rtf '/'//A. A ceofAcue PUBLICATION I I l&m . . THE SPIRITUAL WAY Twenty Carefully Prepared Inductive Lessons Presenting More than 150 Statements of the Catechism qA Preparation for Confession, Communion , Confirmation bosto* lege f iBPARY CHESTNUT hill. mass. Written by The Religious of the Cenacle Original Illustrations by Claire Armstrong Most humbly dedicated to OUR HOLY FATHER TOPE TIUS XL t> ){ °I30 ■ M For Mother, and Teacher, and Child (SMmtat: Rev. Arthur J. Scanlan, S.T.D., Censor Librorum. Jmprimatur: ►^Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York. New York, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, February 11, 1928. Copyright, 1928, by The Cenacle of St. Regis, in the State of New York. FOREWORD “Instruction is to be so accommodated to the capacity and intelligence of the hearers, that while the minds of the strong are filled with spiritual food, the little ones be not suffered to perish with hunger, asking for bread, while there is ‘none to break it unto them.’ ” Catechism of the Council of Trent. CONTENTS Lesson I. PAGE 1 Lesson II_ - 13 .Xesson III_ ... 29 Lesson IV. _ - 41 -Lesson V_ 57 ..Lesson VI. 72 ..Lesson VII. ... 89 Xesson VIII. 103 Xesson IX_ ... 117 Xesson X. . 130 ..Lesson XI_ ... 143 Lesson XII. - 156 r .Xesson XIII. ... 173 Lesson XIV. ... 186 Lesson XV. ... 198 ..Lesson XVI. ___. ... 210 ..Lesson XVII. ... 223 The Sacraments of Confirmation, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders Xesson XVIII. .... 235 Xesson { XIX. - 243 Xesson XX. _ 260 273 Appendix - THE SPIRITUAL WAY GOD THE CREATOR Lesson T (For a Boy) Let us make believe that you are a carpenter. Suppose you are going to make a box. What material and tools do you need in order to make the box? Boards , nails , hammer , saw , etc . Or, perhaps you want to make a wagon. What must you have to make the wagon? Boards , nails , wheels , [ Page 1 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY (For a Girl) Let us make believe that you are a dressmaker. You want to make a dress for your doll. What must you have in order to make the dress 4 ? Cloth, thread, needles, scissors, trim¬ mings, etc. Suppose you are a milliner. You are going to make a doll’s hat. What must you have to make the hat 4 ? A shape or a frame, ribbons or silk, flowers maybe, needles, thread, etc. (For a Boy or a Girl) Suppose your mother is going to make a cake for sup¬ per. Tell what you think she would need to make the cake. Flour, eggs, water, sugar, baking-pow¬ der, a spoon, a baking-pan, etc. If the carpenter did not have any boards, or nails, etc., could he make the box or the wagon 4 ? Why not 4 ? He could not make the box or the wagon because he would not have any¬ thing with which to make them. If the dressmaker did not have any cloth, or needles, or thread, could she make the doll’s dress 4 ? Why not 4 ? She could not make the dress because she would not have anything with which to make it. [ Page 2 ] GOD THE CREATOR If your mother did not have flour, or eggs, or butter, or fat of some kind, could she make the cake*? Why not? She could not make the cake , because she would not have anything with which to make it. Whenever you want to make anything, what do you need before you can make it? I need tools and material. Suppose you had nothing at all, what could you make? I could make nothing. So you see you cannot make something out of nothing. Do you know any boy, or any girl, or any man, or any woman who can make things out of nothing? No. But there is Someone who has the power to make things out of nothing. For, when God wanted trees and flowers, and grass to grow upon the earth which He had made, He said: “Let the earth bring forth the green herb, and such as may seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after its kind, which may have seed in itself upon the earth. And it was so done” (Genesis 1:11). [ Page 3 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY And when God made the sun, the moon, and the stars, He said: "Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven. . . . And it was so done. And God made two great lights: a greater light to rule the day; and a lesser light to rule the night: and the stars” (Genesis 1: 14-16). What is meant by the greater light? What is the lesser light? God also said: "Let the waters bring forth the creeping crea¬ ture having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven. And God created the great whales, and ev¬ ery living and moving creature, which the waters brought forth, according to their [Page 4 ] GOD THE CREATOR kinds, and every winged fowl according to its kind” (Genesis 1: 20, 21). And when God made cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth, He said: “Let the earth bring forth the living crea¬ ture in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth, according to their kinds. And it was so done” (Genesis 1: 24). So you see that in the beginning God made the land and everything growing upon it, such as trees, flowers, grass, etc., out of nothing. And God made the seas and all the fish in the seas out of nothing. And God made the sun, the moon and the stars out of nothing. “For he spoke and they were made: he com¬ manded and they were created” (Ps. 32:9). Let us memorize this verse from the Bible. We say that God made the world out of nothing. For the earth with all the people, and everything else living upon it,—the seas and everything in them,— the sun, the moon, and the stars,—all these taken to¬ gether are called the world . Now let us see if you can tell what is meant by the world . f Page 5 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Because God made the world out of nothing He is called The Creator. Who, then, is your Creator*? God is my Creator. * In the first lesson of your catechism, you will find the question ,—Who is God? And the answer is,— God is the Creator of heaven and earth and of all things. Let us see if you can give this very same answer to the question,— Who is God? Anything that God, the Creator, makes, is called a creature . This means that the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth and everything on it, the seas and ev¬ erything in them, and all that the Creator has made are creatures of God. Now you tell what is meant by the two new words which you have just learned. What is meant by Creator? What is meant by creature? We have been talking about many things that the Creator has made, but some of these things are more important than others. [ Page 6 ] GOD THE CREATOR Now, let us try to find out which are the most im¬ portant or chief creatures of God. What did God create to give us light by day and by night? What, did He create to grow upon the earth and make it very beautiful ? Which creatures of God live upon the earth? Which ones fly in the air? Which ones live in the sea? Some of God’s creatures can understand and solve problems in arithmetic and other subjects. Which creatures are these? Of all the creatures mentioned thus far, which do you think are the most important? I think the people are the most impor¬ tant. Besides people, or human beings, God has made other * beings also very important. These other beings do not Jiave bodies as we have. So they could be all around us and we would not be able to see them. Perhaps you have already heard about these other im¬ portant beings. What are they called? They are called angels. Of course, you have all seen pictures of angels, and you know that in the pictures angels look like beauti¬ ful children, or grown-up people with wings. [ Page 7 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Everyone knows that angels are not really like the pictures, because angels have no bodies, and we can¬ not see them unless God wants us to see them. But whenever God wanted any human being to see an angel, the angel probably looked like the pictures you have seen. Now you know which are the most important or chief creatures of God. Which are they*? The chief creatures of God are people and angels . The catechism says,—the chief creatures of God are ?nen and angels. You see, the word men is used instead of people. Summary Now, let us review what you have learned in this les¬ son. You have learned two words that sound very much alike. What are these words? Creator and creature . What does the word Creator mean? The word Creator means , One who makes things out of nothing . [ Page 8 ] GOD THE CREATOR Who is the Creator? God is the Creator. What does the word creature mean? A creature is anything that the Creator has made. Which are the chief creatures of God? The chief creatures of pod are men and angels. Who is God? God is the Creator of heaven and earth and of all things. Suppose a boy made a kite. To whom would the kite belong,—to the boy who made it or to some other boy? The kite would belong to the boy who made it. Suppose a girl made a dress for her doll. To whom would the doll’s dress belong,—to the girl who made it, or to some other girl? It would belong to the girl who made it. Suppose you cut a toy, such as a horse, dog, or cat, out of wood or card-board. To whom would the toy ani- * mal belong,—to you or to someone else? It would belong to me. [ Page 9 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY You know that God created the angels. Then, to Whom do the angels belong? The angels belong to God . God created all the men, women and children, that is, all the human beings in the world. To Whom, then, do all human beings belong? God is the Creator of heaven and earth and of all things. To Whom, then, do heaven and earth and all things belong? To Whom do you belong? I belong to God . Now, let us memorize some verses from the Bible which will help us to remember that God is our Creator and that we belong to Him. “Know ye that the Lord he is God: he made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 99: 3). “The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof: the world, and all they that dwell therein” (Psalm 23: 1). “Sing praises to our God, sing ye: sing praises to our king, sing ye. For God is king of all the earth” (Psalm 46:7,8). “Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Ecclesiastes 12: 1). [ Page 10 ] GOD THE CREATOR Let us memorize some of the following verses which tell in a beautiful way about the many things the Creator has made: j • ; • ‘ ■ V *' ■ >: Y - ' ** ‘ ' * : All Things Bright and Beautiful All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all. Each little flower that opens, Each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colors, He made their tiny wings. The rich man in the castle, The poor man at his gate, God made them high or lowly, And ordered their estate. The purple-headed mountain, The river running by, The sunsets and the morning That brightens up the sky. The cold wind in the winter, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden, He made them every one;— The tall trees in the greenwood, The meadows where we play, The rushes by the water We gather every day. [ Page 11 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY He gave us eyes to see them, And lips that we might tell How great is God Almighty, Who has made all things well. —Cecil Francis Alexander. Review Questions Who made the world? Tell how God made the world. Who is God? What name is given to anything that the Creator makes? Which are the chief creatures of God? To Whom do heaven and earth and all things belong? To Whom do you belong? [ Page 12 ] GOD’S IMAGE AND LIKENESS IN US Lesson II. In our last lesson we learned two words that sound much alike. Let us see if we can recall them. You know that God made heaven and earth and all things out of nothing. What is God called because He made heaven and earth and all things out of nothing? He is called Creator . Let us see if you know the other important word. It is the name for anything that the Creator has made. What is the word? Creature . Now tell the two important words that we have just recalled. Creator and creature . When we were talking about God’s creatures we learned that some of them are more important than others. Which are the most important, or the chief creatures of God? Men and angels . [ Page 13 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY In this lesson let us learn why we are called “chief creatures of God.”-.. .. In the very beginning, when God wanted to create human beings, He said: “Let us make man to our image and like¬ ness” (Genesis 1: 26). Now you tell what God said when He wanted to create human beings. Then God created the first man, and gave him some wonderful gifts. God gave the first man a body. And this was one of God’s very wonderful gifts to the first man. For this gift was to be the home, or dwelling-place, of all the other gifts. I am sure you will want to know about God’s other wonderful gifts to the first man. And before I tell you the name of another one of these gifts, suppose I tell you what the first man was able to do, because God gave this gift to him. This gift made it possible for the first man to reason, to think and to understand. What do you think the gift is called which made it possible for the first man to reason, to think and to understand 4 ? The mind 2 1 Some children say “brains” or “head,” but “mind” is the right word to use. [ Page 14 ] GOD’S IMAGE AND LIKENESS Besides a mind, God gave the first man another gift, also very wonderful. Because the first man had this gift he was able to re¬ member anything he had seen or had been told. Now can you tell the name of the gift which made it possible for the first man to remember anything he had seen, or had been told? The memory. God gave the first man still another wonderful gift. With this gift the first man was able to like things, or to dislike things. With this gift he could choose or decide about things for himself. We call this gift the will . Thus far we have been talking about four of God’s wonderful gifts to the first man. Which gift was to be the home for the other gifts? ... * # The body. Now see if you can tell the names of the other three gifts. The mind, the memory, and the will. Besides these wonderful and valuable gifts, God gave the first man another gift, more wonderful and more valuable than any of the others. [ Page IS ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY This was the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. 2 This most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty made the first man better and brighter and more like God. This most precious gift made the first man a child of God. And as a child of God, the first man belonged in heaven with God. He belonged there just as any child be¬ longs in his father’s home. Now, let us see if you can tell something about this most precious of all God’s gifts to the first man. What was this most precious gift? It was the gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. Was the first man better and brighter because God gave him this most precious gift, or would he have been just the same without it? The first man was better and brighter because God gave him this most pre¬ cious gift. 2 Of course it is understood that by the expression, “the most precious gift of shar¬ ing in God’s brightness and beauty,” as used in this lesson, is meant “grace.” We quote the definition of grace as given in the Catechism of the Council of Trent. “But grace according to the definition of the Council of Trent, a definition to which, under pain of anathema, we are bound to defer,—not only remits sin, but is also a divine quality inherent in the soul, and, as it were, a brilliant light that effaces all those sins which obscure the lustre of the soul, and invests it with increased bright¬ ness and beauty .” It does not seem advisable to use the word grace in this lesson. For the term, “sharing in God’s brightness and beauty,” seems to convey to the young learner a clearer idea of what is meant by grace. f Page 16 ] GOD’S IMAGE AND LIKENESS Because he had the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, the first man was more like Someone. Whom was he more like 4 ? He was more like God. Because God gave the first man the most precious gift of sharing in His brightness and beauty, Whose child was the first man 4 ? The first man was God’s child. As a child of God, where did the first man belong 4 ? Asa child of God, he belonged in heaven with God. Now let us review what we have been learning about the five wonderful gifts. Which gift is the home for all the other gifts 4 ? The body. I Which gift made it possible for the first man to think"? The mind . Which gift made it possible for the first man to re¬ member? The memory. Which gift made it possible for the first man to choose? The will. [ Page 17 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Which gift made the first man a child of God 1 ? The most precious gift. Why is it called the most precious gift? It is called the most precious gift , be¬ cause it is the gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. In the beginning of the lesson we talked about what God said when He created the first man. What did He say? God said: “Let us make man to our im¬ age and likeness’’ (Genesis 1:26). Now that you have learned about God’s gifts to the first man it will be very easy for you to understand what this means. For man is said to be made to the image and likeness of God, especially because he has a memory, a mind, a will and the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. Now, let us see if you can answer the question: What do we mean when we say that man is made to the image and likeness of God? We mean that he has a memory , a mind , a will and the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. god;s image and likeness Let us now see if we have any gifts like those which God gave to the first man. First think about the gift which was to be like a home or temple for all his other gifts. Have we such a gift or not? Yes, we have. What gift did God give the first man that made it pos¬ sible for him to remember? The memory. Tell me something you saw this morning. Tell me anything which you did last week. Then what gift has God given you which makes it possible for you to remember? A memory. What gift did God give the first man that made it possible for him to think? A mind. Suppose you want to write a letter to someone. Of course you must have a pencil or a pen, ink and paper. But before you begin to write,—that is, before you know just what you are going to say in the letter, what must you do? / must think. [ Page 19 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY You know that in school the teacher often gives you hard problems in arithmetic. What must you do to find the correct answer? I must think . Then what wonderful gift has God given you which makes it possible for you to think? A mind. Which gift did God give the first man that made it possible for him to choose? A will. Suppose you had some money to spend. You wanted to buy candy. What kind of candy would you buy? Why would you buy that kind of candy? Suppose your mother had a box of pictures. And she told you to take one of the pictures. Which picture would you take? What you did when you picked out the candy and the picture you liked best is called choosing. I hen what wonderful gift has God given you that makes it possible for you to choose? A will. [ Page 20 ] GOD’S IMAGE AND LIKENESS Now let us think about the most wonderful and the most valuable of all God’s gifts to the first man. What was this gift 4 ? It was the most precious gift of shar¬ ing in God’s brightness and beauty. God gave this most precious gift to the first man when He created him. But God did not give you this most precious gift when He created you. He gave it ,to you at another time. God gave you the most precious gift of sharing in His brightness and beauty when you were baptized. When the first man was given the most precious gift he became a child of God. So then, when you were baptized and received the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, what did you become to God 4 ? I became a child of God. You know that any child belongs in his father’s home. So, when anyone is baptized and becomes a loving child of Our Heavenly Father, where does he belong"? He belongs in heaven with our Heav¬ enly Father. [ Page 21 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY ✓ Now, besides the body, tell how many other gifts we have like those which God gave to the first man. Four gifts. Name these four gifts. The memory, the mind, the will and the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. GOD’S IMAGE AND LIKENESS IN US ( Continued) Second Division What is said about the first man, especially because he had a memory, a mind, a will and the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty? It is said that he was made to the image and likeness of God. And because you have a memory, a mind, a will and the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, what can be said about you? It can be said that I am made to the im¬ age and likeness of God. In the beginning of this lesson we said that we were going to learn why we are called “chief creatures of God.” [ Page 22 ] GOD’S IMAGE AND LIKENESS You have just learned that we are made to the image and likeness of God. Now, why do you think we are called “chief creatures of God”? We are called “chief creatures of God" because we are made to the image and likeness of God. That part of you which God created especially to His image and likeness is called your soul. We say that the memory, the mind and the will are powers of the soul. And the most precious gift of sharing in God’s bright¬ ness and beauty makes it easier for us To remember God, To think about God and to know Him, To choose God and to love Him. Summary Now let us review what we have.been learning about God’s image and likeness in our souls. Besides the body, name three other gifts which God gave you when He created you. God gave me a mind , a memory and a will. When did you receive the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty? / received this most precious gift when / was baptized. [ Page 23] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Why is it said that you are made to the image and likeness of God'? It is said that I am made to the image and likeness of God because I have a memory , a mind , a will , and the most precious gift of sharing in God's bright¬ ness and beauty. What name is given to that part of you which God created especially to His own image and likeness 4 ? That part of me which God created es¬ pecially to His own image and likeness is called my Soul. Among all the creatures living upon this earth, we are the only ones made to the image and likeness of God. And because of this, what are we called'? We are called “chief creatures of God? You have learned that when you were baptized you became a child of God. And we know that God our Father loves us more than anyone else ever could love us. Do you think that God, Our Loving Father, wants and expects us to think about Him and to talk to Him often during the day, or only once in a while 4 ? I think that God wants and expects us to think about Him and to talk to Him often during the day. [ Page 24 ] I GOD’S IMAGE AND LIKENESS Do you think that any child who loves Our Heavenly Father would be likely to think about Him many times during the day, or only once in a while? Any child who loves Our Heavenly Father would be likely to think about Him many times during the day. Since God is Our Loving Father, Whom should we ask for anything we need? We should ask God for anything we need. In our last lesson we learned some verses from the 46th Psalm. Let us repeat these verses: [ Page 25 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY “Sing praises to our God, sing ye: Sing praises to our King, sing ye: For God is the King of all the earth.” (Psalm 46: 7, 8.) You see that God our Father is King of all the earth. And we are His children. You know what the children of the King are called. What are the boys called? The boys are called princes. What are the girls called? The girls are called princesses. You, who are God’s children, are the children of “the King of all the earth.” You are really princes and princesses of God’s King¬ dom. [ Page 26 ] GOD’S IMAGE AND LIKENESS But in order to be pleasing to God, our King, you must act in the way that God our King wants and expects you to act. Should a prince or princess of God’s Kingdom be brave or cowardly? A prince or princess of God's Kingdom should be brave. Tell some occasions when it might be hard to be brave. Should a prince or princess of God’s Kingdom be truthful or untruthful? A prince or princess of God's Kingdom should be truthful. Tell when it might be very hard to be truthful. Should a prince or princess of God’s Kingdom be kind and gentle, or unkind and rough? A prince or princess of God's Kingdom should be kind and gentle. Tell when it might be easier to be unkind and rough than to be kind and gentle. If it were necessary for any child of God’s Kingdom to die for our King, do you think he should do it, or not? If it were necessary , any child of God's Kingdom should die for our King. [ Page 27 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Who always knows when it is hard for us to be brave or truthful, or kind and gentle 1 ? God always knows. If we want Our Loving Father to help us to be brave or truthful, or kind and gentle, what must we do? We must ask Him to help us. Review Ouestions ‘V What did God say when He created the first man? Why is it said that man is made to the image and likeness of God? ' When the first man was created, he received the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. When did you receive this most precious gift? Why are we called “chief creatures of God?” [ Page 28 ] GOD IS ALMIGHTY Lesson III. You have learned that you belong to God, first of all because He created you. And because God created you, what do you call Him? I call God Creator. You have learned that you belong to God as H is child , because you have the most precious gift of shar¬ ing in His brightness and beauty. And because you are His child, what do you call God 4 ? / call God Father. Now you know two names for God. Tell these two names. Creator and Father. To help you learn more about God our Creator and loving Father, I am going to tell you the story about something that God did thousands of years ago. Thousands of years ago the people on the earth be¬ came very, very wicked. They were so wicked that God said He was sorry He had made them. [ Page 29 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY He said He would destroy all of them. But Noe “found grace with God,”—that is, Noe was very pleasing to God. So God spared Noe and his family in this way: God told Noe just how to build a big house-boat called an ark. And when the ark was built, God told Noe to go into the ark with his family and two of every kind of living creature. Then there came a great deluge or flood of water. It rained and rained so long and so hard that the wa¬ ter covered the land and destroyed all except those who were safe in the ark. (Genesis 6-7-8.) Who is the only One mighty and powerful enough to have saved Noe and his family in this way? [ Page 30 ] GOD IS ALMIGHTY Now you tell the story of the great flood, and how God saved Noe. Let me tell you another story which will also show that God is mighty and powerful. At one time, when God’s chosen people were living in the Land of Egypt, the Egyptian king treated them very, very cruelly. They were like slaves. The people begged God to save them. And God promised that He would save them. Moses was the leader of God’s chosen people. And from time to time God sent Moses to the Egyp¬ tian king with messages, begging him not to be so cruel to the chosen people, and to allow them to wor¬ ship God in their own way. But the king was hard-hearted, and would not heed God’s messages. So after a while God did something to punish the Egyptians and their king. This is what God did to punish them. All the waters of the rivers were changed into blood. All the fish died. And, when the Egyptians drank of the water, they became sick. (Exodus 7:15-25.) [ Page 31 ] T HE SPIRITUAL WAY Of course, after this the Egyptian king was sorry, and promised to do all that Moses asked. But lie did not keep his word. So, in order to punish the Egyptians and their cruel king, God sent a plague of frogs. Frogs were everywhere. They filled all the land, the rivers, the houses, the places where the people slept, and even the ovens in which the food was cooked. There must have been millions and millions of frogs. And the people could do nothing to make them go away. Again the Egyptian king promised to let the chosen people worship God in their own way. Then the plague of frogs ceased. (Exodus 8:2-15.) But after a while the Egyptian king again forgot his promise. He treated God’s chosen people more cruelly than ever. So God sent other plagues to .punish the Egyptians and their king. He sent a plague called the plague of darkness. The whole land of Egypt was covered with a horri¬ ble darkness. It was so dark that no Egyptian could see anyone or [ Page 32 ] i ' I GOD IS ALMIGHTY anything, and not one of them could move from the place in which he was. But it was not so with God’s chosen people. There was no darkness where they were. They could see and move about just the same as be¬ fore. (Exodus 10:2-29.) Who is the only One mighty and powerful enough to punish the Egyptians in this way? What do all of these stories teach us about God? These stories teach us that God is mighty and powerful. Now you tell how the cruel Egyptians were punished by the different plagues. Let me tell you another story about God’s chosen people and the cruel Egyptians. What I am going to tell you happened while Moses was leading the chosen people out of the Land of Egypt so that they might be free from the cruel Egyp¬ tians, and could then worship God in the way that God wanted them to worship Him. Of course, the Egyptians did not want them to escape. So they pursued God’s chosen people. The chosen people were encamped on the shores of [ Page 33 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY the Red Sea, when suddenly they saw the Egyptian king and his army following them. Of course, the chosen people were very much afraid. They prayed to God to help them. And God heard their prayer. He told Moses to lead them forward. This meant that the chosen people had to cross the Red Sea. But they had no boats. And the sea was too ,big and deep and dangerous for them to swim across it. But just then something startling happened. The waters of the Red Sea divided and rolled back on either side. So there was a dry path through the middle of the sea. Then God’s chosen people marched on dry land across the Red Sea. But as soon as the Egyptians started to follow them on the dry path, the waters rolled back into place. And the whole Egyptian army was drowned. But God’s chosen people reached the other side in safety. (Exodus 14:9-31.) Who is the only One mighty and powerful enough to have saved the chosen people in this way? You have been learning about mighty things which only God can do. [ Page 34 ] GOD IS ALMIGHTY Can you think of anything that God is not mighty and powerful enough to do? Then, how mighty and powerful is God? God is mighty and powerful enough to do all things. Find the question in your Catechism which asks: “Can God do all things?” Memorize the answer to this question. We have one word which means that God is mighty and powerful enough to do all things, and that noth¬ ing is hard or impossible to Him. The word is Almighty. Now tell the new word you have learned, and what it means. Who is Almighty? God is Almighty. Summary Before beginning this lesson, you knew that God is our Creator and loving Father. [ Page 35 ] T HE SPIRITUAL WAY And now you know something else about God. What have you learned in this lesson about God? I have learned that God is Almighty. There is a prayer which begins by telling God that we believe He is our Creator , our Father , and that He is Almighty . This prayer is called “The Apostles Creed.” Let us memorize the beginning of The Apostles’ Creed. “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.” Let us try to say this part of The Apostles’ Creed every day, and especially every morning and evening. Now let us think for a while about another prayer,— the most perfect of all prayers. Which prayer is the most perfect of all prayers? The Lord's Prayer is the most perfect of all prayers. No doubt your mother has taught you The Lord’s Prayer and you already know it. But perhaps you do f Page 36 ] GOD IS ALMIGHTY not know why it is called The Lord’s Prayer. This you will learn in another lesson. Whenever we pray we speak to someone. And in The Lord’s Prayer to Whom do we speak? We speak to Our Heavenly Father. In The Lord’s Prayer when we are speaking to Our Heavenly Father what do we say? We say: “Our Father Who art in heaven” Who is the great King of all the earth? Our Heavenly Father is the great King of all the earth. We who are the children of the King should love Him so much that we want His Name to be praised and honored everywhere on the whole earth. And every day we should pray that everyone will praise and honor Our Heavenly Father’s Name. [ Page 37 ] H - W THE SPIRITUAL WAY In The Lord’s Prayer when we ask that Our Heaven¬ ly Father’s Name may be praised and honored every¬ where on the whole earth, what do we say? We say: “Hallowed be Thy nameT Say The Lord’s Prayer from the beginning. We know that as long as we possess the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, we are the princes and princesses of Our Heavenly Fa¬ ther’s kingdom. And if we are loyal and true and loving princes and princesses, we want to do everything in our power to make Our Heavenly Father’s kingdom grow and grow. As more and more souls possess the most precious gift of sharing in His brightness and beauty, Our Heav¬ enly Father’s kingdom will grow find grow. So, every day we should pray to Our Heavenly Father to give us and everyone else on earth more and more of the most precious gift of sharing in His brightness and beauty. In The Lord’s Prayer when we pray that Our Heav¬ enly Father’s kingdom may grow and grow, what do we say? We say: “Thy kingdom comeT Let us say The Lord’s Prayer from the beginning. [ Page 38 ] BOSTON college - LIBRAS' chestnut hill, vass. GOD IS ALMIGHTY While we are here in God’s earthly kingdom, there is only one way for us to be happy. And this way is by always trying to do whatever Our Heavenly Father wants us to do. When we always try to do whatever Our Heavenly Father wants us to do, we are His loyal and true and loving children. And, of course, every loyal, and true, and loving child of God wants very much to see everyone else doing whatever God wants him to do,—that is, doing Our Heavenly Father s will . In The Lord’s Prayer when we ask that everyone on earth may do Our Heavenly Father’s will as it is done in heaven, what do we say 4 ? We say: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ” Now let us say The Lord’s Prayer from the beginning. Review Ouestions What is the word which means that nothing is hard or impossible to God 4 ? Tell a story which shows that God is mighty and powerful . [ Page 39 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY In The Lord’s Prayer to Whom do we speak 4 ? What do we mean when we say to Our Heavenly Fa¬ ther: “Hallowed be Thy name 4 ?” In The Lord’s Prayer when we pray that everyone may belong to Our Heavenly Father’s Kingdom, what do we say 4 ? What do we mean when we say to Our Heavenly Father: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?” Why do we say that we are made to the image and likeness of God? (See Lesson II.) [ Page 40 ] GOD IS ALL-KNOWING Lesson IV. % Before beginning Lesson IV., let us say what we know of The Lord’s Prayer and The Apostles’ Creed. Tell one of the stories you learned in your last lesson, which shows us that God is mighty and powerful. (Any one of the stories told in Lesson III.) Who is the only One mighty and powerful enough to have done what this story tells us? God is the only One. You have also learned that God by His power made heaven and earth and all things out of nothing. Who is the only One who has the power to make things out of nothing? God is the only One who has the power to make things out of nothing. You have learned a word which tells how powerful and mighty God is. What is the word? The word is Almighty. [ Page 41 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Now let us try to learn something more about God. You know that when God created you He gave you many wonderful gifts. When you think , you use one of these wonderful gifts. Which gift do you use? I use my mind. Think about something very interesting that you did last summer. Can anyone see what you are thinking? No one can see what I am thinking. If you want anyone to know what you are thinking, what must you do? I must tell what I am thinking. Suppose you think for a while about a surprise party you are planning to give your friends. You are using your mind. Is anyone able to see what thoughts are in your mind about the surprise party? No one is able to see what thoughts are in my mind. Unless you tell, could any of your friends know what thoughts are in your mind? They could not know what thoughts are in my mind. [ Page 42 ] GOD IS ALL-KNOWING You have learned that there is One Who has the power to do all things. Who has the power to do all things? God has the power to do all things. God also knows all things. So God always sees and knows all that is going on in your mind. And God always sees and knows all the thoughts of everyone. Now, let me tell you a story which perhaps will help you to find out something more about what God sees and knows. Jack is nine years old. This is his first year at the military school. One day all the boys are invited to go to a special moving picture. The moving picture is to be given in the village, and the boys are to go in uniform, marching as if on parade. The bugle sounds and all the boys form in line. Jack is the leader of a group of about one hundred boys. So it is quickly noticed that Jack is not there. A teacher finds Jack all alone in his room, and asks him why he is not in line with the other boys. [ Page 43 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Jack says that he has decided not to go to the moving picture. Then the teacher asks Jack some questions such as these: “Are vou sick. Jack?” * J “Don’t you like the moving pictures?” Jack answers that he is not sick, and he likes moving pictures very much, but he has chosen to stay at home. The teacher reminds Jack that he will be all alone in the building, and says: “Hurry along, Jack. You are keeping all the other boys waiting.” Jack insists that he chooses to stay at home, and he does not tell this teacher or the other boys the reason. But there is another teacher who is more friendly with Jack, and understands him better than the others. [ Page 44 ] GOD IS ALL-KNOWING When this teacher asks Jack why he chooses to stay at home, Jack tells the reason. He says: “This is the day ,Our Lord died. Do you think that I am going to the moving pictures 6 ?” Then the music begins, the other boys march off, and Jack is happy in doing what he has chosen to do. Until Jack told them the reason, could the teachers or the other boys know why he had chosen to stay at home ? They could not know why Jack had chosen to stay at home. But Someone could see and know how Jack was using his will to chose or decide . Who knew , without being told, why Jack had chosen to stay at home and not go to the moving pictures'? God knew. Now you have learned that there is only One who can see and know how we are using our minds and our wills. Who always sees and knows, without being told, ev- [ Page 45 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY erything that is going on in our minds,—that is, all of our thoughts? God sees and knows, without being told, all that is going on in our minds. Who always sees and knows , without being told, how each one of us is choosing or deciding? God always sees and knows, without being told, how each one of us is choos¬ ing or deciding. Now let me tell you two stories which will help you to understand something else God sees and knows. One day, after school, some little children were hur¬ rying along to their catechism club. A sister was at the door to greet the children as they arrived. She noticed that little Joseph held a piece of paper tightly in his hand, and looked happier than usual. “What are you holding so tightly, Joseph?” she asked. Little Joseph looked up with a big smile. He gave the paper to the sister, and said: “Sister, I just showed this to Jesus.” The sister took the crumpled paper, and asked: “What is this, Joseph?” “That is my first composition in ink. I took it right into the Church before I came to the club.” [ Page 46 ] GOD IS ALL-KNOWING There seemed to be no one in the Church when Jo¬ seph ran up to the altar with his “first composition in ink.” But Joseph knew that Someone was there Who would be pleased to see him. Who was pleased to see little Joseph coming with his composition? God was pleased to see little Joseph. The other story is about Teresa. Teresa lived in the country. She went to the country school. The school was small, and there were not enough teachers for every class. So the principal left Teresa’s class in the room, with¬ out any teacher, most of the time. All the boys and girls in the class promised that if they whispered or laughed out loud they would write a little note to the principal, telling him the truth about it. This note was to be handed to the principal when the children passed out at the close of school. Every day all the boys and girls of this class whis¬ pered and laughed out loud. But only one did as she had promised. Teresa chose to keep her promise and write the note because she had been taught that there is One Who always knozvs whether we keep our promises or not. [ Page 47 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Who knew that all the boys and girls of that class had whispered and laughed out loud, and that only Teresa had kept her promise? God knew. Who always knows all that everyone does? God always knows all that everyone does. 1 hus far you have been learning what God alone sees and knows about our minds , our wills , and our actions . I ell what God alone sees and knows about our minds . God alone sees and knows all that we are thinking. What does God alone see and know about our wills? God alone sees and knows all that we are choosing or deciding. \ Who always sees and knows our actions even when no one else can see or hear us? God always sees and knows our actions , even when no one else can see or hear us. 1 o help you to learn one thing more about what God sees and knows, I shall tell you a story about a little girl called Mary. [ Page 48 ] GOD IS ALL-KNOWING Mary had enough food to eat and enough clothes to wear, but she was a poor girl. That is, her mother could not afford to give her any spending money. One day when Mary was going to school, she met an¬ other little girl. This little girl was much poorer than Mary. Her shoes had holes in them and her dress was quite ragged. Mary wanted to be kind to this little girl, and longed to help her. Of course, Mary had no money to give the little girl, and she knew that her mother had no extra shoes or clothes at home which could be given away. All that Mary had was a flower. So she quickly went up to the little girl, gave her the flower, and said some kind words to her. [ Page 49 ] V THE SPIRITUAL WAY This made the little girl very happy. Long after the pretty flower had faded, she remem¬ bered the kind words which Mary had spoken. The little girls had not seen anyone while they were talking, but Someone was present Who heard Mary’s kind words , and was also pleased. Who heard Mary’s kind words? God heard Mary s kind words. Who hears and knows every word that everyone speaks. God hears and knows every word that everyone speaks. Summary You have been learning many things that God alone knows about our minds, our wills, our actions, and our words. I ell what God knows (a) about our minds; (b) about our wills; (c) about our actions; (d) about our words. God alone knows all that everyone thinks; all that everyone chooses or de¬ cides; all that everyone does; all that everyone says. [ Page 50 ] GOD IS ALL-KNOWING Can you think of anything anywhere that God does not know'? I cannot think of anything anywhere that God does not know. Because God knows all about everything everywhere, it is said that God is Omniscient ,—that is, God is All-knowing. Now you have learned four words that are used in speaking of God. Say The Apostles’ Creed to yourself, and then tell the three words about God that are mentioned in that prayer. Creator — Father — Almighty. Tell the word which means that God knows all things. Omniscient. Now say four words that are used in speaking ol God. Creator — Father — Almighty — Om¬ niscient. Find in your Catechism the questions: Does God see us 4 ? Does God know all things 4 ? Memorize the answers to these questions. [ Page 51 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY GOD IS ALL-KNOWING ( Continued ) Second Division c You know that God is our loving Father, as well as the great King of Heaven and Earth, and that we are his children, the princes and princesses of His Kingdom. Flow do you think a loving child of God,—that is, a real true prince or princess,—feels if he has done any¬ thing which displeases Our Loving Father? A real true prince or princess feels very sorry. When a prince or princess of God’s Kingdom does what is right, Who is sure to be pleased? Our Heavenly Father is sure to be pleased. Why should we be as careful how we act when we are alone as when we are with others? We should be as careful how we act when we are alone as when we are with others , because Our Heavenly Father sees and knows all that we do. When a prince or princess of God’s Kingdom says what is truthful and kind, Who is sure to be pleased? Our Heavenly Father is sure to be pleased. I Page 52 ] GOD IS ALL-KNOWING When a prince or princess of God’s Kingdom chooses or decides what is right, Who is sure to be pleased? Our Heavenly Father is sure to be pleased. How do you think a real true prince or princess feels if by his thoughts he has displeased Our Loving Fa¬ ther? He feels very sorry. In the last lesson we studied the beginning of The Lord’s Prayer. Now let us study more of this prayer. We are sure that Our Loving Father knows all that we need. But He wants and expects us to ask Him for what we need. What do we need to make our bodies grow, and keep them well and strong? We need food. We need food also for our minds , to make them brighter and brighter and more like God. And we need food for our wills , to make them strong enough to choose what Our Heavenly Father wants and expects us to choose. [ Page 53 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY But the food which we need for our minds and our wills is of a different kind from the food which we need for our bodies. In The Lord’s Prayer when we ask Our Heavenly Fa¬ ther to give us the food we need each day, what do we say? We say: “Give us this day our daily bread” Now say The Lord’s Prayer from the beginning. When we choose to do or say or think anything which displeases Our Heavenly Father, we say that we trespass against Him. And when those around us hurt or injure us by what they do or say, they trespass against us. Now you tell what is meant when we say that we trespass against Our Heavenly Father. We mean that we have chosen to do or say or think something which displeases Our Heavenly Father. When anyone trespasses against us, what does this mean? It means that some one has said or done something to hurt or injure us. [ Page 54 ] GOD IS ALL-KNOWING When our thoughts, words, and actions are kind and gentle and good toward the one who trespasses against us, we say that we forgive that person. Now, I am going to tell you something which I think you will like to hear. It is this: Our Heavenly Father will forgive us our trespasses if, for His sake , our thoughts, words and actions are kind and gentle and good toward everyone who has trespassed against us. Now you tell what we must do, if we want Our Heavenly Father to forgive us our trespasses. We must forgive all who trespass against us. In The Lord’s Prayer, when we ask Our Heavenly Father to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, what do we say? We say: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against Now say The Lord’s Prayer from the beginning. In the next lesson we shall study the rest of this prayer. C Page SS ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Review Questions When we say that God is Omniscient , what do we mean? What four words have you learned to use in speaking about God? When we say that we are made to the image and likeness of God, what do we mean? Say the part of The Lord's Prayer which tells Our Heavenly Father that we want His Name to be praised and honored everywhere on the whole earth. Say the part of The Lord's Prayer which tells Our Heavenly Father that we want His Kingdom of faithful, loyal, loving children to grow and grow. Say the part of The Lord's Prayer which tells Our Heavenly Father that we want Him to be obeyed everywhere. When we say to Our Heavenly Father, “Give us this day our daily bread,” for what other food do we ask besides food for our bodies? When we say to Our Heavenly Father, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” what does this mean? [ Page 56] ) WHY GOD CREATES US Lesson V. Before beginning Lesson V., let us say what you know of: The Lord’s Prayer. The Apostles’ Creed. When you were created , God gave you some won¬ derful gifts. Mention these gifts. The body , the mind , the memory and the will. When you were baptized , which one of God s won¬ derful gifts did you receive? I received the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. Now, let us try to find out one reason why Cfod made you and gave you these wonderful gifts. But first let us think about the most wonderful and valuable of your gifts,—that is, the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. [ Page 57 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY This most precious gift of sharing in God’s bright¬ ness and beauty helps your mind to see that all bright¬ ness and beauty are in God, and it helps your will to choose God,—that is, to love Him. While you have the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty God loves you very, very much. And our loving Father wants and expects you to use your will to love Him. So, although you love your friends, Whom should you always love much more than your friends? / should always love God much more than my friends . Of course, you love your brothers and sisters. But Whom should you always love more than your broth¬ ers and sisters? I should always love God more than my brothers and sisters . You love your father and mother very much more than you love your friends, or your brothers and sis¬ ters. But Whom should you love even more than you love your father and mother? I should love God even more than I love my father and mother . r Page 58 ] WHY GOD CREATES IJS One of God’s commandments tells us how much He wants and expects us to love Him. Let us learn this commandment. “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and w ith thy whole strength. This is the first com¬ mandment.” (St. Mark 12:30.) (Dent. 6: 5.) In the beginning of the lesson, we said that we would try to find out one reason why God made us. Now that you know how much Our Heavenly Father wants and expects you to love Him, why do you think He made you? I think he made me to love Him. Now perhaps you can tell one reason why God gave you such wonderful gifts. God gave me such wonderful gifts to help me to love Him. Let us try to find out another reason why God made us. And first of all suppose we look about us at some of the things which God has made. f Page 59 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY When we look about us we see many things. We see the sky. What color is the sky on a bright clear day 4 ? It is blue. How does it look in the west when the sun is setting 4 ? It looks golden. What do we sometimes see in the sky after a storm? We sometimes see a rainbow. When we look about us, perhaps we can see beauti¬ ful trees. Let us think about the beautiful trees. When do the blossoms and the new leaves come upon the trees? They come in spring. When do the trees give the greatest shade? They give the greatest shade in the summer. When do the leaves turn golden and brown? The leaves turn golden and brown in the autumn. When are the trees covered with snow and ice? The trees are covered with snow and ice in the winter. [ Page 60 ] WHY G O D CREA T E S US Now let us think about the flowers . Mention some beautiful flowers which you have seen. By thinking of the sky, the trees, the flowers and the many beautiful things which God has made, Whom do we know better'? We know God better. Now let us try to find another way we can learn to know God better. Suppose you wanted to tell Our Heavenly Father that you believe in Him. What would you say to Him'? Suppose you needed something very much, what would you say to Our Heavenly Father'? What else might you say when you talk to Our Heav¬ enly Father'? If you talk to Our Heavenly Father every day about all these things, after a while Whom will you learn to know better'? I will learn to know God better. Sometimes others tell you what they know about God. [ Page 61 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY When you go to Church, who sometimes tells you about God? The priest tells me about God. At home, who sometimes tells you about God? My father and mother tell me about God. At catechism class, who tells you about God? The teacher tells me about God. After you have heard what all these have said about God, Whom do you learn to know better? I learn to know God better. Among the children who are learning about God, which child do you think is able to know Him better, l Page 62 ] WHY GOD CREATES US the one who has the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, or the one who has not this most precious gift 4 ? The one who has the most precious gift of sharing in God's brightness and beauty is able to know God better. You have already learned that God made you and gave you your wonderful gifts to help you to love Him. Now perhaps you can tell another reason why God made you and gave you these wonderful gifts. What is this reason 4 ? God made me and gave me these won - derful gifts to help me to know Him. There is a third reason why God made you and gave you your wonderful gifts. To help us find out this third reason, let us first try to find out why God made some of the things about us. In the very beginning, when God was creating the world, God wanted light and heat. To give light and heat, God created something. What did God create 4 ? God created the sun. [ Page 63 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY You see, before God created the sun, God had a work for the sun to do,—that is, God had a plan for the sun. How does the sun carry out God’s plan 6 ? The sun carries out God’s plan by giving light and heat. In this way the sun serves God. So, you see, God made the sun to serve Him. To make the earth beautiful, God created beautiful things to grow upon it. What did God create to grow upon the earth to make it beautiful? God created grass, trees, flowers, etc., to grow upon the earth to make it beau - tiful. You see, before God made the grass, the trees and the flowers, God had a plan for them. Tell one way the grass, the trees, and the flowers carry out God’s plan. One way they carry out God’s plan is by making the earth beautiful. In this way they serve God. [ Page 64 ] WHY GOD CREATES US So, you see, God made the grass, the flowers and the trees to serve Him. God created living creatures to give us food and clothing, to draw heavy loads for us, and to help us in many other ways. Name some animals which give us food. The cow, etc. Name some animals which give us clothing. The sheep, etc. Name some animals which help us by drawing heavy loads. The horse, etc. How do the cows, sheep, horses and other animals carry out God’s plan 6 ? They carry out God's plan by giving us food, clothing, drawing heavy loads, etc. So you see the animals serve God by carrying out His plan. God has a plan for each one of us also. And God’s plan for each one of us is the special work He wants us to do. [ Page 65 ] THE SPIRITUAL W A Y When we are children, God’s plan for us is to be obedient and helpful at home, at school, at play, at work, and above all to be obedient to His Church. When we carry out the plan which God has for us Whom do we serve? We serve God. If we serve God well while we are children, it will not be hard for us to know how to serve God later on. Now you know a third reason why God made you and gave you your wonderful gifts. What is this third reason? God made me and gave me my wonder¬ ful gifts to serve Him. Summary Tell three reasons why God made you and gave you your wonderful gifts. WHY GOD CREATES US ( Continued ) Second Division Say what you know of The Apostles Creed. “/ believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth!' WHY GOD CREATE S US When we tell God that we believe He is Our Heav¬ enly Father, and that He is the Creator of heaven and earth, we make an Act of Faith. Our Heavenly Father wants and expects us to wor¬ ship Him by Faith. And it pleases Him when we make Acts of Faith ev¬ ery morning and evening. Let us learn an Act of Faith written by Pope Clem¬ ent XI. “O my God, I believe in Thee: Do Thou strengthen my faith.” Our Heavenly Father also wants and expects us to worship Him by Hope and by Love. When we tell Our Heavenly Father that we put all our hope in Him because we know that He will help us to be with him in heaven some day, we make an Act of Hope. Let us learn an Act of Hope written by Pope Clem¬ ent XI. “All my hopes are in Thee: Do Ihou secure them. Now say the two Acts you have learned. [ Page 67 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY When we tell Our Heavenly Father that we love * Him, we make an Act of Love. Let us learn an Act of Love written by Pope Clem¬ ent XI. “I love Thee: Teach me to love Thee daily more and more. Say the three Acts you have just learned. We know that we are often displeasing to Our Heav¬ enly Father, by what we think, by what we do, or by what we say. When we tell Our Heavenly Father that we are sorry we are ever displeasing to Him, we make an Act of Contrition. Let us learn a very short Act of Contrition written by Pope Clement XI. “I am sorry that I have offended Thee: Do Thou in¬ crease my sorrow.” Later on we shall study the longer Act of Contrition which is given in the Catechism. It pleases Our Heavenly Father when we make an Act of Contrition, as well as Acts of Faith, Hope and Love, every morning and evening. f Page 68 1 WHY GOD CREATES US Now let us study the rest of The Lord’s Prayer. But first I must explain something to you. You remember that God created other intelligent be¬ ings besides human bei ngs. What do we call these other beings? They are called angels . Most of the angels used their wills to serve God, and to be faithful and true to Him. But some of the angels chose to please themselves, and they refused to serve God. These bad angels are called devils. We know that we can be pleasing to Our Heavenly Father, or displeasing to Him, by the way we choose to think, or act, or speak. The devil wants us to choose what we know is dis¬ pleasing to Our Heavenly Father. When we do what the devil wants us to do, we yield to temptation. In The Lord’s Prayer when we ask Our Heavenly Father to help us not to yield to temptation, what do we say? We say: (( Lead us not into temptation ” Say The Lord’s Prayer from the beginning. [ Page 69 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY In the last part of The Lord’s Prayer we ask Our Heavenly Father to keep us safe from all dangers and troubles of every kind. How do we know that Our Heavenly Father can do this? Our Heavenly Father can do this be - cause He is Almighty. In the last part of The Lord’s Prayer, when we ask Our Heavenly Father to keep us safe from all dan¬ gers and troubles of every kind, what do we say? We say: (6 Deliver us from evil.” We end The Lord’s Prayer by saying: “Amen.” And in The Lord’s Prayer Amen means Know that thy prayers are heard' Say The Lord’s Prayer from the beginning. Review Ouestions »v Tell three reasons why God made you. Name five wonderful gifts which help you to know, to love and to serve God. 1 Catcchism of the Council of Trent concerning The Lord’s Prayer. f Page 70 ] WHY GOD CREATES US Which of these gifts helps your mind to see that all brightness and beauty are in God? Which gift helps your will to turn toward God and to love Him? In The Lord’s Prayer when we ask Our Heavenly Father to help us not to do what the devil wants us to do, what do we say? When we ask Our Heavenly Father to deliver us from all kinds of dangers and troubles, what do we say? [ Page 71 ] HEAVEN AND HELL Lesson VI. Before beginning Lesson VI., let us say the short Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition, which you learned in Lesson V. Act of Faith: “O mv God, I believe in Thee: Do Thou strengthen my faith.” Act of Hope: “All my hopes are in Thee: Do Thou secure them.” Act of Love: “I love Thee: teach me to love Thee daily more and more.” Act of Contrition: “I am sorry that I have offended Thee: Do Thou increase my sorrow.” You have learned about five of God’s wonderful gifts to you. What are these five gifts? These five gifts are,—the body , the mind 9 the memory , the will , and the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty . I Page 72 ] _ HEAVEN AND HELL _ I am sure you will be very happy to know that there is another gift, greater still, which Our Heavenly Father has in store for all those who use these five gifts to know, to love, and to serve Him. In this lesson let us find out about this great gift which Our Heavenly Father has in store for us. You know that none of us will live here on earth forever. What will happen to everyone of us some day? We shall die. 4 It is true that your body will die. But do you think that your soul, which is especially made to the image and likeness of God, will die also? / think that my soul will not die. When your body dies, your soul leaves the body. Then it is that Our Heavenly Father will take you to Himself, if you have used your five wonderful gifts to know, to love and to serve Him while you were here upon this earth . 1 And when Our Heavenly Father takes you to Him¬ self, you will be happy forever. lu The only means then of arriving at a knowledge of the Divine Essence is that God unites Himself in some sort to us, and after an incomprehensible manner elevates our minds to a higher degree of perfection, and thus renders us capable of contemplat¬ ing the beauty of His nature. This the light of His glory will accomplish .”—Catechism of the Council of Trent. [ Page 73 1 THE SPIRITUAL WAY You will never have any more sickness, or sufferings, or troubles, or death. You will be in heaven. And heaven is the very greatest gift you possibly could have. Let us memorize what St. Paul tells us about heaven. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him.” (I Cor. 2:9.) In the lesson just before this one, you learned that Our Heavenly Father made you to know, to love and to serve Him while you are here upon this earth. In this lesson you have been learning that Our Heav¬ enly Father wants you to be happy with Him forever in heaven. And this is the chief or principal reason why He made you. Now, tell what you have just learned about heaven, answering the following questions: (a) In heaven Who will take you to Himself for¬ ever? (b) How will heaven be different from the sick¬ ness, sufferings and troubles of this life? (c) Tell the chief or principal reason why God made you. f Page 74 ] HEAVEN AND HELL (d) Why does Our Heavenly Father want you to use your wonderful gifts to know, to love and to serve Him while you are here upon this earth 4 ? But many foolish people refuse to use their precious gifts to know, to love and to serve Our Heavenly Father. And these, even while they are here on earth, lose one of their five wonderful gifts. Which gift do you think they lose 4 ? I think they lose the most precious gift of sharing in God's brightness and beauty. When anyone loses the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, which he received at Baptism, his mind and will are dilferent as to the things of God. His mind is darkened so that he no longer sees that all brightness and beauty are in God. His will no longer turns lovingly toward God. It is turned away from God. 2 And at the moment of his death if there is none ot God’s brightness and beauty in his soul, his mind 2“By mortal sin, the mind through acting against Charity is altogether turned away from God; whereas by venial sin man’s affections are clogged so that they are slow in tending towards God. Consequently both kinds of sin are taken away by penance, because by both of them man’s will is disordered through turning inordinately to a created good. For just as mortal sin cannot be forgiven so long as the will is attached to sin, so neither can venial sin, because while the cause remains, the effect remains.” Sximma of St. Thomas. [ Page 75 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY must remain forever darkened, and his will must re¬ main forever turned away from God. That is, he never again can even hope to be happy with God in heaven. For when anyone dies with his mind darkened and his will turned away from God, he must be in hell with the devils forever. And everyone in hell must suffer torments which will never cease. For we know from Holy Scripture that being cast into hell means being cast into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels (St. Mat¬ thew 25:41). We do not know just what kind of fire it is which was prepared for the devil and his angels. But we do know that the everlasting fire of hell causes dreadful torments. For Holy Scripture tells us that even if it should be necessary for anyone to love and serve Our Heav¬ enly Father in the midst of great suffering, it would be very much better to do this than, forgetting God, to live selfishly, and then at death be cast into the everlasting fire of hell. Let us read a story from Holy Scripture which tells us about a rich man who was suffering in hell be¬ cause while he was here on earth he would not use his precious gifts to know, to love and to serve God. [ Page 76 ] HEAVEN AND HELI “There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen; and feasted sump¬ tuously every day. And there was a certain beggar, named Laz¬ arus, who lay at his gate, full of sores. Desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table, and no one did give him; moreover the dogs came, and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abra¬ ham’s bosom. And the rich man also died: and he was buried in hell. And lifting up his eyes when he was in torments, he saw Abraham afar off, and Laz¬ arus in his bosom: , [ Page 77 J T HE S P I R I T UAL WAY And he cried, and said: Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue: for I am tormented in this flame.” (St. Luke 16: 19-24.) Now tell what you have learned about hell, answer¬ ing the following questions: (a) If anyone has lost the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, and dies in that state, how must his mind remain forever'? His mind must remain darkened for - ever. How must his will remain forever 4 ? His will must remain turned away from God forever. (b) From Whom must he be seperated forever 4 ? He must be separated from Our Heav¬ enly Father forever. (c) Instead of being in heaven, where must he be forever 4 ? He must be in hell forever. (d) What other beings are in hell forever 4 ? The devils are in hell forever. (e) Tell what you have learned about the torments of hell. [ Page 78 J HEAVEN AND HELL HEAVEN AND HELL ( Continued) Second Division You know that some day you must die. And at the moment of your death, if you have the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, great happiness will surely be yours forever. What great happiness will you surely have forever'? I shall have the great happiness of be¬ ing with God in heaven . You will have the great happiness of being with God in heaven immediately after you die if God’s image and likeness in your soul are as clear and per¬ fect as God wants them to be. But if God’s image and likeness in your soul are not as clear and perfect as God wants them to be, you are not ready to be with God in heaven just as soon as you die. Then, you must wait and suffer until the image and likeness of God in your soul have become as clear and perfect as God wants them to be. For while God’s image and likeness in the soul are becoming clearer and more perfect, the soul is in a state of great suffering . [ Page 79 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY And one of the causes of this great suffering is the constant longing to be in heaven with Our Heavenly Father. This state of waiting and suffering after death until the soul is ready to be with God in heaven is called purgatory . What great happiness is in store for every one in pur¬ gatory when it is not necessary to wait and suffer any longer'? Every one in purgatory will have the great happiness of being in heaven for - ever. Now tell what you have learned about purgatory, answering the following questions: (a) Why is it necessary for some souls to suffer for a time in purgatory before Our Heavenly Father takes them to Himself forever 4 ? (b) When will Our Heavenly Father take the souls in purgatory to Himself in heaven? (c) Do the souls in purgatory love Our Heavenly Father 4 ? (d) Why does this love cause them to suffer 4 ? \ ou have just been learning that every one who is in heaven or in purgatory has the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. [ Page 80 J \ HEAVEN AND HELL And all those who have the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, whether they are on earth, in purgatory, or in heaven, belong to God’s big family. So we say that all those who have the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty belong to the Communion of Saints . Let us see if you can tell what is meant by the Com¬ munion of Saints . Summary Now let us have a short review of what you have been learning about heaven, hell and purgatory. Tell the chief or principal reason why God made you. What does St. Paul sav about heaven? m Tell what you have learned about the souls in hell. . - • / What souls are in purgatory? Find out what your Catechism says about heaven, hell, and purgatory. [ Page 81 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY HEAVEN AND HELL ( Continued ) Third Division You know that here on earth we can help one another. How can you obtain blessings of every kind for your father, your mother or anyone else 1 ? I can obtain blessings of every kind for anyone by praying to Our Heavenly Father. v Besides praying for others what else can you do to help them'’? I can help them by good deeds. You know that Our Heavenly Father’s loving chil¬ dren in purgatory must suffer until the image and likeness of God in their souls are as clear and per¬ fect as Our Heavenly Father wants them to be. And I am sure it will make you happy to know that we can help those who are in purgatory as well as those who are on earth. How do you think we can help those who are in purgatory? We can offer to Our Heavenly Father our prayers and our good deeds to help them. [ Page 82 J HEAVEN AND HELL Now let us think about the angels and saints in heaven. Can we help them, or can they help us? They can help us. When we need the help of the angels and saints in heaven, what should we do to obtain it? We should ask them to help us* From what we have been learning about heaven, hell and purgatory you see how important it is for us to use our five wonderful gifts, to know, to love and to serve Our Heavenly Father. And Our Heavenly Father has given us ten laws or commandments so that we need not make any mis¬ take in using the gifts He has given us. To keep the first of these commandments we must believe in God, hope in Him, and love Him. What Acts have you learned which tell Our Heav¬ enly Father that you believe in Him, hope in Him, and love Him? Acts of Faith , Hope , and Love. It will please Our Heavenly Father if you say these Acts often during the day. [ Page 83 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY But you should always try to say them in the morn¬ ing and in the evening. The first commandment tells us that God must come first in our lives. It tells us that we must never let any creature take God s place in our lives. Whom, then, should we love more than father, moth¬ er, brother, sister, anybody or anything else'? We should love God more than father , mother , brother , sister , anybody or any¬ thing else . The first of these ten commandments is: “I am the Lord thy God: Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.” Memorize the first commandment. The second commandment is about our words. To keep the second commandment we must speak about Our Heavenly Father with respect and rev¬ erence. We must speak of Our Heavenly Father’s friends with respect and reverence. We must speak of holy things with respect and rev¬ erence. [ Page 84 ] HEAVEN AND HELL The second commandment is: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. 55 Memorize the second commandment. When anyone swears or curses, what commandment does he break? When anyone swears or curses he breaks the second commandment. When you are older you should try to learn more about the second commandment. Now, say the two commandments which you have learned. The third commandment tells us that we must give Our Heavenly Father special honor and praise every Sunday. [ Page 85 ] THE SPIRITUAL W A Y The most important way of giving Our Heavenly Father special honor and praise is by assisting at Holy Mass. And if you wish to remain a loving child of God you must assist at Holy Mass every Sunday, if it is possi¬ ble for you to do so. Besides assisting at Holy Mass, try to think of some¬ thing else we can do on Sunday to give Our Heav¬ enly Father special honor and praise. The third commandment is: Cl Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day.” Memorize the third commandment. When anyone neglects to assist at Holy Mass on Sunday, what commandment does he break? He breaks the third commandment . When anyone does not try to give God on Sunday Extra time, Extra thought, and Extra prayer, what commandment does he break? He breaks the third commandment . f Page 86 ] HEAVEN AND HELL Do you think that it is “keeping the Sabbath holy’ ’ to do unnecessary work on Sunday, or anything else unbefitting the day set apart for the Lord? I think that it is not keeping the Sab¬ bath holy to do unnecessary work on Sunday, or anything else unbefitting the day set apart for the Lord. Say the three commandments you have just learned. Find out what your Catechism says about the first three commandments. 4 Review Questions What must we do to obtain the great happiness which Our Heavenly Father has in store for us? Tell what you have learned about heaven. Tell what you have learned about purgatory. Tell what you have learned about hell. What is meant by the Communion of Saints? Say the first commandment. Tell what it means. Say the second commandment. Tell what it means. [ Page 87 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY st ' ■ :A Say the third commandment. Tell what it means. What Acts have you learned which you should try to say every morning and evening? What other prayers have you learned which we should all say every morning and evening? [ Page 88 1 a S: ouEGE l,b ^ ^tSTNur H/LL. MASS. THE BLESSED TRINITY Lesson VII. Before beginning Lesson VII., let us say one of the following prayers: Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition (Lesson VI.). The Lord’s Prayer. The Apostles’ Creed as far as learned in Lesson III. Which one of our wonderful gifts do we use to know and to understand about things? We use our minds to know and to un¬ derstand about things. Who created our minds? God created our minds. Who always knows and understands all about ev¬ erything? God always knows and understands all about everything. Now I am going to tell you something about Our Heavenly Father’s mind which perhaps you have never been told before. [ Page 89 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Our Heavenly Father’s mind was never created . We say that Our Heavenly Father’s mind is uncreated . We know that Our Heavenly Father’s mind is also all-powerful. And now let us think about our minds. Do you think that our minds are all-powerful, or that they are very small and weak? Our minds are very small and weak. You have learned that Our Heavenly Father knows all about everything everywhere. With our minds can we ever know all about every¬ thing everywhere? Why not? Our minds are not great and powerful enough to know all about everything everywhere. Our Heavenly Father always knows Himself per¬ fectly. And Our Heavenly Father’s loving children here on earth try to know Him better and better. But can they ever know Our Heavenly Father as well as He knows Himself? 7 hey can never know Our Heavenly Father as well as He knows Himself. [ Page 90 ] THE BLESSED TRINITY Do you think that any angel can ever know Our Heavenly Father as well as He knows Himself 4 ? No angel can know Our Heavenly Fa¬ ther as well as He knows Himself . But Our Heavenly Father wants us to know Him better and better, so that we will love Him as He wants us to love Him. And because of this He has made known to us some very important things about Himself which other¬ wise we could never know. We show that we have faith in Our Heavenly Fa¬ ther when we believe what He has made known, even though we cannot fully understand it. Anything that Our Heavenly Father has made known to us that we cannot fully understand is called a Mystery. Let us see if you can tell what is meant by a Mystery. And now let us try to find out something about the greatest of all Mysteries. You know that we are human beings. And you have learned that God created other intel¬ ligent beings. What are these other intelligent be¬ ings called 4 ? They are called angels. [ Page 91 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY God is the only Divine Being. And, of course, the greatest of all Mysteries is about God. Now I am sure that you are wondering what the greatest of all Mysteries can be. The Bible and the Catechism tell us about it. They tell us that the greatest of all Mysteries is that in one God there are three Divine Versons. Hundreds of years ago St. Patrick was teaching the people of Ireland that in God there are three Divine Persons, and he used a three-leaved clover plant called the shamrock to help them to understand this great Mystery a little better. [ Page 92 ] THE BLESSED TRINITY No one of us can ever fully understand how in one God there are three Divine Persons. But perhaps if we study the shamrock it will help us also to understand this greatest of all Mysteries a little better. Let us suppose that you have a shamrock, and are looking at it. How many separate little leaves has the shamrock? The shamrock has three separate little leaves. And there are three separate Divine Persons in God. Are the three little leaves of the shamrock alike , or very different? The three little leaves of the shamrock are alike. And so are the three Divine Persons in God alike . Is one of these little leaves of the shamrock bigger than the others, or are all three equal? All three of the leaves are equal. And so are the three Divine Persons in God equal. Are the three little leaves three shamrocks or one shamrock? The three little leaves are one shamrock. [ Page 93 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY And so are the three Divine Persons one God. Of course, we know that the three Divine Persons are not separate, alike and equal in just the same way as the leaves of the shamrock. This is only a comparison which we may use to help us in trying to understand this greatest of all Mys¬ teries a little better. One God in Three Divine Persons is called The Blessed Trinity. Now you tell what is meant by The Blessed Trinity. The three separate Divine Persons in the Blessed Trinity have different Names. The first Divine Person is called The Father. The second Divine Person is called The Son. The third Divine Person is called The Holy Ghost. Let us memorize the Names of the three Divine Per¬ sons. St. Athanasius was one of the holiest and most learned of God’s loving children. He spent much time writing and explaining to the people about the Mystery of the Most Blessed I rimty. Let us read a few lines from the Athanasian Creed, which tell about this great Mystery. [ Page 94 ] THE BLESSED TRINITY “Such as the Father is, such is the Son, such is the Holy Ghost. The Father is uncreated, the Son is un¬ created, the Holy Ghost is uncreated. . . . The Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Ghost is almighty. . . . The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.” Let us memorize these lines. THE BLESSED TRINITY ( Continued ) Second Division Summary Now tell what you know about the Blessed Trinity, answering the following questions: (a) What is a Mystery? Anything that Our Heavenly Father hits made known to us that we cannot fully understand is called a Mystery. [ Page 95 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY (b) What is the greatest of all Mysteries 4 ? The greatest of all Mysteries is the Blessed Trinity (c) What do we mean by the Blessed Trinity? By the Blessed Trinity we mean One God in three Divine Persons. (d) Tell the Names of the three Divine Persons. The three Divine Persons are called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. (e) Is one Divine Person more important than the others, or are They all equal? The three Divine Persons are all equal. (f) Say what you have just learned of the Athana- sian Creed, beginning, “Such as the Father is,” etc. (g) Find in your Catechism the lesson about the Blessed Trinity. Memorize the answers. There is something which we do very often to honor the Blessed Trinity. Perhaps you already know what this is. [ Page 96 ] , THE BLESSED TRINITY It is called “Making the Sign of the Cross.” Let us make the Sign of the Cross together. First, place your left hand on your breast. The right hand should be open with the fingers close together. Then, raise your right hand and touch your forehead. At the same time say: “In the name of the Father.” Then lower the hand and touch the breast. At the same time say: “And of the Son.” Then touch first the left shoulder, and then the right shoulder. At the same time say: “And of the Holy Ghost.” Then join your hands together and say: “Amen.” You see, as you move your right hand from the fore¬ head to the breast, then from the left shoulder to the right shoulder, you make a cross, or you make the Sign of the Cross. When we make the Sign of the Cross reverently it is an Act of Faith. And every time we make the Sign of the Cross rever¬ ently we draw down upon ourselves God’s blessing. When do you think that we should always make the Sign of the Cross? We should always make the Sign of the Cross before and after our prayers . Of course, you have been to Church. [ Page 97 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY And you must have seen the holy water font in the vestibule or near the entrance, inside the Church. As we pass by the holy water font, what should we do? As we pass by the holy water font we should dip our fingers into the holy water and then make the Sign of the Cross. When we make the Sign of the Cross, should it be made very carefully, or is it just as well to do it carelessly and without thinking? We should make the Sign of the Cross very carefully. Let us make the Sign of the Cross several times, until you can do it perfectly by yourself. [ Page 98 j THE BLESSED TRINITY There is another prayer which is said in honor of the Blessed Trinity. This prayer is: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the begin¬ ning, is now, and ever shall be, world with¬ out end. Amen.” It is called The Gloria Patri, Le us memorize The Gloria Patri . We give honor to the Blessed Trinity every time we make the Sign of the Cross, or say the Gloria Patri reverently. But it is not enough to honor the Blessed Trinity by saying these prayers. There is something else which we must do. We must obey God’s commandments. You have already learned three of these command¬ ments. Say the three commandments you have learned. These first three commandments tell us that God must come first in everything. To keep these first three commandments perfectly how much must we love God? We must love God with our whole heart , and with our whole mind , and with our whole strength . [ Page 99 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY By the fourth commandment Our Heavenly Father tells us how much love and respect and obedience and reverence we must give to our parents. By the fourth commandment Our Heavenly Father commands us all to love our parents very, very much. Our Heavenly Father commands us all always to re¬ spect and reverence our parents by the way we think about them, by the way we speak to them, and by the way we act toward them. Our Heavenly Father commands children to obey their parents always and at all times, unless their parents tell them to do something which would break a commandment of-God. When we love, respect, obey and have reverence for our fathers and mothers, we honor them. The fourth commandment is: “Honor thy father and mother.” Let us learn the fourth commandment. Later on in your lessons you will learn more about the fourth commandment. By the fifth commandment Our Heavenly Father commands us to show that we love our neighbor as [ Page 100 ] THE BLESSED TRINITY ourselves by not harming or injuring or hating any¬ one. Most of all, it commands us not to take our own lives or the life of anyone else. The fifth commandment is: “Thou shalt not kill.” Let us learn the fifth commandment. Now let us say the first five commandments. Review Questions What is the greatest of all Mysteries? Say what you have learned of the Athanasian Creed. What should we do, before and after prayers, to honor the Blessed Trinity? Make the Sign of the Cross, and say the Gloria Patri. Say the first three commandments (Lesson VI.). Say the fourth commandment. What does it mean? Say the fifth commandment. What does it mean? [ Page 101 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Tell why God made you (Lessons V. and VI.). What do you mean by the Communion of Saints (Les¬ son VI.) ? Fell four words which you have learned to use in speaking about God (Lesson IV.). [ Page 102 ] ORIGINAL SIN Lesson VIII. Before beginning Lesson VIII, let us make the Sign of the Cross, and say one of the following prayers: Acts of Faith, Hope, Love and Contrition (Lesson VI.). The Lord’s Prayer. The Apostles’ Creed (as far as learned in Lesson III.). There are certain laws which you already know. One of these laws is that we need food to keep us alive. Would you ever choose to break this law? Why not? I would starve. Another law is that we must suffer if we eat or drink anything not meant for food. Would you ever choose to break this law by drinking kerosene oil, for in¬ stance? Why not? I would be sick. It is a law that we shall be burned if we touch fire. Would you ever choose to break this law by putting your hand into the fire? Why not? I would be burned. [ Page 103 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY These are called laws of nature . What happens when anyone breaks a law of nature? He suffers. Now let us see what happened when God’s law was broken. But first let me tell you a story about a prince who broke a great king’s law. Once there was a very rich and powerful king. This rich and powerful king adopted a son to make him a noble prince. The king gave his adopted son a beautiful home and a kingdom over which he was to rule. The king also gave this prince many valuable gifts, and everything to make him happy. Among the many valuable gifts which the rich and powerful king gave to his adopted son was one which meant that the prince would never be sick or die. Another gift was knowledge, which meant that the prince understood and knew things very quickly, without having to study hard as we must do. The prince knew that the king loved him, and wanted him to be a prince forever. He also knew that if he ruled his kingdom faithfully and well, just as the king wanted him to do, the king would, after a while, call him to share his own king¬ dom. The king often visited and talked with the prince, [ Page 104 ] ORIGINAL SIN and made known to him everything which he needed to know, as head of the kingdom. Because of the king’s love, his precious gifts, and his beautiful home, the prince was very happy. One day when the king was visiting his adopted son, he asked the prince to prove that he wanted to remain a noble prince forever. The way the prince was to prove that he wanted to re¬ main a noble prince forever was by obeying a certain command given by the king. The command was that the fruit of one tree in the midst of the kingdom was not to be touched,—that is, this fruit was not to be eaten. If the prince should choose to disobey the great king’s command, it would prove that he was no longer noble like the king. And who would ever think that any adopted prince • [ Page 105 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY could be so foolish as to choose not to remain a prince forever*? And yet, the prince we are talking about really did make this foolish choice. He chose not to remain a noble prince. That is, he chose to disobey the great king’s command. And, of course, he had to suffer. First of all, he was no longer a noble prince. He could no longer rule his kingdom. He often felt inclined to be bad instead of good. And everyone who would ever belong to his kingdom would often feel inclined to be bad instead of good. Everything was changed. Of course the noble king would no longer visit him. He had to work hard for his living. He did not understand things easily and quickly, as before,—that is, he had to study hard as we do. He no longer had the gift which meant that he could not be sick or die. Now he could be sick, and he must die. And the worst part of his suffering was that he knew the king would never call him to share his kingdom. When this noble prince chose to disobey the great king’s command, his entire family had to suffer as well as himself. r Page 106 ] ORIGINAL SIN As he was no longer a prince, none of his family would ever be princes or princesses. None of his family would ever have any of the valu¬ able gifts that the prince had before he disobeyed the king’s command. And, of course, none of his family would ever be called by the king to share his kingdom. Now, you tell the story about the prince who chose to disobey the great king’s command. Perhaps you have read fairy tales about kings and princes, and this story seems like one of these fairy tales. But, alas! this is not a fairy tale. It is a true story. The great and rich king of our story is Our Heavenly Father, Who is King of heaven and earth. The adopted prince of our story is Adam, the first man Our Heavenly Father created. By disobeying Our Heavenly Father’s command, Adam broke Our Heavenly Father s law , that is, he com??iitted sin. Now, you tell what we call “breaking Our Heavenly Father’s law.” We call “breaking Our Heavenly Fa¬ ther s law 99 committing sin . [ Page 107 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Adam was the head, or father of the human family. Eve was the mother of the human family, and she, too, disobeyed Our Heavenly Father’s command. Because the head of the human family disobeyed Our Heavenly Father, very great suffering followed. Adam’s entire family had to suffer as well as himself. And we belong to Adam’s family. So we have to suffer. Because of his disobedience, Adam no longer possessed his most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. So, when we are created what precious gift is not given to us? When we are created we are not given the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. Without the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, Adam was no longer a prince of Our Heavenly Father’s kingdom. So, when we are created, what about us? Are we princes and princesses of Our Heavenly Father’s king¬ dom or not? When we are created we are not princes and princesses of Our Heaven¬ ly Father s kingdom. [ Page 108 ] ORIGINAL SIN Without the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, Adam no longer belonged in God’s heavenly kingdom. So what about us 4 ? When we are created do we be¬ long in God’s heavenly kingdom or not"? When we are created we do not belong in God's heavenly kingdom. Besides losing these most precious gifts, Adam lost other gifts. He lost the gifts which would have kept him from weariness and from sickness or death. And without these gifts how must we suffer 4 ? Without these gifts we can be tired , we can be sick and we must die. After Adam had committed the first sin, he often felt like being bad instead of good. Do we always feel like being good, or do we some¬ times feel like being bad 4 ? We sometimes feel like being bad. At the beginning of this lesson, you learned that when a law of nature is broken suffering is sure to follow. Now that you know what happened when the head of the human family disobeyed God’s command, do you think that little or great suffering followed this sin 4 ? I think that great suffering followed this sin. [ Page 109 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Because there is none of God’s brightness and beauty in our souls when we are created, we are said to be born in the state of original sin . Now you tell what is meant by “being born in the state of original sin.” The Catechism tells us what original sin is in still another way. Let us find out how the Catechism explains original sin. Memorize this answer. ORIGINAL SIN ( Continued) Second Division Summary When anyone breaks a law of nature what is sure to follow? When anyone breaks a law of nature suffering is sure to follow. When Our Heavenly Father’s law was broken by the head of the human race, did little or great suffering follow? Great suffering followed. I Page 110 ] i ORIGINAL SIN Tell some of the sufferings which befell our first parents because they broke Our Heavenly Father’s law. They no longer had the most precious gift of sharing in God's brightness and beauty. They no longer belonged in heaven with God. They often felt like being bad instead of good. They could be tired. They could be sick. They must die. Great suffering befell the head of the human family because he broke God’s law. But others also had to suffer because the head of the human family sinned. Who else had to suffer? The whole human family had to suffer. When did we first receive the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty? When we were baptized we first re¬ ceive the most precious gift of sharing in God's brightness and beauty. Before Baptism we were in the state of original sin. What does this mean? Before Baptism we were in the state of original sin because there was none of God's brightness and beauty in our souls. [ Page 111] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Tell what the Catechism says about original sin. Original sin is the sin we inherit from our first parents. If we break any of Our Heavenly Father’s laws or commandments we commit a sin. So you see how necessary it is for us to know these commandments. You have alreadv learned five of God’s command- j ments. Now, let us learn the sixth commandment. You know that one of your very precious gifts from God is your body. This precious gift serves God in very special ways. One of the ways the body serves is by being the home or dwelling-place of all of the other precious gifts,— the mind, the memory, the will, and the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. That is, the body is the dwelling-place of the soul. Now, I am going to tell you something which is very, very important for you to know. At Baptism, when you received the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, God, Him¬ self, came to dwell within you. For, wherever there is any of God’s most precious gift, there God dwells. t Page 112 ] ORIGINAL SIN God stays within us as long as we keep our most precious gift of sharing in His brightness and beauty. God. God wants and expects each one to use his mind and his will to guard the body, keeping it a lovely and sacred home for Him. Rut the mind and the will must be loyal and true be¬ fore they can be trusted to guard the body. To keep our minds loyal and true to God, we must carefully watch over our thoughts. And if anyone should think of the body in any other way than as a sacred home for God, and should keep such thoughts in his mind, he would not be a faithful guardian of God’s sacred home. t Page 113 J THE SPIRITUAL WAY Then his mind would become impure and his will dis¬ loyal to God. So if any impure thought should come into your mind, you should at once say a prayer, and then turn your mind to something which you know will not be dis¬ pleasing to God. Can the body reason, or think, or understand, or choose ? The body cannot reason , or think , or understand , or choose . So God wants and expects each one to use his mind and his will to rule the body. We should always choose what the mind knows is right. We should never choose what the body wants, when the mind knows that this would take away from the sacredness of God’s home within us. So, you see, to be pure in God s sight, we must guard our minds from impure thoughts, and rule our bodies, keeping them sacred temples of God. Now you tell what we mean when we say that we are pure. Memorize your answer. [ Page 114 ] ORIGINAL SIN We keep the sixth commandment perfectly when we are pure . We break the sixth commandment when we keep im¬ pure thoughts in our minds, or when we do not rule the body to keep it a pure and sacred home for God. The sixth commandment is: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” — ^ Memorize the sixth commandment. Let us learn a little prayer to Our Heavenly Father, asking Him to dwell within us and keep us pure: “Make true and strong my mind and will To rule my body day by day, That it may be a temple pure, Where Thou, O God, wilt always stay.” Review Questions Name some sufferings which followed as a result of the sin committed by the head of the human family. What is meant by original sin? * At Baptism, when you received the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, Who came to dwell within you'? [ Page 115 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY What may we call the body when God dwells within it? To keep the body a sacred temple for God, which must rule, the soul or the body? What is meant by being pure? When we are pure, what commandment do we keep perfectly? Say the six commandments you have learned. Why should we know the meaning of God’s command¬ ments? [ Page 116 ] MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN Lesson IX. Before beginning Lesson IX., let us say the short Acts of Faith, Hope, Love and Contrition, which you have learned. (Lesson VI.) \ When Our Heavenly Father created the first man, He gave him one gift which was more wonderful and more valuable than any of his other gifts. Which gift was this? This was the most precious gift of shar¬ ing in God's brightness and beauty. And because God gave the first man the most precious gift of sharing in His brightness and beauty, you know that the first man became an adopted prince,— that is, a loving child of Our Heavenly Father’s king¬ dom. You have also learned that one of God’s gifts to the first man made it possible for him to choose what he would or would not do. Which gift was this? This gift was his will. How was this adopted prince to show Our Heavenly [ Page 117 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Father, the great King of heaven and earth, that he ehose to remain a noble prince forever? He was to show Our Heavenly Father that he chose to remain a noble prince forever by obeying Our Heavenly Fath¬ er s law. Did the first man choose to obey Our Heavenly Fath¬ er’s law or to disobey it? He chose to disobey it. You know that Our Heavenly Father created the first man to be the head of the human family, and gave him the gift of clear knowledge . So when the first man chose to disobey Our Heavenly Father’s command, did he commit a little sin or a seri¬ ous sin? He committed a serious sin. The serious sin committed by the first man is called a mortal sin . And we call any serious sin a mortal sin . In your last lesson you learned how the first man brought upon himself and others very great suffering and unhappiness by the way he used his will to choose. In this lesson, let us see how we may bring upon our¬ selves and others much suffering and unhappiness by the way we use our wills to choose. f Page 118 ] MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN When we have the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, we, too, are princes or princesses,—that is, loving children of Our Heavenly Father’s kingdom. Does Our Heavenly Father force us to remain loving children of His kingdom, or, like the first man, can we choose about this 6 ? We can choose about this. You have learned that when the first man chose to commit mortal sin, he no longer had the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty. And after Baptism, if any one of us should choose to commit a mortal sin, would he still have the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty, or would he be without this most precious gift? He would be without the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty . You know that after the first man had committed mor¬ tal sin he lost his gift of clear knowledge. We say that his mind was darkened. And because of original sin, we are born with our minds darkened so that we 'never see the things of God as clearly as the. first man saw them before he chose to commit sin. Then suppose that after Baptism, any one of us should choose to commit a mortal sin. [ Page 119 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Do you think that his mind could then see the things of God as clearly as before he committed the mortal sin, or that his mind would become still more dark¬ ened 4 ? His mind would become still more darkened. After the first man had chosen to commit a mortal sin, and there was none of God’s brightness and beauty in his soul, his will was turned away from God. Then he did not love God. And because of original sin, our wills are always in¬ clined to turn away from God. The most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty which we receive at Baptism helps our wills to turn lovingly toward God. . But if after Baptism any one of us should choose to commit a mortal sin, do you think that his will would remain turned lovingly toward God as before, or that his will would become turned away from God 4 ? His will would become turned away from God. And after the first man had chosen to commit mortal sin, he found that it was not easy for his mind and his will to rule or control the body. For his will had become both turned away from God and weakened. And because of original sin, we, too, find that it is not easy for the mind and the will to rule or control the body. [ Page 120 ] MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN The most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty which God gives us at Baptism makes it easier for the mind and the will to rule the body. But if, after Baptism, any one of us should choose to commit a mortal sin, and should lose his most precious gift, do you think that he would then find it as easy as before for his mind and will to rule the body, or would it become more difficult? I think that he would then find it more difficult for his mind and his will to rule the body. You have learned that when anyone commits a mor¬ tal sin, his mind is darkened by the loss of God’s brightness and beauty, and his will is deliberately turned away from God. And if anyone should die in the state of mortal sin, —that is, with his mind darkened and his will de¬ liberately turned away from God, where must he suf¬ fer forever? He must suffer in hell forever. Of course, anyone who is a loving child of God would never want to commit a mortal sin. But God’s loving children sometimes commit little sins. When any loving child of God commits little sins, do you think that his will remains just as strong as be- [ Page 121 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY fore he committed these little sins, or that it becomes weaker? I think that his will becomes weaker. Which one do you think is more likely to commit a mortal sin, the one whose will is strong, or the one whose will has become weakened by committing many little sins? I think that the one whose will has be¬ come weakened is more likely to com¬ mit a mortal sin. Which one would show more love for Our Heavenly Father, the one who tries hard not to commit little sins, or the one who does not try? The one who tries not to commit little sins shows more love for Our Heavenly Father. [ Page 122 ] MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN Which one do you think would receive more of Our Heavenly Father’s blessings,—the one who tries hard not to commit little sins, or the one who does not try 1 ? I think the one who tries hard not to commit little sins would receive more • blessings. •• You know what follows when any law of nature is broken. What follows 4 ? Suffering follows. And you know that great suffering always follows when God’s law is broken by mortal sin. What do you think follows when God’s law is broken by little sins 4 ? 0 I think suffering follows. Big sins and little sins cause much suffering while we are here upon this earth. And if anyone should die in the state of mortal sin , what torments must he suffer forever 4 ? He must suffer the torments of hell forever. But suppose that one of us should die. And suppose that he were not in the state of mortal sin. [ Page 123 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Of course, he will not have to suffer the torments of hell. But some suffering follows every sin, no matter how small the sin may be. So, if he has ever committed any sin and has not suffered for it here on earth, and the image and like¬ ness of God in his soul are not as clear and perfect as God wants them to be, he must wait and suffer for a time before he will have the great happiness of being with God forever in heaven. What do we call this state of suffering where souls have to wait for a time before they can be with God in heaven? We call this state of suffering purga¬ tory. Of course, little sins are not called mortal sins. They have a special name. We call them venial sins. [ Page 124 ] MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN ( Continued) Second Division Summary Now you have learned how we may bring upon our¬ selves and others much suffering and unhappiness by the way we use our wills to choose. And you have learned that when anyone uses his mind and his will to commit mortal sin the conse¬ quences are very serious. Tell some of the serious consequences of mortal sin. There is none of God’s brightness and beauty in the soul. The mind is darkened as to the things of God. The will is turned away from God. And if anyone dies in the state of mor¬ tal sin, his mind will be darkened and his will turned away from God forever. He can never be in heaven with God. He must be with the devils, and must suffer the torments of hell forever. [ Page 125 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Now tell what you have learned about venial sins and their consequences. What are venial sins? Venial sins are little sins. When anyone commits many venial sins, how is his will different from what it was before he committed those sins? His will is weakened. When anyone’s will is weakened by many venial sins, then what kind of sin is he likely to commit? He is likely to commit mortal sin. \ After death, if anyone must suffer for a time because of his venial sins, where must he suffer? He must suffer in purgatory. You have been learning some of the laws or com¬ mandments which Our Heavenly Father has given us. What was the last commandment you learned? The sixth commandment. [ Page 126 ] MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN Now let us learn the seventh commandment. By the seventh commandment Our Heavenly Father commands us not to take or keep anything which we have no right to have. If we take or keep anything which we have no right to have, we steal. Now tell what is meant by stealing . The seventh commandment is: “Thou shalt not steal.” Memorize the seventh commandment. By the eighth commandment Our Heavenly Father commands us to show that we love our neighbor as ourselves by not telling lies about anyone and by not speaking of anyone’s faults without good reason. We break the eighth commandment if we tell lies of any kind. The eighth commandment is: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neigh¬ bor.” Memorize the eighth commandment. [ Page 127 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY The ninth commandment is very much like the sixth commandment. By the ninth commandment Our Heavenly Father forbids us to desire or even think about anything which would take away the purity or sacredness of God’s home within us. The ninth commandment is: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.” Memorize the ninth commandment. The tenth commandment is very much like the sev¬ enth commandment. By the tenth commandment Our Heavenly Father forbids us even to desire to take or keep what we have no right to have. The tenth commandment is: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.” Memorize the tenth commandment. Say the ten commandments. Find out what your Catechism says about the ten commandments. [ Page 128 ] MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN Review Questions Tell what you have learned about mortal sin. Tell what you have learned about venial sin. What follows every sin 4 ? What most precious gift do we lose if we commit a mortal sin 4 ? If we die in the state of mortal sin, what torments must we suffer forever 4 ? If it should be necessary for anyone to suffer for a time, after death, because of his venial sins, what do we call this state of suffering 4 ? Tell what the seventh commandment means. Tell what the eighth commandment means. Tell what the ninth commandment means. Tell what the tenth commandment means. Say the ten commandments. [ Page 129 ] JESUS OUR SAVIOUR Lesson X. Before beginning Lesson X., let us make the Sign of the Cross and say one of the following prayers: Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition (Lesson VI.). The Apostles’ Creed (as far as learned in Lesson III.). The Lord’s Prayer. You have learned about some of Our Heavenly Fa¬ ther’s valuable gifts to each one of us. Name these gifts. The body, the mind 9 the memory , the will and the most precious gift of shar¬ ing in God's brightness and beauty. Which one of these gifts is the most precious 4 ? The most precious gift is the gift of sharing in God's brightness and beauty. / You have learned that if we use these five gifts as Our Heavenly Father wants us to use them, we shall be given a still greater gift some day. Which gift is this 4 ? [ Page 130 ] Heaven. JESUS OUR SAVIOUR Which four of these gifts are given to us when we are created? When we are created , we are given a body , a mind , a memory and a will. Why are we not given the most precious gift of shar¬ ing in God’s brightness and beauty when we are created? When we are created we are not given this most precious gift because of Adam's sin. In this lesson let us learn what happened so that now we may all have the most precious gift of shar¬ ing in God’s brightness and beauty in spite of Adam’s sin and all the other sins which have ever been com¬ mitted. But before I can tell you the wonderful thing that happened, we must go back in thought to the sad time when Adam and Eve broke God’s law and so committed the first mortal sin . They were then most unhappy and miserable. They were in the power of the devil and they knew that nothing they could do would ever set them free from the devil’s power. They also knew that some day they would die and that they never would be in heaven with God. [ Page 131 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY But very soon after that first mortal sin had been committed Our Heavenly Father showed His power, His Mercy and His Love by making a Great Promise. This Great Promise was that some day in the future One would be born Who would crush the devil’s power. And now I will tell you the story of how Our Heav¬ enly Father kept His Great Promise. Thousands of years after Our Heavenly Father had made the Great Promise, some One did come to live upon this earth Who was able to crush the devil’s power. For Our Heavenly Father sent His very own Son. And God's very own Son was born in a cold stable outside the small town of Bethlehem. ✓ The Mother of God’s very own Son was so lovely, so holy and so filled with God’s brightness and beauty that the Archangel Gabriel had called her “full of grace.” For you will learn in your next lesson how the Arch¬ angel had appeared to Mary some time before this, and had told her that she was to be the Mother of God, and that she was to call her Son, Jesus. God’s very own Son and the lovely Mary were cared for and protected by one whom Our Heavenly Fa¬ ther knew and trusted. [ Page 132 ] JESUS OUR SAVIOUR This one was Joseph of the royal family of King David. The baby Jesus grew up, as all babies do,—just as you did. And He continued obeying His Mother Mary and St. Joseph even when He was no longer a child . During the last three years of His life upon earth Jesus went about from place to place, teaching those whom He met how to know, to love and to serve Our Heavenly Father. And He taught them how to pray to Our Heavenly Father, and how to say the most perfect of all prayers. Which prayer is this? He also performed many miracles, such as raising the dead to life, making the blind see, making the lame walk, healing the sick, etc. [ Page 133 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Jesus’ whole Life was spent in doing good. But when He told the people Who He was , that is, that He was God's very own Son , the devil tempted many with a desire to kill Him . And when Jesus was thirty-three years old, He suf¬ fered at the hands of His enemies, a most cruel death, nailed to a Cross. The day on which Jesus died is called Good Friday. You have learned that because of mortal sin the whole human family were in the power of the devil, and could never have had the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty if Our Heav¬ enly Father had not shown His Power, His Mercy* and His Love by sending Someone to earth Who was able to crush the devil’s power over us, and to atone, or make up, for our sins. [ Page 134 ] JESUS OUR SAVIOUR And you have learned that it was Jesus, God’s very own Son, Who loved us so much that He came from heaven to be one of us, so that He could crush the devil’s power over us and suffer the awful punish¬ ment which had come upon us because of mortal sin. For Jesus’ whole Life on earth and His awful Death upon the Cross were the sufferings which atoned, or made up, for Adam’s sin and the sins of the whole human family. And by His sufferings and cruel Death upon the Cross, Jesus made it possible for everyone of us to have the most precious gift of sharing in God’s bright¬ ness and beauty. We call Jesus God’s very own Son The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity Our Saviour Our Redeemer Now you tell how Our Heavenly Father kept Flis Great Promise, answering the following questions: Whom did He send to earth? Tell about Jesus’ Life upon earth. [ Page 135 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Tell about Jesus’ Death. Tell why Our Heavenly Father sent His only Son to live upon the earth as we do. Tell several other names which we sometimes use when we are speaking about Jesus. On the third day after Jesus was crucified and died upon the Cross, something happened which astonished all those who knew about it. For on the third day after Jesus was crucified, He rose gloriously from the dead , to die no more. And by rising from the dead Jesus showed the whole world that the power of the devil was crushed. The day that Jesus rose from the dead was the first glorious Easter Day. After Jesus had risen from the dead, He remained upon this earth for forty days , appearing to many whom He had taught\ so that they would believe that He was truly Our Saviour and Redeemer. And on the fortieth day, Jesus, by His own power, ascended into heaven. We call this day Ascension Day. Now tell what happened from the time Jesus died on the Cross until He finally went to His home in heaven. f Page 136 1 MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN The most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty which God gives us at Baptism makes it easier for the mind and the will to rule the body. But if, after Baptism, any one of us should choose to commit a mortal sin, and should lose his most precious gift, do you think that he would then find it as easy as before for his mind and will to rule the body, or would it become more difficult*? I think that he would then find it more difficult for his mind and his will to rule the body. You have learned that when anyone commits a mor¬ tal sin, his mind is darkened by the loss of God’s brightness and beauty, and his will is deliberately turned away from God. And if anyone should die in the state of mortal sin, —that is, with his mind darkened and his will de¬ liberately turned away from God, where must he suf¬ fer forever? He must suffer in hell forever. Of course, anyone who is a loving child of God would never want to commit a mortal sin. But God’s loving children sometimes commit little sins. When any loving child of God commits little sins, do you think that his will remains just as strong as be- [ Page 121 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY fore he committed these little sins, or that it becomes weaker? I think that his will becomes weaker . Which one do you think is more likely to commit a mortal sin, the one whose will is strong, or the one whose will has become weakened by committing many little sins? I think that the one whose will has be¬ come weakened is more likely to com¬ mit a mortal sin . Which one would show more love for Our Heavenly Father, the one who tries hard not to commit little sins, or the one who does not try? The one who tries not to commit little sins shows more love for Our Heavenly Father . [ Page 122 ] MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN Which one do you think would receive more of Our Heavenly Father’s blessings,—the one who tries hard not to commit little sins, or the one who does not try? I think the one who tries hard not to commit little sins would receive more blessings. You know what follows when any law of nature is broken. What follows? Suffering follows. And you know that great suffering always follows when God’s law is broken by mortal sin. What do you think follows when God’s law is broken by little sins? I think suffering follows. Big sins and little sins cause much suffering while we are here upon this earth. And if anyone should die in the state of mortal sin , what torments must he suffer forever? He must suffer the torments of hell forever. But suppose that one of us should die. And suppose that he were not in the state of mortal sin. [ Page 123 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Of course, he will not have to suffer the torments of hell. But some suffering follows every sin, no matter how small the sin may be. So, if he has ever committed any sin and has not suffered for it here on earth, and the image and like¬ ness of God in his soul are not as clear and perfect as God wants them to be, he must wait and suffer for a time before he will have the great happiness of being with God forever in heaven. What do we call this state of suffering where souls have to wait for a time before they can be with God in heaven? We call this state of suffering purga¬ tory. Of course, little sins are not called mortal sins. They have a special name. We call them venial sins. f Page 124 ] MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN (Continued) Second Division Summary Now you have learned how we may bring upon our¬ selves and others much suffering and unhappiness by the way we use our wills to choose. And you have learned that when anyone uses his mind and his will to commit mortal sin the conse¬ quences are very serious. Tell some of the serious consequences of mortal sin. There is none of God's brightness and beauty in the soul. The mind is darkened as to the things of God. The will is turned away from God. And if anyone dies in the state of mor¬ tal sin, his mind will be darkened and his will turned away from God forever. He can never be in heaven with God. He must be with the devils, and must suffer the torments of hell forever. [ Page 125 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Now tell what you have learned about venial sins and their consequences. What are venial sins? Venial sins are little sins. When anyone commits many venial sins, how is his will different from what it was before he committed those sins? His will is weakened. When anyone’s will is weakened by many venial sins, then what kind of sin is he likely to commit? He is likely to commit mortal sin. After death, if anyone must suffer for a time because of his venial sins, where must he suffer? He must suffer in purgatory. You have been learning some of the laws or com¬ mandments which Our Heavenly Father has given us. What was the last commandment you learned? The sixth commandment. [ Page 126 ] MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN Now let us learn the seventh commandment. By the seventh commandment Our Heavenly Father commands us not to take or keep anything which we have no right to have. If we take or keep anything which we have no right to have, we steal . Now tell what is meant by stealing. The seventh commandment is: “Thou shalt not steal.” Memorize the seventh commandment. By the eighth commandment Our Heavenly Father commands us to show that we love our neighbor as ourselves by not .telling lies about anyone and by not speaking of anyone’s faults without good reason. We break the eighth commandment if we tell lies of any kind. The eighth commandment is: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neigh¬ bor.” Memorize the eighth commandment. [ Page 127 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY The ninth commandment is very much like the sixth commandment. By the ninth commandment Our Heavenly Father forbids us to desire or even think about anything which would take away the purity or sacredness of God’s home within us. The ninth commandment is: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.” Memorize the ninth commandment. The tenth commandment is very much like the sev¬ enth commandment. By the tenth commandment Our Heavenly Father forbids us even to desire to take or keep what we have no right to have. The tenth commandment is: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.” Memorize the tenth commandment. Say the ten commandments. Find out what your Catechism says about the ten commandments. [ Page 128 ] M O R T A L AND VENIAL SIN Review Questions Tell what you have learned about mortal sin. Tell what you have learned about venial sin. What follows every sin? What most precious gift do we lose if we commit a mortal sin? If we die in the state of mortal sin, what torments must we suffer forever? If it should be necessary for anyone to suffer for a time, after death, because of his venial sins, what do we call this state of suffering? Tell what the seventh commandment means. Tell what the eighth commandment means. \ Tell what the ninth commandment means. Tell what the tenth commandment means. Say the ten commandments. [ Page 129 ] JESUS OUR SAVIOUR Lesson X. Before beginning Lesson X., let us make the Sign of the Cross and say one of the following prayers: Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition (Lesson VI.). The Apostles’ Creed (as far as learned in Lesson III.). The Lord’s Prayer. You have learned about some of Our Heavenly Fa¬ ther’s valuable gifts to each one of us. Name these gifts. The body, the mind , the memory , the will and the most precious gift of shar¬ ing in God's brightness and beauty. Which one of these gifts is the most precious? The most precious gift is the gift of sharing in God's brightness and beauty. You have learned that if we use these five gifts as Our Heavenly Father wants us to use them, we shall be given a still greater gift some day. Which gift is this? [ Page 130 J Heaven. JESUS OUR SAVIOUR Which four of these gifts are given to us when we are created 6 ? When we are created , we are given a body , a mind , a memory and a will. Why are we not given the most precious gift of shar¬ ing in God’s brightness and beauty when we are created'? When we are created we are not given this most precious gift because of Adam's sin. In this lesson let us learn what happened so that now we may all have the most precious gift of shar¬ ing in God’s brightness and beauty in spite of Adam s sin and all the other sins which have ever been com¬ mitted. But before I can tell you the wonderful thing that happened, we must go back in thought to the sad time when Adam and Eve broke God s law and so committed the first mortal sin . They were then most unhappy and miserable. They were in the power of the devil and they knew that nothing they could do would ever set them free from the devil’s power. They also knew that some day they would die and that they never would be in heaven with God. [ Page 131 ] T H E S P I R I T IJ A L WAY But very soon after that first mortal sin had been committed Our Heavenly Father showed His power, His Mercy and His Love by making a Great Promise. This Great Promise was that some day in the future One would be born Who would crush the devil’s « power. And now I will tell you the story of how Our Heav¬ enly Father kept His Great Promise. Thousands of years after Our Heavenly Father had made the Great Promise, some One did come to live upon this earth Who was able to crush the devil’s power. For Our Heavenly Father sent His very own Son. And God's very own Son was born in a cold stable outside the small town of Bethlehem. The Mother of God’s very own Son was so lovely, so holy and so filled with God’s brightness and beauty that the Archangel Gabriel had called her t£ full of grace.” For you will learn in your next lesson how the Arch¬ angel had appeared to Mary some time before this, and had told her that she was to be the Mother of God, and that she was to call her Son, Jesus. God’s very own Son and the lovely Mary were cared for and protected by one whom Our Heavenly Fa¬ ther knew and trusted. [ Page 132 ] JESUS OUR SAVIOUR This one was Joseph of the royal family of King David. The baby Jesus grew up, as all babies do,—just as yomdid. And He continued obeying His Mother Mary and St. Joseph even when He was no longer a child . During the last three years of His life upon earth Jesus went about from place to place, teaching those whom He met how to know, to love and to serve Our Heavenly Father. And He taught them how to pray to Our Heavenly Father, and how to say the most perfect of all prayers. Which prayer is this? He also performed many miracles, such as raising the dead to life, making the blind see, making the lame walk, healing the sick, etc. [ Page 133 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Jesus’ whole Life was spent in doing good. But when He told the people Who He was , that is, that He was God's very own Son , the devil tempted many with a desire to kill Him . And when Jesus was thirty-three years old, He suf¬ fered at the hands of His enemies, a most cruel death, nailed to a Cross. The day on which Jesus died is called Good Friday. You have learned that because of mortal sin the whole human family were in the power of the devil, and could never have had the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty if Our Heav¬ enly Father had not shown His Power, His Mercy and His Love by sending Someone to earth Who was able to crush the devil’s power over us, and to atone, or make up, for our sins. r Page 134 ] JESUS OUR SAVIOUR And you have learned that it was Jesus, God’s very own Son, Who loved us so much that He came from heaven to be one of us, so that He could crush the devil’s power over us and suffer the awful punish¬ ment which had come upon us because of mortal sin. For Jesus’ whole Life on earth and His awful Death upon the Cross were the sufferings which atoned, or made up, for Adam’s sin and the sins of the whole human family. And by His sufferings and cruel Death upon the Cross, Jesus made it possible for everyone of us to have the most precious gift of sharing in God’s bright¬ ness and beauty. We call Jesus God's very own Son The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity Our Saviour Our Redeemer Now you tell how Our Heavenly Father kept His Great Promise, answering the following questions: Whom did He send to earth*? Tell about Jesus’ Life upon earth. [ Page 135 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Tell about Jesus’ Death. Tell why Our Heavenly Father sent His only Son to live upon the earth as we do. Tell several other names which we sometimes use when we are speaking about Jesus. On the third day after Jesus was crucified and died upon the Cross, something happened which astonished all those who knew about it. For on the third day after Jesus was crucified, He rose gloriously from the dead , to die no more. And by rising from the dead Jesus showed the whole world that the power of the devil was crushed. The day that Jesus rose from the dead was the first glorious faster Day. After Jesus had risen from the dead, He remained upon this earth for forty days , appearing to many whom He had taught , so that they would believe that He was truly Our Saviour and Redeemer. And on the fortieth day, Jesus, by His own power, ascended into heaven. We call this day Ascension Day. Now tell what happened from the time Jesus died on the Cross until He finally went to His home in heaven. [ Page 136 ] THE GLORIOUS VIRGIN MARY Now say the first part of The Hail Mary. “Hail, Mary, full of grace! The Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou amongst women, And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” The second part of The Hail Mary teaches us to ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to help us, that is, to pray for us while we are here on earth, and especially at the hour of death. The second part of the prayer is : “Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” Say this part of The Hail Mary. Now say the prayer from the beginning. Every time we say The Hail Mary we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary. So of course we should say The Hail Mary as part of our morning and evening prayers. But when we love the Blessed Virgin Mary very much, we sometimes say many Hail Marys , one right after the other. [Page 153 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY And while we are saying these Hail Marys we think about the Life of Jesus, and about the life of His Mother Mary. We count the Hail Marys on a little string of beads, to which there is attached a Cross, having on it the image of Jesus. We call a Cross to which an image of Jesus is nailed, a Crucifix . Perhaps you know what we call the string of beads to which the Crucifix is attached. What do we call it? We call it a Rosary . Try to find out more about the Rosary, just exactly how it is said, and what Mysteries we should think about while saying it. There are many other prayers which are said to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to obtain her help. One of these prayers is called The Memorare . Another prayer is the Hail, Holy Queen , which you hear the priest say right after Holy Mass. These prayers are in almost every prayer-book, and I am sure you will want to find them and learn them. We honor the glorious Virgin Mary very specially on certain days called her feast-days. [ Page 154 ] THE GLORIOUS VIRGIN MARY The feast-days of the glorious Virgin Mary are days set apart to honor some special event or privilege in her life, such as: December 8th: September 8th: March 25th: August 15th: The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Annunciation. The Assumption of the Blessed Vir¬ gin Mary,—that is, the day we com¬ memorate the taking up the Blessed Virgin Mary, both body and soul (some time after her death) into heaven. Review Questions Tell, in your own words, what is meant by the Im¬ maculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Tell what you know of the life of the Blessed Vir¬ gin Mary from the age of three to the age of fifteen. Tell what is meant by The Annunciation . Tell how Our Heavenly Father kept His Great Promise. Which are the principal times each day when we kneel to say our prayers'? [ Page 155 ] THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH Lesson XII. Before beginning Lesson XII., let us make the Sign of the Cross, and say one of the following prayers: Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition (Lesson vi.) The Lord’s Prayer The Hail Mary The Apostles’ Creed (as far as learned in Lesson X.) After Adam’s sin Our Heavenly Father promised that some day He would send Someone to this earth who would crush the devil’s power. Whom did Our Heavenly Father send to this earth to crush the devil’s power? He sent His very own Son. Tell what you have learned about the last three years of Jesus’ Life upon earth. He taught others how to know, to love, and to serve God. He performed miracles. He suffered and died on the Cross. [ Page 156 ] THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH You have just told me that while Jesus was on earth He went about from place to place teaching the grown-up people and the little children, whom He met, how to know, to love and to serve Our Heavenly Father. But Jesus knew that He would not always live upon this earth, going from place to place teaching those whom He met. So He planned to leave a sure and true Guide and Teacher upon this earth. In this lesson let us try to learn something about the Guide and Teacher Jesus left us. There were many who followed Jesus to study Him closely and listen to His teachings. [ Page 157 J THE SPIRITUAL WAY But Jesus chose twelve men whom He asked to leave all that they had and to stay with Him always. What were these twelve called? These twelve were called the Apostles. One day Jesus called together His Apostles and told them to go all over, teaching all the grown-up people and the little children of every country and every nation how to know, to love, and to serve God. But to do this, the Apostles needed great power. 0 Who was able to give them the power they needed 1 ? Jesus was able to give them the power they needed. Jesus did give these twelve Apostles great power. What power do you think Jesus gave them for the sick 1 ?—for the dead 1 ?—for lepers? Jesus gave them the power to heal the sick, to raise the dead, and to cleanse lepers. (St. Matthew 10: 8.) But Jesus gave His Apostles even more power than this. On the day before Jesus was crucified , He made his twelve Apostles great priests, or, as we would say, bishops. f Page 1S8 ] THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH This was the beginning of Jesus’ Church. And after Jesus had risen from the dead He gave His Apostles the very same power He Himself had. For He said to them: “As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.” (St. John 20:21.) Let us learn what Jesus said to His Apostles at this time. Jesus also said to His Apostles: “All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ,ye all na¬ tions; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost . . . and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” (St. Matthew 28: 18, 19, 20.) Now, I am going to ask you some questions about these words which Jesus spoke. As the Father had sent Jesus, whom did Jesus send 6 ? Jesus sent His Apostles. How much power in heaven and earth did Jesus have 6 ? Jesus had all power in heaven and earth. [ Page 159 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Whom did Jesus tell His Apostles to teach'? Jesus told His Apostles to teach all nations. Besides teaching, what else were the Apostles to do"? The Apostles were to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. How long did Jesus promise to be with His Church'? Jesus promised to be with His Church until the end of the world. Let us memorize the words of Jesus. THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH ( Continued ) Second Division Now, let us find out more about the way Jesus’ Church was founded. Of course, Jesus had the power to make or ordain bishops or priests of His Church. Whom did Jesus make the first bishops of His Church 4 ? Jesus made the Apostles the first bish¬ ops of His Church. [ Page 160 ] THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH To whom do you think Jesus gave the power to make other bishops and priests? Jesus gave the power to His Apostles to make other bishops and priests. (See Acts 6: 6; 13: 3; 14: 22.) Some months before Jesus died a cruel death on the Cross, He was alone with His Apostles, and while talking with them, Jesus said to the Apostle Peter: “And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the king¬ dom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven/’ (St. Matthew 16: 18, 19.) Peter and the other Apostles knew that Jesus had told them something very important. Jesus had told them that He was going to build or begin something which would last forever. What did Jesus say that He was going to build or begin ? Jesus said that He was going to begin His Church. [ Page 161 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY What power did Jesus say would never prevail against His Church'? Jesus said that the gates of hell would never prevail against His Church. A rock, you know, is very steady and firm and strong. Of course, Jesus is the real rock upon which His Church was to be built. But when Jesus spoke to Peter, He called Peter the rock upon which He would build His Church. This means that Jesus chose Peter to take His place, —that is, to be His representative as the head of His Church on earth. You have learned that Jesus gave power to all of the Apostles. But now you know that Jesus gave more power to one of the Apostles than to any of the others. To which Apostle did Jesus give the most power'? Jesus gave the most power to the Apos¬ tle Peter. Now let us memorize these important words which Jesus used when He made Peter His representative on earth. At another time Jesus again spoke very specially to Peter. It was the night before Jesus died. [ Page 162 ] THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH Jesus said to Peter, calling him Simon, which was Peter’s other name: “Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren.” (St. Luke 22:31, 32.) What was Peter’s other name 4 ? Simon. Who desired to have Peter? Satan desired to have Peter. What did Jesus do for Peter so that he would be a sure and true guide and teacher? Jesus prayed for Peter. Let us learn exactly what Jesus said to Peter at this time. THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH ( Continued) Third Division After Jesus had risen from the dead, He appeared one day to Peter and to several other Apostles and dis¬ ciples. [ Page 163 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY He ate with them all, and then said to Peter: “Simon, son of John, lovest thou me more than these? He saith to him: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him: Feed my lambs. He saith to him again: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? He saith to him: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him: Feed mv lambs. He saith to him the third time: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved, because he had said to him the third time: Lovest thou me? And he said to him: Lord, thou knowest all things: thou knowest that I love thee. He said to him: Feed my sheep.” (St. John 21: 15-17.) Have you ever seen real lambs and sheep, or pic¬ tures of them? What do we call the person who takes care of the lambs and sheep? The shepherd. [ Page 164 ] THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH From what Jesus said to Peter, we know that Jesus wanted Peter to take care of His lambs and sheep. Jesus Himself took care of His lambs and sheep be¬ fore He asked Peter to take care of them. This means that Jesus is a Shepherd and that He wanted Peter to be a shepherd, when He would no longer be with the lambs and sheep. Whom do you think Jesus meant by His lambs and sheep ? Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd. In Jesus’ Church, Jesus’ representative, the Head of His Church, will always take Jesus’ place as Good Shepherd. The one who takes Jesus’ place on earth as Good Shepherd has other names; such as Holy Father and Pope . What is the name of Jesus’ Church? The Holy Catholic Church. In another lesson you will learn just what Jesus meant when He said: “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.” Summary Now, let us review what we have learned about our Holy Church. [ Page 165 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY What did Jesus plan so that we would always have a sure and true Guide and Teacher upon this earth? Jesus planned His Church. Whom did Jesus pick out to be the first great priests of His Church? The Apostles were the first great priests of Jesus 9 Church. From Whom did the Apostles or great priests receive their power? The Apostles or great priests received their power from Jesus. What did Jesus tell His Apostles to do? Jesus told His Apostles to teach all na¬ tions , and to baptize in the name of the Father , and of the Son 9 and of the Holy Ghost. Which Apostle did Jesus pick out to be His repre¬ sentative on earth? Jesus picked out Peter to be His repre¬ sentative on earth. What name do we give to Jesus’ representative on earth? Jesus representative on earth is called the Pope or Holy Father. [ Page 166 ] THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH Who was the first Pope? St. Peter was the first Pope. What did Jesus say to Peter when He made him Head of the Church? “And / say to thee that thou art Pet erf 9 etc. What did Jesus do for Peter, so that Peter’s faith would not fail? Jesus prayed that Peter s jaith would not fail. What is the name of Jesus’ Church? The Holy Catholic Church. What is the name of Jesus’ representative on earth today ? Find in your Catechism the Lesson on Holy Church. 0 Memorize the statements. THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH ( Continued) Fourth Division When Jesus began His Church on earth, He said something to His Apostles which makes us know T that [ Page 167 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY when we listen to the Church we listen to Jesus. This is what Jesus said: “He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me.” (St. Luke 10: 16.) Let us memorize these words of Jesus. The Church, our true Teacher and Guide, has laid down six laws for us to follow. And Holy Church tells us that it is a mortal sin to disobey these laws. We keep one of these laws every Sunday, and on certain other important days. Perhaps you can tell this first law of Holy Church. What is it? Let us learn the first commandment of Holy Church, as it is in the Catechism. I o assist at Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation.” I will tell you what the holydays of obligation are. But even if you forget them, the priest will remind [ Page 168 ] THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH you at Holy Mass on the Sunday which comes before the holyday. The holydays of obligation are: Christmas and New Year’s, of course, and then these four others: Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8th. Feast of the Ascension, forty days after Easter. Feast of the Assumption, August 15th. Feast of All Saints, November 1st. Let us memorize these holydays. Now, let us again say the first commandment of Holy Church. We keep the second law or commandment of Holy Church every Friday, and on certain other days. What do we do every Friday to show that we remem¬ ber what Jesus did for us on Good Friday 1 ? Another way of saying “We do not eat meat,” is to say, “We abstain from meat.” Besides abstaining from meat on Fridays and certain other days, Holy Church commands us to keep certain fast days, that is, days on which only one meal is eaten. Everyone, even little children, must abstain from meat. [ Page 169 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY But only grown-up people, who are not sick, are com¬ manded to keep fast-days. The second law of Holy Church is: “To fast and abstain on the days ap¬ pointed.” Let us learn the second commandment of Holy Church. The third and fourth commandments of Holy Church are about “going to confession” and “receiving Holy Communion.” All of God’s loving children want to go to confession and receive Holy Communion very often. The third and fourth commandments of Holy Church are for those who forget God so much that they do not go to confession and Holy Communion frequently, as God’s loving children do. The third commandment of Holy Church is: “To confess at least once a year.” The fourth commandment is: “To receive Holy Communion during the Easter time.” [ Page 170 ] THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH Let us memorize the third and fourth commandments of Holy Church. By the fifth commandment, Holy Church commands us to help support the Church. Jesus asks His priests to give up all that they have to do for Him a work that no one else can do. Jesus does not ask everyone to do this. But He wants and expects every grown-up person and little child to give something to His Church. The fifth commandment of Holy Church is: “To contribute to the support of our pas¬ tors. 55 Let us memorize the fifth commandment of Holy Church. The sixth commandment of Holy Church is not for children. It is for grown-up people. The sixth commandment of Holy Church tells us: “Not to marry against the laws of the Church. 55 Now, say the six commandments of Holy Church. Find what the Catechism says about the six com - mandments of Holy Church. [ Page 171 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Review Questions Say the ten commandments of God. Say the six commandments of Holy Church. Tell what you know about the beginning of Jesus’ Church. % From Whom did the Apostles obtain their power? Repeat what Jesus said when He made Peter the first Pope. r Page 172 ] THE SACRAMENTS—THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Lesson XIII. Before beginning Lesson XIII., let us make the Sign of the Cross, and say the short Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition which you have learned. (Lesson VI.) What do we mean when we say that we are created in the state of original sin? (Any of the following answers may be accepted.) “We mean that when we are created, we have no grace.” “We mean that when we are created, we are not God’s loving children, and have no right to heaven.” “By original sin we mean the sin that we inherit from our first parents.” Whom did Our Heavenly Father send to live upon [ Page 173 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY this earth, to suffer and die for us so that we could all have grace and heaven? Our Heavenly Father sent Jesus. Now let us find out about the different ways Jesus provided for giving us grace . But before I tell you about these different ways, let us try to picture to ourselves a beautiful fountain. Picture the water coming from some hidden source or spring with such force that it bubbles up and over¬ flows in many streams. Suppose the sun were shining. If the sun were shining upon these streams of water coming from the fountain, how would the water look? The water would look sparkling. If you have ever seen a fountain, tell about the foun¬ tain, and where you saw it. Now, let us talk about another fountain; but this fountain instead of sending forth streams of water sends forth streams of God’s own brightness and beauty; that is, streams of grace. Jesus’ Church is the fountain which sends forth these streams of grace. But Jesus, of course, is the hidden Source of this fountain. [ Page 174 ] THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Jesus sends His grace through His Church in seven streams called the Seven Sacraments. We cannot see the streams of grace which Jesus sends to us through the Sacraments of His Church. But Jesus, Himself, has told us about these seven streams of grace, and He has given each Sacrament a special sign which makes us know which stream of grace we are receiving. Now, let us review what we have learned thus far about the Sacraments. Who is the Source of grace? What did we say is like a fountain sending forth streams of grace? How many special streams of grace are there? What do we call these seven special streams of grace? When anyone goes to the Church to receive grace for the first time, he receives it through one special stream or Sacrament. [ Page 175 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY What is the name of this special stream or Sacrament"? Baptism . Later on you will learn about the other six special streams or Sacraments. But in this lesson let us learn more about The Sacra¬ ment of Baptism. There is a special sign which makes us know that we are receiving the grace which Baptism gives. Perhaps you already know which sign Jesus chose for the Sacrament of Baptism. When anyone goes to the Church to receive the Sacra¬ ment of Baptism, the priest pours water upon the head of the person to be baptized, saying: “I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” One part of this sign is what the priest says. What does he say? “I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost ! 9 The other part of the sign is what the priest does. What does he do? The priest pours water upon the head of the person to be baptized . These two parts of the sign must not be separated, but must take place at the same time. [ Page 176] THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Perhaps you are wondering why water is used as part of the sign for Baptism. What does water do for anything that is stained and darkened? It makes it clean and bright . Why do we say that the soul is darkened before Bap¬ tism? We say that the soul is darkened be¬ cause it is in the state of original sin , or because there is none of God’s bright¬ ness and beauty in the soul . You see, water is used as part of this sign to show that the soul is no longer darkened by original sin, but is brightened with grace. The words which the priest says show that grace is given through the power of the Blessed Trinity. Now, you tell what you have learned about the sign used in the Sacrament of Baptism. THE SACRAMENTS—THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM ( Continued) Second Division Let us think for a while about the great changes Bap¬ tism makes in anyone. [ Page 177 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Before Baptism we were in the state of original sin. What does this mean? After Baptism, instead of the soul being darkened by original sin, what change takes place in it? When anyone receives grace, whose loving child does he become? Where do God’s loving children belong? Because Baptism makes such a great change in any¬ one, it never can be given but once. Jesus called the great change which Baptism makes “being born again.” Let us learn just what Jesus said. “Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (St. John 3:5.) Summary Tell about the different ways Jesus provided for giv¬ ing us grace. T ell what you know about the first Sacrament which anyone receives. Find in your Catechism the lesson on Baptism. Memorize the statements. I Page 178 ] THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM You know that it was to the Bishops and priests of Jesus’ Church that Jesus gave the power to baptize. Why should every little baby be brought to the Church very soon after he is born, to be baptized by the priest? The baby should be baptized as soon as possible so that he may become a child of God , and 9 if he should die 9 would be¬ long in heaven . Parents commit a serious sin if they neglect to have the baby baptized while he is still a little baby. But Holy Church is like a good mother. She takes special care of her sick children. If a little baby should be too weak and sick to be brought to the Church, and those who are taking care [ Page 179 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY of him think that he will die, Holy Church wants anyone who is near to baptize this little baby. But Holy Church wants this to be done only if there is danger that the baby may die before a priest can come. If the person who baptized the little baby does it exactly as the Church teaches us to do at such times, the little baby receives the most precious gift of grace, and becomes a child of God. But if the little sick baby should become well and strong again, he should then be brought to the Church so that the priest may perform the usual ceremonies which belong to the Sacrament of Baptism. You see how necessary it is for everyone to know exactly how to baptize. Now, tell just what you would do if you were bap¬ tizing a little dying baby. THE SACRAMENTS—THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM ( Continued) Third Division • • i You know that when a little baby is brought to the Church to be baptized, he must have a godfather or godmother, or both. [ Page 180 ] THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM But perhaps you do not know why it is necessary to have a godfather or godmother. When the priest is baptizing the little baby, he asks him to make certain promises. The godfather or godmother makes these promises for the little baby, and it is the godfather’s or godmoth¬ er’s duty to make sure that these promises are kept. They must make sure that the little baby is brought up to be a loving child of God, and an obedient mem¬ ber of Jesus’ Church. To be an obedient member of Holy Church everyone must know the chief truths which the Church teaches. Which prayer contains the chief truths we must be¬ lieve 1 ? The Apostles 9 Creed. When a little baby is being baptized, the priest asks the little baby if he believes what The Apostles’ Creed teaches. The godfather or godmother answers for the little baby : “I do believe.” You already know most of The Apostles’ Creed. Say the part of The Apostles Creed which tells us what we must believe about God, the Father. [ Page 181 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Say the part which tells us what we must believe about God the Son. Now let us learn the last part of The Apostles Creed. It begins by an Act of Faith in God the Holy Ghost. The exact words are: “I believe in the Holy Ghost.” Then follows an Act of Faith in the Holy Catholic Church. We say these two Acts of Faith together, this way: “I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church.” Let us learn this part of The Apostles' Creed . Then follows a list of Articles of Faith which we must believe. One of the Articles of Faith is: “The Communion of Saints.” What does this mean 4 ? The Communion of Saints means that everyone who has the most precious gift of grace,—the gift of sharing in God's brightness and beauty,—whether on earth, in purgatory, or in heaven, be - longs to the same great family. (Les¬ son VI.) [ Page 182 ] THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Another Article of Faith is: “The forgiveness of sins.” You know a little about this Article of Faith already, but you will learn more about it in the lesson on Con¬ fession. Now, say all that you have learned today of The Apostles' Creed . “I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins.” You know God created us, body and soul. For this reason God wants us, body and soul, to be happy with Him forever in heaven. It is an Article of Faith that at the end of the world the bodies of the dead will rise again to be united to their souls once more. Jesus not only rose from the dead Himself, but He said that He would raise all the dead to life again. These are the words of Jesus: “The hour cometh, wherein all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of [ Page 183 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY God. And they that have done good things, shall come forth unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment. (St. John 5:28, 29.) Those who have tried to know, to love and to serve God while on earth will be happy, both body and soul, in heaven. Those who have turned away from God and have dis¬ obeyed Him, will suffer torments, both body and soul, in hell. Everyone’s body will share either in the happiness or the unhappiness of his soul. 1 This Article of Faith is called: “The Resurrection of the body.” Now, say all that you have learned of the last part of The Apostles Creed. The last Article of Faith is: “And the life everlasting.” lu Man is, therefore, to rise again in the same body with which he served God, or was a slave to the devil; that in the same body he may experience rewards and a crown of victory, or endure the severest punishments and torments .”—Catechism of the Council of Trent. f Page 184 ] THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM What does this mean'? This means that we shall live forever. We end The Apostles' Creed by saying: “Amen.” Say all that you have learned in this lesson of The Apostles Creed . Now say The Apostles' Creed from the beginning. Review Questions Tell what you have learned about the Sacraments. Tell what you know about Baptism. Say The Apostles’ Creed. What is meant by The Resurrection of the Body? Tell how Jesus founded His Church. What did Jesus say to the Apostles when He com¬ manded them to baptize and teach all nations 4 ? [ Page 185 ] THE SACRIFICES OF THE OLD LAW Lesson XIV. Before beginning Lesson XIV., let us make the Sign of the Cross, and say one of the following prayers: Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition (Lesson VL) The Lord’s Prayer The Hail Mary The Apostles’ Creed We have learned that Jesus founded or began His Church to be as a Fountain sending forth seven streams of grace. What do we call these seven streams of grace We call these seven streams of grace the Seven Sacraments. We have also learned that Jesus founded His Church to be our Guide and Teacher. But before Jesus came to live upon this earth, Our Heavenly Father had made known to the people, through Moses and other prophets, how He wanted them to worship Him. r Page 186 ] SACRIFICES OF THE OLD LAW In this lesson let us learn how the people worshipped Our Heavenly Father up to the time when Jesus came to teach another way. From the very beginning Our Heavenly Father showed that He was pleased when the children of Adam’s big family offered Him gifts from the fruits of the land, such as bread, wine, oil, salt, etc.; and the very best firstlings of their flock, such as oxen, sheep, goats and little pigeons. (Genesis 4:3, 4. Leviticus 1:8.) Now you tell some gifts which Our Heavenly Father was pleased to receive from the people. The animals to be offered were first killed, and then either entirely or partly burned. (Leviticus 3:7-11.) What was not burned of the animals or firstfruits could be eaten by the priests and people. When the animal was entirely burned , the sacrifice was called a holocaust . God’s chosen people offered their gifts to God as a sign that they were really offering their lives to Flim, to serve Him in whatever way He wanted to be served. And the animals were killed, before being offered in [Page 187 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY sacrifice, as a sign that God was the Ruler and Mas¬ ter of the people and all they possessed, and also as a sign that the people were sorry for their sins, and knew that they deserved punishment for them. Now you tell two reasons why the animals were killed before being offered in sacrifice. This way of worshipping God by offering Him the firstfruits of the land and the very best firstlings of the flocks is called offering sacrifice according to The Old Law . Tell what you have learned thus far about the sacrifices of The Old Law. In The Old Law the Jews were called God’s chosen people. Perhaps you remember whom God picked out to lead the chosen people out of the Land of Egypt where they had been so cruelly treated. Who was their leader? Their leader was Moses. You remember that the wicked Egyptian King Pha¬ raoh broke many promises, and would not let the chosen people stop their work long enough to go to offer sacrifice to God as God wanted them to do. [ Page 188 ] SACRIFICES OF THE OLD LAW And you remember how God punished Pharaoh and his people many times. Tell the story of how God punished the Egyptian King Pharaoh and his people by frogs,—by dark¬ ness,—and by changing the waters of the rivers into blood. (See Lesson III.) God also punished the cruel Egyptians in many other ways. But there was one punishment that was worse than all the others. For God told Moses that on a certain day the first¬ born of Pharaoh’s family and every other Egyptian family, and even the firstborn of all the animals, would die. God said: “And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt both man and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.” (Exodus 12: 12.) But Our Heavenly Father would spare the families of the chosen people. Not one of them would be killed that night. And Our Heavenly Father told Moses exactly what the chosen people were to do to be saved. [Page 189 j THE SPIRITUAL WAY He made known that on a certain day the head of each family was to sacrifice a lamb, and He also told them exactly about the ceremony connected with the sacrifice of the lamb. The most important part of this ceremony was that each house was to have the door-posts sprinkled with the blood of the lamb, and Moses told the people why this should be done. Moses said: “For the Lord will pass through striking the Egyptians: and when he shall see the blood on the transom, and on both the posts, he will pass over the door of the house, and not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses and to hurt you.” (Exodus 12: 23). God had made this known to Moses when He said: “And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall be: and I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you: and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I shall strike the land of Egypt. And this day shall be for a memorial to you: and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord in your generations with an everlasting ob¬ servance.” (Exodus 12: 13, 14.) Of course, the chosen people did exactly as Our Heav¬ enly Father had commanded, and on the appointed night the firstborn of man and beast in every Egyp¬ tian house was killed. [ Page 190 ] SACRIFICES OF THE OLD LAW But no one was killed in the houses where the door¬ posts were sprinkled with the blood of the lamb. Let us read from the Bible about this: “And Pharaoh arose in the night, and all his servants, and all Egypt; and there arose a great cry in Egypt: for there was not a house wherein there lay not one dead. And Pharaoh calling Moses and Aaron in the night, said: Arise and go forth from among my people, you and the children of Israel: go, sacrifice to the Lord as you say. Your sheep and herds take along with you, as you demanded, and departing, bless me. And the Egyptians pressed the people to go forth out of the land speedily, saying: We shall all die.” (Exodus 12:30-33.) [ Page 191 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Then the chosen people went out of the Land of Egypt into the desert, to offer sacrifice to God. Now you tell how God punished the cruel Egyptians, and saved the chosen people. God told Moses to command the chosen people to celebrate a feast each year, so that they would always remember how He had spared their families and had brought them safely out of the Land of Egypt. (Ex¬ odus 12:24-27.) This was to be their greatest feast. It was to be celebrated by sacrificing lambs. And some part of the lamb was to be eaten by each family. This great feast was called the Pasch or Passover, be¬ cause it was celebrated in memory of the night when God passed over the houses of the chosen people, sav¬ ing them, but destroying the firstborn of the Egyptian families. The chosen people never forgot to celebrate the Pasch each year. They also consecrated their firstborn sons to God, in memory of the night when all the firstborn of the Egyptians were killed, and all the firstborn of the chosen people were spared. You probably remember the story of how the Egyp¬ tians were sorry that they let the chosen people go, [ Page 192 ] SACRIFICES OF THE OLD LAW and how they followed them to the Red Sea, where they were drowned. But what we need to remember for this lesson is the Feast of the Passover. Tell about the Feast of the Passover, and why it was celebrated each year. THE SACRIFICES OF THE OLD LAW ( Continued) Second Division Summary Now let us review what we have learned thus far about worshipping God according to The Old Law. How was God worshipped according to The Old Law? How did the people know about this way of worship¬ ping God? What is meant by a holocaust? Tell about the first Feast of the Passover. [ Page 193 J THE SPIRITUAL WAY Why was the Feast of the Passover to be celebrated every year? There is an unusual story in the Bible about a holy man who was asked by God to offer a most extraor¬ dinary sacrifice. A great deal depended upon whether this holy man would have faith in God and obey Him, or not. The holy man did have great faith in God, and he did obey God. But he had no idea how much depended upon his obedience. Let us read the story just the way it is told in the Bible. God said to Abraham: “Take thy only begotten son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land of vision: and there thou shalt offer him for an holo¬ caust upon one of the mountains which I will shew thee. So Abraham rising up in the night, saddled an ass: and took with him two young men, and Isaac his son: and when he had cut [ Page 194 ] SACRIFICES OF THE OLD LAW wood for the holocaust he went his way to the place which God had commanded him. And on the third day, lifting up his eyes, he saw the place afar off. And he said to his young men: Stay you here with the ass: I and the boy will go with speed as far as yonder, and after we have worshipped, will return to you. And he took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon Isaac his son: and he himself carried in his hands fire and a sword. And as they two went on together, Isaac said to his father: Mv father. And he answered: What wilt thou, son? Behold saith he, fire and wood: where is the victim for the holocaust? And Abraham said: God will provide him¬ self a victim for an holocaust, my son. So they went on together. And they came to the place which God had shewn him, where he built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it: and when he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on the altar upon the pile of wood. And he put forth his hand and took the sword, to sacrifice his son. And behold an angel of the Lord from heav¬ en called to him saying: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am. And he said to him: Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou anything to him: now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake. [ Page 195 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw behind his back a ram amongst the briers sticking fast by the horns, which he took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son.” (Genesis 22: 2-13.) Now you tell this story of Abraham. What do you think about Abraham’s faith in God and his obedience 4 ? After Abraham had offered the ram in sacrifice in¬ stead of Isaac, God showed Abraham how much had depended upon his obedience. Because Abraham had obeyed God, God blessed him in every way, and blessed all of his big family. God even told Abraham that because he had obeyed Him, the promised Redeemer would be one of his race. [ Page 196 ] SACRIFICES OF THE OLD LAW What difference do you think it will make if you refuse to do something which you know God wants you to do? Review Questions Tell what you know about the sacrifices of The Old Law. Tell what you know about the Feast of the Passover. Say the ten commandments of God. Say the six commandments of Holy Church. [ Page 197 1 THE SACRIFICE OF THE NEW LAW Lesson XV. Before beginning Lesson XV., let us make the Sign of the Cross and say one of the following prayers: Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition (Lesson VI.) The Lord’s Prayer The Hail Mary The Apostles’ Creed How did Our Heavenly Father want the chosen peo¬ ple to worship Him according to The Old Law? Our Heavenly Father wanted the chosen people to worship Him by offer - ing sacrifices. Name some of the gifts from the fruits of the earth that were offered in sacrifice in The Old Law. Bread, wine, oil, salt, etc. Name some of the animals that were offered in sac¬ rifice in The Old Law. Oxen, goats, sheep, little pigeons, etc. [ Page 198 ] SACRIFICE OF THE NEW LAW Tell what you have learned about the Feast of the Passover. (See Lesson XIV.) In this lesson let us learn how the sacrifices of The Old Law are replaced in The New Law. While Jesus was on earth He celebrated the Feast of the Passover every year according to the custom of the chosen people. And during the last year that Jesus was on earth He wanted to celebrate the Feast of the Passover with His Apostles. So, He sent Peter and John to prepare for the Feast. Peter and John followed all of Jesus’ instructions, and prepared for the Feast in a large dining room, called The Cenacle . In the Cenacle, Jesus told His Apostles how He had been looking forward to celebrating this feast with them. For Jesus knew that this night would be His last one on earth, and that He was going to leave a pledge of His great undying love. Jesus knew that the sacrifice of lambs according to The Old Law was about to be ended. For He had come to offer and to teach the Great Sacrifice of The New Law. According to the New Law, Jesus Himself was go¬ ing to be the Lamb to be slain in sacrifice and to shed His blood for the sins of the people. [ Page 199 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY And Jesus knew that He was going to offer this bloody Sacrifice on the very next day when He would be nailed to a Cross and would die a most cruel death. About seven hundred years before this, a holy man of God, called Isaias, foretold many things about Jesus. Isaias said: “He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth. 7 ’ (Isaias 53: 7.) Let us memorize what Isaias said when he foretold how Jesus would be the Lamb of God. Our Heavenly Father willed to be worshipped by sacrifice until the end of the world. In The New Law there would be but one bloody sac¬ rifice. But sacrifice was never to cease. So, at the Last Supper, Jesus taught His Apostles how to offer the unbloody sacrifice of The New Law. This is what Jesus did: After all the ceremonies connected with the Feast of [ Page 200 J SACRIFICE OF THE NEW LAW the Passover were ended, Jesus very solemnly took bread. He blessed it, then broke it, and gave it to His Apos¬ tles, saying: “Take ye and eat. This is my body.” Then Jesus took a chalice, or cup, in which there was wine. He blessed it. And after he had supped, gave to His Apostles to drink, saying: “Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many, unto the remission of sins.” (St. Matthew 26:28.) After these solemn words, the bread and wine were no longer bread and wine. f Page 201 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY For Jesus, by His Divine power, had performed a miracle. He had changed the bread and wine into His very own Body and Blood. Let us memorize what Jesus said when He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the Apos¬ tles to eat. Let us memorize what Jesus said when He changed the wine into His own Precious Blood. When Jesus said these words, what great miracle took place 4 ? After Jesus had changed the bread and wine into His Body and Blood, and had said to His Apostles: “Take ye, and eat. This is my body,” and “Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the new testament which shall be shed for many unto the remission of sins,” Jesus said to His Apostles something else which was very important. He said: “Do this for a commemoration of me.” (St. Luke 22: 19; 1st Cor. 11:24, 25.) [ Page 202 ] SACRIFICE OF THE NEW LAW By these solemn words Jesus made His Apostles priests. For He gave them power to change bread and wine into His Body and Blood, and He commanded them to offer up His Body and Blood in Sacrifice, as He Himself had just done. For Sacrifice in The New Law, as well as in The Old Law, must be offered by a priest . On the Cross Jesus was our great Highpriest, of¬ fering His own Life to Our Heavenly Father, as a bloody Sacrifice to take away the sins of the world. But this was to be the only bloody Sacrifice of the New Law. For, ever since the time when Jesus shed His Blood and died on the Cross for love of us, Jesus priests all over the world do what Jesus commanded them to do at the Last Supper. That is, Jesus’ priests represent Him. And every day they offer in sacrifice to Our Heavenly Father the Body and Blood of Jesus under the ap¬ pearances of bread and wine. So you see this unbloody Sacrifice which Jesus’ priests offer to Our Heavenly Father in The New Law is the [ Page 203 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY same Sacrifice which Jesus offered to Our Heavenly Father on the Cross. It is called the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Now let us review what we have learned thus far about the Sacrifice of The New Law. Who offered the first Sacrifice of The New Law? Tell what took place in the Cenacle at the Last Sup¬ per. What power did Jesus give His priests when He said: “Do this for a commemoration of Me?” When did Jesus offer the bloody Sacrifice of The New Law? Why do we say that Jesus is the Lamb of God? [ Page 204 ] SACRIFICE OF THE NEW LAW What do we call the Sacrifice of The New Law 4 ? In the Holy Mass, what Victim or Lamb is offered in Sacrifice 4 ? Who is the great Highpriest offering the Sacrifice 4 ? Who represents Jesus in offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass 4 ? Find in your Catechism the chapter on The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Memorize the answers. THE SACRIFICE OF THE NEW LAW ( Continued) Second Division The chief and central part of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the part where Jesus 7 priest changes bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus. And this part of The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is called The Consecration . The Consecration takes place in about the middle of the Mass. And special prayers are said by the priest and the peo¬ ple before The Consecration . [ Page 205 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY These prayers are said to prepare the minds and the hearts of both priest and people for the great Sacri¬ fice about to be offered. In these beginning prayers both priest and people con¬ fess that they are sinners and are unworthy to offer The Holy Sacrifice. And they pray to Our Heavenly Father to accept and bless the offering of bread and wine about to be con¬ secrated. During The Consecration the priest uses the Divine power Jesus gave him. He says the very same words that Jesus said at the Last Supper. And then Jesus is really and truly present on the al¬ tar under the appearance of bread and wine. Of course, this is the very solemn part of the Holy Sacrifice. And at this time we ought to make Acts of Faith, Adoration and Love. We ought to pray for grace for ourselves and for others. We should also pray for the dead. Now, you tell what we call the principal part of The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. [ Page 206 ] SACRIFICE OF THE NEW LAW Why are special prayers said by the priest and the people before The Consecration? Tell what takes place at The Consecration. What are the words used by the priest when he changes the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus? After The Consecration when Jesus is really and truly present, how would you tell Him that you believe in Him, adore Him and love Him? At this time, for whom should we pray? During the last part of The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the priest says twice: “Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.” The third time, the priest says: “Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace.” Because this prayer begins “Lamb of God” we call it by the Latin words for Lamb of God , that is Agnus Dei.” Let us memorize the “Agnus Dei” so that you can say it when you hear the priest say it. [ Page 207 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY After the Agnus Dei, the priest and the people pre¬ pare to partake of the Body and Blood of Jesus. This is called The Communion. The prayer which the priest and the people say before partaking of the Body and Blood of Jesus, is: “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof; but say only the word and my soul shall be healed.” This prayer is called Domine non sum dignus. The priest says this prayer three times before he receives Holy Communion. And the bell is rung each time the priest says the “Domine non sum dignusT Let us memorize the “Domine non sum dignusT The people who are prepared to partake of the Body and Blood of Jesus go to the altar-rail at this time to receive Holy Communion. After Holy Communion, prayers of thanksgiving are said. And near the end of The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass the people kneel to receive God’s blessing which the priest solemnly gives them. Now, let us see if you can answer some questions about the last part of The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I Page 208 ] SACRIFICE OF THE NEW LAW What do we call partaking of the Body and Blood of Jesus'? After the priest and the people have received Holy Communion, what kind of prayers should be said'? Near the end of The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, whose blessing is given? There is a book called The Missal in which are all the prayers said by the priest during The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Every grown-up person should have a Missal to fol¬ low the Mass exactly. But while you are little you can use children’s Mass Books, with pictures, to help you follow what is taking place in The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Review Questions Tell what took place at The Last Supper. What is The Sacrifice of The New Law'? What bloody Sacrifice was the same as The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass'? What do we call the principal part of The Holy Sac¬ rifice of the Mass? What takes place at The Consecration? [ Page 209 ] THE SACRAMENT OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST Lesson XVI. Before beginning Lesson XVI., let us make the Sign of the Cross, and say one of the following prayers: Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition (Lesson VI.) The Lord’s Prayer The Hail Mary The Apostles’ Creed In the last lesson you learned about the great Sacri¬ fice of The New Law. In the great Sacrifice of The New Law, Who offered Himself as a Lamb to die for the sins of the world 6 ? Jesus offered Himself as a Lamb to die for the sins of the world. How often did Jesus shed His blood on the Cross 6 ? Jesus shed His Blood on the Cross only once. [ Page 210 ] THE HOLY EUCHARIST When did Jesus offer this same Sacrifice without the shedding of His Blood? At the Last Supper Jesus offered this same Sacrifice without the shedding of His Blood. Where did Jesus celebrate the first Mass, and where did He ordain the first priests of His Church? Jesus celebrated the first Mass and or¬ dained the first priests in the Cenacle. At the altar, who now represents Jesus the High- priest in offering the same Sacrifice that was offered at the Last Supper? Jesus’ priest represents Him at the altar. What do we call partaking of the Body and Blood of Jesus under the appearances of bread and wine? We call this “receiving Holy Com¬ munion.” What is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the Sacrifice in which Jesus offers Himself, under the appearances of bread and wine, as The Lamb slain for the sins of the world, or, The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the unbloody Sacrifice of The New Law. [ Page 211] V THE SPIRITUAL WAY Another way of speaking of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is “the Sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist.” In the Sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist the priest consecrates first the bread and then the wine to show that Jesus' Blood was separated from His Body when He was slain as a Lamb. Now you know about the Holy Eucharist as a Sac- ri fice. In this lesson let us learn about the Holy Eucharist as another stream of grace coming to us from Jesus’ Church,—the Fountain of grace. For the Holy Eucharist is a Sacrament as well as a Sacrifice . In this most holy Sacrament Jesus Himself comes into our souls. So every time we receive Jesus lovingly in the Sac¬ rament of the Holy Eucharist, we receive more and more grace. And when Jesus feeds our souls with His grace, He is feeding them with His Divine Life. For just as we need food every day to keep our bodies alive, so we need food to keep our souls alive with Divine Life. [ Page 212 ] bUl UN COLLEGE LIBRARY CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. THE HOLY EUCHARIST In The Lord’s Prayer, when we say “Give us this day our daily bread,” we mean daily food for our souls as well as for our bodies. About a year before Jesus offered Himself in sacri¬ fice as the Lamb on the Cross, He was preparing the people for the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. So He performed a great miracle. Let us read about this miracle just as it is told in the Bible by St. John: Jesus therefore went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. Now the pasch, the festival day of the Jews, was near at hand. When Jesus therefore had lifted up his eyes, and seen that a very great multitude cometh to him, he said to Philip: Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to try him; for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him: two hundred penny¬ worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, saith to him: There is a boy here that hath five barley loaves, and two fishes; but what are these among so many? Then Jesus said: Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. The men therefore sat down, in number about five thousand. [ Page 213 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY And Jesus took the loaves: and when he had given thanks, he distributed to them that were set down. In like manner also of the fishes, as much as they would. And when they were filled, he said to his disciples: Gather up the fragments that re¬ main, lest they be lost. They gathered up therefore, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above to them that had eaten." (St. John 6: 3-13.) How many had followed Jesus to the mountain this day? How did Jesus feed them? When the people saw this miracle which Jesus had performed, what were they forced to believe about the power of Jesus? [ Page 214 ] THE HOLY EUCHARIST The next day after Jesus had fed the multitude with five barley loaves and two fishes, the same people crossed the lake in boats, seeking Jesus until they found Him. Jesus said to them: “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth unto life ever¬ lasting, which the Son of man will give you.” (St. John 6:27.) Let us memorize these words of Jesus. Then during this important talk Jesus also said: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven . . . the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world . . . Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.” (St. John 6:51, 52, 54.) Who did Jesus say is the “living bread” 4 ? What did Jesus say about the bread that He would give? What did Jesus say would happen to those who do not partake of His Body and Blood,—that is, the Holy Eucharist? Let us memorize what Jesus said about the Holy Eucharist. [ Page 215 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Jesus also taught the people something else about the Holy Eucharist. He promised that all those who faithfully partook of the Holy Eucharist here on earth would share His Divine Life forever in heaven. This is what Jesus said when He made this promise: “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.” (St. John 6:55.) Let us memorize these words of Jesus also. THE SACRAMENT OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST Second Division Just as there is a sign by which we know that we are receiving the first stream of grace,—that is, Bap¬ tism,—so there is a sign by which we know that we are receiving the stream of grace called the Holy Eucharist. What is the sign by which we know that we are be¬ ing baptized? The sign is the pouring of water upon the head of the person to be baptized while saying the words: “I baptize thee in the name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost ” [ Page 216 ] THE HOLY EUCHARIST The sign by which we know that we are receiving the Holy Eucharist is made up of the bread and wine which the priest changes into the Body and Blood of Jesus, and the words of consecration which the priest says: When the priest consecrates the bread he says: “For this is my Body.” When the priest consecrates the wine, he says : “For this is the Chalice of my Blood, of the new and eternal testament, the mys¬ tery of faith, which for you and for many shall be shed, unto the remission of sins.” (From the Roman Missal.) Let us memorize these words of Consecration. Summary Now let us review what we have learned about the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist. Tell how Jesus fed the multitude with five barley loaves and two fishes. V Say the quotation which begins, “I am the living bread.” [Page 217 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Besides being a Sacrifice, what else is the Holy Eu¬ charist? When we receive the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist, Who comes into our souls? With what kind of life does Jesus feed our souls? When anyone receives the Sacrament of Holy Eu¬ charist faithfully and lovingly during his life on earth, what life will he share forever? Say the words of Consecration. At what time during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass do the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus? Find in your Catechism the lesson on the Holy Eu¬ charist. Memorize the answers. How often do you think God’s loving children should want to receive the Holy Eucharist? Why? [ Page 218 ] THE HOLY EUCHARIST Ever since the time of the Last Supper men and wom¬ en, and even little children, have tried to give Jesus all of their love, in return for His great undying love in giving Himself to us in the Holy Eucharist. They think of Him while they are at their work, they spend time in the Church adoring Him, they receive Him in Holy Communion as often as they can, and many have even given their lives to prove their love for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Let me tell you a story about a little, boy whose heart was filled with the love of Jesus. His name was Tarcisius. Tarcisius lived in the city of Rome, in the very early days of Jesus’ Church. Rome was then filled with pagans—men who did not believe in Jesus and His Church. The Emperor of Rome was a pagan, and he hated all who belonged to Jesus’ Church. So he gave orders to have them emprisoned, tortured, and even put to death. What strengthened the prisoners and made their hearts full of joy in the midst of all their cruel suf¬ ferings was the thought that Jesus was coming to them in Holy Communion. A priest carrying the Holy Eucharist to the prisons would easily be discovered, and would never reach the prisoners. [Page 219] THE S P I R I T U A L WAY So sometimes young boys were entrusted with carry¬ ing the Holy Eucharist concealed in their clothes. One day Tarcisius begged very hard to be allowed to carry the Holy Eucharist to the prisoners. Although Tarcisius was very young, it was finally agreed that he might go on this sacred errand. How happy Tarcisius was as he started forth, think¬ ing only of what lay hidden in his tunic! As he passed down the crowded Roman streets, a group of rough pagan boys stopped him, and de¬ manded that he tell them where he was going, and show them what he was trying to hide so carefully. Tarcisius continued on his way to the prison without answering them. But the rough pagan boys followed after him. Some pelted him with stones, others kicked him and struck him. And at last Tarcisius fell to the ground, still holding his hand tightly clasped on his breast. The ruffians fell upon him, and searched his gar¬ ments, but found nothing. Then, like cowards, they ran away, leaving him dy¬ ing by the roadside. But soon some of Tarcisius’ friends passed by. They quickly went to help him, and were very much surprised to see what was lying on his breast. Eor Tarcisius had given his life, but he had saved the Holy Eucharist. Why should everyone admire Tarcisius? [ Page 220 ] THE HOLY EUCHARIST Our Heavenly Father probably will not ask any one of you to sacrifice your life to save the Holy Eu¬ charist. But if you really love Jesus, you will find your greatest happiness in receiving Him in Holy Com¬ munion, and in adoring Him in the Holy Eucharist. And when you grow up, some of you may even love Jesus so much as not to be satisfied merely with vis¬ iting Him in the Blessed Sacrament. These chosen ones will even want to consecrate their whole lives to adoring and serving Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Review Questions Why did Jesus give us the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist? [ Page 221 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Tell what the priest says during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass when he changes the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus. Tell how Jesus prepared the people for the Holy Eu¬ charist long before the Last Supper, When Jesus said to St. Peter, “Feed my lambs,” and “Feed my sheep,” of what food was Jesus speaking? [ Page 222 ] THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE Lesson XVII. • r i Before beginning Lesson XVII., let us make the Sign of the Cross, and say one of the following prayers: Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition (Lesson VI.) The Lord’s Prayer The Hail Mary The Apostles’ Creed You remember that in one of our lessons we learned about a certain fountain. But this Fountain, instead of sending forth streams of water, sends forth seven streams of grace. What is the Fountain which sends forth seven streams of graced The Church is the Fountain which sends forth seven streams of grace. Who is the hidden Source of grace? Jesus is the hidden Source of grace. .n What do we call the seven streams of grace? The seven streams of grace are called the seven sacraments. [ Page 223 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY What is the first Sacrament which we receive? Baptism is the first Sacrament which we receive. In which Sacrament does Jesus Himself come into our souls to feed us with His Divine Life? In the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist Jesus comes into our souls to feed us with His D ivine Life . In this lesson let us learn about the stream of grace which takes away our mortal and venial sins. When Jesus was on earth He did many things that only God could do. You know that He cured the sick instantly, and raised the dead to life. But Jesus did something even more important than curing the sick and raising the dead to life. For Jesus forgave the sms of many people when they came to Him and said that they were sorry. Let me tell you about two great sinners who were sorry for their sins, and whose sins were forgiven by Jesus. The first story is about the Apostle Peter. [ Page 224 ] THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE What have you already learned about Peter 4 ? / have learned that Jesus made Peter His representative on earth , the Head of His Church. You will be surprised to hear that Peter committed a serious sin. He committed this sin soon after the Last Supper, on the very night before Jesus died. When Jesus was being dragged to the highpriest’s house to be tried, Peter did indeed follow his Master, but at a distance. Peter remained in the hall, near the fireplace. While he was there, a certain maidservant of the house seeing him, declared that Peter was one of the followers of Jesus. But Peter denied that he even knew Jesus. Peter declared three times that he did not know Jesus. Just then, Jesus passed by, and turning, looked sadly but kindly at Peter. Then Peter, realizing what a dreadful sin he had com¬ mitted, went out of the house, weeping bitterly. (St. Luke 22:54-62.) Jesus forgave Peter’s sin. But all the rest of Peter’s life he was sorrv for this * sin, and he tried to prove his sorrow by living and dying for Jesus. [ Page 225 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY You know that later on Peter became Jesus’ repre¬ sentative as Good Shepherd. And he was always kind and gentle to all sinners who were truly sorry for their sins. Why do you think that St. Peter was always so very kind and gentle to all sinners'? The next story is about a very beautiful woman who was a great sinner. Everyone despised her, and looked scornfully at her whenever she passed by. And she was very unhappy. One day she joined a crowd of people who seemed to be spellbound, listening to some great preacher. She listened, too. And as she listened, tears began to fall down her cheeks. Never before had she met anyone so holy, so good, and so kind. For it was no other than Jesus who was speaking. She began to be ashamed and sorry for all her sins. And from that day on, she followed Jesus wherever He went, listening to His teachings, learning to love Him, and becoming more and more sorry for her sins. One day she slipped in, all unnoticed, to the house of Simon the Pharisee, where Jesus was having din¬ ner. [ Page 226 ] THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE She seemed to be drawn to Jesus’ side, not caring what the guests thought of her. And when she was quite close to Jesus, she knelt down, and began to weep silently. The Bible tells us that she even washed the feet of Jesus with her tears, and wiped them with her beau¬ tiful hair. Unlike the others, Jesus was most kind and gentle to Mary Magdalen. For this was the name of the beautiful woman who was now weeping for her sins. Jesus said to all those present: “Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much.” Then, turning to Mary Magdalen, He said: [ Page 227 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY “Thy sins are forgiven thee.” (St. Luke 7:37-48.) Mary Magdalen spent all the rest of her life loving and serving Jesus. Like Peter, Mary Magdalen became a great saint. Why would you like all great sinners to know about the kindness of Jesus to Mary Magdalen? Jesus wanted the priests of His Church to continue what He had begun. That is, Jesus wanted His priests to represent Him in being kind to sinners, and in forgiving them their sins when they were really sorry. You will remember that when Jesus made Peter the Head of His Church, He said something about the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. What did Jesus say? Jesus said: “And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth , it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth , it shall be loosed also in heaven ” (St. Matthew 16:19.) What do people do with keys? They lock and unlock doors. I Page 228 ] THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE When anyone is in the state of mortal sin, does he still belong in heaven, or is heaven closed to him? Heaven is closed to him. So, you see, the power which Jesus gave to Peter to forgive sins is like a key which is able to open heaven to sinners who are sorry for their sins. Now let me tell you about the day when Jesus gave all of His priests the power to forgive sins. i On the very day that Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to His Apostles. On this first Easter Sunday, toward evening, most of the Apostles had gathered together in the Cenacle to console one another, for they were afraid of the Jews, as their faith in the resurrection of Jesus was still weak. 1 Suddenly Jesus stood in their midst. He had come to them through closed doors. He had come to comfort them, and to give them the power to forgive sins . This is what Jesus did when He gave them the power to forgive sins. 1 “The disciples were assembled in a place indicated by St. John vaguely (St. John 20: 26). Yet this could be nowhere else but the Supper Room, for in the Acts we find that that upper chamber, hallowed by memories of the Last Supper, had become their customary place of meeting” (Acts 1: 13; 2: 1 ).—From “The Christ, The Son of God,” by the Abbe Constant Fonard. [ Page 229 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY He breathed on them, and said: “Receive ye the holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are re¬ tained.” (St. John 20:22, 23.) By these words Jesus had given to His Church a stream of grace , to take away the mortal and venial sins of the people . This stream of grace is called The Sacrament of Penance . Now tell what is meant by The Sacrament of Pen¬ ance. Let us memorize what Jesus said when He gave the Sacrament of Penance to His Church. From that day to this, the priests of Jesus’ Church represent Jesus in forgiving sins. [Page 230 ] THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE And when anyone is sorry for his sins, and tells them to one of the priests of Jesus’ Church, the priest will act for Jesus, and will do as Jesus would do if He were here on this earth. What do you think Jesus’ priest will do? The Sacrament of Penance takes away our sins for¬ ever. When our sins are taken away, are our souls still darkened, or do they become clean and bright? Our souls become clean and bright . Everyone’s soul must be clean and bright before he is ready to receive Jesus in Holy Communion. So, when anyone’s soul is darkened by sin, what must he do before he is ready to receive Jesus in Holy Communion? He must receive the Sacrament of Pen¬ ance before he is ready to receive Jesus in Holy Communion . In the next lesson you will learn exactly what you must do to receive the Sacrament of Penance. [ Page 231 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE ( Continued) Second Division i » Summary Now let us review what we have learned about the Sacrament of Penance. Tell about Jesus’ great kindness to Peter or to Mary Magdalen. Tell what happened when Jesus appeared to His Apostles in the Cenacle in the late afternoon of the first Easter Day. What stream of grace did Jesus give us to make our souls clean and bright if they have become darkened by our sins 4 ? When anyone’s soul is darkened by sin, what must he do before he is ready to receive Jesus in Holy Communion 4 ? There is a prayer in the Catechism which we should learn when we are getting ready to receive the Sacra¬ ment of Penance. Anyone who is really sorry for his sins should be will¬ ing to tell them, or confess them. [Page 232 ] THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE This prayer is called The Confiteor, which means “I confess.” The prayer begins: “I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary, ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and to all the Saints, that I have sinned exceed¬ ingly in thought, word and deed.” Let us learn this much of The Confiteor. When we are really sorry for our sins, besides being willing to tell them, we are also willing to say that we are at fault. So, the next part of the prayer is: “Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.” Now say The Confiteor from the beginning. The next part of The Confiteor is like the beginning of it, except that in this part of The Confiteor we ask our blessed Mother and the other saints to pray for us. i We say: “Therefore I beseech blessed Mary, ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, [ Page 233 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY blessed John the Baptist, the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and ( all the Saints, to pray to the Lord our God for me/’ Let us learn this part of The Confiteor. Say The Confiteor from the beginning. In the last part of The Confiteor we ask Almighty God to forgive us our sins, and to lead us to heaven. We say: “May the Almighty God have mercy on me, and forgive me my sins, and bring me to everlasting life. Amen. May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant me pardon, absolu¬ tion, and remission of all my sins. Amen.” Let us learn this part of The Confiteor. Now say The Confiteor from the beginning. Review Questions What is the Sacrament of Penance? What did Jesus say when He gave His Apostles the power to forgive sins? Say the Confiteor. [ Page 234 ] THE SACRAMENTS OF CONFIRMATION, EXTREME UNCTION, HOLY ORDERS AND MATRIMONY Lesson XVIII. Before beginning Lesson XVIII., let us make the Sign of the Cross, and say one of the following prayers: Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition (Lesson VI.) The Lord’s Prayer. The Hail Mary. The Apostles’ Creed. You have learned about some of the Sacraments which we receive through Jesus’ Church. Let us review what you have learned about these Sacraments. What does the Sacrament of Baptism do for us? The Sacrament of Baptism takes away original sin, gives us grace, and makes us children of God, so that we belong with Him in heaven. What does the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist do for us? The Sacrament of Holy Eucharist feeds our souls with Divine Life. [Page 235 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY What does the Sacrament of Penance do for us? The Sacrament of Penance takes away our mortal and venial sins . Before you learn just what you must do to have your mortal and venial sins taken away by the Sacrament of Penance, let us learn something about the other streams of grace, or Sacraments. And first, let us think about the stream of grace, or Sacrament, which you will probably receive soon af¬ ter Jesus comes into your soul in Holy Communion. This is The Sacrament of Confirmation , or, as we some¬ times say, The Sacrament of the Holy Ghost . For, when you receive this Sacrament, the Holy Ghost will come into your soul to give you of the ful¬ ness of Divine grace. This Sacrament will make you a brave follower of Jesus, ready and glad to die for the Faith, if necessary. Usually the priest baptizes us, forgives our sins, and gives us the Body and Blood of Jesus. But it is the Bishop who confirms us. Like the Sacrament of Baptism, we can receive the Sacrament of Confirmation only once, because these Sacraments leave an indelible mark upon the soul. Holy Church teaches us that it is a sin to neglect the Sacrament of Confirmation. [ Page 236 ] THE SACRAMENTS When you are preparing to receive the Sacrament ot Confirmation, there will be many special lessons to teach you about the great gifts of the Holy Ghost, and just how you are to prepare to receive Confirma¬ tion. But now you need only remember that Confirmation is the stream of grace, or Sacrament, which gives us the Holy Ghost to make us strong and brave follow¬ ers of Jesus. Now you tell what you have learned about the Sacra¬ ment of Confirmation. Why should you make sure to learn more about this Sacrament, and to be confirmed as soon as you can after your First Holy Communion 4 ? There is a Sacrament which we can receive through Jesus’ Church to help us when we are very sick. [ Page 237 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Let us memorize what St. James, one of the Apostles, tells us about this Sacrament. “Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man: and the Lord shall raise him up: and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him.” (St. James 5: 14, 15.) When the priest gives anyone this Sacrament, it al¬ ways makes his soul strong and well, and sometimes makes his body strong and well also. It is called The Sacrament of Extreme Unction . Tell what you have just learned about the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. In this lesson thus far you have learned about two Sacraments. How many Sacraments do you know altogether? Name them. Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction. There are two other Sacraments. But these two Sacraments are not for children. They are for grown-up people. [ Page 238 ] THE SACRAMENTS By one of these Sacraments bishops and priests are ordained and receive the power which they need to perform their sacred duties. This Sacrament is called Holy Orders. Like Baptism, and Confirmation, the Sacrament of Holy Orders can be received only once. Now tell what you know about the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The only other Sacrament is the one which your father and mother received when they were married. All Catholics must be sure to keep the laws of Jesus’ Church about marriage. And they should prepare to receive this Sacrament by making sure that they are in the state of grace, and by much prayer. Then they will receive all the blessings which this Sacrament gives. It is called The Sacrament of Matrimony. Tell what you know about the Sacrament of Matri¬ mony. [Page 239 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY THE SACRAMENTS OF CONFIRMATION, EX¬ TREME UNCTION, HOLY ORDERS AND MATRIMONY ( Continued) Second Division Summary Tell what you have learned about: The Sacrament of Confirmation. The Sacrament of Extreme Unction. The Sacrament of Holy Orders. The Sacrament of Matrimony. Find out what the Catechism tells us about the Seven Sacraments. Why do you think that every child should be happy to learn about the Seven Sacraments? If there were no bishops or priests in Jesus’ Church, how do you think all of God’s loving children would suffer? J he priests of Jesus Church are God’s anointed ones, —dedicated to the Divine worship. They are set apart from all others to do Jesus’ work. So they should be treated with much more reverence [ Page 240 ] THE SACRAMENTS and much more respect than anyone who is not God’s anointed one. Few of God’s children ever reach heaven without the help of Jesus’ priests. So all of God’s loving children should pray for Jesus’ priests very often. They should ask Jesus to protect His priests from every danger, and to help them to follow Him faith¬ fully to the end of their lives. Now tell how we should treat Jesus’ priests. Why should we do this'? How often are you going to pray for Jesus’ priests'? What are you going to ask Jesus when you pray for His priests'? Now that you know about the Seven Sacraments, let us learn about sacramentals. You already know about the sign of the cross, the rosary, the crucifix, and holy water. But you do not know that these are called sacra- mentals. Anything which is set apart by the Church to help us to pray more fervently is a sacramental. There are other sacramentals besides the sign of the cross, the rosary, the crucifix, and holy water. Try to think of some other sacramentals. Ashes , palms, images , scapulars , blessed candles , etc. [ Page 241 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY It is well to use the sacramentals frequently to in¬ crease our love of God. For by doing this we become ever dearer children of Our Heavenly Father. And when we use the sacramentals with reverence and love, our venial sins are often forgiven. Now tell some sacramentals you would like to use every day. Review Questions Name the Seven Sacraments. I ell what you have learned about each of the Seven Sacraments. How do the Sacraments help us? Name some sacramentals. Who are God’s anointed ones'? Why should we pray for Jesus’ priests? [ Page 242 ] IMMEDIATE PREPARATION FOR CONFESSION Lesson XIX. Before beginning Lesson XIX., let us make the Sign of the Cross, and say one of the following prayers: Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition (Lesson VI.) The Our Father The Hail Mary The Apostles’ Creed. When we go to Jesus’ Church to receive the Sacra¬ ment of Penance, we usually say that we are “going to confession.” In this lesson let us learn just how to go to Con¬ fession. You remember that when Jesus was on earth He for¬ gave Peter and Mary Magdalen their sins because they were truly sorry for them. Jesus also forgave many others besides Peter and Mary Magdalen. Jesus forgave the sins of every sinner who came to Him and was sorry. [ Page 243 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Does Jesus need to be told our sins'? No. Why not 4 ? Jesus already knows our sins. Does Jesus need to be told when we are sorry for our sins 4 ? No. Why not 4 ? Jesus knows when we are sorry for our sins. But Jesus wants us to tell our sins to His priest, and to let His priest know that we are sorry for them. And when we do this, the priest will then use the power that Jesus gave him to forgive our sins. Before going to confession, always try to spend some time alone with God asking Him to help you to know your sins. And then, if you quietly listen to God, He will help you to know what sins you have committed. When you are trying to think of your sins, we say that you are making an examination of conscience . When you finish examining your conscience, always ask God to make you very sorry for all your sins. [ Page 244 ] CONFESSION Now, let us see if you cun tell what you should do when preparing for confession. 1st. I should ask God to help me to know my sins. 2nd. I should examine my conscience. 3rd. I should ask God to make me very sorry for my sins. Before making your confession, say “The Confteor .” Then, when your turn for confession comes, go into the confessional, kneel and wait until the priest opens the little slide. When the priest opens the little slide, make the Sign of the Cross, and then ask the priest to bless you, saying: “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. Then tell how long it is since your last confession. But if it is your first confession, say: “This is my first confession.” After this, tell all of your sins. And it is well to begin with the biggest one. Now, tell just what you will do when you go into the confessional. When you are making your confession, always try to tell how many times you have committed each sin. [Page 245 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY But if you cannot remember the exact number of times, tell about how many times. And if you do not know how to tell some sin, ask the priest to help you. When you have confessed all your sins, you should say: “Father, I am very sorry for all my sins.” If the priest should ask you any questions concern¬ ing your confession, be sure to answer the questions clearly and truthfully. Then listen attentively to whatever the priest says. And be very sure to know exactly what prayers he tells you to say. For the priest will nearly always tell you to say some prayers as your penance to make up for some of the punishment due to your sins. When the priest is using the power which Jesus gave him to forgive your sins, he says: “I absolve thee.” And we call this The Absolution. At this time you should say the Act of Contrition, very sincerely and with all your heart. Now, tell just what you should do all the time you are in the confessional. [ Page 246 ] CONFESSION While you are making your confession, you will not have time to thank Jesus for having been so kind and good to you,—that is, for having forgiven you your sins. So, after you leave the confessional, what do you think you should do first? I should first thank Jesus for having forgiven me my sins. After you have thanked Jesus for having forgiven you your sins, you should think about what the priest said to you in confession. Then, what do you think you should do next? I should say my penance. After you have said your penance, spend a little time talking things over with Jesus, making Acts of Love, and telling Jesus that you will try very hard to be more and more pleasing to Him. Now you tell what you should do after you leave the confessional. IMMEDIATE PREPARATION FOR CONFESSION (Continued) Second Division Let us review what you have learned about going to confession. [ Page 247 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Tell just how you would prepare for confession. 1st. 1 would ask Jesus to help me to know my sins, and then I would make my examination of conscience. 2nd. After that 1 would ask Jesus to help me to be really sorry for my sins. 3rd. Before making my confession 1 * would say The Confiteor. Tell what you would do when making your confes¬ sion. 1st. I would make the Sign of the Cross, and then ask the priest to bless me, saying: “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.” 2nd. I would then tell the priest that this is my first confession. And after that 1 would tell all of my sins, and how many times I had committed them. 3rd. 1 would finish by saying that 1 was very sorry for all of my sins. 4th. After that 1 would listen attentive¬ ly to whatever the priest said, and espe¬ cially to what he told me to do for my penance. 5th. Then I would say the Act of Con¬ trition very sincerely, and with all my heart. [ Page 248 ] CONFESSION Tell what you would do after you left the confes¬ sional. 1st. I would thank Jesus for having forgiven me my sins. 2nd. 1 would say my penance. 3rd. / would spend a little time talking with Jesus, making Acts of Love, and telling Him that 1 intend to try very hard to be more and more pleasing to Him. You have learned that in confession the priest asks you to make an Act of Contrition after you have fin¬ ished telling your sins. Say the short Act of Contrition you already know. “O my God, 1 am sorry that I have of¬ fended Thee: Do Thou increase my sorrow ” (Pope Clement XI.) In the Catechism there is a long Act of Contrition which is usually said in confession. Now let us study this Act of Contrition. While studying it, try to memorize as much as you can, and learn the rest of it before beginning the next lesson. The prayer begins by telling God we are sorry that [Page 249 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY we have offended Him, and that we hate or detest our sins. The exact words are: “O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins.” Repeat this part of the Act of Contrition. Then we tell God three reasons why we hate our sins. The first reason is because we do not want to lose heaven. The second reason is because we do not want to suf¬ fer forever in hell. The third and best reason why we are sorry for our sins is because they offend Our Heavenly Father, Who loves us. The exact words of the prayer are: “1 detest all my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all-good and deserving of all my love.” Let us repeat this part of the prayer. The last part of the Act of Contrition is about our resolution to try to be better. The exact words of the prayer are: f Page 250 ] CONFESSION “I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life/ 5 Let us repeat this part of the prayer. Let us say this Act of Contrition from the beginning. Which child do you think is more truly sorry for his sins, the one who tries to keep from everything which caused him to commit a sin, or the one who does not try to do this ? IMMEDIATE PREPARATION FOR CONFESSION ( Continued) Third Division When we are making an examination of conscience for confession, it always helps us to go over the ten commandments of God, the six commandments of Holy Church, and the two great commandments which Jesus gave us in The New Law. Let us review the two great commandments which Jesus gave us. Say these two commandments. “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole [ Page 251 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY soul and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first command¬ ment.” (St. Mark 12:30.) “And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” (St. Mark 12:31.) Which commandment of The New Law tells us how much we should love God? The first commandment of The New Law tells us how much we should love God . Which commandments of The Old Law speak about the worship of God? The first three commandments of The Old Law speak about the worship of God . Now try to examine your conscience on the first com¬ mandment of The New Law, asking yourself the following questions: Have I thought or spoken of God, my Crea¬ tor and loving Father, in any other way than with great love and reverence? Have I used the name of Jesus in anger, .or in any other way than with love and re¬ spect? [ Page 2 52 ] CONFESSION Have I sinned against Faith by not believ¬ ing what I know Jesus’ Church teaches? Have I committed a mortal sin by not as¬ sisting at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation when it would have been possible for me to assist at Holy Mass? Have I, through my own fault, been late for Holy Mass on Sundays or holydays of obligation? I know that I should use my mind and my will to worship God all during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Have I done this? I know that on Sunday, besides assisting at Holy Mass, I must remember that Sunday is God’s Day. Have I kept Sunday holy, as God’s Day should be kept? I know that I should abstain from meat on Friday, in memory of the day Jesus suffered and died for me. Have I done this? I have been taught to turn my mind toward God with love when I first awaken in the morning, and, when I arise, to kneel and say my morning prayers. I have been taught to kneel again at night to say my prayers before going to bed. Have I always tried to be faithful and rever¬ ent in saying my prayers? [ Page 253 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY I know that God should come first in my life. That is, He should come before any¬ body else, or anything else. Have I loved any person, or anything, more than God? I know that God dwells within me, and that my body is His temple. Have I been careful always to honor and reverence my body as God’s sacred home? Have I made everyone else respect my body as God’s sacred dwelling place? Have I said anything which was not fit to be heard by God, who dwells within me? t • t • * Have I taken part in any conversation, or have I continued listening to anything which I knew was not fit to be heard by God dwelling within me? By the way I have dressed, have I shown respect to God dwelling within me? Have I kept on reading any book or paper after I found out that what I was reading was not pure? Have I gone to see any plays or any pic¬ tures when I knew that what I was seeing or hearing was not pure? Have I watched over my thoughts, and if any impure thought came into my mind, did [ Page 254 ] CONFESSION I at once say a prayer, and quickly turn my mind to something good, or did I keep the impure thought in my mind? Has my mind ruled my body as it should, or has my body had its own way in being lazy, —in being greedy? Have I committed sins of pride in any of the following ways: Have I thought that I am better than some others because God has given me a brighter mind or a stronger will than He has given them? Have I looked down upon others be¬ cause they were poor?—or friendless? —or helpless?—or sick?—or in trouble of any kind? Have I acted in a selfish way? [ Page 255 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY I know bv the fourth commandment I must * reverence and obey my parents in all that is not sin. Have I disobeyed either of my parents or any one else whom I ought to obey ? Have I shown disrespect in any way to my parents or to anyone else? Say the second Great Commandment of The New Law. By keeping the second Great Commandment of The New Law I shall also keep several commandments of The Old Law. To see if I love my neighbor as myself, let me ask myself some questions such as these: Have I wanted to harm anyone? Have I hurt anyone by my words or acts? I Page 256 ] CONFESSION Have I annoyed or tormented any one"? Have I committed a sin of anger"? When anyone is mean to me, do 1 forgive that one, or do I try to get even? Have I caused anyone else to commit a sin? Have I stolen anything? Have I helped to steal anything? Have I returned whatever I have borrowed? Have I cheated or been dishonest in any way? Have I told a lie about anything? Have I told a lie about any person? Have I caused anyone to be looked down upon, by telling something I did not need to tell? Have I been jealous or disagreeable because a certain person succeeded? Have I been sorry because someone else was praised, or had something which I could not have? Have I wished to take or keep something which I had no right to have? [Page 257 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY After confession, suppose you remember some sin that you have forgotten to tell. What would you do then'? 1 Suppose in confession some child did not tell a sin be¬ cause he was ashamed or afraid to tell it. Who, besides the child, would know all about the sin, and would know that it had been concealed 4 ? Jesus would know. If any child should be so foolish as to conceal in con¬ fession some serious sin, then none of the sins which he did tell would be forgiven, and, besides, he would have committed one more serious sin. Would this confession be a good one, or a bad one? This would be a bad confession. What do you think the child should do to have this very serious sin forgiven? He should make a good confession , tell¬ ing all about the bad one. No priest ever tells anything that he has heard in con¬ fession. Why do you think that every little child should know this? Review Questions Name the seven Sacraments. Uf you really forgot the sin, you would not need to go right back to con¬ fession, but you should make an Act of Contrition, and tell the sin the next time you go to confession. [ Page 258 ] CONFESSION What is the Sacrament of Penance? What must we do to receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily? Why should we go to confession often? Say the Act of Contrition given in the Catechism. Tell why no one should ever conceal a sin in confes¬ sion. [ Page 259 ] IMMEDIATE PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION Lesson XX. Before beginning Lesson XX., let us make the Sign of the Cross, and say one of the following prayers: Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition (Lesson VI.) The Lord’s Prayer. The Hail Mary. The Apostles’ Creed. You have learned that when you were born there was none of God’s brightness and beauty in your soul, because of original sin. Through which Sacrament did you first receive the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty? I first received the most precious gift of sharing in God’s brightness and beauty through the Sacrament of Baptism. And you have learned that if sin has caused your soul to become darkened and displeasing to God, it can be made bright and beautiful again through another Sacrament. Which Sacrament is this? The Sacrament of Penance. [ Page 260 ] HOLY COMMUNION After the Sacrament of Penance has made your soul bright and beautiful again, you may then receive Jesus in Holy Communion. And I am sure that you would like to have some flowers of love to present to Jesus when He comes into your soul. And now let us think about some flowers of love which would be very pleasing to Him. Flowers, of course, make the whole earth beautiful. We cannot put into our souls roses or lilies, or any flowers which grow upon the earth. But there are spiritual flowers which belong only to our souls, and which make our souls very beautiful. These flowers are flowers of love. Some of these flowers of love are made up of Acts of Faith , Hope , Love , and Contrition . [ Page 261 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY Say the Act of Faith,—the Act of Hope,—the Act of Love,—and the Act of Contrition which you have learned. If you wanted to have many of these flowers of love to receive Jesus, what would you have to do? I would have to make many Acts of Faith , Hope , Love , and Contrition. Other flowers of love are made up of acts of kindness . Tell several acts of kindness which you think would help to make your soul more beautiful to receive Jesus. Then there are flowers of love made up of little vic¬ tories over ourselves. In winning these little victories over ourselves it is usually necessary for us to give up something or to do without something which we like. When we give up something or do without something which we like, it is called “making a sacrifice.” For instance, suppose there were cakes for supper, which you liked very much. And suppose you wanted a flower of love which would make your soul more pleasing to Jesus. What sacri¬ fice could you make? Or, suppose that you would like to play with some other children. f Page 262 ] HOLY COMMUNION But you notice that your mother has many things to do, and that if you remain with her you can help her. If you want to offer a flower of love to Jesus, how could you do this? Before I tell you about another flower of love that would make your soul very beautiful for Jesus, I must explain something to you. During the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass the priest, by the Divine power which he has received from Jesus, consecrates the bread or hosts which are in a golden cup called a ciborium . And by the same Divine power he also consecrates the wine which is in a golden cup called a chalice . You have learned that after the Consecration, the bread and wine are no longer bread and wine. For at the Consecration a wonderful change takes place. What is this wonderful change which takes place at the Consecration? At the Consecration the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus . When you go to receive Jesus in Holy Communion, you receive Him in the Sacred Host which the priest gives you. [ Page 263 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY After Holy Communion, the priest opens the little door of the tabernacle, which is right in the center of the altar. He takes the ciborium containing the Sacred Hosts, \ and places it carefully within the tabernacle. In this way, you see, Jesus dwells in the tabernacle on our altars. He is there night and day, waiting to re¬ ceive our visits, to listen to us, to comfort and console us, and to come into our souls to feed them with His Divine Life. When you remember that Jesus is always there in the tabernacle ready to receive a visit from you, will you be satisfied to go to Jesus’ Church only once a week, or will you try to visit Him more often? You can make of each visit to Jesus in His tabernacle a very precious flower of love. Now, you tell what you would do if you wanted to make your soul beautiful with many of these precious flowers of love. Of course, you are not obliged to give these flowers of love to Jesus. You must decide about this for yourself, and also about how many flowers of love you will offer to Jesus. Of course, these flowers of love always please Jesus, but there are two important things which Holy Church [ Page 264 ] HOLY COMMUNION tells us that we must do before receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. First of all, everyone must make sure that his soul is not darkened by sin,—that is, that his soul is bright and beautiful. And he must not eat or drink anything at all from mid¬ night until after receiving Jesus in Holy Communion the next morning. This is usually called “fasting from midnight.” Now tell how Holy Church teaches us to prepare our souls to receive Jesus in Holy Communion. Tell some flowers of love which would make our souls still more beautiful to receive Jesus in Holy Com¬ munion. / Now that you know how to make your soul bright and beautiful, I must tell you exactly how to receive Jesus in the Sacred Host. When you hear the priest saying “Agnus Dei” which means Lamb of God , you know that the time for Holy Communion is very near. Then you, too, can say this prayer which is so very pleasing to Jesus. Very soon after this you hear the priest saying “Dom- ine , non sum dignus ” which means, Lord , I am not worthy. [ Page 265 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY He says this prayer just before he receives Holy Com¬ munion. And you, too, can say this prayer before you receive Holy Communion. When the priest comes to you at the altar rail to give you the Sacred Host, you should hold your head up, open your mouth, and pluce your tongue on your lower lip. And, of course, you know the Sacred Host should be swallowed and not allowed to remain in your mouth. After you have received the Sacred Host return to your place, thinking only of Jesus within you. Then spend the rest of the time of Holy Mass, and a little while afterwards, in thanking Jesus for coming to you. The moments right after Holy Communion are very precious. For then Jesus is within your soul as your Divine Guest. You know that Jesus loves you, and that whatever interests you interests Him. So do you think it will be hard or very easy to know what to say to Jesus 4 ? You will probably want to ask Jesus to bless all those at home, and many others also. [ Page 266 ] HOLY COMMUNION You will want to thank Jesus for many things, and to ask Him for many favors for yourself and others. But, above all, do not forget to ask Jesus for the spe¬ cial grace of never comitting a mortal sin. Do you think that those who receive Jesus in Holy Communion should leave the Church as soon as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is ended, or that they should try to remain a little while longer? Why do you think they should try to remain a little while longer? Summary Tell what you have learned in this lesson that you want to remember always. [Page 267 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY I will tell you something else which will please Jesus very much. When you receive Jesus in Holy Communion it will please Him if you tell Him that you love Him so much and need Him so much that you promise to re¬ ceive Holy Communion very often all the rest of your life,—even every day, if that be possible. Long ago children and even grown-up people were not generally encouraged to receive Holy Communion every day, no matter how much they longed to do so. But in the year 1910 Jesus’ representative, Pope Pius X., made known that grown-up people, and even lit¬ tle children, were to be encouraged to receive Holy Communion very often, even every day. Pope Pius X. sent messages to every bishop and priest all over the world to prepare the little children to re¬ ceive Jesus in Holy Communion as soon as they were old enough to know about Jesus in the Sacred Host. So you see Pope Pius X. gave special permission to all of God’s loving children to receive Jesus every day. Pope Pius X. knew that this was the only way for God’s loving children to receive more and more Divine Life, making ever brighter and clearer God’s image and likeness in their souls until the day when He would take them to Himself to be with Him forever in heaven. [ Page 268 ] HOLY COMMUNION IMMEDIATE PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION ( Continued ) Second Division You have been learning about many blessings which come to us through Jesus’ Church. But you have not yet learned about the great blessing of indulgences. You know that we go to confession to have our sins forgiven. But even after our sins have been forgiven, we still have to suffer, either here on earth or in purgatory, the punishment which follows every sin. But Holy Church is like a good mother. For she offers us different ways by which we can make up for some or all of the punishment which follows every sin. The saying of certain prayers and the doing of certain good works are among these different ways which Holy Church offers us. And when we want to gain an indulgence, we say these prayers or do these good works. But, of course, these indulgenced prayers and good [ Page 269 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY works do not take the place of the penance which the priest gives us in confession. Now you tell how Holy Church helps us to make up for the punishment which follows every sin. No one can gain an indulgence whose soul is darkened by serious sin. But when we are in the state of grace, it is possible for us to gain an indulgence for ourselves, or for the suffering souls in purgatory, every time we say these special prayers or do these special good works. For instance, it is possible for us to gain an indul¬ gence every time we make the Sign of the Cross, or say the Gloria Patri, or the Acts of Faith, Hope and Love. It is also possible for us to gain an indulgence by say¬ ing with the priest the prayers after Holy Mass. The Memorare and the Rosary are also indulgenced prayers. Now let us see if you can answer some questions about indulgences: Some persons cannot gain an indulgence. Why is this? Besides ourselves, we can help other souls by saying indulgenced prayers. What other souls can we help? [ Page 270 ] HOLY COMMUNION Mention some indulgenced prayers which you already know. Now let us memorize some other short indulgenced prayers, which I am sure you will want to say very often. The following indulgenced prayers are taken from the Raccolta. “Jesus, my God, I adore Thee, here present in the Sacrament of Thy Love/’ “O Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, have mercy on us. “Sweet Heart of Jesus, make me love Thee ever more and more.” “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee.” “Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.” “Sweet Heart of Jesus, be my love.” “All for Thee, most Sacred Heart of Jesus.” “Jesus, my God, I love Thee above all things.” [Page 271 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY “Most sweet Jesus, increase my faith, hope, and charity, and give me an humble and contrite heart/’ At Holy Mass, during the Consecration, when the priest raises the Sacred Host, look up reverently and say: “My Lord , and my God.” f Page 272 ] APPENDIX NOTE CONCERNING Lesson II. For the teaching of the doctrinal point of Lesson II: “God’s Image and Likeness in Us/’—excerpts from the “Summa” of St. Thomas, St. Aelred of Rivaux, St. Bernard and “The Catechism Explained” by Reverend Francis Spirago, are given, to serve as the teacher’s source-material. “As man is said to be to the image of God by reason of his intellectual nature, he is the most perfectly like God according to that in which he can best imitate God in his intellectual nature. “Now, the intellectual nature imitates God, chiefly in this, that God understands and loves Himself. Wherefore, we see that the image of God is in man in three ways. Firstly, in as much as man possesses a natural aptitude for understanding and loving God, which aptitude consists in the very nature of the mind, which is common to all men: secondly, inasmuch as man, actually, or habitually knows and loves God, though im¬ perfectly, which kind of image is by the conformity of Grace: thirdly, inasmuch as man knows and loves God perfectly, which is from the likeness and conformity of glory.” Sumtna of St. Thomas. “Man is called the image of God, not that he is essentially an image; but that the image of God is impressed on his mind; as a coin is an image of the king, as having the image of the king. Wherefore there is no need to consider the image of God as existing in every part of man.” Summa of St. Thomas. [ Page 273 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY “The rational creature is alone capable of beatitude; made to His Creator’s image, he was formed for adhering to God Whose image he is; this is the one good of the rational creature, for, as David sings: ‘My good is to adhere to God.’ It is not the body but the soul that adheres to God, Who has planted three powers in her, through which she may be the re¬ cipient of eternity, the partaker of wisdom, and the enjoyer of sweetness. These powers are memory, understanding, and will or love. The man created in these three powers to the image of the Trinity had his memory retentive of God without for¬ getfulness, his understanding given to know God without error, and his love embracing God without cupidity for other things. And so he was blessed.” St. Aelred of Rivaux. “That Blessed and Eternal Trinity, the one God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the Supreme Power, Wisdom, and Be¬ nignity, created to His own image and likeness, a certain trinity in the rational soul, which bears a resemblance to the Supreme Trinity. This resemblance consists in the memory, under¬ standing, and will. God created the soul in this form to abide in Him and partake from Him, that man might be happy.” St. Bernard. “The soul is also an image of the Blessed Trinity, in virtue of its three powers, memory, understanding, and will. In its memory it resembles the Father, in its understanding the Son, and in its will the Holy Ghost. As these three powers are united in one soul, so the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity are united in one and the same nature. Notice the words used at the Creation: ‘Let us make man,’ thereby indicating the plurality of Persons in the Blessed Trinity. It is its likeness to the Blessed Trinity that gives to every single soul its priceless value; it is this which explains the Incarnation. The soul of man is worth more than all the stars of heaven. The body of man is not made in the image of God, for God is a pure spirit, but yet the likeness to God stamps itself in some way on the [ Page 274 ] APPENDIX body, as being the instrument of the soul, both in its upright bearing, and in the dominion it exerts over the irrational ani¬ mals. (Cf. Ps. 8: 5-7). ‘What is man that thou art mind¬ ful of him? . . . thou hast crowned him with glory and honor: and hast set him over the works of thy hands.’ ” The Catechism Explained, By Rev. Francis Spirago. NOTE CONCERNING Lesson VI. “There is a difference of opinion among theologians as to the nature of that purification which the souls undergo in purgatory. From what are they purified? From the guilt of sin, or simply from imperfections? If from imperfections, in what sense do they become perfect? In that they are intrin¬ sically improved; or is it merely that they have bettered their condition before God? “Bellarmine goes so far as to maintain that the culpa or guilt of venial sin is remitted in purgatory.He says that the true opinion is St. Thomas’s, that the guilt of venial sin, culpas veniales, is remitted in purgatory by an act of love and patient endurance. (De Purg. lib. i. c., xiv. 22.) “Suarez, on the other hand, does not seem to admit that purgatory betters the soul in any other sense than enabling it to discharge the debt of punishment due to sin. “On the whole, there does not appear anything contrary to sound theology in the idea of such an intrinsic improvement taking place in the soul in purgatory as is implied in the gradual getting rid of passive bad habits and earthly tastes.” Quotations from Appendix B of The Treatise on Purgatory, by St. Cath¬ erine of Genoa. [ Page 275 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY “Whosoever comes into God’s presence must be perfectly pure, for in the strictest sense His ‘eyes are too pure to behold evil’ (Hab. 1: 13). For unrepented venial faults, for the pay¬ ment of temporal punishment due to sin at time of death, the Church has always taught the doctrine of purgatory.” Excerpt from the article on Purga¬ tory, in the Catholic Encyclopedia, by Edward J. Hanna, S.T.D. “But still I see that the Being of God is so pure (far more than one can imagine), that should a soul see in itself even the least mote of imperfection, it would rather cast itself into a thousand hells than go with that spot into the presence of the Divine Majesty. Therefore, seeing purgatory ordained to take away such blemishes, it plunges therein, and deems it a great mercy that it can thus remove them.” “Gold which has been purified to a certain point ceases to suffer any diminution from the action of fire, however great it may be; for the fire does not destroy gold, but only the dross that it may chance to have. In like manner the Divine fire acts on souls: God holds them in the furnace until every defect has been burned away, and He has brought them, each in his own degree, to a certain standard of perfection.” Quotations from The Treatise on Purgatory, by St. Catherine of Genoa. In this lesson an attempt has been made to give just an idea of purgatory. The lessons on mortal and venial sin, and on the Sacrament of Penance will be presented later on. Then it will be easy to complete the idea of purgatory which is given here. NOTE CONCERNING Lesson XVI. The following quotations taken from “The Summa” of St. Thomas, “The Catechism of the Council of Trent,” and “The [ Page 276 ] APPENDIX Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,” by Reverend Dr. Nicholas Gihr, have been chosen as source-material for immediate use in con¬ nection with the lesson on The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. “Sacraments are signs instituted not by men but by God, which we firmly believe have in themselves the power of pro¬ ducing the sacred effects of which they are the signs.” Catechism of the Council of Trent. “This sacrament is both a sacrifice and a sacrament; it has the nature of a sacrifice inasmuch as it is offered up; and it has the nature of a sacrament inasmuch as it is received.” The Summa of St. Thomas. “ ‘Having therefore a great high priest that hath passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God’.(Hebrews 4:14) Jesus Christ was in His mortal life, as He is now, that He sit- teth at the right hand of the throne of majesty in the heavens (Hebrew 8: 1) the perfect Mediator, the true and great High- priest of the human race.” The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Gihr. “As the Eternal Highpriest according to the order of Melchisedech Christ does not and will not cease until the con¬ summation of time to offer Himself in the Mass to His Heavenly Father; but now He no longer does so alone in a per¬ sonal, visible manner, as He did at the Last Supper and upon the Cross, but invisibly and with the assistance of a human representative. Christ is indeed the principal celebrant at the altar, for He has the primary and chief part in the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice; still He does not perform this action alone and without assistance, but employs for it specially authorized servants and instruments, namely, validly ordained priests.” The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Gihr. [ Page 277 ] THE SPIRITUAL WAY “In the following words: ‘Do this for a commemoration of Me/ the Lord commanded His Apostles and their successors in the priestly dignity to do the same as He had done, until His return at the end of time, that is, continually to offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which He had just offered in their pres¬ ence. By this command, as a natural consequence, He also imparted to them the power of consecration, or of offering sacrifice, that is, He made them priests of the New Law. ‘Thus Our Lord instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and willed to transmit the power to offer it to priests only, to whom it appertains to partake of it and to distribute it to the rest.’ ” The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Gihr. “But this sacrament is spiritual food; hence, just as bodily food is taken every day, so it is a good thing to receive this sacrament every day. Hence it is that Our Lord (Luke 11:3) teaches us to pray, ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ ” The Summa of St. Thomas. [ Page 278 ] » Mil—mi—— mi—iiu—mi—— ••ii—— im—-*1111—it 1 Order from: i i a i c a ! 4* "*}• THE CENACLE OF ST. REGIS 628 West 140th Street New York, N. Y. THE CENACLE CONVENT Second and Battery Streets Newport, E. I. THE CENACLE CONVENT 196 Lake Street Brighton, Boston, Mass. THE CENACLE CONVENT 513 Fullerton Parkway Chicago, Ill. THE CENACLE CONVENT Lake Ronkonkoma Long Island, N. Y. Secure your copy from the Cenacle nearest your home a I a _lill_llll—till-—»IIM—llll—-llll—IIH—llll—1111—llll—«ll— Date Due -■ - $ BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. Books may be kept for two weeks and may be renewed for the same period, unless reserved. Two cents a day is charged for each book kept overtime. If you cannot find what you want, ask the Librarian who will be glad to help you. 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