Baltimore Catechism No. 1 (of 4), Anonymous [best books for 8th graders TXT] 📗

in matters of less importance; or in matters of great importance it is an offense committed without sufficient reflection or full consent of the will.

59. Q. Which are the chief sources of sin? A. The chief sources of sin are seven: Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth; and they are commonly called capital sins.

LESSON SIXTH ON THE INCARNATION AND REDEMPTION

60. Q. Did God abandon man after he fell into sin? A. God did not abandon man after he fell into sin, but promised him a Redeemer, who was to satisfy for man's sin and reopen to him the gates of heaven.

61. Q. Who is the Redeemer? A. Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of mankind.

62. Q. What do you believe of Jesus Christ? A. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, true God and true man.

69. Q. What do you mean by the Incarnation? A. By the Incarnation I mean that the Son of God was made man.

70. Q. How was the Son of God made man? A. The Son of God was conceived and made man by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

74. Q. On what day was the Son of God conceived and made man? A. The Son of God was conceived and made man on Annunciation day—the day on which the Angel Gabriel announced to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she was to be the Mother of God.

75. Q. On what day was Christ born? A. Christ was born on Christmas day in a stable at Bethlehem, over nineteen hundred years ago.

LESSON SEVENTH ON OUR LORD'S PASSION, DEATH, RESURRECTION, AND ASCENSION

78. Q. What did Jesus Christ suffer? A. Jesus Christ suffered a bloody sweat, a cruel scourging, was crowned with thorns, and was crucified.

79. Q. On what day did Christ die? A. Christ died on Good Friday.

83. Q. Why did Christ suffer and die? A. Christ suffered and died for our sins.

89. Q. On what day did Christ rise from the dead? A. Christ rose from the dead, glorious and immortal, on Easter Sunday, the third day after His death.

91. Q. After Christ had remained forty days on earth, whither did He go? A. After forty days Christ ascended into heaven, and the day on which He ascended into heaven is called Ascension day.

LESSON EIGHTH ON THE HOLY GHOST AND HIS DESCENT UPON THE APOSTLES

94. Q. Who is the Holy Ghost? A. The Holy Ghost is the third Person of the Blessed Trinity.

97. Q. On what day did the Holy Ghost come down upon the Apostles?
A. The Holy Ghost came down upon the Apostles ten days after the
Ascension of our Lord; and the day on which He came down upon the
Apostles is called Whitsunday, or Pentecost.

99. Q. Who sent the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles? A. Our Lord Jesus Christ sent the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles.

100. Q. Why did Christ send the Holy Ghost? A. Christ sent the Holy Ghost to sanctify His Church, to enlighten and strengthen the Apostles, and to enable them to preach the Gospel.

LESSON NINTH ON THE EFFECTS OF THE REDEMPTION

102. Q. Which are the chief effects of the Redemption? A. The chief effects of the Redemption are two: The satisfaction of God's justice by Christ's sufferings and death, and the gaining of grace for men.

103. Q. What do you mean by grace? A. By grace I mean a supernatural gift of God bestowed on us, through the merits of Jesus Christ, for our salvation.

104. Q. How many kinds of grace are there? A. There are two kinds of grace, sanctifying grace and actual grace.

105. Q. What is sanctifying grace? A. Sanctifying grace is that grace which makes the soul holy and pleasing to God.

110. Q. What is actual grace? A. Actual grace is that help of God which enlightens our mind and moves our will to shun evil and do good.

{T.N.: The above question is out of numerical order in the printed source of Baltimore Catechism No. 1.}

107. Q. What is Faith?
A. Faith is a Divine virtue by which we firmly believe the truths which
God has revealed.

108. Q. What is Hope? A. Hope is a Divine virtue by which we firmly trust that God will give us eternal life and the means to obtain it.

109. Q. What is Charity? A. Charity is a Divine virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

LESSON TENTH ON THE CHURCH

114. Q. Which are the means instituted by our Lord to enable men at all times to share in the fruits of the Redemption? A. The means instituted by our Lord to enable men at all times to share in the fruits of His Redemption are the Church and the Sacraments.

115. Q. What is the Church?
A. The Church is the congregation of all those who profess the faith of
Christ, partake of the same Sacraments, and are governed by their lawful
pastors under one visible Head.

116. Q. Who is the invisible Head of the Church? A. Jesus Christ is the invisible Head of the Church.

117. Q. Who is the visible Head of the Church? A. Our Holy Father the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, is the Vicar of Christ on earth, and the visible Head of the Church.

128. Q. Has the Church any marks by which it may be known? A. The Church has four marks by which it may be known: it is One; it is Holy; it is Catholic; it is Apostolic.

133. Q. In which Church are these marks found? A. These marks are found in the Holy Roman Catholic Church alone.

LESSON ELEVENTH ON THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL

136. Q. What is a Sacrament? A. A Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.

137. Q. How many Sacraments are there? A. There are seven Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.

138. Q. Whence have the Sacraments the power of giving grace? A. The Sacraments have the power of giving grace from the merits of Jesus Christ.

147. Q. Do the Sacraments always give grace? A. The Sacraments always give grace, if we receive them with the right dispositions.

148. Q. Can we receive the Sacraments more than once? A. We can receive the Sacraments more than once, except Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders.

LESSON TWELFTH ON BAPTISM

152. Q. What is Baptism? A. Baptism is a Sacrament which cleanses us from original sin, makes us Christians, children of God, and heirs of heaven.

153. Q. Are actual sins ever remitted by Baptism? A. Actual sins and all the punishment due to them are remitted by Baptism, if the person baptized be guilty of any, and is rightly disposed.

154. Q. Is Baptism necessary to salvation? A. Baptism is necessary to salvation, because without it we cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.

155. Q. Who can administer Baptism? A. The priest is the ordinary minister of Baptism; but in case of necessity any one who has the use of reason may baptize.

156. Q. How is Baptism given? A. Whoever baptizes should pour water on the head of the person to be baptized, and say, while pouring the water: I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

LESSON THIRTEENTH ON CONFIRMATION

166. Q. What is Confirmation? A. Confirmation is a Sacrament through which we receive the Holy Ghost to make us strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ.

167. Q. Who administers Confirmation? A. The bishop is the ordinary minister of Confirmation.

168. Q. How does the bishop give Confirmation? A. The bishop extends his hands over those who are to be confirmed, prays that they may receive the Holy Ghost, and anoints the forehead of each with holy chrism in the form of a cross.

170. Q. What does the bishop say in anointing the person he confirms? A. In anointing the person he confirms the bishop says: I sign thee with the sign of the cross, and I confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

173. Q. To receive Confirmation worthily is it necessary to be in the state of grace? A. To receive Confirmation worthily it is necessary to be in the state of grace.

173a. Q. What is a state of grace? A. A state of grace is freedom from mortal sin.

{T.N.: The above question is numbered 174 in the printed source, but a different question is given in its place in Baltimore Catechism Nos. 2 and 4, where the topic is covered in Q. 55 and elsewhere.}

175. Q. Is it a sin to neglect Confirmation? A. It is a sin to neglect Confirmation, especially in these evil days when faith and morals are exposed to so many and such violent temptations.

LESSON FOURTEENTH ON THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE

187. Q. What is the Sacrament of Penance? A. Penance is a Sacrament in which the sins committed after Baptism are forgiven.

191. Q. What must we do to receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily? A. To receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily we must do five things:

1. We must examine our conscience. 2. We must have sorrow for our sins. 3. We must make a firm resolution never more to offend God. 4. We must confess our sins to the priest. 5. We must accept the penance which the priest gives us.

192. Q. What is the examination of conscience? A. The examination of conscience is an earnest effort to recall to mind all the sins we have committed since our last worthy confession.

LESSON FIFTEENTH ON CONTRITION

195. Q. What is contrition, or sorrow for sin? A. Contrition, or sorrow for sin, is a hatred of sin and a true grief of the soul for having offended God, with a firm purpose of sinning no more.

201. Q. Why should we be sorry for our sins? A. We should be sorry for our sins, because sin is the greatest of evils and an offense against God our Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer, and because mortal sin shuts us out of heaven and condemns us to the eternal pains of hell.

206. Q. What do you mean by a firm purpose of sinning no more? A. By a firm purpose of sinning no more I mean a fixed resolve not only to avoid all mortal sin, but also its near occasions.

207. Q. What do you mean by the near occasions of sin? A. By the near occasions of sin I mean all the persons, places, and things that may easily lead us into sin.

LESSON SIXTEENTH ON CONFESSION

208. Q. What is Confession? A. Confession is the telling of our sins to a duly authorized priest, for the purpose of obtaining forgiveness.

209. Q. What sins are we bound to confess? A. We are bound to confess all our mortal sins, but it is well also to confess our venial sins.

214. Q. What should we do if we cannot remember the number of our sins? A. If we cannot remember the number of our sins, we should tell the number as nearly as possible.

216. Q. Is it a grievous offense wilfully to conceal a mortal sin in Confession? A. It is a grievous offense wilfully to conceal a mortal sin in Confession, because we thereby tell a lie to the Holy Ghost, and make our Confession worthless.

217. Q. What must he do who has wilfully concealed a mortal sin in Confession? A. He who has wilfully concealed a mortal sin in Confession must not only confess it, but must also repeat all the sins he has committed since his last worthy Confession.

218. Q. Why does the priest give us a penance after Confession? A. The priest gives us a penance after Confession that we may satisfy God for the temporal punishment due to our sins.

LESSON SEVENTEENTH ON INDULGENCES

231. Q. What is an Indulgence? A. An Indulgence is the remission in whole or in part of the temporal punishment due to sin.

233. Q. How