Baltimore Catechism Volume Ii Part 12

1. I am the Lord thy G.o.d, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange G.o.ds before Me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them.

2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy G.o.d in vain.

3. Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day.

4. Honor thy father and thy mother.

5. Thou shalt not kill.

6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

7. Thou shalt not steal.

8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.

314. Q. Who gave the Ten Commandments?

A. G.o.d Himself gave the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, and Christ our Lord confirmed them.

LESSON THIRTIETH ON THE FIRST COMMANDMENT

315. Q. What is the first Commandment?

A. The first Commandment is: I am the Lord thy G.o.d: thou shalt not have strange G.o.ds before Me.

316. Q. How does the first Commandment help us to keep the great Commandment of the love of G.o.d?

A. The first Commandment helps us to keep the great Commandment of the love of G.o.d because it commands us to adore G.o.d alone.

317. Q. How do we adore G.o.d?

A. We adore G.o.d by faith, hope, and charity, by prayer and sacrifice.

318. Q. How may the first Commandment be broken?

A. The first Commandment may be broken by giving to a creature the honor which belongs to G.o.d alone; by false worship; and by attributing to a creature a perfection which belongs to G.o.d alone.

319. Q. Do those who make use of spells and charms, or who believe in dreams, in mediums, spiritists, fortune-tellers, and the like, sin against the first Commandment?

A. Those who make use of spells and charms, or who believe in dreams, in mediums, spiritists, fortunetellers and the like, sin against the first Commandment, because they attribute to creatures perfections which belong to G.o.d alone.

320. Q. Are sins against faith, hope and charity also sins against the first Commandment?

A. Sins against faith, hope, and charity are also sins against the first Commandment.

321. Q. How does a person sin against faith?

A. A person sins against faith: 1st, by not trying to know what G.o.d has taught; 2d, by refusing to believe all that G.o.d has taught; 3d, by neglecting to profess his belief in what G.o.d has taught.

322. Q. How do we fail to try to know what G.o.d has taught?

A. We fail to try to know what G.o.d has taught by neglecting to learn the Christian doctrine.

323. Q. Who are they who do not believe all that G.o.d has taught?

A. They who do not believe all that G.o.d has taught are the heretics and infidels.

324. Q. Who are they who neglect to profess their belief in what G.o.d has taught?

A. They who neglect to profess their belief in what G.o.d has taught are all those who fail to acknowledge the true Church in which they really believe.

325. Q. Can they who fail to profess their faith in the true Church in which they believe expect to be saved while in that state?

A. They who fail to profess their faith in the true Church in which they believe cannot expect to be saved while in that state, for Christ has said: "Whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven."

326. Q. Are we obliged to make open profession of our faith?

A. We are obliged to make open profession of our faith as often as G.o.d's honor, our neighbor's spiritual good, or our own requires it.

"Whosoever," says Christ, "shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven."

327. Q. Which are the sins against hope?

A. The sins against hope are presumption and despair.

328. Q. What is presumption?

A. Presumption is a rash expectation of salvation without making proper use of the necessary means to obtain it.

329. Q. What is despair?

A. Despair is the loss of hope in G.o.d's mercy.

330. Q. How do we sin against the love of G.o.d?

A. We sin against the love of G.o.d by all sin, but particularly by mortal sin.

LESSON THIRTY-FIRST THE FIRST COMMANDMENT--ON THE HONOR AND INVOCATION OF SAINTS

331. Q. Does the first Commandment forbid the honoring of the saints?

A. The first Commandment does not forbid the honoring of the saints, but rather approves of it; because by honoring the saints, who are the chosen friends of G.o.d, we honor G.o.d Himself.

332. Q. Does the first Commandment forbid us to pray to the saints?

A. The first Commandment does not forbid us to pray to the saints.

333. Q. What do we mean by praying to the saints?

A. By praying to the saints we mean the asking of their help and prayers.

334. Q. How do we know that the saints hear us?

A. We know that the saints hear us, because they are with G.o.d, who makes our prayers known to them.

335. Q. Why do we believe that the saints will help us?

A. We believe that the saints will help us because both they and we are members of the same Church, and they love us as their brethren.

336. Q. How are the saints and we members of the same Church?

A. The saints and we are members of the same Church, because the Church in heaven and the Church on earth are one and the same Church, and all its members are in communion with one another.

337. Q. What is the communion of the members of the Church called?

A. The communion of the members of the Church is called the communion of saints.

338. Q. What does the communion of saints mean?

A. The communion of saints means the union which exists between the members of the Church on earth with one another, and with the blessed in heaven and with the suffering souls in purgatory.

339. Q. What benefits are derived from the communion of saints?

A. The following benefits are derived from the communion of saints:--the faithful on earth a.s.sist one another by their prayers and good works, and they are aided by the intercession of the saints in heaven, while both the saints in heaven and the faithful on earth help the souls in purgatory.