Friday, February 22, 2008

Acts 15, 25-29 The decision of the holy Spirit and of us

(Acts 15, 25-29)The decision of the holy Spirit and of us
[25] we have with one accord decided to choose representatives and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, [26] who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. [27] So we are sending Judas and Silas who will also convey this same message by word of mouth: [28] 'It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, [29] namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.'"
(CCC 1980) The Old Law is the first stage of revealed law. Its moral prescriptions are summed up in the Ten Commandments. (CCC 1981) The Law of Moses contains many truths naturally accessible to reason. God has revealed them because men did not read them in their hearts. (CCC 1982) The Old Law is a preparation for the Gospel. (CCC 1983) The New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit received by faith in Christ, operating through charity. It finds expression above all in the Lord's Sermon on the Mount and uses the sacraments to communicate grace to us. (CCC 1984) The Law of the Gospel fulfills and surpasses the Old Law and brings it to perfection: its promises, through the Beatitudes of the Kingdom of heaven; its commandments, by reforming the heart, the root of human acts. (CCC 1985) The New Law is a law of love, a law of grace, a law of freedom.

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