Catechismofcatholicdoctrine

OUR FIRST PARENTS

*33. Who were the first parents of all mankind?
The first parents of all mankind were Adam and Eve.

34. How did God make our first parents?
God made their bodies, and gave them souls.

35. What is a soul?
A soul is a spirit which is united to the body; it has no form or shape, and cannot die or perish.

36. Which is the more noble, the soul or the body?
The soul is made to the image and likeness of God, and is infinitely more precious than the body. So we must not lose our soul even if we could thus gain all earthly happiness.

37. What special gifts did God give to our first parents?
a) God gave them sanctifying grace which made them children of God;
b) He placed them in the garden of paradise where they were free of all concupiscence and sorrow;
c) They were to enjoy long life;
d) In the end without dying they were to ascend body and soul into heaven.

38. Did God only gave these gifts to our first parents only?
God did not only gave these gifts to our first parents, but intended that they should transmit them to their descendants.

39. Why then have we not got these gifts?
Because our first parents disobeyed God, yielded to the temptions of the devil, ate the forbidden fruit and committed mortal sin.

*40. What is original sin?
Orginal sin is the sin of disobedience commited by our first parents, and inherited by us, their descendants.

41. What are effects of original sin?
Because of original sin:
a) Our first parents were driven out of Paradise;
b) They were deprived of all their supernatural gifts;
c) We also now come into the world without God's santify grace;
d) Concupiscence, suffering, death and all other miseries have become our part.

42. Have all men inherited original sin?
All men have inherited original sin, with the exception of the blessed Virgin.

43. Seeing mankind afflicted by original sin, did God not show His mercy?
God showed great mercy, for He immediately promised that He would later redeem mankind, and thus He restored to man the hope of gaining Heaven.

THE INCARNATION

*44. How did God come to redeem mankind?
God the son, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, became incarnate and was made man.

45. What does "become incarnate" mean?
It means that God the son, the second person of Blessed Trinity, took to Himself a human nature and united it in His own person to His Divine nature.

*46. What is the name of the God-made-man?
The name of the God-made-man is Jesus, which means "saviour", and He is also called Christ, which is explained as "Most Exalted in Dignity".

47. Is Jesus God?
Jesus is God.

48. Is Jesus man?
Jesus is truly man.

49. Why is Jesus man?
Jesus is man because He has a body and a soul.

50. Why is Jesus God?
Jesus has the Divine nature and substance, and therefore is truly God.

51. Is Jesus our Lord?
Jesus is our Lord.

52. Why is Jesus our Lord?
Jesus is our Lord because He is God, our Creator, our merciful Redeemer, and our future Judge.

If you would learn of the Father, listen to word. If you would be wise, ask him who is Wisdom. When it is too dark for you to see, seek Christ, for he is the Light. Are you sick? Have recourse to him who is both doctor and health. . . .
Are you afraid of this or that? Remember that on all occasions he will stand by your side like an angel. If you find it hard to meet face to face the high majesty of the Only-begotten, don't lose hope. Remember he was made man to make it easy for us to approach him. . . .
Take courage if you are persecuted. Remember that he went like a lamb to the slaughter. And he is priest who will offer you as a victim to the Father. . . . If you do not know the way of salvation, look for Christ, for he is the road for souls. If it is truth that you want, listen to him because he is the Truth. Have no fear whatever of death, for Christ is the Life of believers. Do the pleasures of the world seduce you? Turn all the more to the Cross of Christ to find solace in the sweetness of the vine that clustered there.
Are you a lost sinner? Then you must hunger for Justice and thirst for the Redeemer, for that is what Christ is. Because he is bread, he takes away all hunger. . . . If anger is tormenting you . . . , appeal to Christ, who is peace. Then you will be reconciled to the Father and will love everyone as you would like to be loved yourself

THE MOTHER OF GOD, MARY EVER VIRGIN

53. How did God become man?
God became man by chosing the Virgin Mary to be His Mother.

How was it possible for a virgin to give birth to Jesus?
Through the infinite power of God the Holy Ghost, Jesus was conceived in the most pure womb of His Blessed Mother without harm to Her virginity.

The knot of Eve's disobedience was united by Mary's obedience; what the virgin Eve bound through her unbelief, the virgin Mary loosened by her faith.
-IRENAEUS
Virgin, faithful pure, God's chosen Mother, Fill me with a measure of your faith; that way will wisdom come to me And all His atenttendant treasures.
-Louis De Montfort

THE LIFE OF JESUS

55. Where was Jesus born?
Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea. He was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea. He was born in great poverty, because from the beginning of His life on earth He wished to do penance for our sins and to teach us to detached from things of this world.

INDEX PART 1 Introduction

*1. Why are we in this world?
We are in this world to worship God and to save our souls.

2. What do you mean by "to worship God"?
To worship God means to know,love and serve Him.

3. What do you mean by "to save your souls"?
To save our souls means to avoid Hell and to enter Heaven after death.

4. How should you worship God?
I should worship God:
a) by entering the religion which He has founded;
b) by firmly beliving all His doctrines;
c) by keeping His commandments;
d) by using well all His means of obtaining graces.

GOD
*5. Do you believe in God.
I believe in God.

*6. Who is God?
God is the creator and True Lord of Heaven and earth, of the angels, of men, and of all things.

*7. Is God a spirit?
God is a pure spirit, that is, He has no body.

*8. How does God exist?
God exists of Himself, without beginning and without end.

9. Is God good and happy?
God is infinitely good and happy.

*10. Where is God?
God is everywhere.

*11. Does God know all things?
God knows all things: past, present, and future, including the most secret thoughts of the heart.

*12. Is God powerful?
God is all-powerful; He can do whatever He wishes.

*13. Is God infinitely good?
God is infinitely good; He loves what is good and hates what is evil.

14. Is God infinitely just?
God is infinitely just; He rewards every good work, and punishes every evil, if not in this life, then surely in the next.

15. Is God infinitely merciful?
God is infinitely merciful; He gladly forgives all who are truly sorry for their sins.

THE BLESSED TRINITY

*16. How many Gods are there?
There is only one God.

*17. How many persons are there in God?
There are three persons in God

*18. What are these three persons called?
The first is called the Father, the second the Son, and the third the Holy Ghost.

19. Is any one of the three Divine Persons greater than or above the others?
The three Divine Persons are equal in all things, being one Nature, one Substance, one God.

20. Is there then no difference between the three Divine Persons?
1n their Divine nature, there is no difference between them; but as a person, each differs from the others.

CREATION

*21. Why do you say that God created heaven and earth?
Because God made heaven and earth and all things out of nothing, by his word only.

22. Why did God make heaven and earth and all things?
God made heaven and earth and all things to manifest His glory, and to-help men to worship Him and to save their souls.

23. After God had made all things, do they still need Him to conserve them?
Yes all creatures need God to conserve them always without a moment's interruption.

24. Does God rule heaven and earth?
God rules not only heaven and earth, but all things in the world, man's life and death, his joys and sorrows.

THE ANGELS

*25. Which are noblest beings God has made?

26. What is an angel?
An angel is a spirit without a body; he cannot die or perish, and he has wonderful intelligence and power.

27. Did the angels go to heaven immediately after being created?
No, God wished them to merit before entering heaven.

28. Did all the angels merit Heaven?
No; some of them wickedly desired to be equal to God, and fell into the sin of pride.

29. How did God punish them?
God punished them by sending them to Hell, and they were changed into hideous devils.

30. What reward did the good angels gain?
They gained Heaven; they see God always, and enjoy eternal happiness.

*31. Who is our guardian angel?
Our guardian angel is the angel sent by God to protect us in body and soul during our whole life.

32. What is our duty towards our guardian angel?
We should honour, love and thank him; and when we are in danger, we should call on him and trust him.

An angel appeared to joachim and said: "I am sent to annouce to you that your prayers have been heard . . . I have seen how you were put to shame, and heard the reproach of childlessness wrongly put upon you. God punishes not nature but sin, and therefore, when he closes a woman's womb, he does this in order to open it miraculously later on, . . . So then, your wife will bear you a daughter and you will call her Mary. As you have vowed, she will be consecrated to the Lord from infancy and filled with the Holy Spirit from her mothers womb. . . . Miraculously, the Son of the Most High will be born of her. His name will be Jesus, and through him all nations will be saved. And let this be a sign to you when you arrive at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem, Anne your will be there waiting for you. . . . Meanwhile, Anne was weeping bitterly, not knowing where her husband had gone, when the same angel . . . revealed to her the same things he had told Joachim, and added that . . . she should go to Jerusalem's Golden Gate, where she would meet her husband. . . . So they met as the angel had predicted, and were happy to see each other and to be sure they were to have a child. They adored God and went to their home, joyfully awaiting the fulfillment of the divine promise. Anne conceived and brought forth a daughter and they called her name mary. Anne and Joachim took mary at age three to dedicate her to God at the temple. They set the child down at the foot of the temple hill and she climbed the fifteen steps like a grown-up. When the saints had made their offering, they left Mary to be raised with the other temple virgins and returned home gladly