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The History of Salvation: God's Saving Plan

Here are the catecheses on the history of salvation which Pope Saint John Paul II gave us at the Wednesday General Audiences between November 1997 & March 2001. They followed on from JPII's Catechesis on Mary and preceded those on the Divine Office, Bible Readings.

There were 119 catechesis in this cycle:

Salvation History

  1     Introduction to the Jubilee
  2     In the beginning was the Word)
  3     Christ in the history of humanity that preceded him
  4     The Incarnation, entrance of eternity into time
  5     The time of the Gospel
  6     Jesus' "hour" is time of human salvation
  7     Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many
  8     The Son of God brings the fullness of salvation
  9     Salvation carried out in history
 10    Faith in Christ
 11    Baptism, the foundation of Christian existence
 12    The one Baptism of the Christian community
 13    The final coming of Christ
 14    Mary, Mother
 15    Mary, model and guide in faith

The Holy Spirit

 16    The Spirit is gradually revealed in Scripture
 17    Spirit is source of new and eternal life
 18    The Holy Spirit's role in the Incarnation
 19    The role of the Spirit in the baptism and public life of Jesus
 20    The Spirit's presence in the Paschal Mystery
 21    The Holy Spirit gives birth to the Church
 22    The Gospel is preached in the power of the Spirit
 23    The Holy Spirit enlivens and animates the Church
 24    The Holy Spirit sanctifies us
 25    The Holy Spirit as the source of Communion
 26    The Spirit is the source of ministries
 27    The Spirit acts in all creation and history
 28    Creation must be a dwelling place of peace
 29    Created in the divine image and likeness
 30    The Holy Spirit is the source of true freedom
 31    Seeds of truth are found in other religions
 32    The Spirit is active wherever the truth is sought
 33    In the Spirit we read the "signs of the times"
 34    Confirmation perfects baptismal grace
 35    Confirmation seals us with the gift of the Spirit
 36    The Spirit bestows the gift of transcendant life
 37    Life in the Spirit transcends even death
 38    Our bodies will share in the Resurrection
 39    The Holy Spirit is the source of hope
 40    Signs of hope at the end of this century
 41    Spirit leads Church on path of renewal
 42    We await new heavens and a new earth
 43    Mary's motherhood is linked to the Spirit

God the Father

 44    On pilgrimage to the Father's house
 45    God gradually reveals his fatherhood
 46    God shows himself a father to Israel
 47    Jesus' experience of God as Father
 48    Jesus' relationship with the Father
 49    Eternal life means knowing the Father
 50    God the Father's providential love
 51    God the Father's love is demanding
 52    Christian response to modern atheism
 53    Dialogue is part of Church's saving mission
 54    Jews and Christians share much together
 55    Muslims and Christians adore the one God
 56    Dialogue with the great world religions
 57    Humanity's journey to the Father
 58    Believers in Christ need not fear death
 59    The merciful nature of God's judgement
 60    Heaven is fullness of communion with God
 61    Hell is the state of those who reject God
 62    Purgatory is a necessary purification
 63    Salvation is humanity's ultimate destiny
 64    Fight evil and sin
 65    Personal sin has repercussions on society
 66    Church asks pardon for her members' sins
 67    Jesus reveals the Father's merciful face
 68    Penance: encounter with the merciful Father
 69    Reconciliation with God and one another
 70    Indulgences are an expression of God's mercy
 71    God's essence is a mystery of infinite love
 72    Charity is a response to God's call to love
 73    Love is the greatest of all the Spirit's gifts
 74    The Church's preferential love for the poor
 75    Reducing international debt
 76    Commitment to promoting women's dignity
 77    Society depends on stable families
 78    Building a civilization of love
 79    Mary, the Father's beloved daughter
 80    Mary cooperates in God's saving plan

The Trinity

 81    The Trinity: fountain of love and light
 82    The Trinity is mysteriously present in creation
 83    The glory of the Trinity is revealed in history
 84    The Incarnation reveals the glory of the Trinity
 85    The Holy Trinity is revealed at Jesus' Baptism
 86    The promise of Tabor is fulfilled at Easter
 87    Christ's passion reveals the glory of the Trinity
 88    The Trinity is present at Christ's Resurrection
 89    The glory of the Trinity in Christ's Ascension
 90    Pentecost involves the three Divine Persons
 91    The glory of the Trinity present in living human beings
 92    The Trinity in the life of the Church
 93    Glory of the Trinity in the heavenly Jerusalem
 94    God always goes in search of us
 95    God satisfies our longing for his presence
 96    God reveals himself in nature
 97    The decisive meeting with Christ, the Word made flesh
 98    God continually calls us to repentance
 99    The way Christ taught is demanding
100   Christians are enlivened by the Holy Spirit
101   The gift of the Spirit

The Eucharist and the Kingdom

102    The Eucharist is a celebration of divine glory
103    The Eucharist: memorial of God's mighty work
104    The Eucharist is perfect sacrifice of praise
105    The Eucharist, banquet of communion with God
106    The Eucharist, a taste of eternity in time
107    Eucharist is sacrament of the Church's unity
108    Word, Eucharist and divided Christians
109    Love binds all Christian communities
110    God the Father offers salvation to all nations
111    All are called to build God's kingdom
112    God entrusted the earth to our stewardship
113    God made man the steward of creation
114    A future more worthy of the human person
115    We look to new heavens and new earth
116    The Church, a bride adorned for her husband
117    All creation will be recapitulated in Christ
118    Mary, eschatological icon of the Church
119    Mary leads us on a pilgrimage of faith