|
Duties of Catholics
Reminder: Items herein are not comprehensive
Note: History proves that being a faithful
Christian may sometimes be dangerous to one's bodily health (e.g.
when confessing the faith in front of enemies, when persons are forced to disobey
unjust laws, etc.). Consult appropriate, competent authorities for
assistance in interpreting / applying items herein. Note that we
do not advocate unlawful / immoral civil disobedience and we are
not responsible for anything which may occur due to use of this
site.
|
"If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."
(Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mt. 19:17)
"I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven."
(Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mt. 5:20)
"Our
fidelity to our duties decides our future and eternal fate."
(Pope Paul VI)
"We
who say we dwell in Christ should walk just as He walked."
(Pope Clement XIII, "A Quo Die", 1758 A.D.)
"It
is unquestionably the fundamental duty of man to orientate his
person and his life towards God." (Pope Pius XII,
"Mediator Dei", 1947 A.D.)
"[T]he divine law is to be observed not only by the
external performance of duties, but also by the internal
concurrence of the heart." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
"Prayer is a duty not only recommended by way of counsel,
but also commanded by obligatory precept." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
"The
person baptized is bound to always profess the faith and observe
the Law of Jesus Christ and of His Church." (Catechism of
Pope St. Pius X)
"It is a duty incumbent on us to cooperate with the grace
of God, to use it in pursuing the path that leads to heaven."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"[T]he Church obliges all Christians, who have come to the
use of
reason, to approach the sacrament of Penance at least once a
year." (Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"Every
one has to regulate his mode of conduct according to this
constitution of the Church, which it is not in the power of any
man to change." (Pope Leo XIII, "Sapientiae Christianae",
1890 A.D.)
"Every
Christian is obliged to lay down his life rather than deny any of
the articles of our holy Faith: it was the debt we contracted with
Jesus Christ when he adopted us in Baptism as his Brethren."
(Dom Gueranger)
"Let
no one be under any delusion. Christ is demanding. Christ's life
is the narrow way. To be worthy of Him, we must take up our cross.
It is not enough to be religious; it is necessary to carry out the
Divine Will in actual fact." (Pope Paul VI)
"No
better citizen is there, whether in time of peace or war, than the
Christian who is mindful of his duty; but such a one should be
ready to suffer all things, even death itself, rather than abandon
the cause of God or of the Church." (Pope Leo XIII)
"For
since He says that the life of man after the resurrection will be
like to that of Angels, it follows, that our life in this world
should be so ordered with respect to that which we hope for
hereafter, that living in the flesh we may not live according to
the flesh." (St. Gregory of Nyssa)
"But the most important duty of all, and that which is the
fullest expression of charity, and to the practice of which we
should most habituate ourselves, is to pardon and forgive from the
heart the injuries which we may have received from others."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"The Council of Lateran, therefore, decreed that all the
faithful should receive the sacred body of the Lord, at least once
a year, at Easter, and that neglect of this duty should be
chastised by exclusion from the society of the faithful."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Can.
1247 On Sundays and other holydays of obligation, the faithful are
obliged to assist at Mass. They are also to abstain from such work
or business which hinder the worship to be given to God, the joy
proper to the Lord's Day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and
body." (1983 Code of Canon Law) "Because it is the duty of Christian charity that each
individual be not solicitous for himself alone, but that he be
also active in the cause of his neighbor; and that, while he
attends to his own interests, he forget not the interests of
others." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"For
beyond the mere name of Christian, beyond the mere profession of
faith, Christian virtues are necessary for the Christian, and upon
this depends, not only the eternal salvation of their souls, but
also the peace and prosperity of the human family and
brotherhood." (Pope Leo XIII, "Exeunte Iam Anno",
1888 A.D.)
"...the
Christian who has attained the use of reason has more to do than
suffer for his faith: he must confess it before persecutors and
tyrants when they bid him deny it, and also before that more
permanent tribunal of the world and his own passions. No man has
received the glorious character of a Christian on the condition
that he should never own himself one." (Dom Gueranger)
"Can.
222 §1 Christ's faithful have the obligation to provide for the
needs of the Church, so that the Church has available to it those
things which are necessary for divine worship, for apostolic and
charitable work and for the worthy support of its ministers. §2
They are also obliged to promote social justice and, mindful of
the Lord's precept, to help the poor from their own
resources." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Likewise the faithful should give themselves to frequent
prayer and the praises of God; and an object of their special
attention should be to learn those things which pertain to a
Christian life, and to practice with care the duties of piety,
such as giving alms to the poor and needy, visiting the sick, and
administering consolation to the sorrowful and afflicted."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Can.
754 All the Christian faithful are obliged to observe the
constitutions and decrees which the legitimate authority of the
Church issues in order to propose doctrine and to proscribe
erroneous opinions, particularly those published by the Roman
Pontiff or the College of Bishops." (1983 Code of Canon Law) [Note:
The Pope is supreme, and the head of the College of Bishops]
"Can.
1322 § 1 Christ
the Lord entrusted the deposit of faith to the Church, that under
the constant guidance and assistance of the Holy Spirit she might
sacredly guard and faithfully explain this divine revelation. § 2
The
Church therefore has the right and duty, independently of any
civil authority, to teach all nations the full doctrine of the
gospel; and all men are bound by the law of God duly to learn this
doctrine and to embrace the true Church of God." (1917
Code of
Canon Law)
"...for no Christian should dispute how what the Catholic Church believes in heart, and confesses in words is not so; but always unhesitatingly holding to the same faith, but loving and living according to it, humbly seek the reason, insofar as he can, how it is so. If he can understand, let him give thanks to God; if he cannot let him not push his horns to the struggle
[cf. 1 Mach. 7:46], but let him submit his head to veneration." (Pope St.
Pius X, "Communium Rerum", 1909 A.D.)
"[The
faithful] should all be admonished frequently to examine their
consciences, in order to ascertain if they have been faithful in
the observance of those things which God and His Church require.
Should anyone be conscious of sin, he should immediately accuse
himself, humbly solicit pardon from God, and implore time to
confess and satisfy for his sins. Above all, let him supplicate
the aid of divine grace, in order that he may not relapse into
those sins which he now penitently deplores." (Catechism of
the Council of Trent)
"For
we ought to know that it is not enough for us that we have
received the name Christian, if we do not do Christian works... If
you say a thousand times that you are a Christian and continually
sign yourself with the cross of Christ, but do not give alms
according to your means, and you do not want to have love and
justice and chastity, the name of Christian will profit you
nothing... If a man thinks evil thoughts, speaks evil words, or
does evil deeds, and does not wish to amend himself, when he signs
himself his sin is not lessened but increased." (St. Caesar
of Arles)
"Now
the perfection of Christian virtue lies in that disposition of
soul which dares all that is arduous or difficult; its symbol is
the Cross, which those who would follow Jesus Christ must carry on
their shoulder. The effects of this disposition are a heart
detached from mortal things, complete self-control, and a gentle
and resigned endurance of adversity. In fine, the love of God and
of one's neighbor is the mistress and sovereign of all other
virtues: such is its power that it wipes away all the hardships
that accompany the fulfillment of duty, and renders the hardest
labors not only bearable, but agreeable." (Pope Leo XIII,
"Auspicato Concessum", 1882 A.D.)
"Hence
Basil says (Hom. super Lucinam 12:18): 'If you acknowledge them,'
viz. your temporal goods, 'as coming from God, is He unjust
because He apportions them unequally? Why are you rich while
another is poor, unless it be that you may have the merit of a
good stewardship, and he the reward of patience? It is the hungry
man's bread that you withhold, the naked man's cloak that you have
stored away, the shoe of the barefoot that you have left to rot,
the money of the needy that you have buried underground: and so
you injure as many as you might help.'" (St. Thomas Aquinas,
Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history
of the Church")
"In
these Our days it is well to revive these examples of Our
forefathers. First and foremost, it is the duty of all Catholics
worthy of the name and wishful to be known as most loving children
of the Church, to reject without swerving whatever is inconsistent
with so fair a title; to make use of popular institutions, so far
as can honestly be done, for the advancement of truth and
righteousness; to strive that liberty of action shall not
transgress the bounds marked out by nature and the law of God; to
endeavor to bring back all civil society to the pattern and form
of Christianity which We have described." (Pope Leo XIII,
"Immortale Dei", 1885 A.D.)
"The
truly remarkable dignity of man as the son of the heavenly Father,
in Whose image he is formed, and with Whom he is destined to live
in eternal happiness, is also revealed only by the doctrine of
Jesus Christ. From this very dignity, and from man's knowledge of
it, Christ showed that men should love one another as brothers,
and should live here as becomes children of light, 'not of revelry
and drunkenness, not in debauchery and wantonness, not in strife
and jealousy.' He also bids us to place all our anxiety and care
in the hands of God, for He will provide for us; He tells us to
help the poor, to do good to those who hate us, and to prefer the
eternal welfare of the soul to the temporal goods of this
life." (Pope St. Pius X, "Acerbo Nimis", 1905 A.D.)
"As
to private affairs, the first duty is to conform life and conduct
to the gospel precepts, and to refuse to shrink from this duty
when Christian virtue demands some sacrifice slightly more
difficult to make. All, moreover, are bound to love the Church as
their common mother, to obey her laws, promote her honor, defend
her rights, and to endeavor to make her respected and loved by
those over whom they have authority. It is also of great moment to
the public welfare to take a prudent part in the business of
municipal administration, and to endeavor above all to introduce
effectual measures, so that, as becomes a Christian people, public
provision may be made for the instruction of youth in religion and
true morality. Upon these things the well-being of every State
greatly depends." (Pope Leo XIII, "Immortale Dei",
1885 A.D.)
"The
Master of the household is Christ, whose house are the heavens and
the earth; and the creatures of the heavens, and the earth, and
beneath the earth, his family. His vineyard is righteousness, in
which are set divers sorts of righteousness as vines, as meekness,
chastity, patience, and the other virtues; all of which are called
by one common name righteousness. Men are the cultivators of this
vineyard, whence it is said, Who went out early in the morning to
hire laborers into his vineyard. For God placed His righteousness
in our senses, not for His own but for our benefit. Know then that
we are the hired laborers. But as no man gives wages to a laborer,
to the end he should do nothing save only to eat, so likewise we
were not thereto called by Christ, that we should labor such
things only as pertain to our own good, but to the glory of God.
And like as the hired laborer looks first to his task, and after
to his daily food, so ought we to mind first those things which
concern the glory of God, then those which concern our own profit.
Also as the hired laborer occupies the whole day in his Lord's
work, and takes but a single hour for his own meal; so ought we to
occupy our whole life in the glory of God, taking but a very small
portion of it for the uses of this world. And as the hired laborer
when he has done no work is ashamed that day to enter the house,
and ask his food; how should not you be ashamed to enter the
church, and stand before the face of God, when you have done
nothing good in the sight of God?" (St. John Chrysostom,
Doctor of the Church)
"Now
Christ is the 'Way,' for we can never reach God, the supreme and
ultimate good, by this toilsome and doubtful road of mortal life,
except with Christ as our leader and guide. How so? Firstly and
chiefly by His grace; but this would remain 'void' in man if the
precepts of His law were neglected. For, as was necessarily the
case after Jesus Christ had won our salvation, He left behind Him
His Law for the protection and welfare of the human race, under
the guidance of which men, converted from evil life, might safely
tend towards God. 'Going, teach ye all nations... teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you' (Matthew
xxviii., 19-20). 'Keep my commandments' (John xiv., 15). Hence it
will be understood that in the Christian religion the first and
most necessary condition is docility to the precepts of Jesus
Christ, absolute loyalty of will towards Him as Lord and King. A
serious duty, and one which oftentimes calls for strenuous labor,
earnest endeavor, and perseverance! For although by Our Redeemer's
grace human nature hath been regenerated, still there remains in
each individual a certain debility and tendency to evil. Various
natural appetites attract man on one side and the other; the
allurements of the material world impel his soul to follow after
what is pleasant rather than the law of Christ. Still we must
strive our best and resist our natural inclinations with all our
strength 'unto the obedience of Christ.' For unless they obey
reason they become our masters, and carrying the whole man away
from Christ, make him their slave. 'Men of corrupt mind, who have
made shipwreck of the faith, cannot help being slaves... They are
slaves to a threefold concupiscence: of will, of pride, or of
outward show' (St. Augustine, De Vera Religione, 37). In this
contest every man must be prepared to undergo hardships and
troubles for Christ's sake. It is difficult to reject what so
powerfully entices and delights. It is hard and painful to despise
the supposed goods of the senses and of fortune for the will and
precepts of Christ our Lord. But the Christian is absolutely
obliged to be firm, and patient in suffering, if he wish to lead
a Christian life." (Pope Leo XIII, "Tametsi Futura
Prospicientibus", 1900 A.D.)
"It
cannot be doubted that in daily life the duties of Catholics are
more numerous and more serious than those of such as are either
little aware of the Catholic faith or entirely inexperienced in
it... The man who has embraced the Christian faith as he ought, by
that very fact is subject to the Church as if born of her, and
becomes a participant in her worldwide and most holy society,
which it is the proper duty of the Roman Pontiff to rule with
supreme power, under the invisible head, Jesus Christ. - Now
indeed, if we are bidden by the law of nature especially to love
and protect the land in which we were brought forth and raised
into this light, so that the good citizen does not hesitate even
to encounter death for the fatherland, it is a far greater duty
for Christians ever to be affected in similar wise toward the
Church. For the Church is the holy land of the living God, born of
God himself, and established by the same Author, who indeed is on
a pilgrimage in the land; calling men, and training and leading
them to eternal happiness in heaven. Therefore, the fatherland
must be loved, from which we receive the enjoyment of mortal life;
but we must love the Church more to whom we owe the love of the
soul which will last forever, because it is right to hold the
blessings of the spirit above the blessings of the body, and the
duties toward God are much more sacred than those toward man. But,
if we wish to judge rightly, the supernatural love of the Church
and the natural love of the fatherland are twin loves coming from
the same eternal principle, since God himself is the author and
the cause of both; therefore, it follows that one duty cannot be
in conflict with the other... Nevertheless, the order of these
duties, either because of the troubles of the times or the more
perverse will of men, is sometimes destroyed. Instances, to be
sure, occur when the state seems to demand one thing from men as
citizens, and religion another from men as Christians; and this,
clearly, for no other reason than that the rulers of the state
either hold the sacred power of the Church as of no account, or
wish it to be subject to them... If the laws of the state are
openly at variance with divine right, if they impose any injury
upon the Church, or oppose those duties which are of religion, or
violate the authority of Jesus Christ in the Supreme Pontiff, then
indeed to resist is a duty, to obey a crime; and this is bound
with injury to the state itself, since whatever is an offense in
religion is a sin against the state." (Pope Leo XIII, "Sapientiae
Christianae", 1890 A.D.)
Also
See: Christian
Soldiers | Commandments
| Love
/ Charity | Fasting
/ Abstinence | Must
Not Dissent From Any Point of Truth | Obedience
| Penance
| Perseverance
| Repentance
| Sunday
/ Holy Days of Obligation | True
Catholics / True Christians | Good
Works | Duty
to Profess / Defend the Faith (Coming Home Reflections) | Duty
to Reject Strange Doctrine (Coming Home Reflections) | Our
Solicitude & Our Duty to Correct / Rebuke (Coming Home
Reflections) | The
Right and Duty of Lay Catholics to Promote the Faith (Catholic Web
Links Reflections) | Duties
of the Faithful to the Holy See (Vatican View Reflections) | Necessity
of Union With the Roman Pontiff (Vatican View Reflections) |
Duties
& Responsibilities of the Faithful Towards Priests (Priests
& Vocations Section) | The
Obligation of Confession (Sacraments Reflections) | Necessity
of Receiving the Holy Eucharist (Sacraments Reflections) | Necessity
of Prayer (Prayers & Devotions Reflections) | Obligation
to Believe (Feed Your Faith Reflections)
| Necessity
of Faith and Works / Not Saved by Faith Alone (Feed Your Faith
Reflections) | Obligation
to Perform Good Works (Give & Take Reflections)
| Necessity
of Good Works (Volunteers' Corner Reflections)
| Precepts
of the Church | Teachings
of Jesus | Other
New Testament Teachings | "Is
Being a 'Good Person' Good Enough? / Do All 'Good People' Go To
Heaven?
Note:
Categories are subjective and may overlap. For more items related
to this topic, please review all applicable categories. For more
'Reflections' and for Scripture topics, see links below.
Top |
Reflections: A-Z | Categ.
| Scripture: A-Z |
Categ.
| Help
|
