United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

Chapter 11. The Four Marks of the Church • 129

to those bodies of Christians who have a valid episcopal leadership or hierarchy, while the phrase ecclesial communities refers to those bodies of Christians that do not have an apostolic hierarchy.)

THE CHURCH IS HOLY The Church has her origin in the Holy Trinity, and that is the source of her holiness. In his plan for the salvation of humanity, God the Father willed the existence of the Church. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, estab lished a community of disciples and died on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins. The Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Son, works within the Church to keep her members faithful to the Gospel. The Church is holy in her Founder, in her saints, and in her means of salvation. Through Baptism and Confirmation, Catholics have become a people consecrated by the Holy Spirit to the praise of God through Jesus Christ. Christians grow in holiness by working to live in conformity to the Gospel of Jesus and thus to become more like him, especially in the totality of his love for others shown by his sacrifice of himself on the Cross. But Christians also remain subject to temptation and sin, thus needing God’s mercy and forgiveness. In teaching his disciples how to pray, Jesus included the following petition to the Father: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” In the following parts of this catechism, the Sacraments, the Ten Commandments, the virtue of charity, and prayer will be presented as sources of holiness for the Church. THE CHURCH IS CATHOLIC The word catholic means “universal.” The Catholic Church has lived and continues to live in a diversity of cultures and languages because she is led by the Spirit of Christ to bring the Gospel to all peoples. She has known how to accept what is true and good in all cultures and, at the same time, to infuse the truth and goodness of her tradition and life into them. The process of inculturation includes this dynamic.