Friday, February 26, 2010

Part I, Chapter IX. The Holy Ghost and Grace

111. Did Christ make any special promise to his apostles before he ascended into heaven?
Before He ascended into heaven, Christ promised his apostles that He would send the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth, to teach them all things, and to abide with them forever (John xiv, 16, 26).
112. On what day did the Holy Ghost descend on the apostles?
On Pentecost or Whit Sunday, ten days after the Ascension, the Holy Ghost descended on the apostles in the form of tongues of fire (Acts ii, 2-4).
113. Why did Christ send the Holy Ghost?
Christ sent the Holy Ghost to teach and strengthen his apostles, and to guide and sanctify his Church until the end of time.
114. How does the Holy Ghost guide and sanctify the Church?
The Holy Ghost guides and sanctifies the Church by dwelling in it, by enlightening its rulers, and by making its members holy through the gift of grace.
115. What is grace?
Grace is a supernatural gift bestowed on us by God for our salvation.
116. How many kinds of grace are there?
There are two kinds of grace, sanctifying grace and actual grace.
117. What is sanctifying grace?
Sanctifying grace is that grace which makes the soul holy and pleasing to God, and confers on it a new and supernatural life which makes it share in the nature of God Himself (II. Peter i,4).
118. What other effects has sanctifying grace?
Sanctifying grace makes us the adopted children of God, the temples of the Holy Ghost and heirs to the kingdom of heaven.
119. Is sanctifying grace necessary for salvation?
Sanctifying grace is necessary for salvation, for without it we are the enemies of God and have not a right to the kingdom of heaven.
120. What is actual grace?
Actual grace is a special help given to us by God to do good acts and avoid sin.
121. Is actual grace necessary for salvation?
Actual grace is necessary for all who have reached the use of reason, for without it we can do nothing to merit heaven.
122. What are the principal means of obtaining grace?
The principal means of obtaining grace are prayer and the sacraments.
123. Can we merit grace and a heavenly reward?
Provided we are in the state of grace, we can, by our good works, merit an increase of grace and eternal life (I. Cor. x, 31)

Monday, February 22, 2010

Part I, Chapter VIII. The Redemption

93. What is meant by the Redemption?
By the Redemption is meant that Jesus Christ made atonement to God for our sins and merited for us the grace by which, from being enemies of God, we can become his adopted children (John i, 12).
94. How did Christ redeem us?
Christ redeemed us by his sufferings and by his death on the cross.
95. How did Christ die?
On Good Friday Christ was crucified and died nailed to the cross.
96. Who condemned Christ to death?
Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, condemned Christ to death at the desire of the Jews.
97. What lessons do the sufferings and death of Christ teach us?
The sufferings and death of Christ teach us the wickedness of sin, the necessity of penance and the greatness of God's love for us.
98. How do we show our belief in the Redemption?
We show our belief in the Redemption by making upon ourselves the sign of the Cross.
99. Where did Christ's soul go after his death?
After Christ's death his soul descended into hell: this was not the hell of the damned, but a place or state of rest called limbo.
100. Who were in limbo?
The souls of the just who died before Christ were in limbo, awaiting the redemption.
101. Why were the souls of the just detained in limbo?
The souls of the just were detained in limbo, because heaven was shut against mankind by the sin of Adam, and was opened only by the death of Christ.
102. Why did Christ descend into limbo?
Christ descended into limbo to announce to the just the joyful news of their redemption (I Pet. iii,19).
103. Where was Christ's body, while his soul was in limbo?
While Christ's soul was in limbo, his body was in the tomb.
104. Did Christ rise from the dead?
On Easter Sunday, the third day after his death, Christ arose, body and soul, glorious and triumphant, from the dead.
105. What does the resurrection of Christ prove?
By raising Himself from the dead Christ proved that He is truly God (John ii, 19-22).
106. How long did Christ remain on earth after his resurrection?
Christ remained on earth forty days after his resurrection, to show that He was truly risen from the dead and to instruct his apostles.
107. When did Christ ascend into heaven?
On Ascension Thursday, forty days after his resurrection, Christ ascended from Mount Olivet, body and soul, into heaven.
108. Where is Christ in heaven?
In heaven Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
109. What do we mean when we say that Christ sits at the right hand of God?
We mean that while Christ as God is equal to the father in all things, as man He is in the highest place in heaven, next to God in power and glory.
110. What do we mean when we say: From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead?
We mean that on the last day Christ will come again to judge all men according to their works.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Part I, Chapter VII. The Incarnation

73. What is meant by the Incarnation?
The Incarnation means that God the Son, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, became man.
74. Why did God the Son become man?
God the Son became man to redeem us from sin, and to restore to us the life of divine grace.
75. Did God the Son become man soon after the fall of our first parents?
God the Son did not become man for thousands of years after the fall of our first parents.
76. In what condition was mankind before the Incarnation?
Before the incarnation, mankind was steeped in idolatry, ignorance of the true religion and vice (Rom. i, 21-32).
77. How could they be saved who lived before the Incarnation?
They who lived before God the Son became man could be saved by believing in the Redeemer to come and by keeping the law of God.
78. How did God the Son become man?
God the Son became man by taking a body and soul like ours, in the chaste womb of the Virgin Mary, by the power of the Holy Ghost (Luke i, 35).
79. On what day did the Son of God become man?
God the Son became man on the day of the Annunciation, about two thousand years ago.
80. Why is the day of the Annunciation so called?
The day of the Annunciation is so called, because on that day the angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary: Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus (Luke i, 31).
81. What is the meaning of the word Jesus?
The word Jesus means Saviour; and this name was given to the Son of God made man, because He was to save his people from their sins (Matt. i, 21).
82. Why is Jesus also called Christ?
Jesus is called Christ, that is, the Anointed, because he was the anointed redeemer promised by God.
83. What do we believe Jesus Christ to be?
We believe Jesus Christ to be true God and true man.
84. Who is the Father of Jesus Christ?
God is the Father of Jesus Christ: St. Joseph was his foster-father or guardian.
85. Is the Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of God?
The Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of God, because Jesus Christ her son is truly God.
86. On what day was Jesus Christ born?
Jesus Christ was born on Christmas day in a stable at Bethlehem.
87. How long did Christ live on earth?
Christ lived on earth about thirty-three years and led a most holy life, in poverty and suffering.
88. How did Christ spend the early years of his life on earth?
Until He was about thirty, Christ lived in subjection to his parents at Nazareth, and helped by his labours to provide for the needs of the home.
89. How did Christ spend the last years of his life?
Christ spent the last years of his life preaching to the people, instructing his apostles and disciples, healing the sick and working many other miracles.
90. Did Jesus Christ claim to be God?
Yes, Jesus claimed to be truly God, and proved his claim by the wonderful miracles which He worked (John v, 36-38).
91. Who were the disciples of Jesus?
The disciples of Jesus were the men and women who believed in Him.
92. Who were the apostles of Jesus?
The apostles were the twelve men specially chosen by our Divine Lord to preach his doctrine to mankind.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Part I, Chapter VI. Actual Sin

60. What is actual sin?
Actual sin is the sin which we ourselves commit, by any wilful thought, word, deed or omission contrary to the law of God.
61. How many kinds of actual sin are there?
There are two kinds of actual sin: mortal sin and venial sin.
62. When is a sin mortal?
A sin is mortal when the act is greviously wrong, and is committed with clear knowledge and full consent.
63. Why is mortal sin so called?
The word mortal means deadly, and a sin is called mortal, because it takes away the supernatural life of the soul, which is sanctifying grace.
64. What other evil effects has mortal sin?
Mortal sin takes away the friendship of God, the merit of good works already performed, and the right to heaven.
65. Where do they go who die in mortal sin?
They who die in mortal sin go to hell for all eternity.
66. When is a sin venial?
A sin is venial when the act is not greviously wrong, or is committed without clear knowledge or without full consent.
67. What are the effects of venial sin?
Venial sin makes us less fervent in the service of God, weakens our power to resist temptation, and renders us liable to punishment by God in this life or in purgatory, but it does not deprive the soul of sanctifying grace.
68. What are the capital or deadly sins?
The capital or deadly sins are: pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth.
69. Why are they called capital sins?
They are called capital sins, because they are the chief vices in which sin has its source.
70. How are people led to commit sin?
People are led to commit sin by the temptations of the devil, by their own evil passions, and by sinful occasions.
71. What is an occasion of sin?
By an occasion of sin is meant any person, place or thing, that entices us to sin.
72. How can we avoid committing sin?
We can avoid sin, by being on our guard against temptation, by practising self-denial and by praying earnestly for the grace of God (John xv, 5; Mark xiii, 33; viii, 34)).

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Part I, Chapter V: Our First Parents: Original Sin

50. Who were the first man and woman?
The first man and woman were Adam and Eve, the first parents of the whole human race.
51. What special gifts did God give our first parents?
God gave our first parents sanctifying grace, full control of their passions, and freedom from suffering and death.
52. Did God intend the special gifts of Adam and Eve for their descendants also?
Yes, God would have given these gifts to the descendants of our first parents, if Adam, the head of the human race, had obeyed his command.
53. What special command did God give Adam and Eve?
God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of a certain tree in the garden of Paradise.
54. Did Adam and Eve obey the command of God?
Adam and Eve did not obey the command of God: they were tempted by the devil, and ate the forbidden fruit.
55. How were our first parents punished by God for their sin?
Our first parents lost sanctifying grace and their other special gifts, and were driven out of the garden of Paradise.
56. Have we, the children of Adam, suffered because of his sin?
Because of Adam's sin, we are born without sanctifying grace, our intellect is darkened, our will is weakened, our passions incline us to evil, and we are subject to suffering and death.
57. How do we call the state in which we are born because of the sin of Adam?
The state in which we are born because of the sin of Adam is called the state of original sin.
58. Why is original sin so called?
Original sin is so called, because it comes down to us through our origin or descent from Adam, the head of the human race.
59. Was any human person ever preserved from original sin?
The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, was preserved free from original sin, and this privilege is called her Immaculate Conception.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Part I, Chapter IV. Man and the Purpose of his Ceation.

34. What is man?
Man is a creature composed of body and soul, and made by God to His own likeness.
35. In what is man made like to God?
Man is made like to God in his soul.
36. How is man's soul like to God?
Man's soul is like to God, because it is a spirit, capable of knowing and loving God.
37. How do we know that the soul is a spirit?
We know that the soul is a spirit, because man thinks, reasons and freely wills.
38. Is man's soul immortal?
Man's soul is immortal, that is, it can never die.
39. Why did God make us?
God made us to know, love and serve Him here on earth, and, by this means, to be happy with Him forever in heaven.
40. How can we know God?
We can know God by our reason and from divine revelation.
41. How can we know God by our reason?
We can know God by our reason from the existence, order and beauty of the world which He has made.
42. What do we mean by divine revelation?
By divine revelation we mean that God has made known to us certain truths about Himself and our duties to Him.
43. How has God made known these truths?
God has made known these truths through His chosen messengers, and especially through his Divine Son, Jesus Christ.
44. Where are the truths of revelation to be found?
The truths of revelation are to be found in Sacred Scripture and Tradition.
45. What do we mean by Sacred Scripture?
By Sacred Scripture we mean the books of the Bible, which were all so written under the inspiration of God that he is truly their author.
46. What do we mean by Tradition?
By Tradition we mean those revealed truths not written in the Bible, but handed down to us by the Church.
47. Which prayer contains the principal truths that God has revealed?
The principal truths that God has revealed are contained in the Apostles' Creed.
48. Are there some truths revealed by God that we cannot fully understand?
There are some truths revealed by God that we cannot fully understand; these truths are called mysteries of religion.
49. Why do we believe mysteries of religion?
We believe mysteries of religion because they were made known to us by God, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.