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In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it not as a human word, "but as what it really is, the word of God". "In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks with them."

​- Catechism of the Catholic Church​ (​104)

The Bible

The Bible is a canonical collection of texts sacred in Judaism and Christianity.

The Catholic Bible is composed of the 46 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament.​ 

The Bible is widely considered to be the best-selling book of all time, has estimated annual sales of 100 million copies, and has been a major influence on literature and history, especially in the West where it was the first mass-printed book.

What is the New Revised Standard Version Bible?

The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Christian Bible is an English translation released in 1989. It is the approved translation for use in Canada by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.​

The New Revised Standard Version was translated by the Division of Christian Education (now Bible Translation and Utilization) of the National Council of Churches. The group included scholars representing Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Christian groups as well as Jewish representation in the group responsible for the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament. The mandate given the committee was summarized in a dictum: "As literal as possible, as free as necessary."

Code of Canon Law

The canon law of the Catholic Church is the system of laws and legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Church to regulate its external organization and government and to order and direct the activities of Catholics toward the mission of the Church.

The 1983 Code of Canon Law (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title Codex Iuris Canonici) is the codification of canonical legislation for the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. It was promulgated on 25 January 1983 by John Paul II and obtained the force of law on the First Sunday of Advent (27 November) 1983. It replaced the 1917 Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Benedict XV on 27 May 1917.

The 1983 Code of Canon Law contains 1752 canons, or laws, most subdivided into paragraphs (indicated by "§") and/or numbers (indicated by "°"). Hence a citation of the Code would be written as Can. (or Canon) 934, §2, 1°.

What is in the Code of Canon Law?

The Code is organized into seven Books, which are further divided into Part, Section, Title, Chapter and Article.

This is the outline of the seven books of the 1983 Code of Canon Law:

BOOK I. GENERAL NORMS (Cann. 1–203) - Explains the general application of laws

​BOOK II. THE PEOPLE OF GOD (Cann. 204–746) - Goes into the rights and obligations of laypeople and clergy, and outlines the hierarchical organization of the Church

​BOOK III. THE TEACHING FUNCTION OF THE CHURCH (Cann. 747–833) - Christian ministry, missionary activity, education, and social communication​

BOOK IV. THE SANCTIFYING FUNCTION OF THE CHURCH (Cann. 834–1253) - Sacraments and other acts of worship; places of worship and feast-days

BOOK V. THE TEMPORAL GOODS OF THE CHURCH (Cann. 1254–1310) - Ownership, contracts, and wills; akin to the civil Business Law

BOOK VI. SANCTIONS IN THE CHURCH (Cann. 1311–1399) - Crimes and punishment

BOOK VII. PROCESSES (Cann. 1400–1752) - Trials and Tribunals​