Dei Verbum is one of the most authoritative and important documents of the Council. Its purpose is to spell out the Churchs understanding of the nature of revelation, that is, the process whereby God communicates with human beings. It touches on questions about Scripture, tradition and the teaching authority of the Church. Dei Verbum continues the trajectory initiated by Divino Afflante Spiritu, allowing Catholic scripture scholars to read the Bible as arising within particular social and cultural contexts. The major concern of the document is to proclaim a Catholic understanding of the Bible as the "word of God." This understanding is placed within the larger context of the Church's understanding of revelation itself. Here the document speaks not of revelation about God, but the revelation of God. God communicates his very self t..

This parish favorite from Robert Hamma is the perfect tool for parent formation and for preparing the baptismal liturgy. New downloadable tools help parish leaders train parents to connect the sacrament with everyday life and better understand their role as their child's first catechists. Bestselling parish resource with 122,000 copies sold Official texts from the Rite of Baptism for Individual and Several Children and all approved lectionary readings contained in the booklet ..

Ecclesia de Eucharistia (Latin: The Church from the Eucharist) is an encyclical by Pope John Paul II published on April 17, 2003, the purpose of which is "to rekindle this Eucharistic 'amazement' […], in continuity with the Jubilee heritage which [he has] left to the Church in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte and its Marian crowning, Rosarium Virginis Mariae and which he hoped "will effectively help to banish the dark clouds of unacceptable doctrine and practice, so that the Eucharist will continue to shine forth in all its radiant mystery."..

For those who know little of the man or the background to the new Pope, this is an excellent introduction. Into this small book, Greg Watts has packed a lot of information; he gives a brief biography of Joseph Ratzinger from childhood, through the war years, to Seminary, brief Parish life and becoming an academic Theologian. He sets the scene for Vatican II and explains how Ratzinger came to attend. In 1977 how Ratzinger became an Archbishop and a Cardinal and how in 1981 Pope John Paul appointed him to become the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and it is in this role that many of us have read of him in the newspapers. Greg Watts takes us through many of the events that reached the headlines, giving the facts, and their background. The picture of Pope Benedict XVI that emerges, is of a very clever, a very wise man, faithfully carrying out what he prayerfully believes is right...

Pope Benedict's first encyclical seeks to show the place of love in the life of the Church. Pope Benedict helps to clarify the meaning of love. He examines the nature of various kinds of love-human love and divine love, eros, friendship, and charity. He writes beautifully and inspirationally that we were made for love by the God who is love, the God who became one of us out of love-Jesus Christ. Benedict insists that we must take up the word love, which has been so abused, and purify it, showing how faith in this love might transforms us. In an age in which "hostility and greed have become superpowers", and in which religion has been abused "to the point of culminating in hatred," the burden of the encyclical is to show that on its own a neutral rationality can no longer protect us; that we need the God who has loved us unto death. This Love has a human face and a human heart. In the second part, Benedict links the Church's charitable work with the love of the Trinitarian God, stating ..

The Sacrament of Charity (Sacramentum Caritatis) Set alongside Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical God Is Love (Deus Caritas Est) where he stressed the relationship between the Eucharist and love, The Sacrament of Charity picks up that theme and expands it as Pope Benedict explores the mystery of eucharistic faith and how it reveals the mystery of the Trinity. Released on the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, the Holy Father examines the important relationship between the Eucharist and the other sacraments, including the sacrament of the Church. He also highlights the social implications of the Eucharist and firmly connects it with the Church's social teaching...

Beautifully bound hard cover, features the complete rite approved for use in Australia and New Zealand, and is intended for use during the actual celebration of the rite...

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Church Documents on Catholic Education 1965 - 2002 ..

The love of Christ towards Migrants.  This encyclical was published in 2004.  It both summarises the teaching that is laid out in all previous documents and conextualises it in the present era. The love of Christ towards migrants urges us (cf. 2 Co 5:14) to look afresh at their problems, which are to be met with today all over the world. In fact nearly all countries are now faced with the eruption of the migration phenomenon in one aspect or another; it affects their social, economic, political and religious life and is becoming more and more a permanent structural phenomenon. Thus Christians are called on to: • give witness to and practice not only the spirit of tolerance – but also respect for the other’s identity. • to open a way towards sharing with people of different origins and cultures a “respectful proclamation” of their own faith. • called to a culture of solidarity so as to achieve together a real communion of persons. ..

The 16 documents of the Second Vatican Council (1963-65) are included in this volume together with Notes and an Index. Ideal for students...

This document underlines the "roots of obedience" found "in that search for God and His will which is also the will of believers". The text also deals with the issue of "difficult obedience", when "the demands made on the religious are particularly hard to meet" or when - in the words of St Francis of Assisi - the person who must obey feels that there are "better or more useful things for his soul than those ordered him by his superior". In these situations we appeal to "Christ first among the obedient" who "learned obedience through all he suffered". The function of authority is presented through the category of "human mediation" of God's will. The document goes on to clarify that this does not mean "the will of the superior coincides perfectly with God's own will". When, however, a person in religious life is faced with a legitimate order from a superior, the Lord asks him or her to obey the authority which in that moment represents Him...

This exciting new development for Christian unity offers a practical way for non Catholics to enter into the Catholic Church while retaining elements of their heritage and their hierarchy. It is important for both Catholics, Anglicans and other Christians to study this document in order to understand the new provision and how it will affect the life of the Church. The Apostolic Constitution and accompanying norms are the response of the Holy Father to the many requests that have been submitted to the Holy See from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful in different parts of the world who wish to enter into full, visible communion with the Catholic Church. The Constitution introduces a canonical structure which will allow for entry into full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony. The Complementary Norms accompanying the Constitution will guide the implementation of this provision. This Apostolic Con..

The command to make disciples of all the nations and to teach people everywhere all that He had taught His first followers was, from the very beginning, taken very seriously by the Church. The faithful down through the ages have always aspired to know, profess, practice, safeguard and transmit Christ's message to others. History has shown that methods for doing so have enjoyed varying degrees of success along the way. This has certainly been true in our own day and age. Because of a certain de-emphasis on doctrine since Vatican II along with a corresponding decline of emphasis on obedience and holiness of life, we find ourselves witnessing today a great hunger on the part of many for holy wisdom, divine charity, and the Truth that will truly set them free. This book provides an analysis of the issue and provides a theological solution, based on the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, to handing on the truths of the Faith with unwavering fidelity in the third millennium...

In his recent Gospel Challenges (2004), Dr John Bligh traced the writing of gospels back into the years before the Council of Jerusalem (AD50). Now he extends his exploration of gospel origins into the still earlier period between the Resurrection of Jesus and the writing of the earliest gospel. “All human beings by nature desire to know.” Said Aristotle. The earliest believers in the gospel preached by Peter naturally desired to know all they could about what Jesus said and did and suffered while on earth. They asked, and the Twelve did their best to respond…… ..

In February 1998 Pope John Paul II approved publication of the Basic Norms for the Formation of Permanent Deacons, and the Directory for the Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons. These two important documents have been prepared jointly by the Congregations for the Clergy and for Catholic Education. They are published together in this one volume...