Baltimore Catechism Volume Iv Part 4

"Everywhere"--not spread out like a great cloud, but whole and entire in every particular place: and yet there is only one G.o.d, and not as many G.o.ds as there are places. How this can be we cannot fully understand, because this also is a mystery. A simile, though it will not be perfect, may help you to understand. When we speak of G.o.d, we can never give a true and perfect example; for we cannot find anything exactly like Him to compare to Him. If I discharge a great cannon in a city, every one of the inhabitants will hear the report; not in such a way that each hearer gets his share of the sound, but each hears the whole report, just as if he were the only one to hear it. Now, how is that? There are not as many reports as there are persons listening; and yet each person hears the whole report.

16 Q. If G.o.d is everywhere, why do we not see Him?

A. We do not see G.o.d because He is a pure spirit and cannot be seen with bodily eyes.

"Pure spirit," that is, not clothed with any material body--spirit alone.

17 Q. Does G.o.d see us?

A. G.o.d sees us and watches over us.

"Watches" to protect, to reward or punish us. He watches continually; He not only watches, but keeps us alive. G.o.d might have created us and then paid no more attention to us; but if He had done so, we should have fallen back again into nothingness. Therefore He preserves us every moment of our lives. We cannot draw a breath without Him. If a steam engine be required to work ceaselessly, you cannot, after setting it in motion, leave it henceforth entirely to itself. You must keep up the supply of water and fire necessary for the generation of steam, you must oil the machinery, guard against overheating or cooling, and, in a word, keep a constant watch that nothing may interfere with its motion. So also G.o.d not only watches His creatures, but likewise provides for them.

Since we depend so much upon Him, is it not great folly to sin against Him, to offend, and tempt Him as it were? There are some birds that build their nests on the sides of great rocky precipices by the seacoast. Their eggs are very valuable, and men are let down by long ropes to take them from the nest. Now while one of these men is hanging over the fearful precipice, his life is entirely in the hands of those holding the rope above. While he is in that danger do you not think he would be very foolish to tempt and insult those on whom his life depends, when they could dash him to pieces by simply dropping the rope?

While we live here upon earth we are all hanging over a great precipice, namely, eternity; G.o.d holds us by the little thread of our lives, and if He pleased to drop it we should be hurled into eternity. If we tempt or insult Him, He might drop or cut the thread while we are in mortal sin, and then, body and soul, we go down into h.e.l.l.

18 Q. Does G.o.d know all things?

A. G.o.d knows all things, even our most secret thoughts, words, and actions.

Certainly G.o.d "knows all things." First, because He is infinitely wise, and if He were ignorant of anything He would not be so. Secondly, because He is everywhere and sees and hears all. Darkness does not hide from His view, nor noise prevent Him from hearing. How could we sin if we thought of this! G.o.d is just here, looking at me and listening to me.

Would I do what I am going to do now if I knew my parents, relatives, and friends were watching me? Would I like them to know that I am thinking about things sinful, and preparing to do shameful acts? No! Why then should I feel ashamed to let G.o.d see and know of this wicked thought or action? They might know it and yet be unable to harm me, but He, all-powerful, could destroy me instantly. Nay, more; not only will G.o.d see and know this evil deed or thought; but, by His gift, the Blessed Mother, the angels and saints will know of it and be ashamed of it before G.o.d, and, most of all, my guardian angel will deplore it.

Besides, this sin will be revealed to the whole world on the last day, and my friends, relatives, and neighbors will know that I was guilty of it.

19 Q. Can G.o.d do all things?

A. G.o.d can do all things, and nothing is hard or impossible to Him.

20 Q. Is G.o.d just, holy, and merciful?

A. G.o.d is all just, all holy, all merciful, as He is infinitely perfect.

"All just"--that is, most just. "Just" means to give to everyone what belongs to him--to reward if it is merited or to punish if it is deserved. "Holy"--that is, good. "Merciful" means compa.s.sionate, forgiving, less exacting than severe justice demands. In a court a just judge is one who listens patiently to all the arguments for and against the prisoner, and then, comparing one with the other, gives the sentence exactly in accordance with the guilt. If he inflicts more or less punishment than the prisoner deserves, or for money or anything else gives an unfair sentence, then he is an unjust judge. The judge might be merciful in this way. The laws say that for the crime of which this prisoner is proved guilty he can be sent to prison for a term not longer than ten years and not shorter than five: that is, for anything between ten and five years. The judge could give him the full ten years that the law allows and be just. But suppose he believed that the prisoner did not know the law and did not intend to be as wicked as he was proved; or that it was his first offense, or that he heard the prisoner's mother, who was old and infirm, pleading for him and saying he was her only support; or other extenuating circ.u.mstances that could awaken sympathy: the judge might be merciful and sentence him for the shortest term the law allows. But if the judge dismissed every prisoner, no matter how guilty, without punishment, he would not be a merciful but an unjust judge, who would soon be forced to leave the court. In the same way, G.o.d is often merciful to sinners and punishes them less than He could in strict justice. But if He were to allow every sinner to go without any punishment whatsoever--as unbelievers say He should do, by having no h.e.l.l for the wicked--then He would not be just. For as G.o.d is an Infinite Being, all His perfections must be infinite; that is, He must be as infinitely just as He is infinitely merciful, true, wise, or powerful.

Now He has promised to punish sin; and since He is infinitely true, He must keep His promise.

Lesson 3 ON THE UNITY AND TRINITY OF G.o.d

"Unity" means to be one, and "Trinity," three in one.

21 Q. Is there but one G.o.d?

A. Yes; there is but one G.o.d.

22 Q. Why can there be but one G.o.d?

A. There can be but one G.o.d because G.o.d, being supreme and infinite, cannot have an equal.

"Supreme," that is, the highest. "Equal," when two are equal one has everything the other has. You could say one pen is the equal of another if it is just as nice and will write just as well; one mechanic is the equal of another if he can do the work equally well. Two boys are equal in cla.s.s if they have exactly the same marks at the end of the month or year. You could not have two persons chief. For example, you could not have two chief generals in an army; two presidents in the nation, or two governors in a state, or two mayors in a city, or two princ.i.p.als in a school, unless they divide equally their power, and then they will be equals and neither of them chief. G.o.d cannot divide His power with anyone--so as to give it away entirely--because we say He is infinite, and that means to have all. Others have only the loan of their power from G.o.d. Therefore, all power and authority come from G.o.d; so that when we disobey our parents or superiors who are placed over us, we disobey G.o.d Himself.

23 Q. How many persons are there in G.o.d?

A. In G.o.d there are three divine persons really distinct and equal in all things--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

"Distinct," not mingled together. We call the first and second persons Father and Son, because the second is begotten by the first person, and not to indicate that there is any difference in their age. We always see in the world that a father is older than his son, so we get the idea perhaps that it is the same in the Holy Trinity. But it is not so. G.o.d the Father, and G.o.d the Son, and G.o.d the Holy Ghost existed from all eternity, and one did not exist before the other. G.o.d the Son is just as old as G.o.d the Father, and this is another great mystery. Even in nature we see that two things may begin to exist at the same time, and yet one be the cause of the other. You know that fire is the cause of heat; and yet the heat and the fire begin at the same time. Though we cannot understand this mystery of the Father and Son, we must believe it on the authority of G.o.d, who teaches it. First, second, and third person in the Blessed Trinity does not mean, therefore, that one person was before the other, or brought into existence by the other.

24 Q. Is the Father G.o.d?

A. The Father is G.o.d and the first Person of the Blessed Trinity.

25 Q. Is the Son G.o.d?

A. The Son is G.o.d and the second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

26 Q. Is the Holy Ghost G.o.d?

A. The Holy Ghost is G.o.d and the third Person of the Blessed Trinity.

27 Q. What do you mean by the Blessed Trinity?

A. By the Blessed Trinity I mean one G.o.d in three Divine Persons.

*28 Q. Are the three Divine Persons equal in all things?

A. The three Divine Persons are equal in all things.

29 Q. Are the three Divine Persons one and the same G.o.d?

A. The three Divine Persons are one and the same G.o.d, having one and the same divine nature and substance.

Though they are one and the same, we sometimes attribute different works to them. For example, works of creation we attribute to G.o.d the Father; works of mercy to G.o.d the Son; and works of love and sanctification to the Holy Ghost; and you will often find them thus spoken of in pious books; but all such works are done by all the Persons of the Trinity; because such works are the works of G.o.d, and there is but one G.o.d.

*30 Q. Can we fully understand how the three Divine Persons are one and the same G.o.d?

A. We cannot fully understand how the three Divine Persons are one and the same G.o.d, because this is a mystery.

"Fully"--entirely. We can partly understand it. We know what one G.o.d is and we know what three persons are; but how these two things go together is the part we do not understand--the mystery.

*31 Q. What is a mystery?

A. A mystery is a truth which we cannot fully understand.

"A truth," that is, a revealed truth--one made known to us by G.o.d or His Church. It is a truth which we must believe though we cannot understand it. Let us take an example. When a boy goes to school he is taught that the earth is round like an orange and revolving in two ways, one causing day and night and the other producing the seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter. The boy goes out into the country where he sees miles of level land and mountains thousands of feet in height. Again he goes out on the ocean where sailors tell him it is several miles in depth.

Now he may say: how can the earth be round if deep valleys, high mountains, and level plains prove to my senses the very opposite, and the countless things at rest upon its surface tell me it is motionless.

Yet he believes even against the testimony of his senses that the earth is round and moving, because his teacher could have no motive in deceiving him; knows better than he, having learned more, and besides has been taught by others who after long years of careful study and research have discovered these things and know them to be true. If therefore we have to believe things that we do not understand on the authority of men, why should we not believe other truths on the authority of G.o.d? Yes, we must believe Him. If a boy knew all his teacher knew there would be no need of his going to school; he would be the equal in knowledge of his teacher, and if we knew all that G.o.d knows we would be as great as He. As well might we try to empty the whole ocean into the tiny holes that children dig in the sand by its sh.o.r.e, as fully to comprehend the wisdom of G.o.d. This is the mistake unbelievers make when they wish to understand with their limited intelligence the boundless knowledge and mysterious ways of G.o.d, and when they cannot understand refuse to believe. Are they not extremely foolish? Would you not ridicule the boy who refuses to believe that the earth is round and moving because he cannot understand it? As he grows older and learns more he will comprehend it better; so we, when we leave this world and come into the presence of G.o.d, shall see clearly many things that are unintelligible now. For the present, we have only to believe them on the authority of G.o.d teaching us. Another example. We take two little black seeds that look just alike and place them in the same kind of soil; we put the same kind of water upon them; they have the same sunlight and air, and yet when they grow up one has a red flower and one a blue.

Where did the red and where did the blue come from? From the black seed, or the brown soil, or the pure water, air and sunlight? We do not know.

It is there, and that is all. We see it and believe it, though we do not understand it.

So if we refuse to believe everything we do not understand, we shall soon believe very little and make ourselves ridiculous.

Lesson 4 ON CREATION

This lesson treats of G.o.d bringing everything into existence. The chief things created may be cla.s.sed as follows: (1) The things that simply exist, as rocks, and minerals--gold, silver, iron, etc. (2) Things that exist, grow, and live like plants and trees. (3) Things that grow, live, and feel, like animals. (4) Things that grow, live, feel, and understand, like men. Besides these we have the sun, moon, stars, etc.; all things too that we can see, and also Heaven, Purgatory, h.e.l.l, and good and bad angels. All these are the works of G.o.d's creation. All these He has called into existence by merely wishing for them.

*32 Q. Who created Heaven and earth, and all things?

A. G.o.d created Heaven and earth, and all things.

"Heaven," where G.o.d is and will always be. It means, too, everything we see in the sky above us. "Earth," the globe on which we live.