Baltimore Catechism Volume Iii Part 35

A. Persons may be related in four ways. When they are related by blood their relationship is called consanguinity; when they are related by marriage it is called affinity; when they are related by being G.o.d-parents in Baptism or Confirmation, it is called spiritual affinity; when they are related by adoption, it is called legal affinity.

Q. 1034. {287} Who has the right to make laws concerning the Sacrament of marriage?

A. The Church alone has the right to make laws concerning the Sacrament of marriage, though the state also has the right to make laws concerning the civil effects of the marriage contract.

Q. 1035. What do we mean by laws concerning the civil effects of the marriage contract?

A. By laws concerning the civil effects of the marriage contract we mean laws with regard to the property or debts of the husband and wife, the inheritance of their children, or whatever pertains to their temporal affairs. All persons are bound to obey the laws of their country when these laws are not opposed to the laws of G.o.d.

Q. 1036. {288} Does the Church forbid the marriage of Catholics with persons who have a different religion or no religion at all?

A. The Church does forbid the marriage of Catholics with persons who have a different religion or no religion at all.

Q. 1037. {289} Why does the Church forbid the marriage of Catholics with persons who have a different religion or no religion at all?

A. The Church forbids the marriage of Catholics with persons who have a different religion, or no religion at all, because such marriages generally lead to indifference, loss of faith, and to the neglect of the religious education of the children.

Q. 1038. What are the marriages of Catholics with persons of a different religion called, and when does the Church permit them by dispensation?

A. The marriages of Catholics with persons of a different religion are called mixed marriages. The Church permits them by dispensation only under certain conditions and for urgent reasons; chiefly to prevent a greater evil.

Q. 1039. What are the conditions upon which the Church will permit a Catholic to marry one who is not a Catholic?

A. The conditions upon which the Church will permit a Catholic to marry one who is not a Catholic are: (1) That the Catholic be allowed the free exercise of his or her religion; (2) that the Catholic shall try by teaching and good example to lead the one who is not a Catholic to embrace the true faith; (3) that all the children born of the marriage shall be brought up in the Catholic religion. The marriage ceremony must not be repeated before a heretical minister. Without these promises, the Church will not consent to a mixed marriage, and if the Church does not consent the marriage is unlawful.

Q. 1040. What penalty does the Church impose on Catholics who marry before a Protestant minister?

A. Catholics who marry before a Protestant minister incur excommunication; that is, a censure of the Church or spiritual penalty which prevents them from receiving the Sacrament of Penance till the priest who hears their confession gets special faculties or permission from the bishop; because by such a marriage they make profession of a false religion in acknowledging as a priest one who has neither sacred power nor authority.

Q. 1041. How does the Church show its displeasure at mixed marriages?

A. The Church shows its displeasure at mixed marriages by the coldness with which it sanctions them, prohibiting all religious ceremony at them by forbidding the priest to use any sacred vestments, holy water or blessing of the ring at such marriages; by prohibiting them also from taking place in the Church or even in the sacristy. On the other hand, the Church shows its joy and approval at a true Catholic marriage by the Nuptial Ma.s.s and solemn ceremonies.

Q. 1042. Why should Catholics avoid mixed marriages?

A. Catholics should avoid mixed marriages (1) Because they are displeasing to the Church and cannot bring with them the full measure of G.o.d's grace and blessing; (2) because the children should have the good example of both parents in the practice of their religion; (3) because such marriages give rise to frequent disputes on religious questions between husband and wife and between their relatives; (4) because the one not a Catholic, disregarding the sacred character of the Sacrament, may claim a divorce and marry again, leaving the Catholic married and abandoned.

Q. 1043. Does the Church seek to make converts by its laws concerning mixed marriages?

A. The Church does not seek to make converts by its laws concerning mixed marriages, but seeks only to keep its children from losing their faith and becoming perverts by constant company with persons not Catholics. The Church does not wish persons to become Catholics merely for the sake of marrying Catholics. Such conversions are, as a rule, not sincere, do no good, but rather make such converts hypocrites and guilty of greater sins, especially sins of sacrilege.

Q. 1044. {290} Why do many marriages prove unhappy?

A. Many marriages prove unhappy because they are entered into hastily and without worthy motives.

Q. 1045. When are marriages entered into hastily?

A. Marriages are entered into hastily when persons do not sufficiently consider and investigate the character, habits and dispositions of the one they intend to marry. It is wise to look for lasting qualities and solid virtues in a life-long companion and not to be carried away with characteristics that please only for a time.

Q. 1046. When are motives for marriage worthy?

A. Motives for marriage are worthy when persons enter it for the sake of doing G.o.d's will and fulfilling the end for which He inst.i.tuted the Sacrament. Whatever is opposed to the true object of the Sacrament and the sanctification of the husband and wife must be an unworthy motive.

Q. 1047. {291} How should Christians prepare for a holy and happy marriage?

A. Christians should prepare for a holy and happy marriage by receiving the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist; by begging G.o.d to grant them a pure intention and to direct their choice; and by seeking the advice of their parents and the blessing of their pastors.

Q. 1048. How may parents be guilty of great injustice to their children in case of marriage?

A. Parents may be guilty of great injustice to their children in case of marriage by seeking the gratification of their own aims and desires, rather than the good of their children, and thus for selfish and unreasonable motives forcing their children to marry persons they dislike or preventing them from marrying the persons chosen by the dictates of their conscience, or compelling them to marry when they have no vocation for such a life or no true knowledge of its obligations.

Q. 1049. May persons receive the Sacrament of Matrimony more than once?

A. Persons may receive the sacrament of Matrimony more than once, provided they are certain of the death of the former husband or wife and comply with the laws of the Church.

Q. 1050. Where and at what time of the day should Catholics be married?

A. Catholics should be married before the altar in the Church. They should be married in the morning, and with a Nuptial Ma.s.s if possible.

Q. 1051. What must never be forgotten by those who attend a marriage ceremony in the Church?

A. They who attend a marriage ceremony in the Church must never forget the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and that all laughing, talking, or irreverence is forbidden then as at other times. Women must never enter into the presence of the Blessed Sacrament with uncovered heads, and their dress must be in keeping with the strict modesty that Our Lord's presence demands, no matter what worldly vanity or social manners may require.

LESSON TWENTY-SEVENTH.

ON THE SACRAMENTALS.

Q. 1052. {292} What is a sacramental?

A. A sacramental is anything set apart or blessed by the Church to excite good thoughts and to increase devotion, and through these movements of the heart to remit venial sin.

Q. 1053. How do the Sacramentals excite good thoughts and increase devotion?

A. The Sacramentals excite good thoughts by recalling to our minds some special reason for doing good and avoiding evil; especially by reminding us of some holy person, event or thing through which blessings have come to us. They increase devotion by fixing our minds on particular virtues and by helping us to understand and desire them.

Q. 1054. Do the Sacramentals of themselves remit venial sins?

A. The Sacramentals of themselves do not remit venial sins, but they move us to truer devotion, to greater love for G.o.d and greater sorrow for our sins, and this devotion, love and sorrow bring us grace, and the grace remits venial sins.

Q. 1055. Why does the Church use Sacramentals?

A. The Church uses Sacramentals to teach the faithful of every cla.s.s the truths of religion, which they may learn as well by their sight as by their hearing; for G.o.d wishes us to learn His laws by every possible means, by every power of soul and body.

Q. 1056. Show by an example how Sacramentals aid the ignorant in learning the truths of faith.

A. Sacramentals aid the ignorant in learning the truths of faith as children learn from pictures before they are able to read. Thus one who cannot read the account of Our Lord's pa.s.sion may learn it from the Stations of the Cross, and one who kneels before a crucifix and looks on the bleeding head, pierced hands and wounded side, is better able to understand Christ's sufferings than one without a crucifix before him.

Q. 1057. What are the Stations or Way of the Cross?

A. The Stations or Way of the Cross is a devotion inst.i.tuted by the Church to aid us in meditating on Christ's pa.s.sion and death. Fourteen crosses or stations, each with a picture of some scene in the pa.s.sion, are arranged at distances apart. By pa.s.sing from one station to another and praying before each while we meditate upon the scene it represents, we make the Way of the Cross in memory of Christ's painful journey during His pa.s.sion, and we gain the indulgence granted for this pious exercise.

Q. 1058. Are prayers and ceremonies of the Church also Sacramentals?

A. Prayers and ceremonies of the Church are also Sacramentals because they excite good thoughts and increase devotion. Whatever the Church dedicates to a pious use or devotes to the worship of G.o.d may be called a Sacramental.

Q. 1059. On what ground does the Church make use of ceremonies?

A. The Church makes use of ceremonies (1) After the example of the Old Law, in which G.o.d described and commanded ceremonies; (2) after the example of Our Lord, who rubbed clay on the eyes of the blind to whom He wished to restore sight, though He might have performed the miracle without any external act; (3) on the authority of the Church itself, to whom Christ gave power to do whatever was necessary for the instruction of all men; (4) to add solemnity to religious acts.

Q. 1060. How may persons sin in using Sacramentals?

A. Persons may sin in using Sacramentals by using them in a way or for a purpose prohibited by the Church; also by believing that the use of Sacramentals will save us in spite of our sinful lives. We must remember that Sacramentals can aid us only through the blessing the Church gives them and through the good dispositions they excite in us. They have, therefore, no power in themselves, and to put too much confidence in their use leads to superst.i.tion.

Q. 1061. {293} What is the difference between the Sacraments and the sacramentals?

A. The difference between the Sacraments and the sacramentals is: 1st.

The Sacraments were inst.i.tuted by Jesus Christ and the sacramentals were inst.i.tuted by the Church; 2d. The Sacraments give grace of themselves when we place no obstacle in the way; the sacramentals excite in us pious dispositions, by means of which we may obtain grace.

Q. 1062. May the Church increase or diminish the number of Sacraments and Sacramentals?

A. The Church can never increase nor diminish the number of Sacraments, for as Christ Himself inst.i.tuted them, He alone has power to change their number; but the Church may increase or diminish the number of the Sacramentals as the devotion of its people or the circ.u.mstances of the time and place require, for since the Church inst.i.tuted them they must depend entirely upon its laws.

Q. 1063. {294} Which is the chief sacramental used in the Church?

A. The chief sacramental used in the Church is the sign of the cross.

Q. 1064. {295} How do we make the sign of the cross?