CATECHISM

Questions marked * are not in No. 1 Catechism.

A catechism is any book made up in question and answer form, no matter

what it treats of. We have catechisms of history, of geography, etc. Our

Catechism is a book in the same form treating of religion. It is a

little compendium of the truths of our religion, of all we must believe

and do. It contains, in the simplest form, all that a priest learns

during his many years of study. The theology he learns is only a deeper

and fuller explanation of the Catechism. A whole book might be written

on almost every question. For example, might we not write a book on each

of the first three questions--the World, God, and Man? There is

consequently much meaning in the Catechism, which must be made known to

us by explanation. You should therefore learn the Catechism by heart

now, even when you do not fully understand it; because afterwards, when

you read books on religion or hear sermons, all these questions and

answers will come back to your mind. Sermons will help you to understand

the questions, or the questions will help you to understand the sermons.

Lesson 1

ON THE END OF MAN

The end of a thing is the purpose for which it was made. The end of a

watch is to keep time. The end of a pen is to write, etc. A thing is

good only in proportion to the way it fulfills the end for which it was

made. A watch may be very beautifully made, a very rare ornament, but if

it will not keep time it is useless as a watch. The same may be said of

the pen, or of anything else. Now for what purpose was man made? If we

discover that, we know his end. When we look around us in the world, we

see a purpose or end for everything. We see that the soil is made for

the plants and trees to grow in; because if there was no need of things

growing, it would be better to have a nice clean solid rock to walk

upon, and then we would be spared the trouble of making roads, and

paving streets. But things must grow, and so we must have soil. Again,

the vegetables and plants are made for animals to feed upon; while the

animals themselves are made for man, that they may help him in his work

or serve him for food. Thus it is evident everything in the world was

made to serve something else. What then was man made for? Was it for

anything in the world? We see that all classes of beings are created for

something higher than themselves. Thus plants are higher than soil,

because they have life and soil has not. Animals are higher than plants,

because they not only have life, but they can feel and plants cannot.

Man is higher than animals, because he not only has life and can feel,

but he has also reason and intelligence, and can understand, while

animals cannot. Therefore we must look for something higher than man

himself, but there is nothing higher than man in this world, and so we

must look beyond it to find that for which he was made. And looking

beyond it and considering all things, we find that he was made for

God--to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him both in this world and

in the next. Again, we read in the Bible (Gen. 1) that at the creation

of the world all things were made before man, and that he was created

last. Therefore, if all these things could exist without man, we cannot

say he was made for them. The world existed before him and can exist

after him. The world goes along without any particular man, and the same

may be said of all men. Neither was man made to stay here awhile to

become rich, or learned, or powerful, because all do not become

rich--some are very poor; all are not learned--some are very ignorant;

all are not powerful--some are slaves. But since all men are alike and

equal in this, that they have all bodies formed in the same way, and all

souls that are immortal, they should all be made for the same end. For

example, you could not make a pen like a watch if you want it to write.

Although pens differ in size, shape, etc., they have all one general

form which is essential to them. So, although men differ in many things,

they are all alike in the essential thing, viz., that they are composed

of body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God. Hence, as

pens are made only to write with, so all men must have only one and the

same end, namely, to serve God.

1 Q. Who made the world?

A. God made the world.

The "world" here means more than the earth--more than is shown on a map

of the world. It means everything that we can see--sun, moon, stars,

etc.; even those things that we can see only with great telescopes.

Everything, too, that we may be able to see in the future, either with

our eyes alone, or aided by instruments, is included in the word

"world." We can call it the universe.

2 Q. Who is God?

A. God is the Creator of Heaven and earth, and of all things.

3 Q. What is man?

A. Man is a creature composed of a body and soul, and made to the image

and likeness of God.

"Creature," i.e., a thing created. Man differs from anything else in

creation. All things else are either entirely matter, or entirely

spirit. An angel, for example, is all spirit, and a stone is all matter;

but man is a combination of both spirit and matter--of soul and of body.

*4 Q. Is this likeness in the body or in the soul?

A. This likeness is chiefly in the soul.

*5 Q. How is the soul like to God?

A. The soul is like God because it is a spirit that will never die, and

has understanding and free will.

My soul is like to God in four things.

(1). It is "a spirit." It really exists, but cannot be seen with the

eyes of our body. Every spirit is invisible, but every invisible thing

is not a spirit. We cannot see the wind. We can feel its influence, we

can see its work--for example, the dust flying, trees swaying, ships

sailing, etc.--but the wind itself we never see. Again, we never see

electricity. We see the light or effect it produces, but we never see

the electricity itself. Yet no one denies the existence of the wind or

of electricity on account of their being invisible. Why then should

anyone say there are no spirits--no God, no angels, no souls--simply

because they cannot be seen, when we have other proofs, stronger than

the testimony of our sight, that they really and truly exist?

(2). My soul will "never die," i.e., will never cease to exist; it is

immortal. This is a very wonderful thing to think of. It will last as

long as God Himself.

(3). My soul "has understanding," i.e., it has the gift of reason. This

gift enables man to reflect upon all his actions--the reasons why he

should do certain things and why he should not do them. By reason he

reflects upon the past, and judges what may happen in the future. He

sees the consequences of his actions. He not only knows what he does,

but why he does it. This is the gift that places man high above the

brute animals in the order of creation; and hence man is not merely an

animal, but he is a rational animal--an animal with the gift of reason.

Brute animals have not reason, but only instinct, i.e., they follow

certain impulses or feelings which God gave them at their creation. He

established certain laws for each class or kind of animals, and they,

without knowing it, follow these laws; and when we see them following

their laws, always in the same way, we say it is their nature. Animals

act at times as if they knew just why they were acting; but it is not

so. It is we who reason upon their actions, and see why they do them;

but they do not reason, they only follow their instinct.

If animals could reason, they ought to improve in their condition. Men

become more civilized day by day. They invent many things that were

unknown to their forefathers. One man can improve upon the works of

another, etc. But, we never see anything of this kind in the actions of

animals. The same kind of birds, for instance, build the same kind of

nests, generation after generation, without ever making change or

improvement in them. When man teaches an animal any action, it cannot

teach the same to its young. It is clear, therefore, that animals cannot

reason.

Though man has the gift of reason by which he can learn a great deal, he

cannot learn all through his reason; for there are many things that God

Himself must teach him. When God teaches, we call the truths He makes

known to us Revelation. How could man ever know about the Trinity

through his reason alone, when, after God has made known to him that It

exists, he cannot understand it? It is the same for all the other

mysteries.

(4). My soul has "free will." This is another grand gift of God, by

which I am able to do or not do a thing, just as I please. I can even

sin and refuse to obey God. God Himself--while He leaves me my free

will--could not oblige me to do anything, unless I wished to do it;

neither could the devil. I am free therefore, and I may use this great

gift either to benefit or injure myself. If I were not free I would not

deserve reward or punishment for my actions, for no one is or should be

punished for doing what he cannot help. God would not punish us for sin

if we were not free to commit or avoid it. I turn this freedom to my

benefit if I do what God wishes when I could do the opposite; for He

will be more pleased with my conduct, and grant a greater reward than He

would bestow if I obeyed simply because obliged to do so. Animals have

no free will. If, for example, they suffer from hunger and you place

food before them, they will eat; but man can starve, if he wills to do

so, with a feast before him. For the same reason man can endure more

fatigue than any other animal of the same bodily strength. In traveling,

for instance, animals give up when exhausted, but man may be dying as he

walks, and still, by his strong will-power, force his wearied limbs to

move. But you will say, did not the lions in the den into which Daniel

was cast because he would not act against his conscience, obey the

wicked king and offend God--as we read in Holy Scripture (Dan.

6:16)--refrain from eating him, even when they were starving with

hunger? Yes; but they did not do so of themselves, but by the power of

God preventing them: and that is why the delivery of Daniel from their

mouths was a miracle. It is clear, because the same lions immediately

tore in pieces Daniel's enemies when they were cast into the den.

6 Q. Why did God make you?

A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world,

and to be happy with Him forever in the next.

"To know" Him, because we must know of a thing before we can love it. A

poor savage in Africa never longs to be at a game or contest going on in

America, because he does not know it and therefore cannot love it. We

see a person and know him; if he pleases us we love him, and if we love

him we will try to serve him; we will not be satisfied with doing merely

what he asks of us, but will do whatever we think might give him

pleasure. So it is in regard to God. We must first know Him--learn who

He is from our catechisms and books of instruction, but especially from

the teaching of God's ministers, the Holy Father, bishops and priests.

When we know Him, we shall love Him. If we knew Him perfectly, we should

love Him perfectly; so the better we know Him the more we shall love

Him. And as it is our chief duty to love Him and serve Him upon earth,

it becomes our strict duty to learn here whatever we can of His nature,

attributes, and holy laws. The saints and angels in Heaven know God so

well that they must love Him, and cannot therefore offend Him.

You have all seen some person in the world, or maybe several persons,

whom you have greatly admired; still you did not love them perfectly;

there was always some little thing about them in looks, manners, or

disposition that could be rendered more pleasing; some defect or want

you would like to see supplied; some fault or imperfection you would

like to see corrected. Now suppose you had the power to take all the

good qualities you found in the persons you loved and unite them in one

person, in whom there would be nothing displeasing, but everything

perfect and beautiful. Do you not think you would love such a person

very much indeed?

Moreover, suppose you knew that person loved you intensely, would it not

be your greatest delight to be ever with such a friend? Well, then, all

the lovable qualities and beauties you see in created beings come from

God and are bestowed by Him; yet all the good qualities on earth and

those of the angels and saints in Heaven, and even of the Blessed Virgin

and St. Joseph, if united in one person would be nothing compared to the

goodness and beauty of God. How good and how lovable, therefore, must He

be! And what shall we say when we think that He loves us with a greater

love than we could ever love Him, even with our most earnest efforts?

Try then first to know God and you will surely love and serve Him. Do

not be satisfied with the little you learn of Him in the Catechism, but

afterward read good books, and above all hear sermons and instructions.

"In this world." Because unless we do what is pleasing to Him in this

world we cannot be with Him in the next. Our condition in the next world

depends entirely upon our conduct in this. Thus we have discovered the

answer to the great question, What is the end of man; for what was he

made?

*7 Q. Of which must we take more care, our soul or our body?

A. We must take more care of our soul than of our body.

*8 Q. Why must we take more care of our soul than of our body?

A. We must take more care of our soul than of our body, because in

losing our soul we lose God and everlasting happiness.

Every sensible person will take most care of that which is most

valuable. If a girl had a hundred dollars in a ten-cent pocket-book, you

would consider her a great fool if she threw away the hundred dollars

for fear of spoiling the pocket-book. Now, he is a greater fool who

throws away his soul in order to save his body some little

inconvenience, or gratify its wicked desires or inclinations. Wherever

the soul will be, there the body will be also; so we should, in a

certain way, try to forget the body and make sure of getting the soul

safely into Heaven. You would not think much of the wisdom of a boy who

allowed his kite to be smashed in pieces by giving his whole attention

to the tail of the kite. If he took care to keep the kite itself high in

air and away from every danger, the tail would follow it; and even if

the tail did get entangled, it would have a good chance of being freed

while the kite was still flying. But of what use is it to save a

worthless piece of rag, if the kite--the valuable thing--is lost? Just

in the same way, of what use is our body if our soul is lost? And

remember we have only one soul. Therefore, make sure to save the soul,

and the body also will be saved--that is, the whole man will be saved;

for we cannot save the soul and lose the body; they will both be saved

or both be lost.

9 Q. What must we do to save our souls?

A. To save our souls, we must worship God by faith, hope, and charity;

that is, we must believe in Him, hope in Him, and love Him with all our

heart.

"Worship," that is, give Him divine honor. We honor persons for their

worth and excellence, and since God is the most excellent, we give Him

the highest honors, differing from others not merely in degrees but in

kind--divine honors that belong to Him alone. And justly so, for the

vilest animal upon the earth is a thousand times more nearly our equal

than the most perfect creature, man or angel, is the equal of God. In

speaking of worship, theologians generally distinguish three kinds,

namely: latria, or that supreme worship due to God alone, which cannot

be transferred to any creature without committing the sin of idolatry;

dulia, or that secondary veneration we give to saints and angels as the

special friends of God; hyperdulia, or that higher veneration which we

give to the Blessed Virgin as the most exalted of all God's creatures.

It is higher than the veneration we give to the other saints, but

infinitely inferior to the worship we give to God Himself. We show God

our special honor by never doubting anything He reveals to us, therefore

by "faith"; by expecting with certainty whatever He promises, therefore

by "hope"; and finally by loving Him more than anyone else in the world,

therefore by "charity."

But someone may say, I think I love my parents more than God. Well, let

us see. Suppose your mother should command you to commit a sinful act (a

thing no good mother would do) and you have therefore to choose between

offending her or Almighty God. Now, although you love your mother very

much, if in this instance you prefer to displease her rather than commit

the sin that offends God, you show that you love God more than her.

Again, many who dearly love their parents leave them that they may

consecrate their lives to the special service of God in some religious

community and thus prove their greater love for Him. The love we have

for God is intellectual rather than sentimental; and since it is not

measured by the intensity of our feelings, how are we to know that we

love Him best? By our determination never to offend Him for any person

or thing in the world, however dear to us, and by our readiness to obey

and serve Him before all others.

10 Q. How shall we know the things which we are to believe?

A. We shall know the things which we are to believe from the Catholic

Church, through which God speaks to us.

"Catholic Church" in this answer means the Pope, councils, bishops, and

priests who teach in the Church.

11 Q. Where shall we find the chief truths which the Catholic Church

teaches?

A. We shall find the chief truths which the Catholic Church teaches in

the Apostles' Creed.

"Chief," because the Apostles' Creed does not contain in an explicit

manner all the truths we must believe. For example, there is nothing in

the Apostles' Creed about the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, about the

Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, or the infallibility of the

Pope; and yet we must believe these and other articles of faith not in

the Apostles' Creed. It contains only the "chief" and not all the

truths.

12 Q. Say the Apostles' Creed.

A. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;

and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord, Who was conceived by the

Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was

crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into Hell; the third day

He arose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at

the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to

judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy

Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the

resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

"Descend" means to go down, and "ascend" to go up.

Lesson 2

ON GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS

A "perfection" means a good quality. We say a thing is perfect when it

has all the good qualities it should have.

13 Q. What is God?

A. God is a spirit infinitely perfect.

"A spirit" is a living, intelligent, invisible being. It really exists,

though we cannot see it with the eyes of our body. It has intelligence

and can therefore think, understand, etc. It is not because we cannot

see it that we call it a spirit. To be invisible is only one of the

qualities of a spirit. It is also indivisible, that is, it cannot be

divided into parts. God is such a being. He is "infinitely perfect,"

that is, He has every perfection in the highest degree. "Infinite" means

to have without limit. If there were any perfection God did not have, He

would not be infinite. He is unlimited in wisdom, in power, in goodness,

in beauty, etc. But you will tell me persons on earth and the angels and

saints in Heaven have some wisdom and power and beauty, and therefore

God cannot have all, since He has not the portion with which they are

endowed. I still say He is infinite, because what the angels and others

have belongs to God, and He only lends it to them. "Perfect" means to be

without any defect or fault.

14 Q. Had God a beginning?

A. God had no beginning; He always was and always will be.

Was there ever a time when we could say there was no God? There was a

time when we could say there was no Heaven or earth, no angels, men, or

animals; but there was never a time when there was no God. We may go

back in thought millions and millions of years before the Creation, and

God was then existing. He had no beginning and will never cease to

exist. This is a mystery; and what a mystery is will be explained in the

next lesson.

15 Q. Where is God?

A. God is everywhere.

"Everywhere"--not spread out like a great cloud, but whole and entire in

every particular place: and yet there is only one God, and not as many

gods as there are places. How this can be we cannot fully understand,

because this also is a mystery. A simile, though it will not be perfect,

may help you to understand. When we speak of God, we can never give a

true and perfect example; for we cannot find anything exactly like Him

to compare to Him. If I discharge a great cannon in a city, every one of

the inhabitants will hear the report; not in such a way that each hearer

gets his share of the sound, but each hears the whole report, just as if

he were the only one to hear it. Now, how is that? There are not as many

reports as there are persons listening; and yet each person hears the

whole report.

16 Q. If God is everywhere, why do we not see Him?

A. We do not see God because He is a pure spirit and cannot be seen with

bodily eyes.

"Pure spirit," that is, not clothed with any material body--spirit

alone.

17 Q. Does God see us?

A. God sees us and watches over us.

"Watches" to protect, to reward or punish us. He watches continually; He

not only watches, but keeps us alive. God might have created us and then

paid no more attention to us; but if He had done so, we should have

fallen back again into nothingness. Therefore He preserves us every

moment of our lives. We cannot draw a breath without Him. If a steam

engine be required to work ceaselessly, you cannot, after setting it in

motion, leave it henceforth entirely to itself. You must keep up the

supply of water and fire necessary for the generation of steam, you must

oil the machinery, guard against overheating or cooling, and, in a word,

keep a constant watch that nothing may interfere with its motion. So

also God not only watches His creatures, but likewise provides for them.

Since we depend so much upon Him, is it not great folly to sin against

Him, to offend, and tempt Him as it were? There are some birds that

build their nests on the sides of great rocky precipices by the

seacoast. Their eggs are very valuable, and men are let down by long

ropes to take them from the nest. Now while one of these men is hanging

over the fearful precipice, his life is entirely in the hands of those

holding the rope above. While he is in that danger do you not think he

would be very foolish to tempt and insult those on whom his life

depends, when they could dash him to pieces by simply dropping the rope?

While we live here upon earth we are all hanging over a great precipice,

namely, eternity; God holds us by the little thread of our lives, and if

He pleased to drop it we should be hurled into eternity. If we tempt or

insult Him, He might drop or cut the thread while we are in mortal sin,

and then, body and soul, we go down into Hell.

18 Q. Does God know all things?

A. God knows all things, even our most secret thoughts, words, and

actions.

Certainly God "knows all things." First, because He is infinitely wise,

and if He were ignorant of anything He would not be so. Secondly,

because He is everywhere and sees and hears all. Darkness does not hide

from His view, nor noise prevent Him from hearing. How could we sin if

we thought of this! God is just here, looking at me and listening to me.

Would I do what I am going to do now if I knew my parents, relatives,

and friends were watching me? Would I like them to know that I am

thinking about things sinful, and preparing to do shameful acts? No! Why

then should I feel ashamed to let God see and know of this wicked

thought or action? They might know it and yet be unable to harm me, but

He, all-powerful, could destroy me instantly. Nay, more; not only will

God see and know this evil deed or thought; but, by His gift, the

Blessed Mother, the angels and saints will know of it and be ashamed of

it before God, and, most of all, my guardian angel will deplore it.

Besides, this sin will be revealed to the whole world on the last day,

and my friends, relatives, and neighbors will know that I was guilty of

it.

19 Q. Can God do all things?

A. God can do all things, and nothing is hard or impossible to Him.

20 Q. Is God just, holy, and merciful?

A. God is all just, all holy, all merciful, as He is infinitely perfect.

"All just"--that is, most just. "Just" means to give to everyone what

belongs to him--to reward if it is merited or to punish if it is

deserved. "Holy"--that is, good. "Merciful" means compassionate,

forgiving, less exacting than severe justice demands. In a court a just

judge is one who listens patiently to all the arguments for and against

the prisoner, and then, comparing one with the other, gives the sentence

exactly in accordance with the guilt. If he inflicts more or less

punishment than the prisoner deserves, or for money or anything else

gives an unfair sentence, then he is an unjust judge. The judge might be

merciful in this way. The laws say that for the crime of which this

prisoner is proved guilty he can be sent to prison for a term not longer

than ten years and not shorter than five: that is, for anything between

ten and five years. The judge could give him the full ten years that the

law allows and be just. But suppose he believed that the prisoner did

not know the law and did not intend to be as wicked as he was proved; or

that it was his first offense, or that he heard the prisoner's mother,

who was old and infirm, pleading for him and saying he was her only

support; or other extenuating circumstances that could awaken sympathy:

the judge might be merciful and sentence him for the shortest term the

law allows. But if the judge dismissed every prisoner, no matter how

guilty, without punishment, he would not be a merciful but an unjust

judge, who would soon be forced to leave the court. In the same way, God

is often merciful to sinners and punishes them less than He could in

strict justice. But if He were to allow every sinner to go without any

punishment whatsoever--as unbelievers say He should do, by having no

Hell for the wicked--then He would not be just. For as God is an

Infinite Being, all His perfections must be infinite; that is, He must

be as infinitely just as He is infinitely merciful, true, wise, or

powerful.

Now He has promised to punish sin; and since He is infinitely true, He

must keep His promise.

Lesson 3

ON THE UNITY AND TRINITY OF GOD

"Unity" means to be one, and "Trinity," three in one.

21 Q. Is there but one God?

A. Yes; there is but one God.

22 Q. Why can there be but one God?

A. There can be but one God because God, being supreme and infinite,

cannot have an equal.

"Supreme," that is, the highest. "Equal," when two are equal one has

everything the other has. You could say one pen is the equal of another

if it is just as nice and will write just as well; one mechanic is the

equal of another if he can do the work equally well. Two boys are equal

in class if they have exactly the same marks at the end of the month or

year. You could not have two persons chief. For example, you could not

have two chief generals in an army; two presidents in the nation, or two

governors in a state, or two mayors in a city, or two principals in a

school, unless they divide equally their power, and then they will be

equals and neither of them chief. God cannot divide His power with

anyone--so as to give it away entirely--because we say He is infinite,

and that means to have all. Others have only the loan of their power

from God. Therefore, all power and authority come from God; so that when

we disobey our parents or superiors who are placed over us, we disobey

God Himself.

23 Q. How many persons are there in God?

A. In God there are three divine persons really distinct and equal in

all things--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

"Distinct," not mingled together. We call the first and second persons

Father and Son, because the second is begotten by the first person, and

not to indicate that there is any difference in their age. We always see

in the world that a father is older than his son, so we get the idea

perhaps that it is the same in the Holy Trinity. But it is not so. God

the Father, and God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost existed from all

eternity, and one did not exist before the other. God the Son is just as

old as God the Father, and this is another great mystery. Even in nature

we see that two things may begin to exist at the same time, and yet one

be the cause of the other. You know that fire is the cause of heat; and

yet the heat and the fire begin at the same time. Though we cannot

understand this mystery of the Father and Son, we must believe it on the

authority of God, who teaches it. First, second, and third person in the

Blessed Trinity does not mean, therefore, that one person was before the

other, or brought into existence by the other.

24 Q. Is the Father God?

A. The Father is God and the first Person of the Blessed Trinity.

25 Q. Is the Son God?

A. The Son is God and the second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

26 Q. Is the Holy Ghost God?

A. The Holy Ghost is God and the third Person of the Blessed Trinity.

27 Q. What do you mean by the Blessed Trinity?

A. By the Blessed Trinity I mean one God in three Divine Persons.

*28 Q. Are the three Divine Persons equal in all things?

A. The three Divine Persons are equal in all things.

29 Q. Are the three Divine Persons one and the same God?

A. The three Divine Persons are one and the same God, having one and the

same divine nature and substance.

Though they are one and the same, we sometimes attribute different works

to them. For example, works of creation we attribute to God the Father;

works of mercy to God the Son; and works of love and sanctification to

the Holy Ghost; and you will often find them thus spoken of in pious

books; but all such works are done by all the Persons of the Trinity;

because such works are the works of God, and there is but one God.

*30 Q. Can we fully understand how the three Divine Persons are one and

the same God?

A. We cannot fully understand how the three Divine Persons are one and

the same God, because this is a mystery.

"Fully"--entirely. We can partly understand it. We know what one God is

and we know what three persons are; but how these two things go together

is the part we do not understand--the mystery.

*31 Q. What is a mystery?

A. A mystery is a truth which we cannot fully understand.

"A truth," that is, a revealed truth--one made known to us by God or His

Church. It is a truth which we must believe though we cannot understand

it. Let us take an example. When a boy goes to school he is taught that

the earth is round like an orange and revolving in two ways, one causing

day and night and the other producing the seasons: spring, summer,

autumn, winter. The boy goes out into the country where he sees miles of

level land and mountains thousands of feet in height. Again he goes out

on the ocean where sailors tell him it is several miles in depth.

Now he may say: how can the earth be round if deep valleys, high

mountains, and level plains prove to my senses the very opposite, and

the countless things at rest upon its surface tell me it is motionless.

Yet he believes even against the testimony of his senses that the earth

is round and moving, because his teacher could have no motive in

deceiving him; knows better than he, having learned more, and besides

has been taught by others who after long years of careful study and

research have discovered these things and know them to be true. If

therefore we have to believe things that we do not understand on the

authority of men, why should we not believe other truths on the

authority of God? Yes, we must believe Him. If a boy knew all his

teacher knew there would be no need of his going to school; he would be

the equal in knowledge of his teacher, and if we knew all that God knows

we would be as great as He. As well might we try to empty the whole

ocean into the tiny holes that children dig in the sand by its shore, as

fully to comprehend the wisdom of God. This is the mistake unbelievers

make when they wish to understand with their limited intelligence the

boundless knowledge and mysterious ways of God, and when they cannot

understand refuse to believe. Are they not extremely foolish? Would you

not ridicule the boy who refuses to believe that the earth is round and

moving because he cannot understand it? As he grows older and learns

more he will comprehend it better; so we, when we leave this world and

come into the presence of God, shall see clearly many things that are

unintelligible now. For the present, we have only to believe them on the

authority of God teaching us. Another example. We take two little black

seeds that look just alike and place them in the same kind of soil; we

put the same kind of water upon them; they have the same sunlight and

air, and yet when they grow up one has a red flower and one a blue.

Where did the red and where did the blue come from? From the black seed,

or the brown soil, or the pure water, air and sunlight? We do not know.

It is there, and that is all. We see it and believe it, though we do not

understand it.

So if we refuse to believe everything we do not understand, we shall

soon believe very little and make ourselves ridiculous.

Lesson 4

ON CREATION

This lesson treats of God bringing everything into existence. The chief

things created may be classed as follows: (1) The things that simply

exist, as rocks, and minerals--gold, silver, iron, etc. (2) Things that

exist, grow, and live like plants and trees. (3) Things that grow, live,

and feel, like animals. (4) Things that grow, live, feel, and

understand, like men. Besides these we have the sun, moon, stars, etc.;

all things too that we can see, and also Heaven, Purgatory, Hell, and

good and bad angels. All these are the works of God's creation. All

these He has called into existence by merely wishing for them.

*32 Q. Who created Heaven and earth, and all things?

A. God created Heaven and earth, and all things.

"Heaven," where God is and will always be. It means, too, everything we

see in the sky above us. "Earth," the globe on which we live.

*33 Q. How did God create Heaven and earth?

A. God created Heaven and earth from nothing, by His word only; that is,

by a single act of His all-powerful will.

34 Q. Which are the chief creatures of God?

A. The chief creatures of God are angels and men.

35 Q. What are angels?

A. Angels are pure spirits without a body, created to adore and enjoy

God in Heaven.

"Angels" are not the same as saints. Saints are those who at one time

lived upon the earth as we do, and who on account of their very good

lives are now in Heaven. They had bodies as we have. The angels, on the

contrary, never lived visibly upon the earth. In the beginning God was

alone. We take great pleasure in looking at beautiful things. God,

seeing His own beauty, and knowing that others would have very great

pleasure and happiness in seeing Him, determined to create some beings

who could enjoy this happiness; and thus He wished to share with them

the happiness which He Himself derived from seeing His own beauty.

Therefore He created angels who were to be in Heaven with Him, singing

His praises and worshipping before His throne.

The angels are not all equal in dignity, but are divided into nine

classes, or choirs, according to their rank or office, and, as

theologians tell us, arranged from the lowest to the highest and named

as follows; angels, archangels, virtues, powers, principalities,

dominations, thrones, cherubim, and seraphim. Archangels are higher than

angels and are so called because sent to do the most important works. It

was the Archangel Michael who drove Lucifer from Heaven and the

Archangel Gabriel who announced to the Blessed Virgin that she was to be

the Mother of God. The angels receive their names from the duties they

perform. The word angel signifies messenger.

*36 Q. Were the angels created for any other purpose?

A. The angels were also created to assist before the throne of God and

to minister unto Him; they have often been sent as messengers from God

to man; and are also appointed our guardians.

The duties of the angels are many. Some remain always in Heaven with

God; some are sent to earth to be our guardians and to remain with us.

Each of us has an angel to take care of us. He is with us night and day,

and offers our prayers and good works to God. He prays for us, exhorts

us to do good and avoid evil; and he protects us from dangers spiritual

and temporal. How unfortunate then must one be to cause him to return to

Heaven with sad complaints to God; such as: "The one whom I have in

charge will not obey Thy laws or use the grace Thou sendest him: with

all my efforts to save him, he continues to do wrong." He will be doubly

sad when he sees other angels returning with good reports and receiving

new graces for those whom God has committed to their care. If you love

your guardian angel, never impose on him the painful duty of bringing to

God the report of your evil doings.

Now, how do we know that the angels offer our prayers and good works to

God? We know it from the beautiful story of Tobias, told in the Holy

Scripture. (Tobias). This holy man loved and feared God. He lived at a

time when his people were persecuted by a most cruel king, who wished to

force them to give up the true God and worship idols, but many of these

good people suffered death rather than deny God and obey the wicked

king. When they were put to death, their bodies were left lying on the

ground, to be devoured by birds of prey or wild animals. Anyone caught

burying them was to be put to death by the king's servants. Tobias used

to carry the dead bodies of these holy martyrs into his house and bury

them at night.

One day when he returned very tired he lay down by the wall of his house

to rest, and, while lying there, some dirt fell into his eyes and he

became blind. This Tobias had a young son whose name was also Tobias;

and as he himself was now blind and poor, he wished to send his son into

a certain city, at a good distance off, to collect some money that he

had formerly loaned to a friend. As the young man did not know the way,

his father sent him out to look for a guide. Young Tobias went out and

found a beautiful young man to be his guide and he consented, and he

brought Tobias to the distant city. As they were on their way they sat

down by the bank of a river. Tobias went into the water near the edge,

and soon a great fish rushed at him. Tobias called to his guide. The

guide told him to take hold of the fish and drag it out upon the shore.

There they killed it, and kept part of its flesh for food and part for

medicine. Then they went on to the city, got the money and returned. The

guide told young Tobias to rub the part of the fish he had taken for

medicine upon his father's eyes. He did so, and immediately his father's

eyes were cured and he saw. Then both the father and son were so

delighted with this young guide, that they offered to give him half of

all they had. He refused to take it and then told them he was the angel

Raphael sent from God to be the guide of this good man's son. He told

the old Tobias how he (the angel) had carried up to God his prayers and

good works while he was burying the dead. When they heard he was an

angel they fell down and reverenced him, being very much afraid. From

this beautiful history we know that the angels carry our prayers and

good works to God. Again we learn from the Holy Scripture (Gen. 28) in

the history of another good man almost the same thing. The patriarch

Jacob was on a journey, and being tired, he lay down to rest with his

head upon a stone. As he lay there he had a vision in which he saw a

great ladder reaching up from earth to Heaven. At the top he saw

Almighty God standing, and on the ladder itself angels ascending and

descending. Now the holy Fathers of the Church tell us this is what is

really taking place; the angels are always going down and up from God to

man, though not on a ladder and not visibly as they appeared to Jacob.

Besides the guardian angel for each person, there are also guardian

angels for each city and for each nation.

Again (Gen. 19) angels appeared to Lot to warn him about the destruction

of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrha. Angels appeared also to the

shepherds on the night Our Lord was born (Luke 2). The catechism says

angels have no bodies--how, then, could they appear? They took bodies

made of some very light substance which would make them visible, and

appeared just like beautiful young men, clad in flowing garments, as you

frequently see them represented in pictures. Angels were sometimes sent

to punish men for their sins, as the angel who killed in one night

185,000 men in the army of the wicked king, Sennacherib, who blasphemed

God, and was endeavoring to destroy Jerusalem, God's city. (4 Kgs. 19).

But here is a difficulty. If God Himself watches over us and sees all

things, why should the angels guard us? It is on account of God's

goodness to us; though it is not necessary. He does not wish us to have

any excuse for being bad, so He gives us each a special heavenly servant

to watch and assist us by his prayers. If a friend received us into his

house and did all he could for us himself, we should certainly be

satisfied, but if he gave us a special servant, though it would not be

necessary, he would show us great respect and kindness. Moreover

whatever the angels do for us, we might say God Himself does, for the

angels are only obeying His commands.

*37 Q. Were the angels, as God created them, good and happy?

A. The angels as God created them were good and happy.

*38 Q. Did all the angels remain good and happy?

A. All the angels did not remain good and happy; many of them sinned and

were cast into Hell; and these are called devils or bad angels.

God did not admit the angels into His presence at once. He placed them

for awhile on probation, as He did our first parents.

One of these angels was most beautiful, and was named Lucifer, which

means light-bearer. He was so perfect that he seems to have forgotten

that he received all his beauty and intelligence from God, and not

content with what he had, became sinfully proud and wished to be equal

to God Himself. For his sin he and all his followers were driven out of

Heaven, and God then created Hell, in which they were to suffer for all

eternity. This same Lucifer is now called Satan, and more commonly the

devil, and those who accompanied him in his fall, devils, or fallen

angels.

Lesson 5

ON OUR FIRST PARENTS AND THEIR FALL

39 Q. Who were the first man and woman?

A. The first man and woman were Adam and Eve.

In the beginning God created all things; something particular on each of

the six days of Creation. (Gen. 1). On the first day He made light, on

the second, the firmament, or the heavens, and on the sixth day He

created man and called him Adam. God wished Adam to have a companion; so

one day He caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, and then took from his

side a rib, out of which he formed Eve. Now God could have made Eve as

He made Adam, by forming her body out of the clay of the earth and

breathing into it a soul, but He made Eve out of Adam's rib to show that

they were to be husband and wife, and to impress upon their minds the

nature and sacredness of the love and union that should exist between

them.

40 Q. Were Adam and Eve innocent and holy when they came from the hand

of God?

A. Adam and Eve were innocent and holy when they came from the hand of

God.

God placed Adam and Eve in Paradise, a large, beautiful garden, and gave

them power over all the other creatures. Adam gave all the animals their

appropriate names and they were obedient to him. Even lions, tigers, and

other animals that we now fear so much, came and played about him. Our

first parents, in their state of original innocence, were the happy

friends of God, without sorrow or suffering of any kind.

*41 Q. Did God give any command to Adam and Eve?

A. To try their obedience God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of a

certain fruit which grew in the garden of Paradise.

He told them (Gen. 2) they could take of all the fruits in the garden

except the fruit of one tree, and if they disobeyed Him by eating the

fruit of that tree, they should surely die. God might have pointed out

any tree, because it was simply a test of obedience. He gave them a very

simple command, for if we are faithful in little things we shall surely

be faithful in greater. Moreover, it is not precisely the consideration

of what is forbidden, but of the authority by which it is forbidden that

should deter us from violating the command and prove our fidelity. Thus

disobedience to our parents and superiors, even in little things,

becomes sinful. Someone might say: "Why did God not try their obedience

by one of the Ten Commandments?" Let us examine them. "Remember the

Sabbath." That one would be unnecessary: for every day was Sabbath with

them; the only work was to praise and serve God. "Thou shalt not steal."

They could not; everything was theirs; and so for the other

Commandments. Therefore, God gave them a simple command telling them: If

you obey, you and all your posterity will be happy; every wish will be

gratified, neither sorrow nor affliction shall come upon you and you

shall never die; but if, on the contrary, you disobey, countless evils,

misery and death will be your punishment. The earth, now so fruitful,

shall bring forth no crops without cultivation, and after years of toil

the dead bodies of yourselves and children must lie buried in its soil.

So having the gift of free will they could take their choice, and either

keep His command and be happy, or disobey Him and be miserable.

*42 Q. Which were the chief blessings intended for Adam and Eve, had

they remained faithful to God?

A. The chief blessings intended for Adam and Eve, had they remained

faithful to God, were a constant state of happiness in this life and

everlasting glory in the next.

Our first parents and their children were not to remain in the garden of

Paradise forever, but were, after spending their allotted time of trial

or probation upon earth, to be taken body and soul into Heaven without

being obliged to die.

43 Q. Did Adam and Eve remain faithful to God?

A. Adam and Eve did not remain faithful to God, but broke His

commandment by eating the forbidden fruit.

As it is told in the Bible (Gen. 3), Eve went to the forbidden tree and

was standing looking at it, when the devil came in the form of a serpent

and, tempting, told her to take some of the fruit and eat. It does not

appear that she went and tasted the fruit of all the other trees and

finally came to this one, but rather that she went directly to the

forbidden tree first. Do we not sometimes imitate Eve's conduct? As soon

as we know a certain thing is forbidden we are more strongly tempted to

try it.

See, then, what caused Eve's sin. She went into the dangerous occasion,

and was admiring the forbidden fruit when the tempter came. She listened

to him, yielded to his wicked suggestions, and sinned. So will it be

with us if through curiosity we desire to see or hear things forbidden;

for once in the danger the devil will soon be on hand to tempt us--not

visibly indeed, for that would alarm us and defeat his purpose, but

invisibly, like our guardian angels; for the devil is a fallen angel who

still possesses all the characteristics of an angel except goodness. But

this is not all. Eve not only took and ate the fruit herself, but

induced Adam to do likewise. Most sinners imitate Eve in that respect.

Not satisfied with offending God themselves, they lead others into sin.

Why should the devil tempt us? God created man to be in Heaven, but the

fallen angels were jealous of man, and tempted him to sin so that he too

should be kept out of Heaven and might never enjoy what they lost; just

as envious people do not wish others to have what they cannot have

themselves.

44 Q. What befell Adam and Eve on account of their sin?

A. Adam and Eve on account of their sin lost innocence and holiness, and

were doomed to sickness and death.

They were innocent and holy because they were the friends of God and in

a state of grace, but by their sin they lost His grace and friendship.

"Doomed" means sentenced or condemned. The first evil result, then, of

Adam's sin was that he lost innocence and made his body a rebel against

his soul. Then he was to suffer poverty, hunger, cold, sickness, death,

and every kind of ill; but the worst consequence of all was that God

closed Heaven against him. After a few years' trial, as we said, God was

to take him into Heaven; but now He has closed it against Adam and his

posterity. All the people in the world could never induce God to open it

again; for He closed it in accordance with His promise, and man was an

exile and outcast from his heavenly home.

45 Q. What evil befell us on account of the disobedience of our first

parents?

A. On account of the disobedience of our first parents we all share in

their sin and punishment, as we should have shared in their happiness if

they had remained faithful.

Does it not seem strange that we should suffer for the sin of our first

parents, when we had nothing to do with it? No. It happens every day

that children suffer for the faults of their parents and we do not

wonder at it. Let us suppose a man's father leaves him a large

fortune--houses, land, and money--and that he and his children are happy

in the enjoyment of their inheritance. The children are sent to the best

schools, have everything they desire now, and bright hopes of happiness

and prosperity in the future. But alas! their hopes are vain. The father

begins to drink or gamble, and soon the great fortune is squandered.

House after house is sold and dollar after dollar spent, till absolute

poverty comes upon the children, and the sad condition of their home

tells of their distress. Do they not suffer for the sins of their

father, though they had nothing to do with them? Indeed, many families

in the world suffer thus through the faults of others, and most

frequently of some of their members. Could you blame the grandfather for

leaving the estate? Certainly not; for it was goodness on his part that

made him give. Let us apply this example. What God gave Adam was to be

ours also, and he squandered and misused it because he had free will,

which God could not take from him without changing his nature; for it is

our free will and intelligence that make us men, distinct from and

superior to all other animals. They can live, grow, feel, hear, see,

etc., as we can, but the want of intelligence and free will leaves them

mere brutes. Therefore, if God took away Adam's intelligence and free

will, He would have made him a mere animal--though the most perfect.

When a man becomes insane or loses the use of his intelligence and free

will, we place him in an asylum and take care of him as we would a tame

animal, seldom allowing him to go about without being watched and

guarded.

Let us take another example. Suppose I have a friend who is addicted to

the excessive drinking of strong liquor, and I say to him: "If you give

up that detestable habit for one year, I will make you a present of this

beautiful house worth several thousand dollars. It will be yours as long

as you live, and at your death you may leave it to your children. I do

not owe you anything, but offer this as a free gift if you comply with

my request." My friend accepts the offer on these conditions, but the

very next day deliberately breaks his promise. I do not give him the

house, because he did not keep his agreement; and can anyone say on that

account that I am unjust or unkind to him or his children? Certainly

not. Well, God acted in the same manner with Adam. He promised him

Heaven, a home more beautiful than any earthly palace--the place Our

Lord calls His father's house (John 14:2) and says there are many

mansions, that is, dwelling places, in it. God promised this home to

Adam on condition that he would observe one simple command. He had no

right to Heaven, but was to receive it, according to the promise, as a

free gift from God, and therefore God, who offered it conditionally, was

not obliged to give it when Adam violated his part of the agreement.

The example is not a perfect one, for there is this difference in the

cases between Adam and my friend: when my friend does not get the house,

he sustains a loss, it is true; but he might still be my friend as he

was before, and live in my house; but when Adam lost Heaven, he lost

God's friendship and grace, and the loss of all grace is to be in sin.

So that Adam by breaking the command was left in sin; and as all his

children sustain the same loss, they too are all left in sin till they

are baptized.

*46 Q. What other effects followed from the sin of our first parents?

A. Our nature was corrupted by the sin of our first parents, which

darkened our understanding, weakened our will, and left us a strong

inclination to evil.

Our "nature was corrupted" is what I have said of the body rebelling

against the soul. Our "understanding darkened." Adam knew much more

without study than the most intelligent men could learn now with

constant application. Before his fall he saw things clearly and

understood them well, but after his sin everything had to be learned by

the slow process of study. Then the "will was weakened." Before he fell

he could easily resist temptation, for his will was strong. You know we

sin by the will, because unless we wish to do the evil we commit no sin;

and if absolutely forced by others to do wrong, we are free from the

guilt as long as our will despises and protests against the action. If

forced, for example, to break my neighbor's window, I have not to answer

in my conscience for the unjust act, because my will did not consent.

So, on every occasion on which we sin, it is the will that yields to the

temptation. After Adam's sin his will became weak and less able to

resist temptation; and as we are sharers in his misfortune, we find

great difficulty at times in overcoming sinful inclinations. But no

matter how violent the temptation or how prolonged and fierce the

struggle against it, we can always be victorious if determined not to

yield; for God gives us sufficient grace to resist every temptation; and

if anyone should excuse his fall by saying he could not help sinning, he

would be guilty of falsehood.

"A strong inclination" to do wrong--that is, unless always on our guard

against it. Our Lord once cautioned His Apostles (Matt. 26:41) to watch

and pray lest they fall into temptation; teaching us also by the same

warning that, besides praying against our spiritual enemies, we must

watch their maneuvers and be ever ready to repel their attacks.

47 Q. What is the sin called which we inherit from our first parents?

A. The sin which we inherit from our first parents is called Original

Sin.

*48 Q. Why is this sin called original?

A. This sin is called original because it comes down to us from our

first parents, and we are brought into the world with its guilt on our

souls.

*49 Q. Does this corruption of our nature remain in us after Original

Sin is forgiven?

A. This corruption of our nature and other punishments remain in us

after Original Sin is forgiven.

It remains that we may merit by overcoming its temptations; and also

that we may be kept humble by remembering our former sinful and unhappy

state.

50 Q. Was anyone ever preserved from Original Sin?

A. The Blessed Virgin Mary, through the merits of her divine Son, was

preserved free from the guilt of Original Sin, and this privilege is

called her Immaculate Conception.

The Blessed Virgin was to be the Mother of the Son of God. Now it would

not be proper for the Mother of God to be even for one moment the

servant of the devil, or under his power. If the Blessed Virgin had been

in Original Sin, she would have been in the service of the devil.

Whatever disgraces a mother disgraces also her son; so Our Lord would

never permit His dear Mother to be subject to the devil, and

consequently He, through His merits, saved her from Original Sin. She is

the only one of the whole human race who enjoys this great privilege,

and it is called her "Immaculate Conception," that is, she was

conceived--brought into existence by her mother--without having any spot

or stain of sin upon her soul, and hence without Original Sin.

Our Lord came into the world to crush the power which the devil had

exercised over men from the fall of Adam. This He did by meriting grace

for them and giving them this spiritual help to withstand the devil in

all his attacks upon them. As the Blessed Mother was never under the

devil's power, next to God she has the greatest strength against him,

and she will help us to resist him if we seek her aid. The devil himself

knows her power and fears her, and if he sees her coming to our

assistance will quickly fly. Never fail, then, in time of temptation to

call upon our Blessed Mother; she will hear and help you and pray to God

for you.

Lesson 6

ON SIN AND ITS KINDS

51 Q. Is Original Sin the only kind of sin?

A. Original Sin is not the only kind of sin; there is another kind of

sin which we commit ourselves, called actual sin.

Sin is first or chiefly divided into original and actual; that is, into

the sin we inherit from our first parents and the sin we commit

ourselves. We may commit "actual" sin in two ways; either by doing what

we should not do--stealing, for example--and thus we have a sin of

commission, that is, a bad act committed; or by not doing what we should

do--not hearing Mass on Sunday, for example--and thus we have a sin of

omission, that is, a good act omitted. So it is not enough to simply do

no harm, we must also do some good. Heaven is a reward, and we must do

something to merit it. Suppose a man employed a boy to do the work of

his office, and when he came in the morning found that the boy had

neglected the work assigned to him, and when spoken to about it simply

answered: "Sir, I did no harm"; do you think he would be entitled to his

wages? Of course he did not and should do no harm; but is his employer

to pay him wages for that? Certainly not. In like manner, God is not

going to reward us for doing no harm; but on the contrary, He will

punish us if we do wrong, and give no reward unless we perform the work

He has marked out for us. Neither would the office boy deserve any wages

if he did only what pleases himself, and not the work assigned by his

master. In the same way, God will not accept any worship or religion but

the one He has revealed. He tells us Himself how He wishes to be

worshipped, and our own invented methods will not please Him. Hence we

see the folly of those who say that all religions are equally good, and

that we can be saved by practicing any of them. We can be saved only in

the one religion which God Himself has instituted, and by which He

wishes to be honored. Many also foolishly believe, or say they believe,

that if they are honest, sober, and the like, doing no injury to anyone,

they shall be saved without the practice of any form of religious

worship. But how about God's laws and commands? Are they to be despised,

disregarded, and neglected entirely, without any fear of punishment?

Surely not! And persons who thus think they are doing no harm are

neglecting to serve God--the greatest harm they can do, and for which

they will lose Heaven. God, we are told, assigned to everyone in this

world a certain work to perform in a particular state of life, and this

work is called "vocation." One, for instance, is to be a priest;

another, a layman; one married; another single, etc. It is important for

us to discover our true vocation; for if we are in the state of life to

which God has called us, we shall be happy; but if we select our own

work, our own state of life without consulting Him, we shall seldom be

happy in it. How are we to know our vocation? Chiefly by praying to God

and asking Him to make it known to us. Then if He gives us a strong

inclination--constant, or nearly constant--for a certain state of life,

and the ability to fulfill its duties, we may well believe that God

wishes us to be in that state.

After we have begged God's assistance, we must ask our confessor's

advice in the matter, and listen attentively to what the Holy Ghost

inspires him to say. The signs of our vocation are, therefore, as

stated: first, a strong desire, and second, an aptitude for the state to

which we believe we are called. For example, a young man might be very

holy, but if unable to learn, he could never be a priest. Another might

be very learned and holy, but if too sickly to perform a priest's

duties, he could not, or at least would not, be ordained. Another might

be learned and healthy, but not virtuous, and so he could never be a

priest. Aptitude, therefore, means all the qualities necessary, whether

of mind, or soul, or body. The same is true for a young girl who wishes

to become a religious; and the same, indeed, for any person's vocation.

We should never enter a state of life to which we are not called, simply

to please parents or others. Neither should we be persuaded by them to

give up a state to which we are called; for we should embrace our true

vocation at any sacrifice, that in it we may serve God better, and be

more certain of saving our souls. Thus, parents and guardians who

prevent their children from entering the state to which they are called

may sin grievously by exposing them to eternal loss of salvation. Their

sin is all the greater when they try to influence their children in this

matter for selfish or worldly motives. As they may be selfish and

prejudiced without knowing it, they too, should ask the advice of their

confessor, and good persons of experience. Oh! how many children, sons

and daughters, are made unhappy all the days of their life by parents or

superiors forcing them into some state to which they were not called, or

by keeping them from one to which they were called. This matter of your

vocation rests with yourselves and Almighty God, and you are free to do

what He directs without consideration for anyone.

52 Q. What is actual sin?

A. Actual sin is any willful thought, word, deed, or omission contrary

to the law of God.

Three ways we may sin, by "thought"--allowing our minds to dwell on

sinful things; "word"--by cursing, telling lies, etc.; "deed"--by any

kind of bad action. But to be sins, these thoughts, words and deeds must

be willful; that is, we must fully know what we are doing, and be free

in doing it. Then they must be "contrary to the law of God"; that is,

violate some law He commands us to obey, whether it be a law He gave

directly Himself, or through His Church. We can also violate God's law

by neglecting to observe it, and thus sin, provided the neglect be

willful, and the thing neglected commanded by God or by His Church.

53 Q. How many kinds of actual sin are there?

A. There are two kinds of actual sin--mortal and venial.

"Mortal," that is, the sin which kills the soul. When a man receives a

very severe wound, we say he is mortally wounded; that is, he will die

from the wound. As breath shows there is life in the body, so grace is

the life of the soul; when all the breath is out of the body, we say the

man is dead. He can perform no action to help himself or others. So when

all grace is out of the soul we say it is dead, because it is reduced to

the condition of a dead body. It can do no action worthy of merit, such

as a soul should do; that is, it can do no action that God is bound to

reward--it is dead. But you will say the soul never dies. You mean it

will never cease to exist; but we call it dead when it has lost all its

power to do supernatural good.

"Venial" sin does not drive out all the grace; it wounds the soul, it

weakens it just as slight wounds weaken the body. If it falls very

frequently into venial sin, it will fall very soon into mortal sin also;

for the Holy Scripture says that he that contemneth small things shall

fall by little and little. (Ecclus. 19:1). A venial sin seems a little

thing, but if we do not avoid it we shall by degrees fall into greater,

or mortal, sin. Venial sin makes God less friendly to us and displeases

Him. Now if we really love God, we will not displease Him even in the

most trifling things.

54 Q. What is mortal sin?

A. Mortal sin is a grievous offense against the law of God.

"Grievous"--that is, very great or serious. "Against the law." If we are

in doubt whether anything is sinful or not, we must ask ourselves: is it

forbidden by God or His Church? and if we do not know of any law

forbidding it, it cannot be a sin, at least for us.

Suppose, for example, a boy should doubt whether it is sinful or not to

fly a kite. Well, is there any law of God or of His Church saying it is

sinful to fly a kite? If not, then it cannot be a sin. But it might be

sinful for another reason, namely, his parents or superiors might forbid

it, and there is a law of God saying you must not disobey your parents

or superiors. Therefore a thing not sinful in itself, that is, not

directly forbidden by God or His Church, may become sinful for some

other reason well known to us.

We must not, however, doubt concerning the sinfulness or lawfulness of

everything we do; for that would be foolish and lead us to be

scrupulous. If we doubt at all we should have some good reason for

doubting, that is, for believing that the thing we are about to do is or

is not forbidden. When, therefore, we have such a doubt we must seek

information from those who can enlighten us on the subject, so that we

may act without the danger of sinning. It is our intention that makes

the act we perform sinful or not. Let me explain. Suppose during Lent a

person should mistake Friday for Thursday and should eat meat--that

person would not commit a real sin, because it is not a sin to eat meat

on an ordinary Thursday. He would commit what we call a material sin;

that is, his action would be a sin if he really knew what he was doing.

On the other hand, if the person, thinking it was Friday when it was

really Thursday, ate meat, knowing it to be forbidden, that person would

commit a mortal sin, because he intended to do so. Therefore, if what we

do is not known to be a sin while we do it, it is no sin for us and

cannot become a sin afterwards. But as soon as we know or learn that

what we did was wrong, it would be a sin if we did the same thing again.

In the same way, everything we do thinking it to be wrong or sinful is

wrong and sinful for us, though it may not be wrong for those who know

better. Again, it is sinful to judge others for doing wrong, because

they may not know that what they do is sinful. It would be better for us

to instruct than to blame them. The best we can do, therefore, is to

learn well all God's laws and the laws of His Church as they are taught

in the catechism, so that we may know when we are violating them or when

we are not, i.e., when we are sinning and when we are not.

*55 Q. Why is this sin called mortal?

A. This sin is called mortal because it deprives us of spiritual life,

which is sanctifying grace, and brings everlasting death and damnation

on the soul.

When the soul is sent to Hell it is dead forever, because never again

will it be able to do a single meritorious act.

*56 Q. How many things are necessary to make a sin mortal?

A. To make a sin mortal three things are necessary: a grievous matter,

sufficient reflection, and full consent of the will.

"Grievous matter." To steal is a sin. Now, if you steal only a pin the

act of stealing in that case could not be a mortal sin, because the

"matter," namely, the stealing of an ordinary pin, is not grievous. But

suppose it was a diamond pin of great value, then it would surely be

"grievous matter." "Sufficient reflection," that is, you must know what

you are doing at the time you do it. For example, suppose while you

stole the diamond pin you thought you were stealing a pin with a small

piece of glass, of little value, you would not have sufficient

reflection and would not commit a mortal sin till you found out that

what you had stolen was a valuable diamond; if you continued to keep it

after learning your mistake, you would surely commit a mortal sin. "Full

consent." Suppose you were shooting at a target and accidentally killed

a man: you would not have the sin of murder, because you did not will or

wish to kill a man.

Therefore three things are necessary that your act may be a mortal sin:

(1) The act you do must be bad, and sufficiently important; (2) You must

reflect that you are doing it, and know that it is wrong; (3) You must

do it freely, deliberately, and willfully.

57 Q. What is venial sin?

A. Venial sin is a slight offense against the law of God 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.

"Slight," that is, a small offense or fault; called "venial," not

because it is not a sin, but because God pardons it more willingly or

easily than He does a mortal sin. "Less importance," like stealing an

ordinary, common pin. "Great importance," like stealing a diamond pin.

Without "reflection" or "consent," when you did not know it was a

diamond and did not intend to steal a diamond.

*58 Q. Which are the effects of venial sin?

A. The effects of venial sin are the lessening of the love of God in our

heart, the making us less worthy of His help, and the weakening of the

power to resist mortal sin.

"Lessening of the love," because it lessens grace, and grace increases

the love of God in us. It displeases God, and though we do not offend

Him very greatly, we still offend Him. "Weakening of the power to

resist." If a man is wounded, it will be easier to kill him than if he

is in perfect health. So mortal sin will more easily kill a soul already

weakened by the wounds of venial sin.

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.

A "source" is that from which anything else comes. The source of a river

is the little spring on the Mountainside where the river first begins.

This little stream runs down the mountain, and as it goes along gathers

strength and size from other little streams running into it. It cuts its

way through the meadows, and marks the course and is the beginning of a

great river, sweeping all things before it and carrying them off to the

ocean. Now, if someone in the beginning had stopped up the little spring

on the mountain--the first source of the river--there would have been no

river in that particular place. It is just the same with sin. There is

one sin that is the source, and as it goes along like the stream it

gathers strength; other sins follow it and are united with it. Again:

each of these "capital sins," as they are called, is like a leader or a

captain in an army, with so many others under him and following him.

Now, if you take away the head, the other members of the body will

perish; so if you destroy the capital sin, the other sins that follow it

will disappear also. Very few persons have all the capital sins: some

are guilty of one of them, some of two, some of three, but few if any

are guilty of them all. The one we are guilty of, and which is the cause

of all our other sins, is called our predominant sin or our ruling

passion. We should try to find it out, and labor to overcome it.

Every one of these capital sins has a great many other sins following

it.

"Pride" is an inordinate self-esteem. Pride comes under the First

Commandment; because by thinking too much of ourselves we neglect God,

and give to ourselves the honor due to Him. Of what have we to be proud?

Of our personal appearance? Disease may efface in one night every trace

of beauty. Of our clothing? It is not ours; we have not produced it;

most of it is taken from the lower animals--wool from the sheep, leather

from the ox, feathers from the bird, etc. Are we proud of our wealth,

money or property? These may be stolen or destroyed by fire. The learned

may become insane, and so we have nothing to be proud of but our good

works. All that we have is from God, and we can have it only as long as

He wishes. We had nothing coming into the world, and we leave it with

nothing but the shroud in which we are buried; and even this does not go

with the soul, but remains with the body to rot in the earth. Soon after

death our bodies become so offensive that even our dearest friends

hasten to place them under ground, where they become the food of worms,

a mass of corruption loathsome to sight and smell. Why, then, should we

be so proud of this body, and commit so much sin for it, pamper it with

every delicacy, only to be the food of worms? This does not mean,

however, that we are not to keep our bodies clean, and take good care of

them. We are bound to do so, and could not neglect it without committing

sin. The one thing to be avoided is taking too much care of them, and

neglecting our soul and God on their account. The followers of pride

are: conceit, hypocrisy, foolish display in dress or conduct, harshness

to others, waste of time on ourselves, etc.

"Covetousness," the same as avarice, greed, etc., is an inordinate

desire for worldly goods. "Inordinate," because it is not avarice to

prudently provide for the future either for ourselves or others.

Covetousness comes under the Tenth Commandment, and is forbidden by it.

We must be content with what we have or can get honestly. The followers

of covetousness are: Want of charity, dishonest dealing, theft, etc.

"Lust" is the desire for sins of the flesh; for impure thoughts, words,

or actions. It comes under the Sixth and Ninth Commandments, and

includes all that is forbidden by those Commandments. It is the habit of

always violating, or of desiring to violate, the Sixth and Ninth

Commandments. Lust and impurity mean the same thing. The followers of

lust are, generally, neglect of prayer, neglect of the Sacraments, and

final loss of faith.

"Anger" comes under the Fifth Commandment. It is followed by hatred, the

desire of revenge, etc.

"Gluttony" is the sin of eating or drinking too much. With regard to

eating, it is committed by eating too often; by being too particular

about what we eat, by being too extravagant in always looking for the

most costly things, that we think others cannot have. With regard to

drinking, it is generally committed by taking too much of intoxicating

liquors. The drunkard is a glutton and commits the sin of gluttony every

time he becomes intoxicated. Gluttony, especially in drink, comes in a

manner under the First Commandment, because by depriving ourselves of

our reason we cannot give God the honor and respect which is His due.

Think of how many sins the drunkard commits. He becomes intoxicated,

which in itself is a sin. He deprives himself of the use of reason,

abuses God's great gift, and becomes like a brute beast. Indeed in a way

he becomes worse than a beast; for beasts always follow the laws that

God has given to their nature, and never drink to excess. They obey God,

and man is the only one of God's creatures that does not always keep His

laws. Think too of the number of insane persons confined in asylums, who

would give all in this world for the use of their reason, if they could

only understand their miserable condition. Yet the drunkard abuses the

gift that would make these poor unfortunate lunatics happy. Again, the

drunkard injures his health and thus violates the Fifth Commandment by

committing a kind of slow suicide. He loses self-respect, makes use of

sinful language; frequently neglects Mass and all his religious duties,

exposes himself to the danger of death while in a state of sin, gives

scandal to his family and neighbors, and by his bad example causes some

to leave or remain out of the true Church. By continued intemperance, he

may become insane and remain in that condition till death puts an end to

his career and he goes unprepared before the judgment seat of God.

Besides all this he squanders the money he should put to a better use

and turns God's gifts into a means of offending Him. If a father, he

neglects the children and wife for whom he has promised to provide;

leaves them cold and hungry while he commits sin with the means that

would make them comfortable. Drunkenness therefore is a sin accompanied

by many deplorable evils. There are three great sins you should always

be on your guard against during your whole lives, namely, drunkenness,

dishonesty, and impurity. If you avoid these you will almost surely

avoid all other sins; for nearly all sins can be traced back to these

three. They are the most dangerous, first, because they have most

followers, and secondly, because they grow upon us almost without our

knowing it. The drunkard begins perhaps as a boy by taking a little,

even very little; the second time he takes a little more; the next time

still more, then he begins to be fond of strong drink and can scarcely

do without it; finally he becomes the slave of intemperance and sells

his soul and body for it. The passions of dishonesty and impurity grow

by degrees in the same manner. Therefore avoid them in the beginning and

resist them while they are under your power. If you find yourself

inclined to any of these sins in your youth, stop them at once.

"Envy" is the desire to see another meet with misfortune that we may be

benefited by it. We are glad when he does not succeed in his business,

we are sorry when anyone speaks well of him, etc. Envy comes under the

Eighth Commandment.

"Sloth" is committed when we idle our time, and are lazy; when we are

indifferent about serving God; when we do anything slowly and poorly and

in a way that shows we would rather not do it. They are slothful who lie

in bed late in the morning and neglect their duty. Slothful people are

often untidy in their personal appearance; and they are nearly always in

misery and want, unless somebody else takes care of them. Sloth comes

under the First Commandment, because it has reference in a special

manner to the way in which we serve God. How, then, shall we best

destroy sin in our souls? By finding out our chief capital sin and

rooting it out. If a strong oak tree is deeply rooted in the ground, how

will you best destroy its life? By cutting off the branches? No. For

with each returning spring new branches will grow. How then? By cutting

the root and then the great oak with all its branches will die. In the

same way our capital sin is the root, and as long as we leave it in our

souls other sins will grow out of it. While we are trying to destroy our

sins without touching our capital sin--our chief sin--we are only

cutting off branches that will grow again. Indeed a great many people

are only cutting off branches all the time and that is why they are not

benefited as much as they could be by the prayers they say, Masses they

hear, Sacraments they receive, and sermons they listen to. But do not

imagine that because you are not becoming better, when you pray, hear

Mass, and receive the Sacraments, you are doing no good at all. That

would be a great mistake, and just such a thing as the devil would

suggest to make persons give up their devotions. What is the use, he

might say, of your trying to be good? You are just as bad as you were a

year ago. Do not listen to that temptation. Were it not for your prayers

and your reception of the Sacraments, you would become a great deal

worse than you are. Suppose a man is rowing on the river against a very

strong tide. He is rowing as hard as he can and yet he is not advancing

one foot up the stream. Is he doing nothing therefore? Ah! he is doing a

great deal: he is preventing himself from being carried with the current

out into the ocean. He is keeping himself where he is till the force of

the tide diminishes, and then he can advance. So they who are trying to

be good are struggling against the strong tide of temptation. If they

cease to struggle against it, they will be carried out into the great

ocean of sin and lost forever. Someday the temptation will grow weaker

and then they will be able to advance towards Heaven. We feel

temptations most when we are trying to resist them and lead good lives,

because we are working against our evil inclinations--the strong tide of

our passions. We have no trouble going with them.

Lesson 7

ON THE INCARNATION AND REDEMPTION

"Incarnation" means to take flesh, as a body. Here it means Our Lord's

taking flesh, that is, taking a body like ours, when He became man.

"Redemption" means to buy back. Let us take an example. Slaves are men

or women that belong entirely to their masters, just as horses, cows, or

other animals do. Slaves are bought and sold, never receive any wages

for their work, get their food and clothing and no more. As they never

earn money for themselves, they can never purchase their own liberty. If

ever they are to be free, someone else must procure their liberty. Now,

suppose I am in some country where slavery exists. I am free, but I want

one hundred dollars; so I go to a slave owner and say: I want to sell

myself for one hundred dollars. He buys me and I soon squander the one

hundred dollars. Now I am his property, his slave; I shall never earn

any wages and shall never be able to buy my freedom. No other slave can

help me, for he is just in the same condition as I myself am. If I am to

be free, a free man who has the money must pay for my liberty. This is

exactly the condition in which all men were before Our Lord redeemed

them. Adam sold himself and all his children to the devil by committing

sin. He and they therefore became slaves. They could not earn any

spiritual wages, that is, grace of God to purchase their liberty; and as

all men were slaves one could not help another in this matter. Then Our

Lord Himself came and purchased our freedom. He bought us back again,

and the price He paid was His own life and blood given up upon the

Cross. In His goodness, He did more than redeem us; He gave us also the

means of redeeming ourselves in case we should ever have the misfortune

of falling again into the slavery of the devil--into sin. He left us the

Sacrament of Penance to which we can go as to a bank, and draw out

enough of Our Lord's grace--merited for us and deposited in the power of

His Church--to purchase our redemption from sin.

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.

"Abandon" means to leave to one's self. Adam and his posterity were

slaves, but God took pity on them. He did not leave them to themselves,

but promised to help them.

"Gates of Heaven." Heaven has no gates, because it is not built of

material--of stone, or iron, or wood. It is only our way of speaking;

just as we say "hand of God," although He has no hands. Heaven is the

magnificent home God has prepared for us, and its gates are His power by

which He keeps us out or lets us in as He pleases. Our Lord, therefore,

obtained admittance for us.

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.

"True God." He was true God equal to His Father from all eternity. He

became man when He came upon the earth about 2,000 years ago, and was

born on Christmas Day. Now He is in Heaven as God and man. Therefore, He

was God always, but man only from the time of His Incarnation.

*63 Q. Why is Jesus Christ true God?

A. Jesus Christ is true God because He is the true and only Son of God

the Father.

God the Father, first Person of the Blessed Trinity, is His real Father,

and St. Joseph was His foster-father, selected by the Heavenly Father to

take care of Our Lord and watch over Him while on earth. A foster-father

is not the same as a stepfather. A stepfather is a second father that

one gets when his real father dies. A foster-father is one who takes a

person, whether a relative or a stranger, and adopts him as his son. It

was a very great honor for St. Joseph to be selected from among all men

to take care of the Son of God; to carry in his arms the great One of

whom the prophets spoke; the One for whom the whole world longed during

so many thousand years; so that next to our Blessed Mother St. Joseph

deserves our greatest honor.

*64 Q. Why is Jesus Christ true man?

A. Jesus Christ is true man because He is the Son of the Blessed Virgin

Mary, and has a body and soul like ours.

He has all that we have by nature, but not the things we have acquired

such as deformities, imperfections, and the like. Everything in Our Lord

was perfect. Above all, He had no sin of any kind; nor even inclination

to sin. He could be hungry, as He was when He fasted forty days in the

desert. (Matt. 4:2). He was thirsty, as He said on the Cross. (John

19:28). He could be wearied; as we read in the Holy Scripture (John 4:6)

that He sat down by a well to rest, while His disciples went into the

city to buy food. All these sufferings come from our very nature. We say

a thing comes from our very nature when everybody has it. Now, everyone

in the world may at times be hungry, thirsty, or tired; but everybody in

the world need not have a toothache or headache, because such things are

not common to human nature, but due to some defect in our body; and such

defects Our Lord did not have, because He was a perfect man. Therefore,

Our Lord had a body like ours, not as it usually is with defects, but as

it should be, perfect in all things that belong to its nature, as Adam's

was before he sinned.

*65 Q. How many natures are there in Jesus Christ?

A. In Jesus Christ there are two natures: the nature of God and the

nature of man.

He was perfect God and perfect man. His human nature was under the full

power of His divine nature, and could not do anything contrary to His

divine will. You cannot understand how there can be two natures and two

wills in one person, because it is another of the great mysteries; but

you must believe it, just as you believe there are three Persons in one

God, though you do not understand it. Those who learn theology and study

a great deal may understand it better than you, but never fully. It will

be enough, therefore, for you to remember and believe that there are two

natures--the divine nature and the human nature--in the one person of

Our Lord.

*66 Q. Is Jesus Christ more than one person?

A. No, Jesus Christ is but one Divine Person.

"But one," so that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of

God, the Messias, Christ, Jesus, Our Lord, Our Saviour, Our Redeemer,

etc., are all names for the one Person; and, besides these, there are

many other names given to Our Lord in the Holy Scripture, both in the

Old and the New Testaments.

*67 Q. Was Jesus Christ always God?

A. Jesus Christ was always God, as He is the Second Person of the

Blessed Trinity, equal to His Father from all eternity.

*68 Q. Was Jesus Christ always man?

A. Jesus Christ was not always man, but became man at the time of His

Incarnation.

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.

*71 Q. Is the Blessed Virgin Mary truly the Mother of God?

A. The Blessed Virgin Mary is truly the Mother of God, because the same

Divine Person who is the Son of God is also the Son of the Blessed

Virgin Mary.

*72 Q. Did the Son of God become man immediately after the sin of our

first parents?

A. The Son of God did not become man immediately after the sin of our

first parents, but He was promised to them as a Redeemer.

God did not say to Adam when He would send the Redeemer, and so the

Redeemer did not come for about 4,000 years after He was first promised.

God permitted this long time to elapse in order that mankind might feel

and know how great an evil sin is, and what misery it brought upon the

world. During these 4,000 years men were becoming gradually worse. At

one time--about 1,600 years after Adam's sin--they became so bad that

God destroyed by a deluge, or great flood of water, all persons and

living things upon the earth, except Noe, his wife, his three sons and

their wives, and the animals they had in the ark with them. (Gen. 6).

Let me now give you more particulars about this terrible punishment.

After God determined to destroy all living things on account of the

wickedness of men, He told Noe, who was a good man, to build a great

ark, or ship, for himself and his family, and for some of all the living

creatures upon the earth. (Gen. 6). When the ark was ready, Noe and his

family went into it, and the animals that were to be saved came by God's

power, and two by two were taken into the ark. Besides the two of each

kind of animals, Noe was required to take with him five more of each

kind of clean animals. Clean animals were certain animals which,

according to God's law, could be offered in sacrifice or eaten; they

were such animals as the ox, the sheep, the goat, etc. Therefore, seven

of each of the clean animals, and two of each of the other kinds. Why

did He have seven clean animals? Two were to be set free upon the dry

earth with the other animals, and the other five were for food and

sacrifice. Noe spent a hundred years in making the ark. At that time men

lived much longer than they do now. Adam lived over 900 years and

Mathusala, the oldest man, lived to be 969 years old. There are many

reasons why men live a shorter time now than then. When the door of the

ark was closed, God sent a great rain that lasted for forty days and

forty nights. All the springs of water broke forth, and all the rivers

and lakes overflowed their banks. Men ran here and there to high places,

while the water rose higher and higher till it covered the tops of the

mountains, and all not in the ark were drowned. The big ark floated

about for about a year; for although it stopped raining after forty

days, just think of the quantity of water that must have fallen! Think

of the rain what would fall during the whole of Lent from Ash Wednesday

to Easter Sunday--forty days. It took a long time, therefore, for the

waters to go down and finally disappear. When the waters began to go

down, Noe, wishing to know if any land was as yet above the water,

opened the little window, and sent out a raven or crow over the waters.

The raven did not come back, because it is a bird that eats flesh, and

it found plenty of dead bodies to feed upon. Then Noe sent out a dove,

and the dove came back with the bough of an olive tree in its mouth.

From this Noe knew that the earth was becoming dry again. After some

days, the ark rested on the top of a mountain named Ararat. When all the

waters had dried up, Noe and his family and all the animals passed out

of the ark. He offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and he and his

family settled once more upon the earth. For a while, the descendants of

Noe were good, but when they became numerous they soon forgot the deluge

and its punishments, and became very wicked. Many forgot the true God

altogether, and began to worship the sun, moon, and stars. Some

worshipped animals, and others idols of wood or stone. They offered up

human victims and committed all kinds of sins most displeasing to God.

Many were in slavery; masters were cruel; and things were becoming daily

worse, till just before the coming of Our Lord the world was in a

terrible condition of misery and sin. The lawmakers tried to remedy

these evils by their laws, and the teachers and professors by their

teaching; but all was of no avail. God Himself must save the world.

God gave many promises of the Redeemer. The first one was given in the

garden to our first parents. God said (Gen. 3:15) to the serpent: I will

put enmities, that is hatred, between thee and the woman; that is,

between the devil and the Blessed Virgin--whom the holy writers call the

second Eve; because as the first Eve caused our fall, the second Eve

helped us to rise again. I will put also a great hatred between the

devil and your Redeemer. The next promise of the Redeemer was made to

Abraham. (Gen. 15). Another was made to Isaac, and another to Jacob; and

later these promises were frequently renewed through the prophets; so

that during the four thousand years God encouraged the good people, by

promising from time to time the Redeemer.

Some of the prophets foretold to what family He would belong, and when

He would be born, and when and what He would suffer, and how He would

die. They also foretold signs or things that would come to pass just

before the advent or coming of the Messias (Gen. 49:10); so that when

the people saw these things coming to pass, they could know that the

time of the Messias was at hand. Thus when Our Lord came, the whole

world was waiting and looking for the promised Redeemer, because the

signs foretold had appeared or were taking place. But the majority did

not recognize Our Lord when He came, on account of the quiet, humble,

and poor way in which He came. They were expecting to see the Redeemer

come as a great and powerful king, with mighty armies conquering the

world; and in this they were mistaken. If they had studied the Holy

Scriptures they would have learned how He was to come--poor and humble.

*73 Q. How could they be saved who lived before the Son of God became

man?

A. They who lived before the Son of God became man could be saved by

believing in the Redeemer to come, and by keeping the Commandments.

We have seen that God promised the Redeemer during four thousand years.

Now, those who believed these promises and kept all God's Commandments,

and observed all His laws as they knew them, could be saved. They could

not, it is true, enter into Heaven after their death, but they could

wait in Limbo without suffering till Our Lord opened Heaven for them.

They were saved only through the merits of Our Lord. And how could this

be when Our Lord was not yet born? Do you know what a promissory note

is? It is this. When a man is not able to pay his debts just now but

will be able afterwards, he gives those to whom he owes the money a

promissory note, that is, a written promise that he will pay at a

certain time. Now, those who died before Our Lord was born had the Holy

Scripture promising that Christ would pay for them and for their sins

when He would come. So God saved them on account of this promise and

kept them free from suffering till Our Lord came. If any died when they

were little infants, their parents answered for them as godfathers and

godmothers do now for infants at Baptism.

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.

"Annunciation Day" is the 25th of March. You can easily remember that

feast. Everybody knows that St. Patrick's Day is on the 17th of March,

and therefore eight days after it comes Annunciation day. There is

another feast coming in between them, the feast of St. Joseph, on the

19th of March. Therefore it is easy to remember these three feasts

coming all in March and almost together. Annunciation is the name given

to that day after the angel came, but it was not called so before.

Annunciation means to tell or make known, and this is the day the angel

made known to the Blessed Virgin that she was selected for the high

office of Mother of God. The Blessed Virgin was expecting the Messias,

and was probably praying for His speedy arrival, as were the rest of her

people, when suddenly the angel came and said: Hail, full of grace. (See

Hail Mary Expl.).

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.

"Christmas Day" is the 25th of December, one week before the New Year.

It is called Christmas Day since the time Our Lord was born, over

nineteen hundred years ago. "In a stable at Bethlehem." The story of Our

Lord's birth is in every way a very sad one. The Blessed Virgin and St.

Joseph lived in Palestine--called also the Holy Land since Our Lord

lived there. Palestine was the country where God's people, the Jews,

lived, and at the time we are speaking of, it was under the power of the

Roman Emperor, who had his soldiers and governor there. He wished to

find out how many people were there, and so he ordered a census or count

of the people to be made. (Luke 2). We take the census very differently

now from what they did then. We in the United States, by order of the

government, send men around from house to house to write down the names;

but in Palestine, when they wanted the number of the people, everyone,

no matter where he lived, had to go to the city or town where his

forefathers had lived and there register his name with all the others

who belonged to the same tribe or family. Now, the forefathers of St.

Joseph and the Blessed Virgin belonged to the little town of Bethlehem

(Luke 2); so they had to leave Nazareth where they were then living and

go to Bethlehem. This was shortly before Christmas. When they got to

Bethlehem, they found the place crowded with people who also came to

enroll their names. They went to the inn or hotel to seek for lodging

for the night. The hotels there were not like ours. They were simply

large buildings with small rooms and no furniture; they were called

caravansaries. A man was in charge of the building, and by paying him

something persons were allowed the use of a room. No food was sold

there, so travelers had to do their cooking at home and bring whatever

they needed with them. When the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph went to

the inn they found all the rooms occupied. Then they went up and down

the streets looking for some house where they might stay. Nobody would

take them in, because St. Joseph was old and poor and had no money, or

little, to give. They were refused at every door, a very sad thing

indeed. What were they to do? It was growing dark, and the lights most

likely were being lighted here and there in the houses. The old towns

were not built as ours are, with houses on the outskirts growing fewer

as we advance into the country. They were surrounded by great walls to

keep out their enemies. There were several large gates in these walls,

through which the people entered or left the city. At night these gates

were closed and guarded. Nearly all the people lived within the walls

and the country was lonely and almost deserted. Only shepherds were to

be found in the country, and they lived in tents, which they carried

about from place to place, as soldiers do in time of war. Such was the

country about Bethlehem. As St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin could not

find anyplace to stay in the town they were forced to go into the

country. They must have suffered also from fear because the country was

infested with wolves and wild dogs, so fierce that they sometimes came

into the towns and attacked the people in the streets. Besides, many

robbers were wandering about waiting for victims. Palestine is a hilly

country and there were on the sides of some of the hills large caves in

which these robbers frequently took refuge or divided their spoils.

Because the shepherds at times, especially in bad weather, brought their

animals into these caves, they are often called stables. The Blessed

Virgin and St. Joseph found, we are told, one of these cold, dark

places, went into it for the night, and there Our Lord was born.

It was the month of December and must have been quite cold, so the

little Infant Jesus must have suffered greatly from the cold. If it had

been a stable such as we see in our days it would have been bad enough;

but think of this cold, dark, miserable cave, and yet it was Our Lord,

the King of Heaven and earth, who was born there. There are few people

so poor that they have to live in a cave. What wonderful humility, then,

on the part of Our Lord. He could have been born, if He wished, in the

grandest palace man could construct and have had thousands of angels to

bring Him whatever He needed, for they are His servants in Heaven. But

Our Lord became so humble to teach us. What impression should this make

on those who are too fond of dress and too vain about their homes.

It was foretold by the prophets that Our Lord would be born in

Bethlehem, and when the time was near at hand His parents were living in

Nazareth; then the Roman Emperor gave the decree that the census be

taken, which obliged Our Lord's parents to go to Bethlehem, and thus Our

Lord was born there, and the words of the prophets fulfilled. See how

God moves the whole world, if necessary, to accomplish what He desires.

But how naturally He does everything. Nobody knew--not even the Roman

Emperor himself--that he was giving an edict to fulfill the prophecies

and the promises of God. So, at times, people do many things to carry

out the designs of God, though they know it not. We should never

complain therefore to do unwillingly whatever work we have to perform,

because it may be something that God wishes us to do for some very

special end. If you look back upon your lives, you can see that God

guided and directed you upon many occasions.

*76 Q. How long did Christ live on earth?

A. Christ lived on earth about thirty-three years, and led a most holy

life in poverty and suffering.

The life of Our Lord was spent in the following manner. At the time Our

Lord was born in Bethlehem wise men or kings, called Magi, came from the

East--perhaps from Persia or Arabia--to adore Him. They saw a strange

star, and leaving their own country came to Palestine. When they came as

far as Jerusalem, they went to King Herod and asked him where the young

King was born. Herod was troubled, for he was afraid the new King would

deprive him of his throne. He called together all the priests and asked

them about this royal child. They told him and the Magi that, according

to the prophecies, the Saviour should be born in Bethlehem. The Wise Men

saw the star once more, and followed it to Bethlehem, where it stood

over the stable in which Our Lord lay. They entered, and adored the

Infant Jesus, and offered Him presents. Now, Herod told them to come

back after they had found the newborn King, and tell him where He was,

that he too might go and adore Him. But such was not Herod's real

intention. He wished not to adore but to kill Him. See, then, how the

wicked pretend at times to do good, that they may deceive us and lead us

astray. Be always on your guard against a person if you suspect his

goodness. But Herod could not deceive God, who, knowing his heart,

warned the Wise Men not to return to Herod, but to go back to their own

country by another way, which they did. We celebrate the day on which

the Wise Men adored the Infant Jesus on the feast of the Epiphany (six

days after New Year's Day). When the Magi did not return, Herod knew

that they had avoided him. He was very angry indeed, and in order to be

sure of killing the poor little Infant Jesus, he had all the infants or

children in or near Bethlehem who were not over two years old put to

death. We honor these first little martyrs who suffered for Christ on

the feast of Holy Innocents--three days after Christmas.

After the departure of the Wise Men, God sent an angel to St. Joseph

warning him of Herod's evil designs, and telling him to fly with Jesus

and Mary into Egypt. Then St. Joseph, with the Blessed Virgin and the

Infant, set out for Egypt. St. Joseph did not ask the angel how long he

would have to stay there; nor did he ask to be allowed to wait till

morning. He obeyed promptly; he arose in the night, and started at once.

What an example of obedience for us! They must have had many hardships

on the way. They must have suffered much from hunger, cold, and fear.

They dare not go on the best roads, for we may well suppose that Herod

had his spies out watching for any that might escape. So they went by

the roughest roads and longest way. In Egypt they were among strangers,

and how could a poor old carpenter like St. Joseph find enough work

there! The Holy Family must at times have suffered greatly from want.

They remained in Egypt for some time. Afterwards, when Herod died, they

returned to Nazareth. (Matt. 2).

At twelve years of age Our Lord went to the Temple of Jerusalem to offer

sacrifice with His parents. (Luke 2:42). He afterwards returned to

Nazareth, and then for eighteen years--called His hidden life--we do not

hear anything of Him. Most likely He worked in the carpenter shop with

His foster-father, St. Joseph.

At the age of thirty (Luke 3:23), Our Lord began His public life; that

is, His preaching, miracles, etc. His public life lasted a little over

three years, and then He was put to death on the Cross.

*77 Q. Why did Christ live so long on earth?

A. Christ lived so long on earth to show us the way to Heaven by His

teaching and example.

Christ went through all the stages of life that each might have an

example. He was an infant: then a child; then a young man, and finally a

man. He did not become an old man to set an example to the old, because

if men follow His example in their youth and manhood they will be good

in old age. Youth is the all-important time to learn. If you want a tree

to grow straight, you must keep it straight while it is only a little

twig. You cannot straighten an old oak tree that has grown up crooked.

So you must be taught to do right in your youth, that you may do the

same when old. Of the hidden or private life of Our Lord we, as I have

said, know nothing, except that He was obedient to His parents; for He

wished to give an example also to those holy persons who lead a life

hidden from the world. Some books have given stories about what Our Lord

did in school, etc., but these stories are not true. The only true

things we know of Our Lord are those told in the Holy Scripture, or

handed down to us by the Church in her teachings, or those certainly

revealed to God's saints. Remember, then, that others are taught best by

example, and be careful of the example you give.

Lesson 8

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

The Passion, that is, the terrible sufferings of Our Lord, began after

the Last Supper, and ended at His death. On Thursday evening, Our Lord

sat down for the last time with His dear Apostles. He had been talking,

eating, and living with them for over three years; and now He is going

to take His last meal with them before His death. He told them then how

He was to suffer, and that one of them was going to betray Him. They

were very much troubled, for only Judas himself knew what he was about

to do.

78 Q. What did Jesus Christ suffer?

A. Jesus Christ suffered a bloody sweat, a cruel scourging, was crowned

with thorns, and was crucified.

After the Supper, Our Lord went with His Apostles to a little country

place just outside Jerusalem, and separated from it by a small stream.

He told the three Apostles, Peter, James, and John, to stay near the

entrance, and to watch and pray, while He Himself went further into the

Garden of Olives, or Gethsemani, as this place was called, and throwing

Himself upon His face, prayed long and earnestly, but the Apostles fell

asleep.

We often find persons who are in great anguish or dread covered with a

cold perspiration. Now, Our Lord's agony in the garden was so intense

that great drops, not of sweat, but of blood, oozed from every pore, and

trickled to the ground. There are three reasons given for this dreadful

agony.

(1) The clear, certain knowledge of the sufferings so soon to be

endured. If we were to be put to death tomorrow and knew exactly the

manner of our death and the pain it would inflict, how great would be

our fear! Our Lord, knowing all things, knew in every particular what He

would have to undergo. Moreover, His sufferings were greater than ours

could be, even if we suffered the same kind of death; because His body

was most perfect, and therefore more susceptible of pain than ours. A

wound in the eye, because the most sensitive and delicate part of the

body, would cause us greater pain than a wound on the foot or hand.

Thus, all the parts of Our Lord's body being so perfect and sensitive,

we can scarcely imagine His dreadful torments, the very thought of which

caused Him such agony.

(2) The sins, past, present, and future of all men. He knew all things,

as we have said, and looking back upon the world He saw all the sins

committed, of thought, word, and deed, from the time of Adam down to His

own; and seeing all these offenses against His Father, He was very much

grieved.

(3) The third reason why He grieved. He looked forward and saw how

little many persons would profit by all the sufferings He was about to

endure. He saw all the sins that would be committed from the time of His

death down to the end of the world. He saw us also sinning with the

rest. No wonder then that He suffered so much in the garden. This

suffering on that night is called "Our Lord's Agony in the Garden." That

night Judas, who had betrayed Him to His enemies, came with a great band

of soldiers and people, with swords and clubs, to make Our Lord a

prisoner. He did not try to escape, but stood waiting for them, though

all His Apostles, who had promised to stay with Him, ran away. Then the

soldiers led Our Lord to the house of the Chief Priest. Then they

gathered the priests, and gave Him a kind of trial, and said He was

guilty of death. But at that time the Jews had no power to put persons

to death according to the law; so they had to send Our Lord to Pontius

Pilate, the Roman Governor, to be condemned, because they were under the

power of the Romans. The Jews acted against their laws in the trial of

Our Lord.

(1) They tried Him at night; and (2) they allowed Him no witnesses in

His defense, but even employed false witnesses to testify against Him,

and thus acted against all law and justice. Early in the morning they

led Him to Pilate, who commanded that He should be scourged. Then they

stripped Our Lord of His garments, fastened His hands to a low stone

pillar, and there He was "scourged" by the Roman soldiers. The lashes

used by the Romans were made of leather, with pieces of bone, iron, or

steel fastened into it, so that every stroke would lay open the flesh.

It is most likely these were the lashes used upon Our Lord till every

portion of His body was bruised and bleeding, and they replaced His

garments upon Him. Now, you know if you put a cloth upon a fresh wound

the blood will soak into it and cause it to adhere to the mangled flesh.

Our Blessed Lord's garment, thus saturated with His blood, adhered to

His wounded body, and when again removed caused Him unspeakable pain.

Next, the soldiers, because Our Lord had said He was a king--meaning a

spiritual king--led Him into a large hall and mocked Him. They made a

crown of long, sharp thorns, and forced it down upon His brow with a

heavy rod or reed; every stroke driving the thorns into His head, and

causing the blood to roll down His sacred face. They again took off His

garments, and opened anew the painful wounds. Because kings wore purple,

they put an old purple garment upon Him, and made Him a mock king,

genuflecting in ridicule as they passed before Him. They struck Him in

the face and spat upon Him; and yet it seems our patient Lord said not a

word in complaint. Then they put His garments upon Him, and Pilate asked

the people what he should do with Him, and they cried, "Crucify Him." It

was then Friday morning, and probably about ten or eleven o'clock. They

made a cross of heavy beams, and laying it upon His shoulders, forced

Him to carry it to Calvary--the place of execution, just outside the

city; for it was not allowed to execute anyone in the city. Our Lord had

not eaten anything from Thursday evening, and then with all He suffered

and the loss of blood, He must have been very weak at eleven o'clock on

Friday morning. He was weak, and fell many times under the Cross. His

suffering was increased by seeing His Blessed Mother looking at Him.

When He arrived at Calvary they tore off His garments and nailed Him to

the Cross, driving the rough nails through His hands and feet. It was

then about twelve o'clock. From twelve to three in the afternoon Our

Blessed Saviour was hanging on the Cross, with a great multitude of His

enemies about Him mocking and saying cruel things. Even the two thieves

that were crucified with Him reviled Him, though one of them repented

and was pardoned before death. Our Lord's poor Mother and His few

friends stood at a little distance witnessing all that was going on.

When Our Lord was thirsty His executioners gave Him gall to drink. At

three o'clock He died, and there was an earthquake and darkness, and the

people were sorely afraid.

But you will ask, how could these soldiers be so cruel? They were

Romans; and in those days men called gladiators used to fight with

swords before the Roman Emperor and all the people--just as actors play

now for the amusement of their audience. People who could enjoy such

scenes as men slaying one another in deadly conflict would scarcely be

moved to pity by seeing a man scourged. Again, in the early ages of the

Church, during the persecutions, the Emperors used to order the

Christians to be thrown to wild beasts to be torn to pieces in the

presence of the people--who applauded these horrible sights. They who

could see so many put to death would not mind putting one to death, even

in the most terrible manner.

79 Q. On what day did Christ die?

A. Christ died on Good Friday.

"Good Friday," so called since that time.

*80 Q. Why do you call that day "good" on which Christ suffered so

sorrowful a death?

A. We call that day good on which Christ died, because by His death He

showed His great love for man, and purchased for him every blessing.

*81 Q. Where did Christ die?

A. Christ died on Mount Calvary.

"Mount Calvary," a little hill just outside the city of Jerusalem. For

every city they have a special prison or place where all their criminals

are executed. Now, as the great Temple of God was in Jerusalem, the city

itself was called the City of God, because in the Temple God spoke to

the priests in the Holy of Holies. The Temple was divided into two

parts: one part, something like the body of our churches, called the

Holy, and the other part, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, called

the Holy of Holies. It had about the same relation to the Temple as our

altar and sanctuary have to our churches. The Ark of the Covenant was a

box about four feet long, two and a half feet high, and two and a half

feet wide, made of the finest wood, and ornamented with gold in the most

beautiful manner. In it were the tables of stone, on which were written

the Commandments of God; also the rod that Aaron--Moses'

brother--changed into a serpent before King Pharaoh; also some of the

manna with which the people were miraculously fed during their forty

years' journey in the desert when they fled out of Egypt. All these

things were figures of the true religion. The Ark itself was a figure of

the tabernacle, and the manna of the Holy Eucharist. The Holy of Holies

was hidden from the people by a veil. Only the Chief Priest was allowed

into that sacred place, and but once a year. The veil--called the veil

of the Temple--hiding that Holy of Holies, though the things mentioned

above were no longer in it, was torn asunder when Our Lord died on the

Cross (Matt. 27:51); because after His death there was no need any

longer of figures; for after His death we have the tabernacle itself and

the real manna, the real bread from Heaven, viz., the body of Our Lord.

The veil was rent to show also that God would not remain any longer in

the Temple, but would be for the future only in the Christian Church. On

account of all these things, therefore, Jerusalem was called the Holy

City, and no criminals were put to death in it, but were conducted to

Calvary--which means the place of skulls--and were there put to death. I

now call your attention to one thing. If the Jews showed such great

respect and reverence for the Ark containing only figures of the Blessed

Sacrament, how should we behave in the presence of the tabernacle on the

altar containing the Blessed Sacrament itself!

*82 Q. How did Christ die?

A. Christ was nailed to a cross and died on it, between two thieves.

"Two thieves," because they thought this would make His death more

disgraceful--making Him equal to common criminals. One of these thieves,

called the penitent thief, repented of his sins and received Our Lord's

pardon before his death. The other thief died in his sins. Holy writers

tell us that one of these thieves was saved to give poor sinners hope,

and to teach them that they may save their souls at the very last moment

of their lives if only they are heartily sorry for their sins and

implore God's pardon for them. The other thief remained and died

impenitent, that sinners may fear to put off their conversion to the

hour of death, thus rashly presuming on God's mercy. Persons who

willfully delay their conversion and put off their repentance to the

last moment, living bad lives with the hope of dying well, may not

accept the grace to repent at the last moment, but may, like the

unfortunate, impenitent thief, die as they lived, in a state of sin.

83 Q. Why did Christ suffer and die?

A. Christ suffered and died for our sins.

It was not necessary for Our Lord to suffer so much, but He did it to

show how much He loved us and valued our souls, and how much He was

willing to give for them. We, alas! do not value our souls as Christ

did; we sometimes sell them for the merest trifle--a moment's

gratification. How sinful!

*84 Q. What lessons do we learn from the sufferings and death of Christ?

A. From the sufferings and death of Christ we learn the great evil of

sin, the hatred God bears to it, and the necessity of satisfying for it.