A Catechism in Questions and Answers

1. Who created you?

God.

2. What is God?

He is a pure Spirit, infinite and most perfect, Creator and Master of all things.

3. Is there more than one God?

No; there is only one God.

4. Can there be more than one?

No; because being most perfect, He cannot have others equal to Himself.

5. Is there more than one Person in God?

There are three.

6. What are they called?

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

7. Why is the first Person called Father?

Because from eternity He has begotten the Son.

8. Why is the second Person called Son?

Because from eternity He was begotten by the Father.

9. Why is the Holy Spirit the third Person?

Because from eternity He proceeds from the Father and the Son.

10. Which of these three Persons is the most perfect?

All have the same most perfect nature and the same Divinity.

11. Is the Father older than the Son?

No; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are, and have always been.

12. Where is God?

In Heaven, on earth, and everywhere.

13. Why did God create Men?

To know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this world, and to enjoy Him eternally in the next.

14. How did God create the first man Adam?

Innocent and holy.

15. Did he remain faithful to God?

No; he sinned through pride and disobeyed God.

16. How did God wish to remedy this sin and misfortune of Man?

He willed that the Son of God become incarnate and suffer for Man.

17. What does it mean to become incarnate?

It means to become Man, taking a Body and a Soul, as we have.

18. Where did He take on this Body and this Soul?

In the womb of the Most Holy Virgin Mary through the work and power of the Holy Spirit.

19. When He became Man, did He cease to be God?

No; but He remained true God, as He had always been, and was also true Man.

20. How did He suffer for Man?

He willed to suffer hardships and torments, and finally to die on the cross to save us.

21. Did He die as God or as Man?

He suffered and died as Man, because as God He could neither suffer nor die.

22. After death, did Jesus Christ rise again?

Yes; He rose on the third day.

23. How did He rise?

He reunited by His own power His holy Soul to the Body, which was in the tomb, from which He came forth glorious and immortal.

24. After rising, where did He go?

He ascended to Heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

25. Will Jesus Christ return again to this world?

Yes; at the end of the world.

26. What will He come to do?

He will come to judge all Men, giving to each the reward and punishment they have merited.

27. In what state will we be when He judges us then?

God will make us rise again with these same Bodies of ours.

28. How will He judge us?

Taking account of everything we have done, said, or thought in this life.

29. What will be done with those who are judged?

The good will go to Paradise, and the wicked to Hell.

30. Does one who goes to Paradise or Hell go with the Soul alone, or also with the Body?

After death one goes with the Soul only, but after the day of Judgment one will go there also with the Body.

31. What is Paradise?

It is a place where, in the vision of God, one forever enjoys every good, without fear of any evil.

32. What is Hell?

It is a place where, deprived of God and in eternal fire, one suffers forever every torment, without hope of any good.

33. With what sign do you represent the principal mysteries we have mentioned?

With the sign of the Cross.

34. What do you call these principal mysteries?

The mystery of the Unity and Trinity of God, and of the Incarnation and Death of the Savior.

35. In what manner is the first represented?

The words “in the Name” signify that God is one; the words Father, Son, and Holy Spirit signify that in God there are three Persons.

36. In what manner is the mystery of the Incarnation represented?

Bringing the hand from the forehead to the chest signifies that the Son of God, descending from Heaven to earth, became incarnate in the womb of Mary; and the figure of the Cross represents that He died for us.

37. Why do you make the sign of the Holy Cross?

To show that I profess to be a Christian.

38. What is a Christian obliged to know?

The Creed, the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Commandments of God and of the Holy Church, and the Sacraments.

39. What must a Christian do?

He must serve God with good works and exercise himself in acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity.

40. What is a Christian obliged to believe by Faith?

That which the Holy Roman Catholic Church believes.

41. What does Holy Mother Church believe?

Principally that which is contained in the Creed.

42. Recite it.

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 Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hell; on the third day He rose from the dead. He ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

43. Why do you believe these things?

Because God, infallible Truth and infinite Wisdom, who can neither deceive nor be deceived, has revealed them to His Church.

44. How do you believe them?

Most certainly, more firmly than what I see with my eyes or touch with my hands.

45. How do we know that God has said them?

Because the Church teaches them to us, and the Apostles taught them to the Church by word or in writing, having learned them from Jesus Christ and been inspired by the Holy Spirit.

46. What do you understand by the Church?

The union of faithful Christians, who are throughout the world under one Head, who is the Supreme Pontiff.

47. By whom are they instructed and governed in the things of God?

By Pastors and Bishops, at the command of Jesus Christ.

48. Who is the Head of this Church?

The invisible Head is Jesus Christ; the visible Head is the Roman Pontiff.

49. What is a Christian obliged to hope for?

Eternal salvation and the means to obtain it.

50. From whom do we hope for it?

From God, good and omnipotent, through the merits of Jesus Christ according to His promises.

51. To obtain eternal salvation, are good works necessary?

Yes; good works are necessary to be saved.

52. To do good works, do you need the help of God’s Grace?

Yes; because without it I cannot do any good for eternal life.

53. What is the most efficacious means to obtain from God the helps we need?

Prayer.

54. Which is the most perfect of all Prayers?

The Our Father.

55. Recite it.

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen.

56. Why is the Our Father the most perfect Prayer among all?

Because Jesus Christ composed it.

57. What does the Our Father contain?

Everything that can be asked and hoped for from God, that is, that He give us every good and free us from every evil.

58. What Prayer do Christians usually add to the Our Father?

The Hail Mary.

59. Recite it.

Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

60. Must we invoke Most Holy Mary?

Yes; She is our special Protectress and Advocate for sinners before God.

61. Must we honor her?

Yes; we must admire and praise her purity, her humility, and other virtues, and honor her as the true Mother of God.

62. Where is the Virgin Mary?

She is in Heaven.

63. What, then, is the figure depicted in church?

It is an image of her who is in Heaven.

64. Why do we turn to Most Holy Mary and to the other Saints, and especially to our Guardian Angel?

So that they may pray to God, that He grant us the things necessary for this life and for the next.

65. To be saved, is it enough to be baptized, believe, and hope in Jesus Christ?

No; one must observe the ten Commandments of God.

66. Recite them.

1. I am the Lord your God; you shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the feast days.
4. Honor your Father and Mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit fornication.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

67. What in summary does God command us?

The Love of God and of Neighbor, loving God above all things, and our Neighbor as ourselves; and therefore the first three Commandments teach how we must love and honor God with our heart, with our words, and with our works. The other seven then teach us how we must love our Neighbor, abstaining from doing him harm and wishing him evil, whether in his person, his goods, or his honor.

68. Explain the first Commandment.

In the first, God commands us to recognize, honor, and love Him alone as our God and supreme Lord. And in this Commandment are contained the three Precepts of the three Theological Virtues, that is, of Faith, Hope, and Charity. With the first precept of Faith we must believe that there is a God and that all things revealed by Him to the Holy Church, and which the Holy Church teaches us, are true, believing them because God has said them, who is infallible Truth and cannot deceive nor be deceived. With the second of Hope we must hope to receive from God Paradise and all the graces necessary to obtain it, trusting in the Power of God, in His Goodness, and in the promise He has made to hear us when we pray to Him through the merits of Jesus Christ. With the third of Charity we must love God above all things, with a resolute will to lose everything rather than lose His grace by offending Him, and we must love our Neighbor as ourselves.

69. Explain the second.

The second prohibits blasphemies, false or useless oaths, and the failure to fulfill vows once made.

70. Explain the third.

The third commands us to observe the Feasts, by hearing Mass and abstaining from servile works or labors.

71. Explain the fourth.

The fourth commands us to honor our Fathers and Mothers, showing them reverence, obedience, and love, helping them in their spiritual and temporal needs.

72. Explain the fifth.

In the fifth it is commanded not to kill nor unjustly strike our Neighbor, nor to offend him with insults or by wishing him evil. And on the contrary it commands us to forgive and to love our enemies.

73. Explain the sixth.

The sixth forbids us all immodest deeds and words.

74. Explain the seventh.

The seventh prohibits taking, keeping, or damaging another’s goods against the will of the owner.

75. Explain the eighth.

The eighth prohibits: 1st, gossiping, that is, uncovering the faults of our Neighbor, even if true, whenever it is not necessary (when they are true) to remedy some harm. 2nd, doing any injury to our Neighbor with words or deeds. 3rd, making rash judgments, by judging our Neighbor badly without reason. 4th, telling lies, especially with harm to others.

76. Explain the last two Commandments.

With the ninth God forbids us to desire immodest sins or take pleasure in the thought of them; and with the tenth to desire harm to our Neighbor’s goods or take pleasure in it.

77. Are there other Commandments to observe, besides the Commandments of God?

There are the Commandments of the Church.

78. Recite them.

1. Hear Mass on all Sundays and other commanded Feasts.
2. Fast during Lent, on the Ember Days, and on the commanded vigils, and abstain from eating meat on Friday and Saturday.
3. Confess at least once a year.
4. Receive Communion at least at Easter of the Resurrection in one’s own Parish.
5. Pay Tithes to the Church.
6. Do not celebrate Weddings in prohibited times.

79. Who made these Commandments?

The Superiors of the Church by the authority received from Jesus Christ.

80. He who does not observe the Commandments of God and of the Church, what does he do?

He commits sin.

81. How many kinds of sins are there?

Two kinds: Original and Actual.

82. What is original sin?

It is that with which we are all born, originated in us by our first Father Adam.

83. Explain actual sin.

It is that which is committed by us.

84. Of how many kinds is actual sin?

Of two kinds: mortal and venial.

85. What is mortal sin?

It is a grave fault with full awareness and deliberate consent against the Commandments of God or of the Church.

86. What is venial sin?

It is that which is committed when either the matter is light, or it is not done with perfect awareness or consent.

87. In how many ways can one sin?

In three ways: in thoughts, words, and deeds.

88. What does mortal sin do?

It deprives the Soul of the grace of God; and therefore whoever dies in mortal sin is condemned forever to Hell.

89. Under how many heads are all sins grouped?

To seven, which are called capital, because they are the origin of all others.

90. Recite them.

Pride, Avarice, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth.

91. He who fails to do what he is obliged to do, does he commit sin?

Yes; he commits a sin of omission.

92. By what means is the Soul purged from sin?

By means of the Sacraments.

93. How many are the Sacraments?

There are seven, namely Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.

94. Why did Jesus Christ institute the Sacraments?

To communicate to us the graces necessary for our sanctification.

95. What effect does Baptism have?

It cancels original sin, and actual sin if there is any; it makes us reborn spiritually and remits every punishment.

96. What effect does Confirmation have?

It gives us strength to suffer everything for God, and to fight for the Faith without fear.

97. What does Extreme Unction do?

It gives help to die well and to receive bodily health, if that is expedient for eternal salvation; and also to remove the remains of sins.

98. What effect does Holy Orders have?

It gives spiritual power and the grace necessary to exercise sacred functions.

99. What effect does Matrimony have?

It gives grace to those who marry to live as Christians and to raise their children according to the law of God.

100. Did Jesus Christ institute the Sacrament of Penance?

Yes; giving to Priests the power to remit our sins, when we make a good Confession.

101. How many things are required to make a good Confession?

Five.

1. To examine one’s conscience and think about the sins committed.
2. To conceive true sorrow for them.
3. To make a firm purpose never to commit them again.
4. To manifest all mortal sins to the Confessor to receive absolution.
5. To do the penance that will be imposed.

102. With what diligence must we try to remember our sins?

With the same diligence we give to our most important business.

103. He who through lack of examination leaves out any sin, does he confess well?

No.

104. What must be done after the examination of conscience?

We must, with hope of forgiveness from God through the merits of Jesus Christ, conceive an inward sorrow in the heart, being truly and supremely grieved for having offended God.

105. How many kinds of this sorrow are there?

It is of two kinds: perfect, which is called Contrition, and imperfect, which is called Attrition. Contrition is when the sinner repents of sin, because an offense has been committed against God, infinite Goodness. Attrition, on the other hand, is when one repents of having offended God through fear of Hell or for the loss of Paradise, or indeed for the particular foulness of that sin, known by the light of Faith.

106. What are the effects of Contrition and Attrition?

Contrition justifies the sinner immediately, even before confessing; but he is always then bound to confess his sins. Attrition, on the other hand, disposes him to receive pardon when he receives the Absolution of the Confessor.

107. How is the act of Contrition made?

My God, because I have offended You, supreme Good, infinite Goodness, I repent of all my sins more than of any evil. I resolve to die rather than offend You again.

108. How is the act of Attrition made?

My God, because with my sin I have earned Hell and lost Paradise, I repent above every evil for having offended You. I propose etc.

109. He who says these words only with his mouth, does he have good sorrow?

No; he must say them with his heart.

110. He who truly repents, must he have a purpose of amendment?

Yes.

111. What is a purpose of amendment?

It is a firm and sincere will never to offend God again with the help of His grace.

112. What sins are we obliged to confess?

All mortal ones, without leaving out even one through malice, through shame, or through notable negligence in the examination.

113. He who thus fails to confess any mortal sin, what sin does he commit?

A sacrilege.

114. Then what must he do to confess well?

He must confess again the sins he has already confessed, together with the one he left out and the sacrilege he has committed.

115. Are we obliged to confess venial sins?

We are not obliged; but it is useful to confess them, with sorrow, however, and a purpose of amendment.

116. Is the Penitent obliged to accept and fulfill the penance that the Confessor gives him?

He must accept it and do it as soon as he can.

117. He who has confessed well and goes to receive Communion, does he receive another Sacrament?

Yes; he receives the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

118. What effect does this Sacrament have?

It increases the Grace of God, and thus nourishes the spiritual life of the Soul.

119. What is there in the Sacrament of the Eucharist?

There is our Lord Jesus Christ in Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

120. What is the host before Consecration?

It is bread.

121. And after Consecration?

It is the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ.

122. In the chalice before Consecration, what is there?

There is wine.

123. And after Consecration?

There is the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

124. Who makes this change?

God through the words said by the Priest.

125. Do the bread and wine remain?

No; but only the species of bread and wine remain, that is, the true color, the true taste, the true odor of bread and wine.

126. In the Eucharist does all of Jesus remain?

Yes; He remains there alive as in Heaven, in Body, Soul, Blood, and Divinity.

127. When the Host is broken, is Jesus Christ divided?

No; and He remains whole in every particle.

128. Must we adore the consecrated Host?

Yes; because Jesus Christ is there alive in Soul, Body, and Divinity, we must adore it as God is adored.

129. When is the Host consecrated?

In the Holy Mass.

130. What is the Mass?

It is the continuation of the offering that Jesus Christ made of Himself to the Father, dying for us.

131. For what ends and causes is the Sacrifice of the Mass offered?

To honor, thank, and recognize God as supreme Lord of everything.

132. Is it also offered for our benefit?

Yes; to obtain for us the forgiveness of sins, to implore for us the necessary graces, and to make satisfaction to God, both for us and for the Souls in Purgatory.

133. If this is so, must we be present at Mass with great respect and attention?

Certainly, and without chattering or looking about.