%«^ ^pS« ,kll>3«j&^ife^i' i>*i&mrc^y*i3^iss!imi. Class JBXJIA Book Copyright N?. 1 /^ CDPyRIGHT DEPOSIT. A COMPLETE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF THE REV. JOSEPH DEHARBE, S.J. BY THE REV. JOHN FANDER PRECEDED BY a g>f)ort H^i^tovp of a^ebealeb l^eligion, from tlje Creation to t^e present ^imt WITH QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION SIXTH AMERICAN EDITION EDITED BY THE REV. JAMES J. FOX, D.D. AND THE REV. THOMAS McMILLAN, C.S.P. ^ NEW YORK SCHWARTZ, KIRWIN & FAUSS 42 BARCLAY STREET Very Rev. Edmund T. Shanahan, D.D. Censor deputatus Catholic University of America April 16, 1908 Washington, D. C. Jimprtmatur ►J< John M. Farley April 21, 1908 Archbishop of New York Copyright, 1912, by Schwartz, Kirwin & Fattss g)C!.A3200l6 cPREFACE TO THE SIXTH AMERICAN ^ EDITION. The Catechism of Father Joseph Deharbe, S. J., first translated into English about half a century ago, has become so well known throughout this country that there. is no need now to draw attention to its merits. It follows the triple catechetical method, using each in its appropriate place. The historical outline prefixed to the catechism proper furnishes, in sufficient detail, the historic proof of Eevelation and the divine institution of the Church. The first part of the catechism treats of faith and what is to be believed; the second, of the Christian rule of life, i.e., the commandments of God and of the Church; the third, of the essential means of salvation, grace, and of the channels instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ for its communication. The dog- matic and moral teaching is accompanied by ample cita- tion of proof from Scripture and tradition. Finally, the logical relation and sequence of subjects is insisted upon; so that the whole forms a well-articulated, com- prehensive statement of our holy religion. It presents that religion truly, as a doctrine and rule of life em- bracing the whole man ; given by God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, who has made it visible to men, and fruit- ful unto salvation in an enduring Society of which He is the Head, the Way, the Truth and the Life. The present edition is based on the fifth American edi- tion. No essential changes have been introduced; but many minor modifications, suggested by experienced teachers who have used the work for many years, have iii IV PREFACE been made In a few places the order has been rear- ranged; simpler and more idiomatic terms and phrases have been substituted for others that were less familiar, or foreign in construction, or too technical. Some ques- tions and answers have been recast for the sake of clear- ness ; and some new ones have been inserted. In many cases where this has been done, as, for example, in the section on the creation of man, the new forms have been taken from the Catechism of Pius X. The historical sketch has been brought down to the present day; and, that it might not, in consequence, demand an unduly large share of space, some of the preceding paragraphs have been condensed. The changes which have been in- stituted in Church discipline since the publication of the previous edition have been incorporated. In the exposi- tion of duties more account has been taken to make it meet the conditions of life in this country. Some more changes in the text, looking towards fur- ther simplification, were suggested by persons interested in the work. It must be remembered, how^ever, that, especially on dogmatic subjects, accuracy cannot always he safeguarded without a close adhesion to the language of theology. As Bossuet has wisely said, terms not un- derstood at first may come to be understood later on by the help of reflection; and it is better that the less advanced and less capable should find things which they cannot quite understand, than that the more advanced and intelligent should be deprived of anything useful to them. Besides, this work is not intended for the younger children, but for pupils in the more advanced classes, of elementary schools, for high schools, colleges, academies, Sunday schools and for private instruction. THE TEACHING OF THE CATECHISM. From the earliest days of the Church the instruction of the ignorant, whether adults or children^ in the rudi- ments of the faith has ever been regarded as one of the foremost duties of the pastoral office. This kind of in- struction, called catechetical, differs from the more gen- eral forms of religious teaching. The Council of Trent carefully marked this difference, and prescribed cate- chetical instruction as a distinct duty for all who have the care of souls. In his Encyclical on the subject, his Holiness, Pius X., describes the nature of such instruc- tion. He first cites with approbation the words of his predecessor, Benedict XIV. : " Two chief obligations have been imposed by the Council of Trent on those who have the care of souls ; first, that they address the people on divine things on feast days; and, second, that they instruct the young and the ignorant in the rudiments of the law of God and of the f aith.^^ Then Pius X. says : " It may be that there are some who, to save themselves, trouble, are willing to believe that the explanation of the Gospel may serve also for catechetical instruction. This is an error which should be apparent to all. For the sermon on the Gospel is addressed to those who may be supposed to be already instructed in the rudiments of the faith. It is, so to say, the bread that is broken for adults. Catechetical instruction, on the other hand, is that milk which the Apostle St. Peter wished to be desired with simplicity by the faithful as newly-born children.^^ Three methods are open to the catechist : the histori- cal, the logical, and the liturgical. Divine Eevelatioa vi TEACHING OF THE CATECHISM is a fact that falls within the domain of history. To relate the events connected with this Eevelation, their sequence^ relations, and results, in order to impart a knowledge of Christian doctrine, is to follow the histor- ical method. In his treatise for catechists, a work which left a lasting impress on the Church's catechetical sys- tem, St. Augustine strongly recommends this method. He advises the catechist to give a brief account of re- ligious history from the beginning, in order to explain creation and original sin; to show how the Old Testa- ment foretells the coming of the Eedeemer, and the establishment of the Church; then to relate the events of our Lord's life, the beginnings of the Church and her subsequent history ; and thereby to convey to the pupils a knowledge of Christian belief and precepts. On the simple enunciation of a truth of faith the mind may ascend from the ideas expressed to principles on which these ideas depend ; or it may develop the con- sequences contained in the truth. This is the logical plan, based on the natural tendency of the mind to cor- relate and systematize its knowledge. It is followed by the great catechism published by the authority of the Council of Trent, for the purpose of resisting Protest- antism, which did not dispute the fact of Eevelation. The influence of this catechism has caused the logical method to predominate for the last three centuries. The historical method, however, was maintained and per- petuated by Bossuet, who, following the counsels of St. Augustine, composed for his diocese an abridgment of sacred history to be used in conjunction with the cate- chism in vogue. The truths of faith and the facts of religious history, associated with Eevelation and its propagation, are perpetuated in a striking, sensible manner by insti- tutions, laws, customs, ceremonies, symbols, prayers and other observances. The Church, with her entire consti- tution, organization, discipline, and worship, is a per- TEACHING OF THE CATECHISM Vll petual living monument embodying and, throughout the ages, witnessing to the doctrine of the faith. To teach this doctrine by interpreting the meaning of the Churches life and action is the liturgical method. These three methods do not exclude one another. Each one of them, in turn, possesses its own special advantages for some divisions of the catechism; and the whole ground is best covered when they are combined. If we examine the homilies of the Fathers we shall find that they make use of the three plans. Along with Benedict XIV. the present Supreme Pon- tiff calls the office of catechist the most useful of insti- tutions for the glory of God. He observes that the teaching of the catechism is a work more important than that of the sacred orator who eloquently defends relig- ion ; or than that of the priest who laboriously compiles learned books to illustrate the truths of faith. The proper fulfilment of this office, he warns us, is not an easy task : " It is much easier to find a preacher capable of delivering an eloquent and elaborate discourse than a catechist able to impart instruction in a manner entirely worthy of praise. It must, therefore, be carefully borne in mind that whatever facility of ideas and language a man may have inherited from nature, he will never be able to teach the catechism to the young and the adult without preparing himself thoughtfully for the task." The first indispensable condition for fruitful work is, according to St. Augustine, that the catechist bring to his task a spirit of love : " If you do not love God and your brethren how will you laboriously spell out the first words of faith to the ignorant ? Where will you discover the secret of repeating again and again the same truth in a variety of ways ? Whence will you draw the courage and industry necessary to cultivate this soil abounding only in briars and thistles ? . . . You must repeat and repeat the same things. Let the love which animates you give them an appearance of novelty." Till TEACHING OF THE CATECHISM Catechetical instruction, Piux X. observes, is the basis of all other kinds of religious instruction. Ignorance of the catechism he declares to be the chief cause of that rapid increase of infidelity and immorality which he witnesses, not only among the poorer classes, " but in the highest walks of life and among those who, inflated with knowledge, rely upon a vain erudition and think themselves at liberty to turn religion into ridicule and to blaspheme that which they know not/^ His words confirm the solemn warning which a late learned prelate addressed to his clergy: The most effectual of all preaching, and that without which all other preaching is nearly useless, is the teaching of the catechism to the young. The priest who would neglect every other in- struction and teach the catechism to the children of his parish would have done a great deal. The priest who would discharge every other duty and neglect this one would have done nothing. The one will be preparing for his successor a generation of, at least, believing Chris- tians ; the other, a generation of baptized pagans. CONTENTS. PAGE Explanation of Abbreviations and Marks, ... 1 A SHOET HISTOEY OF EEVEALED EELIGION. Introduction, 3 I. History of Eevealed Eeligion before Christ From Adam to Moses, 7 From Moses to Christ, 11 II. History of Christ, 18 III. History of the Church of Christ From the Ascension of Christ to the Conversion of Constantine, 25 From the Conversion of Constantine to the Eise of Protestantism in the Sixteenth Century, . . 30 From the Eise of Protestantism in the Sixteenth Century to the Present Time .... 42 Concluding Eemarks, . 57 Chronological Succession of the Popes, ... 63 CHEISTIAN DOCTEIKE. Introduction, 70 PAET I. On Faith. Chap. I. On Faith in General § 1. Nature and Necessity of Faith, .... 73 § 2. Object and Eule of Faith, . . . . . 75 § 3. Mysteries, 77 ix X CONTENTS PAGE § 4. Holy Scripture, 77 § 5. Tradition, 80 § 6. Qualities of Faith, 82 Chap. II. The Apostles' Creed, 85 First Article, 85 § 1. God, and His Attributes or Perfections, . . 86 § 2. The Three Divine Persons, 92 § 3. The Creation and Government of the World, . 94 § 4. The Angels, . . . . , . . . .98 § 5. Man and his Fall, 100 Second Article, 105 § 1. Jesus Christ the promised Messias, . . . 107 § 2. Jesus Christ, true God, . . . . .111 Third Article, 115 Fourth Article, .118 Fifth Article, 121 Sixth Article, 124 Seventh Article, 125 Eighth Article, 128 Ninth Article, 131 § 1. The Church and the Form of her Government, . 131 § 2. The Marks of the Church, 138 § 3. The End of the Church, and her Qualities re- sulting from this End, 142 § 4. Salvation in the true Church of Christ alone, 148 § 5. The Communion of Saints, 150 Tenth Article, 152 Eleventh Article, 153 Tv^elfth Article, 156 PAET 11. The Commandments. Chap. I. The Commandments in General and the Chief Commandment, 161 CONTENTS XI § 1. The Love of God, § 2. The Love of our Neighbor, . § 3. Christian Self -Love, Chap. IL The Ten Commandments of God, First Commandment of God § 1. The Honor and Worship of God, § 2. The Veneration and Invocation of the Saints Second Commandment of God, . Third Commandment of God, Fourth Commandment of God, . Fifth Commandment of God, Sixth and Ninth Commandments of God, Seventh Commandment of God, . Eighth Commandment of God, . Tenth Commandment of God, Chap. III. The Six Commandments of the Church First Commandment of the Church, . Second Commandment of the Church, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Commandments Church, Sixth Commandment of the Church, Note, Chap. IV. The Violation of the Commandments, § 1. Sin in General, ..... § 2. The Different Kinds of Sin, . § 3. The Different Kinds of Sin (continued) Chap. V. Virtue and Christian Perfection, . § 1. Virtue, § 2. Christian Perfection, .... of the PAGE 162 164 169 171 172 177 182 186 189 197 200 204 207 211 212 213 217 221 223 223 226 229 231 232 236 PAET IIL The Means of Grace, Chap. I. Grace in General § 1. The Grace of Assistance, . . . . § 2. The Grace of Sanctification or Justification, 242 244 xu CONTENTS Chap. II. The Sacraments, I. Baptism, .... ri. Confirmation, III. Holy Eucharist, § 1. The Eeal Presence of Christ in the Blessed rament, .... § 2. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, § 3. Holy Communion, . . IV. Penance, .... § 1. Examination of Conscience, § 2. Contrition, § 3. Kesolution of Amendment, § 4. Confession, . § 5. Satisfaction, § 6. Indulgences, V. Extreme Unction, VI. Holy Orders, . VII. Matrimony, Chap. III. Prayer § 1. Prayer in General, § 2. Meditation, . § 3. The Lord's Prayer, § 4. The Angelical Salutation, Chap. IV. Sacramentals, Chap. V. Religious Practices and Ceremonies ERAL, and on some IN PARTICULAR, ItECAPITULATION, .... IN Sac- Gen- PAGE 249 252 257 261 261 265 272 279 282 283 286 288 292 295 298 301 304 311 314 315 319 323 326 330 EXPLANATION OF ABBREVIATIONS AND MARKS. \ Anno Domini, or in the year of A.D. sta', nds ] I our Lord. (d. 1584) it died in 1584. B.C. €t Before Christ. i.e. tt id est, or that is. viz. it videlicet, or namely. comp. H compare. 6 (( Paragraph 6 of the History. Concl. Eem. tl Concluding Remarks. Counc. of Trent, S. \" ( Council of Trent, Session ( chapter 11th, canon 22d. vi., ch. 11, a. 22 P. 107, quest. 17 ( ( Page 107, Question 17. Eccles. (i Ecclesiastes. Ecclus. It Ecclesiasticus. Vl.o Matt. xvi. 18, 19 Tob. vi. viii. and xi 1 Cor. xi. 27 ( St. Matthew, chapter xvi. verses i 18 and 19. Tobias, chaps, vi. viii. and xi. , r First Epistle of St. Paul to the I Corinthians, chap. xi. verse 27. See the names of the Books of the Old and New Testaments on pages 78 and 79. The abbreviations used for the names of the various Books will be understood from the above ex- amples. A SHORT HISTORY OF REVEALED RELIGION. INTEODUCTIOK The word revelation signifies an nnveiling or manifes- tation of something hidden by a veil. As the Council of the Vatican teaches^ God^, the beginning and end of all things^ may be certainly known by the natural light of human reason^ by means of created things. But it pleased His wisdom and bounty to reveal Himself and the eternal decrees of His will to mankind by another and supernatural way^ by speaking, in times past, through His prophets, and last of all by His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We owe it to this divine teaching that among things divine such truths as of themselves are not beyond hu- man reason can, even in the present condition of man- kind, be known by every one with ease, with certainty, and with no admixture of error. Besides, God has revealed truths which regard the su- pernatural end to which He has destined man. This divine revelation is ^^ contained in the written books and unwritten traditions which, received by the Apostles themselves, from the dictation of the Holy Spirit, transmitted as it were, from hand to hand, have come down even to us.'' (Counc. of the Vatican. — Dog- matic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, II.) The books containing this revelation are called the Bible. The Bible consists of two parts, the Old and the 3 4 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION New Testament. The Old Testament contains the reve- lations made in the beginning to man, and those which God made subsequently through the Patriarchs and the prophets of Israel before the coming of Christ. The New Testament, written by the Apostles and Evangel- ists, records the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, the foun- dation of His Church and the early events of her his- tory. Frequently the true sense of the Scriptures is obscure. Sometimes the words are to be taken in their exact lit- eral meaning; at other times they are figurative. The sacred writers, as Pope Leo XIII. has said,^ put down what God, speaking to men, signified in the way that men could understand and were accustomed to. The Church alone, guided by the Holy Ghost, can in- fallibly declare what is the true sense of the sacred text. In comparatively few cases has the Church declared whether the words are to be taken literally or in a figu- rative sense. She has never, for instance, taught that the six days of creation mean days of twenty-four hours each; nor has she determined the age of the world, or the date at which man was created. On the other hand, she has always clearly insisted on the great truths taught in the history of the creation, related in the Bible, which are the unity, the eternity, the goodness, and the omnipotence of God ; His creation of all things out of nothing; the spirituality and the immortality of the human soul ; the fall of man ; the wickedness of sin ; the transmission of the effects of original sin from our first parents to all their descendants; the character of marriage as a union for life between one man and one woman; and the necessity of a Divine Saviour for all ihe human race. Whenever the Church is silent regard- ing the meaning of a text or passage of the Bible, no private person, however learned he may be, has the ^ The Study of Holy Scripture. Encyclical ' ' Providentissi- mus Deus. ^ ' CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 5 right to pronounce with authority upon what is the meaning of God's words in that particular case. The Council of the Vatican declares '' that in mat- ters of faith and morals, appertaining to the building up of Christian doctrine, that is to be held as the true sense of Holy Scripture which our holy Mother Church hath held and holds, to whom it belongs to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Holy Scrip- ture : and, therefore, that it is permitted to no one to interpret the Sacred Scripture contrary to this sense or likewise contrary to the unanimous consent of the Fa- thers/' (Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, 11.) Between the Holy Scripture as interpreted by the Church on the one side, and science on the other, there never can be any real contradiction; for God, who is the Author both of Faith and reason, cannot contradict Himself. And as Leo XIII. says,^ '^ There can never, indeed, be any real discrepancy between the theologian and the physical scientist as long as each confines him- self within his own lines, and both are careful, as St. Augustine warns us ' not to make rash assertions, or to assert what is not known as known/ '' ^ Providentissimus Deus. HISTOEY OF REVEALED RELIGION BEFORE CHRIST. From Adam to Moses. 1. In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth. He said^ 'Let them he made/ and they were made. In six days God made the whole world — the sun^ moon, and stars ; the plants, trees, and animals ; and, last of all. He made man to His own image and likeness. The first man was called Adam, and the first woman Eve. They were just and holy, and the favorites of God. They lived happy in a delicious garden called Paradise, and they and their descendants were never to die. 2. God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the tree that stood in the midst of the garden, lest they should die. But the serpent said to them : ^ If you eat thereof, you shall be as Gods.^ Adam and Eve believed the serpent, and broke the command of God. For this sin of disobedience punishment immediately came upon them and all their descendants. They were driven from the garden of Paradise, were doomed to 1. How did God create Heaven and Earth? In how many days did He create all things? When did He create man? How did He distinguish man from the other creatures? What were the names of the first man and woman? Were they also liable to sin, as we are? Where did they live? Were they and their children ever to die? 2. What commandment did God give to Adam and Eve? What did the serpent tell them? What did Adam and Eve do? Were they punished for it? Were they alone punished? What punishment came upon them? Did God then abandon them? What did he promise them? 7 8 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION death and many hardships, and were to be banished from God for ever. Xevertheless^ God had compassion on them, and promised them a Saviour, who should reconcile them again to Him, and make them partakers of eternal happiness in Heaven^ provided they did penance (Gen. iii. 15). 3. Cain and Abel, sons of our first parents, offered sacrifice to Almighty God. God was pleased with that of the virtuous Abel, but not with that of the wicked Cain. Cain, being exceedingly angry at the preference given to his brother, killed him ; and in punishment for this crime he was cursed by God, and became a vagabond upon earth. •i. The descendants of Cain were wicked, like their father, and gradually seduced even the good; insomuch that, in process of time, all men turned away from God and sank deeper and deeper into sin and vice. God then resolved to destroy the degenerate race of Adam by a universal deluge. The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights, and the waters rose fifteen cubits, or twenty-seven feet and a half, above the highest moun- tains. All living creatures on the face of the earth perished in the flood, except the pious Xoe, with his family, and the animals that were with him in the ark, which he had built by the command of God. In thanks- giving for this escape, Xoe erected an altar and offered a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, who, in return, blessed him and his sons, and promised him that ^ there should no more be waters of a flood, to destroy all flesh ^ (Gen. ix. 15). 3. Who were Cain and Abel? How did they worship God? Was God pleased with their sacrifices? What did Cain do, and what became of him? 4. Were the descendants of Cain good or wicked? What evil did they do? What did God then resolve to do? How long did it rain? To what height did the flood rise? Did all living creatures perish ? What did Xoe do when he came out of the ark? What new kindness did God show to Noe and his sons? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION 9 5. The descendants of Noe became so numerous that they soon began to spread abroad into all lands. How- ever^ before separating, they determined to build a tower, the top of which should reach to Heaven. But God con- founded their language, so that they were unable to understand one another and were obliged to desist from building it; and the tower was called the Tower of Babel, or Confusion. Xoe^s descendants also gave themselves up to their wicked inclinations, and degenerated so far that, instead of adoring the true God, they worshipped the sun and moon, men and animals, and even idols of gold and silver, and of stone and wood. This shameful idolatry brought with it all kinds of sins and vices, which again prevailed in a frightful manner among mankind. 6. God, however, provided that the true faith and the hope in a future Eedeemer should not entirely vanish from the earth. For this purpose He chose Abraham (B.C. 1920), made a particular covenant with him, and promised him that the 'Messiah ' should be born of his posterity, saying : ' In thee shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed ^ (Gen. xii. 3). Therefore God also dis- tinguished Abraham and his descendants — who were called Hebrews, and afterwards Israelites, or Jews — from all other nations, and, during the course of time, often revealed Himself to them in a wonderful manner. 7. In order to try the faith of Abraham, God com- 5. Did the descendants of Noe multiply much? What did they attempt to do? How was their undertaking frustrated? What was the tower called? Did the descendants of Noe re- main faithful to God? What was the consequence of their idolatry? 6. Were the true religion and the hope in the Redeemer en- tirely to vanish? How did God prevent it? How were the descendants of Abraham called? What favor did God bestow on them? 7. How did God try the faith of Abraham? How did he fulfil the command of God? What did Isaac do? Did God 10 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION manded him to offer his only son Isaac in sacrifice upon Mount Moria. Abraham set out without hesitation. He himself placed the wood for the burnt offering upon his son^ and ascended the mountain with him. When they had reached the summit^ Isaac willingly laid himself on the wood to be offered up in sacrifice ; but God saved the pious Isaac through an angel^ blessed Abraham for his obedience, and renewed his former promises to him. Isaac was here a figure of the future Saviour of the world, who, in obedience to His Father, took the wood of the cross upon His shoulders, and carried it to Mount Cal- vary, to sacrifice Himself upon it for our redemption. 8. The patriarch Jacob was the son of Isaac, and lived with his family in the land of Chanaan, the country into which God had called Abraham. He had twelve sons^ who became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. One of them^ Joseph, was chosen by God to be^ through what happened to him in his life, a figure of Jesus Christ. Having been sold by his brothers, he was car- ried into Egypt, where he was falsely accused and cast into prison. After recovering his liberty, the king made him chief ruler over all Egypt; and as, by his wisdom and prudence, he saved the country during seven years from a dreadful famine, he was called ' Saviour of the world ^ (Gen. xli. 45). Jacob also, at his invitation, went down, with all his family, into Egypt and settled there. Before his death he pronounced this remarkable prophecy regarding the Eedeemer: 'The sceptre (su- preme power) shall not he tahen away from (the tribe of) Juda (his son) till He come that is to be sent; and suffer him to be killed? How did God reward Abraham? What mysterious signification does the sacrifice of Isaac con- tain? 8. Who was Jacob, and where did he live? How many sons had he, and what did they become afterwards? What was Joseph chosen by God to be? What happened to him? Did Jacob remain in Chanaan? What did he prophesy before his death, and about whom? How was it fulfilled? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 11 He shall he the expectation of nations' (Gen. xlix. 10). And;, in fact^ when Christy who was sent by God, was born, Herod, an Idumean, sat on the throne of the kings of Juda, and the kingdom was evidently approaching its end. From Moses to Christ, 9. After Joseph^s death, the Israelites grew into a great people, insomuch that the Egyptians, fearing they might become too powerful, reduced them to the hardest slavery. At length the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, and commis- sioned him to lead the children of Israel back to Chanaan. Pharao, King of Egypt, would not let them go; and therefore Almighty God sent dreadful plagues over all his dominions. At last an angel in one night slew all the first-born of the Eg3^ptians. But the de- stroying angel did not harm the Israelites, because they had sprinkled the doors of their houses with the blood of the paschal lamb, which, according to God^s com- mand, they ate that very night. By this was foreshown how, one day, mankind should be delivered from eternal death by the Blood of Jesus Christ, the true Divine Paschal Lamb, which we eat in the Holy Eucharist. 10. Then Pharao permitted the Israelites to depart; but he soon regretted it. In all haste he collected his troops, and pursued the unarmed Israelites to the shores of the Eed Sea. Here, struck with alarm and dread of 9. What happened to the children of Israel in Egypt? Whom did God appoint to deliver them? How did He appear to Moses? Did Moses meet with any opposition? What did God do to the Egyptians? Did the angel hurt also the Israelites? Why did he not hurt them? What did the blood of the paschal lamb signify? 10. Did Pharao continue keeping the Israelites in bondage? What did he do soon after? What did the Israelites do on their part? How were they delivered? How did God punish Pharao? 12 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION being drowned or slaughtered, they implored the as- sistance of God: and Moses, by the command of God, stretched forth his rod over the Bed Sea; and, behold, the waters were divided before them, and stood like a wall on their right hand and on their left, and they passed through on dry ground. Pharao rushed furiously after them into the midst of the sea ; whereupon Moses once more stretched forth his rod over the waters, and they suddenly returned to their former place, and buried Pharao with his whole army in the deep. 11. The children of Israel had now to travel through a vast wilderness, and came, fifty days after their de- parture from Egypt, to Mount Sinai, where God, amidst thunder and lightning, gave them the Ten Command- ments, written on two tables of stone. He also renewed with them the covenant He had made with their fathers, and regulated their religious and civil duties by most salutary laws. But the people soon forgot the Com- mandments and blessings of God, and continually com- plained and murmured ; nay, they debased themselves to such a degree that they made a golden calf, and adored it as their god. 1*2. In punishment of these and many other grievous sins, the Israelites had to remain forty years in the desert, until another and better generation had grown up. Xevertheless, God continually bestowed favors upon them. He rained bread, called manna, from Heaven for 11. Did the Israelites now go on straight to Chanaan? How long were they joiirneving from Egypt to Mount Sinai? What happened at Mount Sinai? Did God give them the Ten Com- mandments only? What return did they make for all these benefits ? 12. How was their ingratitude punished? Did God aban- don them altogether? What favors did He stOl show themT When, and how, did they get possession of Chanaan? Is there not a figure in all this? What does the deliverance from Egypt signify? What does the journey through the desert signify? What does the promised land call to our mind? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 13 them, and gave them water from a rock; and at last, after Moses' death, He conducted them into Chanaan, or Palestine, the promised land, which they conquered with His powerful assistance, and divided into twelve parts, giving one of them to each of the twelve tribes. All this was a figure of the future salvation of mankind. 1 Cor. X. 6. The deliverance from the bondage of Egypt signifies our liberation from the slavery of Satan by Jesus Christ. The journey through the wilderness sig- nifies our pilgrimage in this world, where God gives us His laws, nourishes us with the true Bread of Heaven, and strengthens us with the life-giving fountains of grace. The land of promise refers us to Heaven, which we can conquer and take possession of only after com- bating the world, the flesh, and the devil. 13. In this beautiful country the Israelites lived happy, and were blessed by God, until, contrary to His express command, they united themselves by marriage to the Gentiles, or Pagans, and thereby fell again into vice and idolatry. As often as they turned away from God He abandoned them to their enemies ; but when they returned to Him, He raised among them pious heroes called Judges, such as Gedeon, Jephte, and Samson, who rescued them from their foes. 14. For more than four hundred years the people of Israel were ruled by the high-priests and Judges, who were invested with supreme authority over them; but at length they desired to be governed, like the neigh- boring nations, by a king. In compliance with their wish, God appointed Saul to be their king, and the 13. How long did the Israelites remain happy in the promised land? What happened to them when they offended God? How did God help them when they repented? 14. Who were the first rulers of the people of Israel? How long were they governed by them? Who was the first King of Israel? Why was he rejected by God? By whom was he suc- ceeded? What can you tell me of David? Was he also pious? Why are his Psalms so very remarkable? Why is Christ also called the Son of David? 14 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGIOX Prophet Samuel anointed him about 1095 B.C. He was, however, afterwards rejected by God for his disobedi- ence, and was succeeded by David. David was strong and mighty: when only a youth, he had slain the giant Goliath; and having been made king, he extended his kingdom by splendid victories. He served God with an upright heart, and composed in His honor those beauti- ful sacred songs called Psalms, in which, by Divine in- spiration, he prophesied many things concerning the Ee- deemer of the world, who was to be born of his family, and whose kingdom should have no end. For this rea- son Christ is also called the Son of David. 15. Solomon, his son and successor, was a wise and great king. He built a magnificent temple to the Lord in Jerusalem about the year 1000 B.C. The Sanctuary, or Holy of Holies, was overlaid with plates of the purest gold; and in it was kept the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the two Tables of Laws written by God Himself. The high-priest was the only person who was allowed, once a year, to enter the Sanctuary. The people of Israel had no other temple, nor was any one permitted to offer up sacrifice in any other place, than the temple of Jerusalem. Solomon, however, did not persevere in wisdom and goodness. He married pagan wives, and, towards the end of his life, had the misfortune of beinc^ seduced by them from the service of God into the impi- ous practices of idolatry. 16. After Solomon's death, his kingdom was divided. 15. Who was Solomon? What famous building did he erect? How was the Sanctuary decorated, and what was kept in it? What did the Ark of the Covenant contain? Who was permit- ted to enter the Sanctuary, and how many times a year? Had the people of Israel any other temples, or altars? Did Solomon remain wise and good? What made him leave the service of God? 16. What happened after Solomon's death? Which tribes formed the kingdom of Juda? Who was its first king? Which CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 15 The tribes of Juda and Benjamin remained faithful to King Eoboam, his son, and formed the kingdom of Juda, the chief city of which was Jerusalem. The other ten tribes chose Jeroboam for their King, and made Samaria the capital of their kingdom, which from that time was called the kingdom of Israel, At the same time they abandoned the religion of their fathers, built a temple for themselves at Samaria, and introduced many kinds of the most abominable idolatry. God, therefore, delivered them into the hands of the pagan king, Salmanasar, who destroyed the kingdom of Israel for ever, and led the people to l^inive, into the Assyrian Captivity, about seven hundred years before Christ. The kingdom of Juda was also repeatedly chastised by God for its many transgressions. ISTabuchodonosor (Nebu- chadnezzar) II. took Jerusalem, pillaged the temple, and sent the sacred vessels and a large number of Jews to Babylon; and in 588 he entirely demolished the temple and the city, carried Sedecias, the last King of Juda, with the rest of the inhabitants, into the same Babylonian Captivity. But the kingdom of Juda was not destroyed for ever, like the kingdom of Israel, that had forsaken the religion of its fathers. 17. These severe judgments of God did not by any means overtake Juda suddenly and unexpectedly. Men was its capital? How many tribes constituted the kingdom ot Israel? Whom did they choose for their king? Which was the capital of the kingdom of Israel? Did it remain faithful it God? How did God punish it? Did the kingdom of Juda also, sin against the Lord? Was it also chastised, and how? Was not its punishment less severe than that of the kingdom of Is- rael, and why? 17. Did the judgments of God come upon them quite unex- pectedly? How did God forewarn the people? Did the proph- ets only announce God's judgments? What have they fore- told of the Messias? Which prophet foretold the time of His coming most precisely? Which are the most remarkable among the prophets? 16 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION enlightened by God^ who were called Prophets, had an- nounced them long before, confirming their words by great miracles, in order to rouse the people to repent- ance. These same prophets also promised pardon to those who should repent, and prophesied of the Ee- deemer who was to come. In their books, written many centuries before Christ, we read all the circumstances of His life and sufferings: His birth of a Virgin at Bethlehem, His office of teaching, His miracles. His passion. His death. His resurrection, the sending of the Holy Ghost, the destruction of Jerusalem, the conver- sion of the Gentiles, and the splendor of the Christian Church ; nay, Daniel foretold the very year in which the Saviour was to appear. The most remarkable amongst the prophets are Elias, Eliseus, Isaias, Jeremias, Eze- chiel, and Daniel. 18. During the time of the Captivity, illustrious ex- amples of rare virtues were given by Tobias at iSTinive ; and at Babylon, by the chaste Susanna, by the three young men in the fiery furnace, and by Daniel in the lions' den. The Babylonian Captivity had already lasted seventy years, when Cyrus, King of Persia, took Baby- lon, and, by Divine inspiration, gave permission to the Jews to return to their own country (b.c. 536) and to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. In a short time the second temple was finished; and when the old men be- gan to complain that its magnificence was far inferior to that of the first, the Prophet Aggeus foretold to them that the glory of this latter house should be greater than that of the former, because the *" Desired of all nations/ the Messias, would enter it (Agg. ii. 8-10). 18. Who distinguished themselves by their virtues at Ninive and Babylon? How long did the Babylonian Captivity last? How was it brought to an end? What did the Jews most ur- gently set about after their return? Was the new temple as magnificent as the one that had been demolished? In what was it superior to the first one? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 17 19. Esdras and Nehemias now reestablished the Di- vine service in conformity to the law^ and collected the Sacred Scriptures, which thenceforth were diligently read and interpreted. All the people shed tears and re- pented most sincerely. They never more returned to the sin of idolatry^ which had brought upon their fathers the grievous sufferings of their captivity. When^ some time later, Antiochus, King of Syria, tried to compel them to adore idols, they resisted most courageously under the command of the High-Priest Mathathias and his sons; nay, many of them, animated by the glorious example of the aged Eleazar, of the seven brothers, commonly called the Machabees, and of their heroic mother, pre- ferred to suffer the most atrocious of deaths, rather than disobey the law of God. 20. At length the time fixed by God for the fulfilment of His promise arrived ; and the signs that were to pre- cede the coming of the Eedeemer of mankind were ac- complished. The Jews longed for it with the greatest anxiety, and even among the Gentiles there was a cur- rent opinion that a great Euler was to rise in Judea. The corruption in which the world was sunk was un- bounded. The Jews, indeed, still acknowledged the one true God; but impious sects, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees, had sprung up amongst them, and a great 19. What is to be observed about Esdras and NehemiasI How did the people then behave? Did they remain faithful to their Lord and God? How did they show their fidelity? Who especially distinguished themselves at that time? 20. Were all the signs that were to precede the coming of the Messias fulfilled at the time of Christ ^s birth? Were all the signs of His coming accomplished at that time? What was the prevalent feeling of the Jews and the pagans? What was the state of the world? How did this corruption appear among the Jews? And how amongst the other nations? In what did the abomination of idolatry consist? What character does St. Paul give of the heathens? Was there any one then who could help mankind? Did He help them, and how? What did Christ Himself say on this subject? 18 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION corruption of morals had gained gronnd. Most of them honored God only with their lips, but their conduct was according to the sinful desires of their heart. All other nations, even the most enlightened among them, the Greeks and Eomans, were devoted to the most shameful idolatry. Innumerable were the gods and goddesses to whom they built temples and altars, and offered sacri- fices, even of human beings; and whom they believed they particularly honored when they extolled their in- famous vices and imitated them without shame or fear. Such were the heathens, as St. Paul testifies (Eom. i. 29-31): ^Filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, avarice, wickedness; full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity ; whisperers, detractors, hateful to God, contumelious, proud, haughty, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, foolish, dissolute, without affec- tion, without fidelity, without mercy.^ Who was then able to help and save mankind? God alone; and He did help and did save them. As He had promised to our first parents in Paradise, and foretold by the proph- ets. He now showed mercy to mankind, when in their utmost degeneracy, and sent them a Eedeemer and Saviour; for ^God so loved the world as to give His Only-Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him may not perish, but may have life everlasting^ (John iii. 16). HISTOEY OF CHEIST. 21. The world was at peace; Augustus was Emperor of Eome, and Herod, the Idumean, King of Judea 21. Under what emperor and what king was the Eedeemer born? Where, and of whom, was He born? Who was first told of His birth, and by whom? What did King Herod try to dis- cover, and why? What did St. Joseph do? Where did Jesus spend His childhood after His return from Egypt? How did He live there? What did He do when He was twelve years old? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION 19 (8)^ when the promise of God and the predictions of the prophets were accomplished. Jesus Christy the Son of God and Redeemer of the worlds was born^ in a stable at Bethlehem^ of Mary^ a virgin, descended from the royal family of David. His birth was announced by angels to the shepherds at Bethlehem, and by a star to the Wise Men in the East. The cruel Herod made every effort to discover the Divine Infant, that he might put Him to death ; but by the Lord's command, Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus, fled with Him and His mother to Egypt, and did not return till after the death of Herod. Jesus then led a retired life at N'azareth in Galilee, was subject to His parents, and ' advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men^ (Luke ii. 52). When He was twelve years old. He went with His parents to Jerusalem to celebrate the Pasch, or Passover, and remained there three days in the temple, astonishing even the Scribes, or doctors of the law, by His wise questions and answers. At the age of thirty He went to the river Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist. When He came out of the water, the Holy Ghost descended upon Him in the shape of a dove, and a voice came from Heaven, saying : ' This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ^ (Matt. iii. 17). 22. Jesus then retired into the desert, and after hav- ing fasted and prayed there forty days and forty nights. What did He do when He was thirty? What happened at His baptism % 22. What did Jesus do after His baptism? What does the word Gospel mean? How did Jesus prove His Divine mission? What impression did He make upon the people? How many Apostles did He choose? What does the word Apostle signify? Why did He choose them? What are their names? How many other disciples did He elect, and for what purpose? Who formed the beginning of the Christian Church? What did Jesus promise to His Church? Whom did He appoint to be her visible Head on earth? By what expressions did He in- timate this? What did He promise to give him? 20 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION He began to preach the Gospel — that is, the good tidings of the kingdom of God on earth. He travelled about the towns and villages, and proved His Divine mission and the truth of His doctrine by His holy life, by mir- acles and prophecies. Those who heard Him were filled with wonder and amazement. Multitudes of people fol- lowed Him, praised and extolled Him as the true ]\Ies- sias, and said, ' Xever did man speak like this man ' (John vii. 46). Jesus selected from His followers twelve men whom He called His Apostles or messengers. They were to be witnesses of His doctrine and w^orks, that, after His ascension into Heaven, they might preach what they had seen and heard of Him to all nations. These are the names of the twelve Apostles: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother; James (the elder), the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother; Philip and Bartholomew ; Thomas and Matthew ; James (the Less), the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, his brother, sometimes called Jude ; Simon, the Chanaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who afterwards betrayed Him. Moreover, He chose seventy- two disciples, ' and He sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself was to come^ (Luke x. 1). The twelve Apostles, the seventy-two disciples, and the others who adhered to Jesus, formed the beginning of that society of all the faithful which we call the Church of Christ. He appointed Peter to be the visible Head of His Church on earth, called him the Eock upon which He said He would build His Church, against which the gates of hell should never prevail, and promised him the keys of the kingdom of Heaven (Matt. xvi. 18, 19). 23. Jesus bestowed favors upon the Jews such as no 23. What sort of favors did Jesiis confer upon the Jews? How did the Jews behave towards Him? Why did the Scribes and Pharisees especially hate Him? Why did they watch all His words and actions? Could they convict Him of any sin? What special miracle did Jesus perform in the third year of CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 21 one had ever witnessed before: He made the blind to see and the lame to walk ; He restored the sick to health, and raised the dead to life ; in a word, He relieved every kind of suffering and misery. JSTevertheless, He had many enemies, especially among the Scribes and Phari- sees, who hated Him because He reprimanded them for their sins and vices, and also because He would not establish a temporal kingdom and elevate them to high dignities. They watched all His words and actions; but they could not convict Him of any sin. In the third year of His public teaching, and shortly before the Pasch or Easter, Jesus raised Lazarus to life after he had lain four days in the grave. The people, hearing of this miracle, greatly rejoiced; and when Jesus went to Jerusalem, they came forth in crowds to meet Him, with branches of palms and olives in their hands, spread their garments in the way, and cried, saying, ' Hosanna to the Son of David : Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest^ (Matt. xxi. 9). This triumphant entry of Jesus exasperated his enemies still more, and from that day they sought to put Him to death. 24. Jesus knew that the time of His bitter Passion was at hand. Eesigned to the will of His Heavenly Father, He prepared to pass out of this world. Whilst, in conformity with the Jev/ish law. He was eating the Paschal Lamb with His Apostles, He took bread into His holy and venerable hands, lifted up His eyes toward Heaven, to God His Almighty Father, gave thanks, blessed and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, say- His teaching? What impression did this make on the people? In what words did they express their feelings'? What effect did this reception of Jesus produce on His enemies? 21. How did Jesus meet His approaching Passion? How did He celebrate the Last Supper with His Apostles? What com- mandment did He give them at the end of it? What sacrament did He institute by this? What did He promise to His Apostles after the Last Supper? Whitter did He go afterwards? 22 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION ing, ' Talce ye, and eat; this is my Body which shall he delivered for you/ After that^ He took the chalice witli wine in it^ again gave thanks^ blessed and gave it to His disciples^ sayings ' Drink ye all of this; this is my Blood of the New Testament, tvhich sliall he shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins. As often as you do this, do it for the commemoration of me/ Thus Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist^ wherein^ under the appearance of bread and vrine^ He gives Himself truly to ns for the nourishment of our souls. After the Last Supper^ Jesus continued speaking for some time to His Apostles in the most affectionate manner, and promised to send them^ for their Comforter, the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, who should teach them all things, and abide with them for ever. After this. He went into the garden of Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives, to pray. 25. There all His coming sufferings were most sensi- hly displayed before His soul. A violent agony came over Him, and His sweat became as drops of blood trick- ling down upon the ground. ' My Father,^ said He, ^ if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Neverthe- less, not as I will, but as Thou wilt^ (Matt. xxvi. 39). In the meanwhile, Judas, who was about to betray Him, approached with a band of armed men ; and Jesus suf- fered Himself to be taken, bound, and led before the Chief Council, where He was mocked, spat upon, and huffeted. The chief priests then delivered Him up as guilty of death to Pontius Pilate, the Eoman governor of Judea, who, on his part, sent Him to King Herod; hut neither of them could find any evil in Him. Never- 25. What did Christ suffer in the garden of Gethsemane? What memorable prayer did He say there? By whom was He then betrayed? And how was He apprehended? Whither did they lead Him then? How was He treated before the Chief Council? To whom did the chief priests, and to whom did Pilate, deliver Him up? What did Pilate and Herod think of Him? What else had^ Christ to suffer? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 23 theless, He was scourged and crowned with thorns ; and at last, in compliance with the clamorous and threat- ening demands of the chief priests and the Jewish rab- ble, who preferred the murderer Barabbas before Him^ Pilate delivered Him unto them to be crucified. 26. Jesus, like one of the greatest criminals, was loaded with a heavy cross, and conducted to Mount Cal- vary, a place of execution, where He was crucified be- tween two thieves. As the prophets had foretold, so it was now accomplished: His hands and feet were pierced with nails; the soldiers divided His garments among them, and upon His vesture they cast lots. When tormented with burning thirst, they gave Him vinegar and gall to drink. Even the chief priests and ancients scoffed at Him; but Jesus suffered all these cruelties with the most wonderful patience and meek- ness. Nay, He even prayed for His enemies, saying: ^ Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.^ For three hours Jesus was hanging upon the cross suffering the most dreadful pains. The sun was dark- ened, and all nature mourned. At last, with a loud voice He exclaimed, ^ It is consummated ; Father, into Thy hands I commend my Spirit ^ ; and bowing His head, He gave up the ghost. The moment He expired the earth quaked, the rocks split asunder, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom, the graves were opened, and many bodies of the Saints that had slept arose and appeared in Jerusalem. The cen- turion or captain and the soldiers, who stood near the cross, were struck with awe, and said, ^ Indeed this was 26. What did they make Jesus carry? Where, and between whom, was He crucified? How were then the prophecies ful- filled in Him? When hanging on the cross, how did He suffer, and for whom did He pray? How long did He hang on the cross V* What great miracle happened during that time? How did our Lord expire? What miracles illustrated His death? What benefit did Jesus confer by His death on us and on the whole world? 24 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION the Son of God/ Thus Jesus became ' the propitiation for our sins ; and not for ours only^ but also for those of the whole world ^ (1 John ii. 2). 27. It was on Good Friday, about three o^clock in the afternoon^ that Jesus expired. In order to assure them- selves that He was dead, one of the soldiers with a spear opened His side, and immediately there came out blood and water. His body was taken down from the cross, and laid in a new sepulchre hewn out in a rock. The Jews sealed it and set a guard before it. But early on the third day, before sunrise, there was a great earth- quake, and Christ crucified arose glorious from the sepulchre. During forty days afterwards He often ap- peared to His Disciples, instructed them concerning the kingdom of God — that is, the Church — gave them power to forgive sins, and installed Peter Head of the Church, with these words : ^ Feed my lambs ; feed my sheep ' (John xxi. 15, 17). When He appeared for the last time in the midst of the eleven. He commanded them to go into the whole world, to preach the Gospel to all nations, and to baptize them ' in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.^ For that pur- pose He gave them the same power which He had re- ceived from His Heavenly Father, and promised to be with them all days, even to the consummation of the world. Finally, on the fortieth day after His Eesurrec- tion. He led His Disciples to the Mount of Olives, where He lifted up His hands over them, and, whilst He blessed them, ascended in their sight up to Heaven. 27. On what day, and at what hour^ did Jesus expire? How did they assure themselves of His death? And what resulted from this? What was done with His sacred body? What did His enemies then do? When, and how, did Christ rise to life? How long did He yet remain on earth? What did He do dur- ing that time? What did He command His Apostles to do when He appeared the last time among them? What power, and what promise, did He give them? When, where, and how did He ascend into Heaven? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 25 HISTOEY OF THE CHUECH OF CHEIST. From the Ascension of Christ to the Conversion of Constantine. 28. After the Ascension of our Lord^, His disciples returned to Jerusalem^ where they persevered in prayer, expecting the coming of the Holy Ghost, whom He had promised to send them. In the meantime, the Apostles chose Matthias one of the disciples, in the place of Jiidas. On the tenth day, the Feast of Pentecost, there came suddenly a sound from Heaven, as of a mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were assembled. Over the head of each one there appeared the form of a fiery tongue; and all of them, being filled with the Holy Ghost, began to speak in divers languages and to praise the Lord their God. Peter, the Head of the Apostles, stood up and declared to the innumerable mul- titude of the Jews who had come together that the same Jesus whom they had crucified, and whom God had raised from the dead, was their Lord and Eedeemer, and he called upon them to believe in Him. His discourse was so powerful that no less than three thousand came at once and asked to be baptized. Soon after, Peter and John went to the temple to pray. A lame man was lying there at the gate, and asked an alms of them. Peter said to him : ' Silver and gold I have none ; but what I have I give thee : in the name of Jesus Christ of Xaza- reth, arise and walk ^ ; and forthwith the lame man sprang to his feet and walked joyfully with them into the temple, thanking and praising God. All the people 28. How (lid the disciples prepare for the coming of the Holy Ghost? Whom did the Apostles choose in the place of Judas? When, and how, did the Holy Ghost come? What change did He produce in them? What did Peter, the Head of the Apos- tles, do? What was the result of his sermon? How was the lame man at the temple-gate healed? What effect had this miracle on the Jews? 26 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION were filled with amazement at this miracle, and five thousand more of them asked to be baptized. 29. The Apostles preached the Eesurrection of Jesus Christ with great power^ and did many signs and won- ders. By this their authority increased so much that the people brought the sick into the streets, in order that, when Peter passed by, his shadow, at least, might fall upon them, and deliver them from their infirmities. The chief priests and their adherents, seeing all this, were greatly exasperated. They caused the Apostles to be apprehended and scourged, and forbade them to preach in the name of Jesus ; they stirred up the people against them, insomuch that St. Stephen was stoned to death ; and they perpetrated many other acts of violence. But no earthly power was able to prevent the spreading of the doctrine of Jesus. The Apostles did not cease to preach the crucified Saviour, both in the temple and from house to house ; and the number of those who pre- sented themselves to be baptized increased exceedingly every day. Even Saul, afterwards called Paul, the most furious enemy and persecutor of the Christians, became, through the grace of God, an Apostle of Jesus Christ and the most zealous propagator of the Gospel. 30. The new converts in Jerusalem and its neighbor- hood formed the first Christian community, called the Church, Their conduct was unblemished and irre- proachable; they served God with gladness and in sim- 29. By what else did the Apostles spread the doctrine of Christ? What did the people do in consequence of this? What impression did this make upon the chief priests and their ad- herents? What did they do to the Apostles? Who was the first martyr? Did the Apostles, on being persecuted, cease preach- ing? What can you relate of St. Paul? 30. Of whom was the first Christian community composed? What was their conduct, and how did they serve God? Was there any dissension amongst them? Did any of them suffer from want? How were the poor relieved? By what authority, and how, did the Apostles govern this first community? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 27 plicity of heart. They all lived in the greatest harmony, and had but one heart and one sonl. Xone of them suf- fered want ; for the rich willingly sold^ for the relief of the poor^ what they could spare^ such as houses and lands^ and laid the proceeds at the feet of the Apostles, that they might divide them among the needy. The Apostles were the rulers of the Churchy as Christ had ordained; they taught^ baptized^ and administered the other sacraments ; they managed all ecclesiastical affairs, and governed the community. 31. Although many of the Jews embraced the doctrine of Christy yet the greater part of them remained obstinate and hardened. God^ therefore^ permitted the punish- ment they had been threatened with to be inflicted upon them; about the seventieth year after the birth of Christy Jerusalem was destroyed^ and the temple burnt, by the Eomans. An immense number of Jews lost their lives^ and the rest were banished from their country and dispersed all over the worlds that they might be every- where and at all times living witnesses of the Divine judgment. The stubbornness of the Jews^ and still more an express command of God, had early determined the Apostles to go and preach to the pagans or heathens. Poor and persecuted though they were, they announced to the nations of the earth the good tidings of salvation, under thousands of hardships and perils, even of death* 31. Were the Jews all converted? Did those who refused to believe in Christ remain unpunished ? What punishment was inflicted on them? Why were they dispersed all over the world? What determined the Apostles to go and preach to the pagans? Under what difficulties, and with what success, did they preach to them? How did the Apostles organize the new Christian communities? Were these communities separated, and independent of one another? Who was their common Head? What do we call all these communities together? What is the meaning of Catholic? Where was St. Peter bishop, and where did he die? Upon whom did his supremacy over the whole Church devolve? 28 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION Therefore God visibly blessed their efforts; and thirty years had scarcely elapsed after the Descent of the Holy Ghost;, when there were already Christian communities in all parts of the world. Over these Churches the Apostles placed bishops^ to whom they communicated their powers by special forms of prayer and the impo- sition of hands^ and whom they appointed their substi- tutes and successors. All these communities were most closely united together^ and formed^ under their common Head, St. Peter, the One, Universal — that is, Catholic — Church. St. Peter was first Bishop of Antioch, and afterwards Bishop of Eome, where he suffered martyr- dom under Nero a.d. 67 ; and then the supreme author- ity over the whole Church devolved on his successors, the Bishops of Eome, or the Popes. 32. The pagans were greatly alarmed at the rapid spreading of the Christian religion, which openly con- demned their vicious lives and their monstrous idolatry, and they resolved to exterminate it. The Christians had either to abjure their faith or to die under the most cruel torments. They were scourged and lacerated, and were cast before wild beasts; their sides were torn with iron hooks or burnt with torches. They were thrown into caldrons of boiling oil, mutilated, sawn in pieces, and crucified. They were covered with pitch and set fire to, that they might serve to light the nocturnal games of the pagans. Everywhere the Christians suffered tortures be- yond all description. Many countries were drenched with their blood, and hundreds of thousands of every age, sex, and condition died under the most dreadful tor- ments. Eome especially, the capital of paganism, and 32. What impression did the spreading of Christianity make on the pagans? How did they expect to exterminate it? What torments did they inflict upon the Christians? Were there many thus tortured and killed? Where did the persecution of the Christians chiefly rage? Have we any evidence of this nowa- days? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 29 the seat of all the abominations of idolatry, overflowed^ as it were, with the blood of the Christians. The num^ ber of those who suffered martyrdom in that city sur- passes all belief; and their bones, which are still to be seen in the subterraneous caverns or Catacombs, where they were entombed by their fellow-Christians, are wit- nesses of it to this day. 33. These terrible persecutions lasted, with few inter- ruptions, for three hundred years. Had Christianity been the work of man, it would certainly have been ex~ tirpated by the blind fury of its enemies ; but being the work of JesuS;, the Son of God, it took deeper and deeper root, and spread more and more over the world. The signs and wonders which the confessors of Christ did, but, above all, the imperturbable serenity of mind and cheerfulness of heart with which they suffered the most cruel torments and the most painful deaths, convinced the pagans that only the God of the Christians could be the true God. It even often happened that, whilst the Christians were suffering these most horrible tortures^ many of the pagan spectators were heard to cry out: ' We also are Christians ; kill us together with them ! " and thus the blood of the martyrs was the fruitful seed from which new Christians continually sprang up. 34. By permitting all this, God had sufficiently shown to the world that the establishment of the Church was His work, and that all the powers of the earth could not prevail against her. He now bestowed peace on her 33. How long did these persecutions last? Was the Christian religion extirpated by them? Why not? What convinced the pagans of the Divine origin of Christianity? What occurred oftentimes while the Christians were tortured? With what, then, may the blood of the martyrs justly be compared? 34. Why did God permit these persecutions? Whom did He call to put an end to them? Who was Constantino, and what can you relate concerning his victory? In what year did Con- stantine gain the battle and become the protector of Christian- ity? 30 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION by calling Constantine the Great to be the protector of Christianity. This Emperor, while still a pagan, was at war with Maxentius. Seeing that his enemy's army was far greater than his, Constantine prayed fervently to the true God for assistance; and behold, a bright cross ap- peared in the sky to him and to his whole army, with the following inscription upon it : '^ In this sign thou shalt conquer/ In imitation of this cross, Constantine ordered a banner to be made, and had it carried before his army in battle. He then bravely attacked the su- perior forces of ]Maxentius, and overcame them; and from that time (a.d. 312) Constantine became the de- fender and protector of Christianity. From the Conversion of Constantine to the Rise of Protestantism in the Sixteenth Century. 35. The cross, that had hitherto been the sign of the greatest ignominy, now became a sign of honor and victory. It glittered on the imperial crown of Con- stantine, and was displayed in Eome — till then the principal seat of paganism — on the pinnacle of the tem- ple of Jupiter, the Capitol; and it thus announced the triumph of the crucified God-Man to the whole world. Constantine granted the free practice of their religion to the Christians, built splendid churches for them, and showed marks of great honor and distinction to priests, and especially to the Popes. His example prompted thousands of the pagans to embrace the Divine doctrine ; and the idols were soon abandoned and their temples deserted. In a short time paganism was completely 35. What had the cross been before this, and Tvhat did it be- come now? Where was it particularly seen, and what did it an- nounce to the world? What did Constantine do for the Chris- tian Religion? What effect had his example upon the pagans? What became of paganism, and what was established in its place ? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 31 overthrown throughout the Roman Empire, and the Christian Eeligion was permanently established. 36. The Catholic Church had now to gain victories of another kind — namely, over her internal enemies, the heretics. Several heretical and schismatical doctrines had already been broached at different times and in dif- ferent places ; they had, however, soon disappeared. But now, by God^s permission, some new heretics arose, and gained many followers by cunning and fraud. They impudently left the Church, and formed separate and vast communions or sects, which were mostly named after their founders; as the Arians, I^estorians, Euty- chians. Pelagians, etc. These heretics often succeeded in gaining the favor of princes and emperors, under whose protection they most cruelly oppressed and persecuted the faithful. In the same way as the Apostles had for- merly assembled in order to settle, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and under the presidency of St. Peter, such differences as had arisen in matters of religion (Acts XV.), so now also their successors, the bishops of the Catholic Church, assembled under the presidency of the Pope, or of his legates, consulted about the heretical doctrines, and then condemned them. Such an assembly of bishops is called a General Council; and the decisions of such a council in matters of faith, when confirmed by the Pope, are infallible, because they proceed from the 36. Were the contests of the Church now at an end? Who were her new enemies? Had there not been heresies before? And what was the difference between them and these new ones? Whence did the sects take their names? How did they behave towards the faithful? How did the Church oppose these here- sies? What is the name of a general assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church? When and why are the decisions of a General Council infallible? When was the Council of Nice held? How many, and what, bishops were assembled there? What sentence did they pass? What error did Arius maintain? What became of these sectarians after their condemnation? How did it fare with all subsequent heresies? And what be- came of the Catholic Church? 32 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION Churchy which the Holy Ghost invisibly governs and pre- serves from all error. One of the most famous councils is that of Nice, in Bithynia, which was held in 325. Three hundred and eighteen bishops were assembled there ; and amongst them were many holy men who, during the per- secutions, had suffered for Christ^s sake, and had lost their hands or eyes. They unanimously condemned the impious doctrine of Arius, who obstinately maintained that Jesus Christ was not God from all eternity, and they cut him off from the communion of the faithful. Although this sect, called Arians, was at that time very powerful, the Church, by her solemn decision, had set the seal of reprobation on it, and consequently it was gradually to vanish from the face of the earth. The same sentence of condemnation was passed on all the other heresies that sprang up in subsequent ages; and however hard the conflicts were in which the Church had to engage, she has always come off victorious. 37. During this period, God illustrated His Church also by many holy and learned men who gloriously de- fended the true doctrine. They are called Doctors of the Church, or Fathers of the Church. Such were St. Atha- nasius. Patriarch of x\lexandria, who had to endure from the Arians a long and severe persecution for the true faith (d. 373) ; St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Csesa- rea (d. 379) ; St. Gregory K'azianzen (d. 389), and St. John, surnamed Chrj^sostom, that is. Golden Mouth 37. By whom did God especially illustrate His Church at this time? How are those holy and learned men called? Caa you name any of them? Did any other men distinguish them- selves in the Church about this time? Who were the hermits? What was their abode? What was their food and drink? Why did they renounce all comforts? Who were the first and most famous hermits? What did the solitary Life give rise to after- wards? Who built the first monastery? Who particularly ad- vanced the Monastic Life in Europe? For what is Europe es- pecially indebted to the Benedictine Order? When, and by v.hom, was it introduced into England? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 33 (d. 407)^ both Patriarchs of Constantinople; St. Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem (d. 386), and St. Cyril, Patri- arch of Alexandria (d. 444) ; St. Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan (d. 397) ; St. Jerome, celebrated for his Latin translation of the Holy Scriptures, called the Vulgate (d. 420) ; St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in Africa, one of the brightest luminaries of the Church (d. 430) ; and the holy Popes St. Leo the Great (d. 461) and St. Greg- ory the Great (d. 604). Whilst the Holy Fathers of the Church especially distinguished themselves as de- fenders of the true faith, the Hermits, or Solitaries, and monks, shone as models of the most austere penance. The hermits were, pious Christians who fled from the seductive pleasures of the world, to prepare themselves- in solitude, by prayer and self-denial, for a happy death. A cavern in a rock, or a hut made of branches, was their abode ; the bare ground, or a few leaves, their bed ; roots, and herbs were their food, and water was their drink. They renounced all the comforts of life, that they might entirely die to the world, and live only for God. The first hermit was St. Paul, who died about 340. St. Anthony, to satisfy the importunities of others, built the first monas- tery, and is called the Patriarch of Monies (d. 356). Thus the Solitary Life gave rise to the Monastic Life,. which was so opportunely and successfully propagated in the West by the great St. Benedict, noted for the wonders he had done. For, not to speak of his miracles, we may safely say that Europe is especially indebted to the religious order he established for the cultivation of its soil and the conversion of its inhabitants. He died in 543. St. Augustine, the Apostle of England, was a Benedictine monk, and introduced this order into Eng- land in 596. 38. In the fifth and sixth centuries the Church was 38. What was the cause of the clangers to which the Church was exposed during the fifth and sixth centuries? What is this called in history? Can you name any of these rapacious tribes?" 34 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION exposed to new dangers^ when rapacious pagan nations left their own wild homes^ and overran the Christian countries in countless swarms^ laying waste all before them with fire and sword. This is called the Migration of Nations. Some of them were named Huns, Alans^ Heruli^ Goths, Suevi^ Lombards^, Burgundians, Vandals, Franks, Angles, Saxons; but the most merciless and savage of all these barbarian tribes were the Huns, under their king, Attila, who called himself the Scourge of God. The most celebrated towns were utterly destroyed, and whole countries laid waste and almost depopulated. The Eoman Empire, more than one thousand years old, and once so powerful, could no longei; resist these savage tribes, and was at last completely overthrown. Odoacer, King of the Heruli, took Eome, and was proclaimed King of Italy in 476. It is impossible to describe the ex- tent of misery which these barbarous hordes inflicted on all Europe, until finally God subdued and civilized them by means of that very Church which they had threatened with destruction. Holy men were sent by the Popes to Which of them was the most savage and cruel? Who was their ting, and what did he call himself? Did these savage tribes do much harm? What became of the Eoman Empire? Who was TQade King of Italy? In what year? By what means did God subdue the barbarians? How was this done? When was Ire- land converted^ and by whom? What peculiarity was there in the conversion of the Irish? In what centuries was Germany •converted and civilized? Who is the Apostle of Austria? Can you name any more of the missionaries to whom Germany owes its conversion? Who is called the Apostle of the Germans? Where was he born? To what order did he belong? Of what town was he made Archbishop? How, and in what year, did he die? What did the missionaries usually do when they had set- tled in a country? What did, then, the monasteries do for the tgpreading and strengthening of the faith? For what else is Germany indebted to the monks? What emperor in those days interested himself particularly for the prosperity of the Christian Church, and what did he do? To whom does Hungary owe her conversion? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 35 announce the good tidings of salvation to them. These took the cross and the Gospel in their hands; and al- though they were exposed to the greatest dangers, they preached, with no less courage and confidence in God, the doctrine of the Saviour of the world. St. Patrick was sent by Pope Celestine, in a.d. 432, to Ireland, and labored there for many years, converting the entire country to Christianity, and establishing many episcopal sees, churches, and monasteries. This is the only in- stance in the history of the Church of the conversion of an entire people without a single martyrdom. St. Pat- rick has been deservedly styled the Apostle of Ireland^ and Ireland was called the Island of Saints. In the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries Germany was also converted and civilized. St. Severinus is called the Apostle of Austria, because he converted that country to the Christian faith. He died in 482. St. Columban and St. Gall, both natives of Ireland, preached near the Lake of Constance and elsewhere in Switzerland ; St. Kilian, a holy Irish monk, and St. Willibald, an English West- Saxon, in Franconia; St. Eupert and St. Corbinian, both French missionaries, in Bavaria and the surround- ing countries ; St. Ludger, a native of Friesland, in Westphalia; St. Anscharius, a French Benedictine monk, in Scandinavia and Lower Germany (d. 865). But the most indefatigable and successful preacher of the Gospel in Germany was St. Winfrid or Boniface, who is therefore justly called the Apostle of the Ger- mans. He was born at Crediton, in Devonshire, about the year 680, and was a Benedictine monk at Exeter. On account of his great merits he was created Arch- bishop of Mentz in 732, by Pope Gregory III.; and whilst he was engaged in preaching the Gospel to the in- fidel inhabitants of the northern parts of Friesland he was martyred, in 755. As soon as the missionaries had got a footing in a country, they made it their first busi- ness to erect one or several monasteries. These sane- 36 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION tuaries of religion then sent forth holy men to spread the seeds of Christianity over the country, established schools for the education of young priests, and taught the barbarians to leave off their savage manners, and to follow peaceful and useful occupations. Thus the wild Germans were taught agriculture, the duties of domestic life, trades, and mechanical arts. By the industry and labor of the monks deserts were changed into rich fields, ftnd dark forests into pleasant abodes; in all respects they were the greatest benefactors of mankind. The Emperor Charlemagne, who had especially the propaga- tion and prosperity of the Christian Church at heart, founded more than twenty-four monasteries, and erected •several episcopal sees, which he most liberally endowed Avith lands and estates. His example was followed by the pious King Stephen, to whom Hungary is indebted for her conversion to Christianity. 39. Whilst the Christian faith was propagated in the West with gratifying success, most fatal and deplorable disturbances arose in the East. The Greek Emperors at Constantinople, instead of humbly submitting them- selves to the Church, wanted to rule her, and obtrude upon her their opinions as articles -of faith. The people were heedless, the clergy frequently forgot their duties, and pride and dissension supplied at last what was still wanting to bring about that lamentable Schism by which the greater portion of the Greek or Eastern Church se- ceded from the Pope, the common Read of the Church 39. What happened in the East, whilst the Christian faith was successfully spread in the West? Who was the chief cause of those disturbances! To what were the people and the clergy inclined? What was the unfortunate result of all this? Did God suffer all this to remain unpunished? Who was Mahomet? What did he pretend to be? Of what did he form his new re- ligion? How did he spread it? What did his successors do? Was the Christian religion totally destroyed under them? What l3ecame of it, and what was the reason? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 37 of Christ (a.d. 1054). But God did not delay to inflict upon them the punishment they had so well deserved. As in former times He had chastised the Israelites for the neglect of His laws^ so He now punished the degene- rate Christians also. In the beginning of the seventh century (a.d. 622), there had appeared in Arabia an ar- rogant impostor called Mahomet, who pretended to be a messenger of God, and patched up a new religion out of Pagan^ Jewish, and Christian observances and doctrines. At the head of a band of robbers, he first plundered cara- vans, soon after took cities and countries, and, sword in hand, forced the inhabitants to embrace his religion. His successors, who were called Caliphs, continued, by the force of arms, to subdue one country after another in Asia and Africa, and to spread the doctrine of their false prophet, and, at the same time, barbarism, profligacy, and the most oppressive slavery. Christianity, it is true, was not entirely rooted out in those countries ; but being separated from the true Church, it fell into a state of torpidity and debasement, under which it is still lan- guishing at the present time. 40. In the year 637 Jerusalem, the capital of the 40. In what year did Jerusalem fall under the power of the Mahometans? What do you understand by Mahometans, and what by Saracens? When was Jerusalem conquered by the Turks? What do you call those Turks, and whence did they come? What was their religion? Were they friends of the Christians? What was the cause of the Crusades? Who was Peter of Amiens, and what did he report to Urban II.? What did the Pope do? What did he effect at the Council of Cler- mont? In what year was the Council of Clermont held? What ensued in the West? What is the origin of the name of Cru- sade? What can you relate of the first Crusade? In what year was Jerusalem taken? What can you relate of Godfrey of Bouillon? How long did the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem last? What caused its fall? When, and by whom, was it con- quered? About what year, and by what Turks, were the Selju- kians subdued, and how far did they extend their conquests? In what year, and by whom, was Constantinople taken? Who 38 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION Holy Land or Palestine^ had fallen under the power of the Mahometans or Saracens ({. e,, Arabians; so called from sara, a desert)^ and had groaned nnder their yoke four hundred and forty-t^^^o years, when, in 1079, it was conquered, together with the fairest portions of Western Asia, by the Seljuhian TiirTcs, a Tartar tribe, who came in 1048 from the Caspian Sea, and had in the eighth century embraced Mahometanism. The latter were the most relentless foes of Christianity. The enormities which they committed in the Holy Land, and the cruel treatment which they inflicted upon the Christian pil- grims who resorted thither from the West, gave rise, about the close of the eleventh century, to the Crusades, Peter of Amiens, a pious hermit, who had made a pil- grimage to Jerusalem, reported to Pope Urban II. how the Holy Places, where our Saviour had lived and suf- fered, were profaned by the Infidels, and to what out- rages the Christians were there exposed. The Pope was so sensibly affected that he resolved to put an end to the insolence and insatiable rapacity of the Mahometans. He summoned the Christian princes and knights to a Council at Clermont in Auvergne (a.d. 1095), called upon them to engage in a military expedition against the Infidels, and excited their enthusiasm to such a pitch that the whole assembly spontaneously exclaimed, ' God wills it! God tvills it!' This cry reechoed through the whole West, and shortly after there stood ready a tre- mendous host of men armed at all points. They wore, as a badge of their engagement, a red cross on their right shoulder, whence originated the name of Crusaders and Crusade. Full of joy and courage, they marched to Palestine. After having endured inexpressible hard- ships, and fought many a hot battle, they at last took checked the further progress of the Turks ? By whom were they at last completely overthrown? In what battle, and in what year? What was the result of this victory? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION 39 Jerusalem; and the brave hero^ Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, was proclaimed King a.d. 1099. Be- ing presented with a golden crown, he refused to wear it, saying that he would never consent to wear a crown of gold where the Redeemer of the world had worn a crown of thorns; and he never gave himself any other title but that of Duke Godfrey. The new kingdom, however, lasted only eighty-eight years. Owing to the treachery of the Greeks, and to the want of discipline and harmony among the Crusaders, it was unable to re- sist the superior forces of the Turks, although it re- peatedly obtained auxiliaries from the West; and thus Jerusalem was taken by Saladin, Sultan of Egypt, in 1187. About the year 1300, fresh hordes of Turks, called the Ottomans, poured down from Tartary, sub- dued the Seljukians, and extended their conquests over Western Asia, Eumelia, Moldavia, Servia, Bulgaria, Greece, and the Morea ; until at last, under that monster of brutality and voluptuousness called Mahomet (II.) the Great, they rendered themselves masters of Constan- tinople, the capital of the Greek Empire (a.d. 1453), which calamity God no doubt permitted in punishment for the grievous offences it had committed against Him. The further progress of the Turks, however, was checked by the ardent zeal and heroic valor of the Christian princes Huniades and Scanderbeg, of the Knights Hos- pitallers of St. John of Jerusalem (who from 1310 were called Knights of Ehodes, and from 1530 Knights of Malta), and of other Christian Orders of Chivalry, till they were at last completely overthrown by the united forces of the Pope, of Spain, and of Venice, and by the evident help of the glorious Mother of God, in the famous battle of Lepanto (a.d. 1571). The result of this victory was not only a check to the progress of the Ottomans, but also the beginning of the decline of their power; and thus Catholic Europe, and especially Ger- many, was saved from the imminent danger of being 40 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION likewise overrun and subjugated by those ferocious In- fidels. 41. In the Western countries of Europe, the Cru- sades everywhere roused the people to a more vigorous exertion of their mental powers, and to a new spiritual life. During the destructive Migration of Nations (38), the sciences had found an asylum in the mon- asteries; but now they spread among the people, and were ardently cherished by them. Celebrated schools and universities were established ; and men of wonderful erudition, as St. Anselm (d. 1109), Albertus Magnus (d. 1280), St. Thomas of Aquino (d. 1274), and others, occupied the professorial chairs. Those tmies, gen- erally called ' Tlfie Middle Ages' are still more re- nowned for the lustre of Christian virtues, for the firm- ness of faith, for childlike simplicity, and for an ardent love of God and man. Even at the present time we be- hold with surprise and wonder those ancient gigantic cathedrals which were erected by the piety of our an- cestors; and we are enraptured at the most tender de- votion, expressed in the paintings and statues with which they adorned the buildings consecrated to God. Such great and charming works could only be produced by the Eeligion which filled their hearts and governed all their actions. This same Eeligion also poured out the greatest blessings over the earth through the holy Founders of Eeligious Orders, St. Eomuald (d. 1027), St. Bruno (d. 1101), St. Xorbert (d. 1134), St. Ber- 4l. What influence had the Crusades on Western Europe? Where had the sciences found an asylum during the invasions by the barbarians, and among whom were they now spread? What learned men of those times can you name? What do we call those times, and what are they particularly remarkable for? What monuments give, even at the present time, evidence of the piety of our ancestors? What enabled them to produce such stupendous works? Through whom in particular did the Cath- olic Eeligion pour out its blessings at that time? What fruits did the numerous monasteries bring forth? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 41 nard (d. 1153), St. Dominic (d. 1221), St. Francis of Assisium, surnamed the Seraphic (d. 1226), and many other men of God. The numerous monasteries which they built not only produced many great Saints and enlightened prelates, but they also cherished piety and religious zeal among the lower classes of the people. They relieved the wants of the poor, sheltered and nursed the sick, and redeemed those who had been made prisoners and slaves; they sent missionaries into all parts of the world, and obtained, by their devout prayers, abundant graces from Heaven on countries and nations. 42. In the meantime, there appeared also an exu- berant growth of cockle among the wheat in the field of God (Matt. xiii.). There were pernicious feuds and wars, various acts of injustice and violence, and many scandals. In several places, and particularly in Ger- many, the custom had been introduced by temporal princes of putting the newly elected bishops and abbots in possession of their benefices by giving them the Bing and the Crosier, the symbols of Pastoral authority, which ceremony was called Investiture, and seemed to imply the conferring of spiritual jurisdiction. ISTot content with this, the Emperor Henry IV. used to bestow bishop- rics and abbeys upon the most unworthy candidates, and even on such as offered him the largest sums of money. Pope Gregory VII.. courageously inveighed against those 42. Was there in those times no cockle in the field of God? What kind of cockle was it? What custom had been introduced in some places by the temporal princes? What is symbolized by the Ring and Crosier? What was this ceremony called, and what did it seem to imply? What did the Emperor Henry IV. use to do? Who opposed him? What is this contest called, and when did it take place? How did the Church get out of it? What evil came afterwards on the West of Europe? Which were the most notorious heretics of that time? Whom did God send to preach penance to them? Was the evil then entirely suppressed? How and when did the slumbering fire bre^k out into a flame? What was the consequence of this? 42 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION crying abuses; and hence ensued^ about 1076^ a long and tedious contest, called The Contest of Investiture, out of which the Church indeed came forth victorious^ but not till after many hard trials. After that there arose here- tics who kindled the fire of revolt first against the Ec- clesiastical^ and then against the Secular authorities ; as in France the Albigenses, in Upper Italy the Waldenses, in England the Wickliffites or Lollards^ in Bohemia the Hussites. Peace, it is true, was restored to the Church, and men, mighty in words and deeds, as St. Vincent Ferrer (d. 1419) and St. John Capistran (d. 1456), went through the countries of Europe, preaching pen- ance to princes and people. Nevertheless an unholy fire lay hidden under the ashes; feelings of disrespect and hostility to the Church, and a fondness for innovations, had gained ground, and were increased by many other at- tendant evils. Xothing was wanted for the fatal erup- tion of this volcano of wickedness and rebellion but an opportunity; and this presented itself in the beginning of the sixteenth century in Germany. Like a contagious disease, this lamentable evil spread abroad; thousands and thousands abandoned the Catholic Church; bloody wars, revolts, and corruption of morals ensued; the most splendid establishments, founded by the piety of former ages, were destroyed, and unspeakable misery was pre- pared both for time and eternity. * From the Rise of Protestantism to the Present Time, 43. Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and a pro- fessor in the University of Wittenberg, a man of an ir- 43. Who was the author of Protestantism? What sort of a man was he? When and how did he begin his conflict with the Church? Did he stop there? How did he behave towards the Pope? What innovations did he introduce? What did he do with regard to monasteries, monks, and nuns? What pre- tended right did he give to princes and sovereigns? Was his conduct edifying! Whence did he pretend to take his doctrine? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION 43 xi table and turbulent disposition, began in 1517 by ex- claiming against the abuses which are said to have been practised in the publication of the Indulgences granted by Pope Leo X. to those who should contribute to the rebuilding of St. Peter^s Church in Eome. But soon after he arbitrarily set himself up as a reformer of the Church, inveighed against the Ecclesiastical authorities, especially against the Pope, whose supreme power he denounced as usurpation and tyranny, and which he said he would bring to a miserable end. In pursuance of his wrong views, he rejected many articles of faith which the Church had received from Christ and His Apostles. He repudiated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Fasting, Con- fession, Prayers for the Dead, and many other pious practices; he declared good works to be useless, and taught that man is justified and saved by faith alone. Moreover, he threw open the monasteries and convents, and gave leave to the monks and nuns to marry ; and he presumed to award to princes and sovereigns the right of confiscating the property of churches and convents, and of assigning it to any use they pleased. Finally, he broke the vow of chastity which he had solemnly made as a monk and as a priest, and committed the double sacrilege of taking a nun for his wife. Luther boasted that he took his doctrine from the Bible only ; but being misled by the false rule of private judgment in its in- How did he interpret the Bible ? Did he teach the pure Word of God? Can you name any of his errors? How was his doctrine received by the people, and how by some Princes? What did he do to gain the favor of the Landgrave of Hesse? Did any imitate Luther ^s example? Where and what did Zwinglius teach? Where and what did Calvin teach? What did the Ana- baptists proclaim? What havoc did the Zwinglians and the Calvinists make? Did the different Sects agree among them selves? Did their disagreement prevent the spread of their doc- trines? In what were they united? What measures did they contrive to propagate their principles? What means did they use in many places to make the Catholics renounce their faith? 44 CATECHISM OP THE CATHOLIC EELIGION terpretation, he soon fell into the most palpable contra- dictions and errors. Thus he asserted that ' man has no free will;, and consequently can neither keep the com- mandments nor avoid eviP;* '^ that sin does not con- demn man, provided he firmly believe/ f etc. Neverthe- less, he soon obtained many followers; for the thought- less multitude were very much pleased with such easy doctrine, which allowed them to lead a dissolute life, and covetous princes found nothing more conformable to their wishes than the suppression of churches and mon- asteries. Besides, Luther eagerly embraced any oppor- tunity of increasing his party, and for this purpose he permitted the Landgrave of Hesse to contract a second marriage whilst his first wife was still living. The way of innovation and revolt being once opened by Luther, several others soon followed him, and they went even further than he did. Zwinglius, in Switzerland, denied the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Calvin, at Geneva, taught that ' God has predestined a part of mankind, without any fault of theirs, to eternal damnation, and that therefore He blinds -and hardens the heart of sinners.^ % The Anabaptists proclaimed a kingdom of Christ on earth, in which there was to be no private property, no law, no magistrates. Zwinglius, Calvin, and other Sectarians totally demolished in the churches what had been spared by Luther. The images of the Crucified Eedeemer and of the Saints, pictures as well as statues, and masterpieces of art, were hewn in pieces; the organs and altars were shattered; nay, even the graves were ransacked, and the bones of the Saints trampled upon and burnt to ashes. Although these pre- tended Eeformers combated and anathematized one an- other, nevertheless their several doctrines spread most rapidly. United only in their hatred against the Catho- * De Servo Arbitrio. t Epist. ad Melancht. an. 1521. De Captivit. Babyl. torn. ii. fol. 284. X Instit. Relig. Christ. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION 45 lics^ they contrived all imaginable measures to gain the superiority over them. By thousands and thousands of pamphlets they disseminated their erroneous principles, and, at the same time, they most virulently attacked and calumniated the Pope and the Catholic Clergy. More- over, in many places crying acts of violence were com- mitted, and people were forced by all sorts of oppression and persecution to renounce the Holy Catholic Faith. 44. The Catholics, on their part, made several at- tempts to restore peace to the Church, by entering into amicable discussions with their opponents; but the ha- tred which Luther bore to the Pope, the Head of the Church, continued implacable. To check the progress of heresy and wickedness, the Emperor Charles V. as- sembled in 1529 a second Diet at Spires, where a decree was issued that, until the decision of a General Council, Lutheranism should be tolerated wherever it had al- ready been established, but should not be spread any further; that no one should be hindered from saying or hearing Mass; and that all invectives against any re- ligion should be prohibited. The Lutherans protested 44. What did the Catholics do for the restoration of peace, and what was the result? In what year, and by whom, was the Diet of Spires assembled? What famous decree was issued there? How did the name of Protestants originate? Are only the Lutherans now called Protestants? What measures did the Holy Father at last take? In what year was the Council of Trent convoked, and what was done by it? What did the Church gain by this Council? Did the Protestants come to it? What was the effect of Luther's preaching liberty? What took place during the war of the peasantry? Were there any other wars in Germany, and how long did the great religious war last in that country? What was the consequence of this war? Were any other countries involved in war, and which? Where and how did Zwinglius end his life? What are the French Protes- tants called, and what atrocities did they commit? Who in- troduced Protestantism into England, and for what reason? Did England gain anything by the change? What do you know of Charles L? 46 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION against this decree, and from this circumstance is de- rived their name of Protestants ; which appellation has since been given also to the other Sects into which they have divided. At length the Holy Father convoked a General Council at Trent, in the Tyrol, in the year 1545. The doctrine of the innovators was examined and unani- mously condemned; at the same time, many excellent decrees concerning Ecclesiastical institutions and the reformation of abuses were issued ; in a word, the vigor- ous and decisive action of this Council gave fresh beauty and new life to the Catholic Church. The Protestants had been repeatedly invited to the Council, as they had in the beginning expressly wished for it in order to ad- just their differences; but they refused to appear at Trent. Consequenth^ the unfortunate Schism con- tinued, and brought unspeakable misery and endless ca- lamities upon the greater part of Europe. Luther had preached liberty and reviled the Emperor, the princes, and bishops ; the peasants lost no time in freeing them- selves from their masters. They traversed the country in lawless bands, burnt down the castles and monasteries, and committed the most horrible cruelties against the nobility and clergy. More than one hundred thousand persons were slain during this frightful insurrection (a.d. 1525). Other religious wars ensued, and Germany, which once had been so flourishing, became at last the scene of the most frightful desolation and of the most horrible atrocities during the Thirty Years' War (1618- 1648). The other countries which had embraced the new doctrine were likewise devastated by religious and civil wars. In Switzerland, Zwinglius fell in a bloody battle which he fought against his own countrymen. In France, the Calvinists, called Huguenots, with a devas- tating army, kept the field for many years against the crown and the Church. In their blind fury, they massa- cred numbers of priests, monks, and nuns ; they ravaged villages and towns, and burnt or pulled down many CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 47 thousands of churches^ some of which were magnificent monuments of Christian art. England also suffered se- verely for her apostasy^ begun by King Henry VIII., who abandoned the Catholic Church because the Pope would not allow him to repudiate his lawful wife, Cath- arine, and marry Anne Boleyn. From that time, the country was drenched in human blood; even King Charles I., a successor of the tyrannical Henry, was be- headed by rebels who boasted of professing and practis- ing the purest of all Christian Doctrines. 45. The loss which the Church had suffered from the apostasy in Europe was to be compensated by the con- version of innumerable heathens in other parts of the globe. Missionaries went forth in every direction, and announced the salutary doctrines of the Gospel with wonderful success. It is truly astonishing what St. Francis Xavier, the Apostle -of the Indies, who was so eminently favored by Heaven, alone accomplished. Glowing with zeal for the salvation of the pagans, he crossed the vast ocean,, and landing at Goa, in the year 1542, he began his mission by walking through the streets with a bell in his hand, and calling the children to come and be instructed. They joyfully attended and 45. How was the Church compensated for her loss in Europe ? How was this effected? What is the name of the Apostle of the Indies? Where did he land, and in what year? How did he begin his mission? What did the children do? How did God reward and assist his zeal? In what countries did he work, and how long? What was the result of his labors? How many heathens did he christen or baptize in one month? Was Chris- tianity also introduced into China? How was the sincerity of the new Christians, especially in Japan, proved? How many were martyred in Japan? Does the hatred against the Chris- tians still continue there? What can you relate of America in general, and of Mexico in particular? Was the work of the missionaries easy there? What particular obstacles did they encounter? Did they succeed the less for all that? How did the savages of Paraguay live? What did they become after their conversion to Christianity? 48 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION listened to the holy man, who spoke to them so affec- tionately of their dear Kedeemer. When they had re- turned home, they repeated what they had heard, and so induced the adult persons to come likewise and hear the holy preacher. God rewarded his zeal, and granted him, as He had done to the first Apostles, the power of heal- ing the sick, of raising the dead to life, of commanding the storms ; in short, the power of working the most stu- pendous miracles. With untiring energy he went from country to country, from island to island, through all India and Japan, and converted, in the short period of ten years, many tribes and kingdoms. He himself testi- fies in one of his letters that in one month he adminis- tered Holy Baptism to ten thousand heathens. After his death, other missionaries continued the pious work, and introduced the Eeligion of Jesus into China also, that immense, unknown, and till then inaccessible empire. That these heathens had been truly converted was proved in the most convincing manner when the persecution of the Christians broke out in Japan. About one million, one hundred thousand * died for their faith, and the greater part of them were most horribly tortured. Even tender children, weak old men, and women of rank has- tened with joy to martyrdom, dressed in their holiday attire, as if they were going to a wedding feast. So sin- cere and strong was their faith that even the survivors and their children have continued to preserve it under most adverse circumstances. Though shut out for over two hundred years from the Christian world, and with- out a priest, and subjected to tyranny and persecution, they taught the Catechism, recited the Catholic prayers they had learned, baptized their children, and strove to live piously. A few years ago the Japanese were forced to repeal their laws for the total exclusion of foreigners. Missionaries have again entered, and have found villages *. ♦Some authors reckon 1,200,000. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 49 of these faithful Japanese Catholics. In America also, that newly-discovered world, the light of the Gospel spread, and overthrew the most abominable idolatry with all its horrors and vices. No people on earth offered up more human sacrifices than the natives of America. The Mexicans sacrificed about twenty thousand human vic- tims every year, and when they had no captives for this purpose, they. did not spare even their own children. It is impossible to describe w^iat the heroic missionaries suffered, and what dangers they incurred among those bloodthirsty men. They had to struggle not only against the cruelties and vices of the natives, but also against the insatiable avarice of the European settlers. Yet their labors were crowned with success, and the Christian faith was firmly and permanently established on this Continent. The mission of Paraguay, in South America, especially flourished. The brutish natives, who lived among the wild beasts in the forests, who thought of nothing but plundering, murdering, and revenge, who delighted only in eating human flesh, in voluptuousness and drunkenness, were transformed by the indefatigable missionary priests into devout Christians. They became models of modesty and charity, of innocence and piety, and by their untiring industry and labor changed their wild country into a delicious paradise. 46. The holy men who, with such indefatigable zeal, 46. To what class of men did most of the missionaries be- long? Of what order were the Apostles of the Indies, and the first planters of Christianity in China and Paraguay? When, and by whom, was this order established? In what did these religious especially exert themselves? How were they requited for their labor by the enemies of Eeligion? Did God raise any other orders at that time, and for what purpose? When and how did the Order of Capuchins originate, and by what were they particularly conspicuous? When and by whom was the Oratory founded, and to what does it devote itself? What was the object of the fathers of the Pious Schools, and of other orders? What communities of religious women arose at that 50 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION and often even to the shedding of their blood, devoted themselves to the conversion of the pagans, belonged for the most part to Eeligious Orders. St. Francis Xavier, and those others who planted the faith in China and Paraguay, were Jesuits — that is, members of the Society of Jesus. This order was founded in 1540 by St. Igna- tius of Loyola, a man filled with the most ardent zeal for the honor of God. These religious exerted them- selves especially in propagating the Catholic Faith, and defending it against the new-fangled doctrines ; and con- sequently they drew upon themselves implacable hatred and grievous persecutions from the enemies of Eeligion. God raised also other orders, that might, in concert with the Secular Clergy, heal the wounds which Luther and other heretics had inflicted on the Church. The pious Capuchins, who sprang in 1528 from the Order of St. Francis of Assisium, labored especially for the salvation of souls, and distinguished themselves by their affection- ate zeal and austere life. The Oratorians, or Fathers of the Oratory, which was founded in 1574 by St. Philip Neri, devoted themselves to prayer and the instruction of the people, to visiting the hospitals, to attending the poor and the sick, and to literary pursuits. The fathers of the Pious Schools occupied themselves with the in- time? What do they devote themselves to? What is the origin of the Institute of English Ladies? In what was this epoch especially rich? Can you tell me anything remarkable of St. Charles Borromeo? What do you know of St. Francis of Sales? What did St. Vincent of Paul in general do for the temporal and eternal welfare of his fellow-men? What chari- table institutions did he found in particular? Who especially labored in the sixteenth century in Germany and Switzerland for the preservation of the true Faith? Were there any other prin- cipal Saints who shone in the sixteenth and seventeenth centu- ries, and who were they? By what Saints was the female sex distinguished at that time? What Saint did particularly illus- trate the eighteenth century? What Eeligious Order did he found? What did all these Saints especially do, and what did they prove by their works and miracles ? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 51 struction of yonth^ and other religious^ again, with the nursing of the sick. There arose also communities of religious women for the training up of young girls to a pious and godly life ; as the Orders of the Visitation, of the Ursulines, and of the Good Shepherd, and the Insti- tute of English Ladies.* Above all, this period was ex- ceedingly rich in heroes of faith and virtue. St. Charles Borromeo, Cardinal Archbishop of Milan (d. 1584), set a bright example of true Christian charity during the plague, by visiting the sick in the most dangerous places, in lazarettos and hospitals, and by giving up all his property, even his bed, for the relief of the sufferers. St. Francis of Sales, Prince-Bishop of Geneva (d. 1622), converted, by the irresistible power of his meekness and humility, seventy-two thousand Savoyards from the er- rors of Calvin to the true Faith. St. Vincent of Paul (d. 1660) devoted his whole life to the poor and dis- tressed; no misery, of whatever kind or form, escaped the ardor and abundance of his love. He founded or- p?ianages and foundling hospitals ; he established a Con- gregation of Missionary Priests (called Lazarists, from St. LazarusVCollege in Paris) for the instruction of ig- norant country people ; an association for the reforming of convicts, and also the admirable Institute of the Sis- ters of Charity for nursing the sick. In Germany, espe- cially in Austria and Bavaria, and in Switzerland, the Venerable Peter Canisius opposed himself as a mighty barrier against Heresy; he combated it by his writings and incessant preaching, and founded schools and pious institutions for preserving and enlivening the true Faith established by Christ and His Apostles. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were also illustrated by St. John of God, St. John of the Cross, St. Thomas of Vil- * This Institute was established in the Netherlands for English ladies who were persecuted under Queen Elizabeth for their attachment to the Catholic Faith, and soon spread over Germany, where it is still flourishing under the above name, though its members have long ceased to be English. 52 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION lanova^, St. Cajetan, St. Peter of Alcantara^ St. Camillus of Lellis^ St. Joseph Calasanctius^, St. Joseph of Cuper- tino, St. Francis Borgia, St. Pius V., St. Fidelis of Sig- maringen, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. Stanislas Kostka, and by many other men eminent for the sanctity of their lives; and among the female sex were especially distin- guished St. Teresa, St. Eose of Lima, St. Angela of Brescia, St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, St. Catherine of Eicci, etc. In the eigh- teenth century there shone among others, as one of the brightest ornaments of the Catholic Church, St. Alphon- sus Maria Liguori, Bishop of St. Agatha, near Naples (d. 1787), who established the Congregation of the Ee- demptorists for the instruction of the people. All these Saints did great deeds and wrought innumerable mir- acles by their mighty intercession with God; and thus they irref ragably proved that the true spirit of Christian- ity, the spirit of charity, of humility, and self-denial, had not departed from the Church, as the blind adversaries of our faith unfortunately often assert. 47. Awful events, which make nature shudder, re- main as yet to be related. We would fain pass them over in silence, if they were not most instructive for us. 47. What became, in process of time, of the doctrine of Lu- ther? What was the final result of its alterations and changes? What did the Sectarianism lead to? What did the Free-thinkers contrive to do? What principal means did they make use of? Why were their books w^ell received by the people? Whom did the infidels first attack? What became of the ecclesiastical property, the monks and nuns, and the religious houses? What edict was issued against the priests? What did the infidels do to destroy the very name of Christianity? With what particu- lar infamy did they brand themselves in their madness? Why did prosperity and public safety disappear? What became then of France? How many people are said to have been slaugh- tered during the Reign of Terror? Under what pretence were all these horrible crimes committed? What did the impious wretches finally do in the utmost necessity? By whom, when, and why was the Catholic Eeligion restored in France? Did CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 53 As with all human productions^ so it fared with the doc- trine of Luther; it became antiquated^ it altered and entirely changed. Sects upon Sects arose: Baptists^ Presbyterians^ Episcopalians^ Quakers, Methodists, Mo- ravians, etc. Each one of these Sects presumed, after the example of Luther, to reform the faith. At last impious Free-thinkers, first in England and afterwards in France, carried their presumption to the highest pitch, and contrived the infernal scheme totally to abolish Ee- ligion, and to exterminate for ever the Belief in Christ. Under the pretence of enlightening mankind, they de- luged the world with writings in which they scoffed at all Holy things, grossly calumniated the Pope and the Clergy, and openly advocated the most shameful licen- tiousness. Their books, written in most attractive lan- guage, and sparkling with witticism and satire, found their way too readily among all classes of people, and at the same time the spirit of profligacy and impiety spread with surprising rapidity. At the same time the masses of the people were, suffering from misgovernment, op- pressive taxation and excessive privileges enjoyed by the upper classes. These causes combined with the spread of infidel philosophy and the decay of religious faith brought about the French Eevolution at the close of the eighteenth century. The Church was attacked, ecclesi- astical property was confiscated; religious orders were suppressed by violence; monks and nuns were turned out of their peaceable abodes by force, and many re- ligious houses were plundered and pulled down. Soon after, a sanguinary edict was issued against all priests who should continue faithful to the discharge of their duties. Was any one discovered refractory, he was cast into prison, or immediately hanged up to the nearest Napoleon act as a faithful son of the Church? How did he treat Pius VIL? Did God ever withdraw His hand from the Church? What became of Napoleon, and what of the Pope? In what year did Pius VII. return to Rome? 54 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION lamp-post. The Christian era was annulled^ the celebra- tion of the Sundays and Festivals was abolished, the churches were profaned and devastated. Everything ihat reminded them of Christianity was destroyed. Finally, the madness of these men arrived at such a pitch, that they proclaimed Reason to be the Supreme Being, and conducted a vile woman as an emblem of the Deity, on a triumphal car, into the Cathedral of Paris, where they placed her on the high altar, in the place of the figure of our Crucified Redeemer, and sang hymns in her honor. Order, prosperity^ and public safety disappeared together with Religion; even the throne was overturned and shattered to pieces. France was for two years the scene of such hor- rible atrocities as are unequalled in the annals of history. Human blood flowed in torrents. Xeither age nor sex was safe from the fury of those monsters. The total number of the people slaughtered in this Reign of Ter- ror was, according to some, two millions. And all this was done under the pretence of promoting the happiness of mankind. Enlightenment was their word when they abolished Religion; Liberty and Equality, when they murdered their fellow-men. At last, in order to stop the complete anarchy that prevailed, the leaders solemnly proclaimed that the nation should once more believe in God and the immortality of the soul. In the year 1799, Xapoleon, in quality of First Consul, seized upon the sovereign power; but he did not venture to govern a people without Religion. He therefore restored the Catholic Religion in France, and made a solemn Con- cordat with the Pope (a.d. 1801). However, the Church did not long enjoy this peace. Napoleon, blinded by for- tune, attempted to extort from the Supreme Head of the Church certain concess* s which he could not grant. The French troops inva ^ Rome, and carried away Pius A^II. prisoner in 1809. j^at as God had visibly pro- tected His Church ten years before, when Pope Pius VI. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 55 had died a captive at Valence in France^ so now He did not abandon her to her enemies. Xapoleon was van- quished by the Confederate Powers of Europe, and dis- possessed of his crown, and the Pope reentered triumph- ant into Eome (a.d. 1814). . 48. With the establishment of peace, after the ?Ta- poleonic wars, in 1815, a more favorable era opened for the Church. In France she recovered some of her old prosperity. What has been called the Catholic Eevival, began, first in Germany, to the great progress of religion, and afterwards in England. In 1829 the disabilities under which Irish and British Catholics had so long la- bored were removed. A few years after, in England, the hierarchy, which had been suppressed at the time of the Eeformation, was restored; numerous and notable con- versions from Protestantism took place ; and the number of Catholics and Catholic institutions has since grown very rapidly. The infidel doctrines, however, of the French philosophers and subsequent free-thinkers have continued to spread unbelief, so that the Church has to contend everywhere with a spirit of irreligion. In 1848 Pius IX. was obliged to quit Eome through the machinations of Italian revolutionists. During his short exile he received the respectful sympathy of the Catholic world; and, in 1850, amid the rejoicings of the Eternal City, he returned to his See. In 1869 Pope Pius IX. convoked the General Council of the A^atican, which defined the dogma of the Pope's 48. When did a more favorable era open for the Church? When did the Catholic "Revival occur? What changes took place in Ireland and England? Relate the flight of Pius IX. from Rome, and his return. Give an account of the Council of the Vatican. When and by whom £as the Pope unjustly de- spoiled of his temporal power ?^ 3^id this change ruin the Church? What happened durin^^' s reign of Leo XIII.? When did he die and by whom was h^j succeeded ? What has happened in France since the opening of the reign of Pius X.? 56 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION infallibility. Before the Council could finish its labors it was obliged to suspend its sittings because of the war which^ in 1870^ broke out between France and Germany. The Italian army took possession of Kome^ and the Pope was unjustly deprived of the temporal power and sov- ereignty enjoyed by his predecessors for ages^ and neces- sary to the complete independence of the Holy See. Pius IX. lived eight years longer^ as a prisoner in the Vatican palace^ protesting against the iniquitous spoliation of the Church. The next pope^, Leo XIII.^ passed his long pontificate in the same way. Yet from his prison walls his power reached to the ends of the earth. The enemies of the Church had predicted that the fall of the tem- poral power would prove the end of the Papacy. But never has the moral and spiritual authority of the Holy See been more powerful throughout the world than it is to-day. During the pontificate of Leo XIII.^ the German gov- ernment^ at the instigation of the powerful minister, Bismark, instituted a campaign of legislative persecution against the Church. But, after some years of struggle, the courage and fidelity of German Catholics proved vic- torious ; and the obnoxious laws were repealed. In 1903, Leo XIII. died and was succeeded bv the present Pontiff, His Holiness, Pius X., the two himdred and sixt}-fourth successor of St. Peter. This reign has been already marked in France by the culmination of a violent anti-Christian movement which began during the reign of his predecessor. Laws have been enacted to suppress all religious orders, Catholic schools, and re- ligious instruction in the government schools. The Con- cordat established with the Holy See had been most un- justly abolished, and the Church has been robbed of all her property throughout the country. Many other meas- ures have been taken for the suppression of religion. But French Catholics await with confidence the hour when, once more, the Church will triumph over her enemies. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 57 49. The most wonderful and most consoling fact in recent history has been the Churches unexampled growth in the United States during the past century. From a mere handful a hundred years ago, her children have in- creased to fourteen millions or more. This growth, too, is as sound and vigorous as it is extensive. Among the external indications of its strength enumerated with admiration by Leo XIII. {Longinqua Oceani, Jan.^ 1895) are, our unnumbered religions and useful institu- tions, sacred edifices, schools for elementary instruction, colleges for the higher branches, homes for the poor, hos- pitals for the sick, convents and monasteries. Besides, as he observed, there are still surer signs of the faith of the people; for the numbers of the clergy are steadily in- creasing, pious sodalities and confraternities are held in esteem, schools for religious teaching are in a flourishing condition ; the strength of popular piety is further mani- fested by associations for mutual aid, for the relief of the indigent, and for the promotion of temperance. Truly the judgment of the secular historian was well grounded who said that the Churches gains in the New World have compensated her for what she has lost in the Old. CONCLUDING EEMAEKS ON THE HISTORICAL EVIDENCES OF THE TRUTH OF OUR DIVINE RELIGION. 1. We have now, in a small compass, surveyed the his- tory of our Holy Eeligion, and considered the blessings 49. What is the most consoling fact in the recent history of the Church? What are the external signs of this growth? Are there other signs indicating the strength of the people's faith t What have we now surveyed? What have we chiefly consid- ered in the history or our Religion? 1. Whence does our Religion come? By whom has God re- vealed it to us? How did Jesus Christ confirm His Divine Doc* trine? Is it indifferent which religion we profess? 58 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION it has conferred upon mankind from Adam^ our first parent^ to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and from Him, the Divine Head and Founder of our Church, to His present Vicegerent, Pius X. How sub- lime and beautiful is the Eeligion we profess ! Every- thing connected with it calls out to us: God alone could have given such a Eeligion to mankind. Man has not invented it ; God Himself has taught it to us, and has commanded us to observe it. He re- vealed it by hol)^ men in the Old Testament (6, 11, 7) ; and in the New, precisely as the Prophecies of the Old Testament had foretold. His Only-Begotten, Eter- nal Son appeared on earth, and most convincingly con- firmed His Divine Doctrine by numerous miracles, es- pecially by His Eesurrection from the dead (21, 22, 23, 26, 27). God has spoken, and no one has a right to be indifferent to His word ; to despise or reject it would be to condemn one^s self to everlasting hell fire. 2. The Eeligion to which we belong did not take rise only a few centuries ago; properly speaking, it dates from the creation of man. For its first seeds were laid in Paradise when God promised a Eedeemer to our First Parents after their fall ; and the whole of the Old Law, with its sacrifices and wonderful events, was but a figure of the Xew Law, which contains the fulfilment and ac- complishment of the Old (2, 7, 9, 12, and others). The Old Law believed in the Eedeemer to come, and the ^ew believes in Him already come. But it is the same belief in the same Eedeemer, and therefore it is es- sentially the same Eeligion. 3. Although our Holy Eeligion is coeval with the be- ginning of mankind, yet its beginning is not lost in ob- 2. How old is our Eeligion? How do yon explain and prove its great age? 3. Is the history of our Eeligion perhaps uncertain, because it dates from the creation of man, and embraces so long a period? Why not? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 59 scure fables of ancient times; on the contrary^ its truth is evident and obvious to all. For it exhibits^ from the remotest antiquity down to the present time, an unin- terrupted series, as it were, of public and universally known facts and events, which perfectly agree with one another, and with all the monuments of past ages, and with the annals of the various nations of the world. They have been so manifoldly and irrefragably attested that he who would not believe them might just as well deny any other historical truth. We count the genera- tions as they succeeded one another from Adam to Christ (Luke iii. ; Matt, i.), and all the Supreme Pastors or Popes from St. Peter to our Holy Father, Pius X., who is now gloriously governing the Church established by the Son of God. What a wonderful chain of events^ and what an unparalleled succession ! 4. Even the Jews, the most obstinate adversaries of our faith, bear witness to its truth. For they carefully keep upon record, in their Holy Books, the whole his- tory and all the Prophecies of the Old Testament, to which we appeal in order to prove the Divine Origin of Christianity; insomuch that no one can for a moment suppose that the Christians have perverted or invented such passages in the Old Testament as refer to our Saviour (17). 5. Nor can it be denied that it is entirely through the mighty help of God that the Christian Eeligion has spread over the whole earth. The Apostles who first preached it were from the lowest class of the people, poor, unknown, even without eloquence or learning. Their doctrine of the Cross, which contains the inscrutable 4. What evidence do even the Jews give to the truth of our Eeligion? What does this prove? 5. How do you prove that the Christian Religion was spread through the help of God? About what time did St. Justin live? What does he testify of the propagation of Christianity? What observation does St. Augustine make? 60 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION mysteries of penance, humility, and mortification, was not likely to please the proud and licentious pagans, who found in their abominable mythology (i.e., fabulous history of their gods), not only an excuse^ but even a justification, for all their vices. The rich and the great looked with disdain upon the poor fishermen ; the witty and the learned derided them; and the mighty rulers of the earth, as even pagan writers testify, took all possible pains to destroy them with fire and sword. During three centuries, persecution and martyrdom were the common lot of the Christians. Nevertheless, the doctrine of the poor fishermen, as we have seen, triumphed over all its enemies, and thus proved to be the Doctrine of God (29-35). It spread so rapidly that, soon after the death of the Apostles, St. Justin ventured to affirm be- fore the whole world : "^ There is no people, neither among the Barbarians, nor among the Greeks, nor in any other known nation, among whom prayers and thanksgivings are not offered up to the Father and Creator of the Universe in the name of Christ Crucified.^ Who else but the Almighty could have performed such an inexplicable wonder? St. Augustine, the celebrated Father of the Church, makes a striking observation upon this : ^ If the miracles,^ he says, ^ wrought by the Apostles could be de- nied, this would be the greatest miracle : that the world believed without miracles.^ 6. But the Christian Church is not only founded on miracles ; her duration itself is a continual and perpetual miracle. Kingdoms and empires, in spite of their power, perish in the course of time; the Kingdom of Christ alone outlasts them all, and is constantly increasing. If it decreases in one part of the world, it spreads so much the more in another (45). From the time of its foun- dation, it has been assailed by innumerable enemies from 6. How do you prove that the duration or permanent continu- ance of the Christian Church is a miracle? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 61 within and from without; their power is terrible^ their hatred implacable. The Church of Christ, on her part, has no army to repulse their assaults, no sword to oppose their rude violence. Had not the arm of God protected her, she would long since have been overcome by the force and fraud of her enemies (32, 36, 38, 39, 42, 43, 47,48). 7. The Christian Church appears still more glorious, if we consider the benefits and blessings which she has at all times conferred on mankind. It was she that sub- dued the brutality of the barbarians, that abolished slav- ery and human sacrifices, and promoted public and do- mestic happiness. It was she that founded charitable institutions and innumerable hospitals for the reception of the sick and distressed ; it was she that amended the existing laws or made new ones; it was she that taught concord and charity, and diffused learning and true en- lightenment (30, 38, 41, 45, 46). She can truly be called the Tree of Life which God has planted, that all men should peacefully rest under its shade, and refresh themselves with its fruit. Never has a nation abandoned this Tree of Life without plunging itself into religious confusion and misery. We know very well what has be- come of the nations in Asia and Africa who were for- merly so happy, and what fruit the anti-Christian Free- thinkers have produced in Europe (39, 47, 48). If ^the tree is to be known by its fruits^ (Matt. vii. 16), every one must see that the Christian Faith, which dif- fuses nothing but happiness and blessings, is the most valuable gift of God; that, on the contrary, infidelity, which produces but misery and vexation, can only pro- ceed from the spirit of evil. 7. What fruits did the Christian faith produce for mankind? What, on the contrary, were the fruits which heresy and infi- delity brought forth? What conclusion must we draw from these different fruits? 62 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 8. JSTow^ this Church which Almighty God has founded on miracles^ nay, which is herself a continual miracle; this Church which incessantly pours out the greatest benefits over the universe, can be no other but the Eoman Catholic Church. History clearly proves that it is she, and no other, that forms that community of the faithful which Christ has established for the salvation of the world, in which the bishops, as the successors of the Apostles, under the supreme authority of the Pope, the Successor of Saint Peter, exercise their Teaching and Pastoral Offices in an uninterrupted succession (22, 30, 31). It is impossible that any Sect, whatever may be its name, should be the Church founded by Christ; for it is well known that every one of them began to exist long after Christ, and that even then they owed their ori- gin to their defection and separation from the Church of Christ (36, 42, 43). We see, therefore, that in all these Sects the words of Jesus are sooner or later ful- filled : ' Every plant which my Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up ^ (Matt. xv. 13). Their existence is not lasting ; they spring up, make some noise, and disappear again (36 at the end; 47 at the be- ginning) . It is not so with the Catholic Church. Thou- sands of years pass away; neither does she vanish, nor does she grow old ; for to her was made the promise of our Lord : ' Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her^ (Matt. xvi. 18). 8. How do you prove from history that the Church estab- lished by God can be no other than the Eoman Catholic? What has Christ foretold of all Sects? What promise has He given, to the Catholic Church? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 63 LIST OF EOMAX PONTIFFS, WITH BIRTHPLACE, DATES OF ACCESSION AND DEATH, AND LENGTH OF PONTIFICATE, AS IN THE BASILICA OF ST. PAUL, RO:\IE. NAME. Date of j Date Acces- ' of sion. Death. Duration of Pon- tificate. 1. St. Peter, Native of Bethsaida in Galilee Prince of the Apostles, who received from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ the Su- preme Pontificate, to be transmitted to his successors; and, ha%'ing resided for a time at Antioch, established his See at Rome, where he suffered martyrdom on the 29th of June, 67 2. St. Linus, Volterra, Mart 3. St. Cletus, Rome, Mart 4. St. Clement I., Rome, Mart 5. St. Anacletus, Greece, Mart 6. St. Evaristus, Syria, Mart 7. St. Alexander I., Rome, Mart 8. St. Sixtus I., Rome, Mart 9. St. Telesphorus, Greece, Mart 10. St. Hyginus, Greece, Mart 11. St. Pius I., Aquileia, Mart 12. St. Anicetus, Syria, IVIart 13. St. Soter, Naples, Mart 14. St. Eleutherius, Epirus, Mart 15. St. Victor I., Africa, Mart 16. St. Zephvrinus, Rome, Mart 17. St. Calixtus I., Rome, Mart 18. St. Urban I., Rome, Alart 19. St. Pontian, Rome, Mart 20. St. Anterus, Greece, Mart 21. St. Fabian, Rome, Mart 22. St. Cornelius, Rome, Mart 23. St. Lucius I., Rome, Mart 24. St. Stephen I., Rome, Mart 25. St. Sixtus II., Greece, Mart 26. St. Dionvsius, Turin 27. St. Felix'^L, Rome, Mart 28. St. Eutychian, Tuscany, Mart 29. St. Caius, Dalmatia, Mart 30. St. Marcellinus, Rome, Mart 31. St. Marcellus I., Rome, Mart 32. St. Eusebius, Calabria 33. St. Melchiades, Africa 34. St. Sylvester I., Rome 35. St. Marcus, Rome 36. St. Julius I., Rome 37. St. Liberius, Rome 38. St. Felix IL, Rome 67 78 90 100 112 121 132 142 154 158 167 175 182 193 203 221 227 233 238 240 254 255 257 260 261 272 275 283 296 304 309 311 314 337 341 352 363 A.D. 78 90 100 112 121 132 142 154 158 167 175 182 193 203 220 227 233 238 239 253 255 257 260 261 272 275 283 296 304 309 311 314 337 340 352 363 365 25 11 12 10 9 10 9 11 4 7 11 10 17 5 6 5 1 13 1 1 3 12 7 4 2 3 12 10 7 7 3 3 3 3 4 3 4 2 2 2 7 2 1 1 10 4 3 11 11 3 2 5 8 10 4 11 1 1 7 23 10 2 8 11 10 1 64 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION NAME. 39. St. Damasus, Spain 40. St. Siricius, Rome 41. St. Anastasius I., Rome 42. St. Innocent I., Albano 43. St. Zozimus, Greece 44. St. Boniface I., Rome 45. St. Celestine I., Rome 46. St. Sixtus III., Rome 47. St. Leo I. (the Great), Tuscany. . 48. St. Hilary, Sardinia 49. St. Simplicius, Tivoli 50. St. Felix III., Rome 51. St. Gelasius I., Africa 52. St. Anastasius II., Rome 53. St. Symmachus, Rome 54. St. Hormisdas, Frosinone 55. St. John I., Tuscany, Mart 66. St. Felix IV., Benevento 57. Boniface II., Rome 58. John II., Rome 59. St. Agapitus, Rome 60. St. Silverius, Frosinone, Mart 61. VigiUus, Rome 62. Pelagius I., Rome 63. John III, Rome 64. Benedict I., Rome 65. Pelagius II., Rome 66. St. Gregory I. (the Great), Rome 67. Sabinianus, Volterra 68. Boniface III., Rome 69. St. Boniface IV., Marso 70. St. Adeodatus I., Rome 71. Boniface V., Naples 72. Honorius I., Capua 73. Severinus, Rome 74. John IV., Dalmatia 75. Theodorus I., Greece 76. St. Martin I., Todi, Mart 77. St. Eugenius I., Rome 78. St. Vitalian, Segni 79. Adeodatus II., Rome 80. Domnus I., Rome 81. St. Agatho, Greece 82. St. Leo II., Sicily 83. St. Benedict II., Rome 84. John v., Antioch 85. Conon, Thracia 86. St. Sergius I., Siculiana 87. John VI., Greece 88. John VII., Greece 89. Sisinnius, Syria 90. Constantine, Svria 91. St. Gregory II., Rome Date of Date Duration Acces- of of Pon- sion. Death. tificate. A.D. A.D. Y. M. 366 384 18 2 384 398 13 1 399 402 2 10 402 417 15 2 417 418 1 9 418 423 4 9 423 432 9 10 432 440 8 1 440 461 21 1 461 468 6 3 468 483 15 483 492 8 11 492 496 4 8 496 498 1 11 498 514 15 7 514 523 9 523 526 2 9 526 530 4 2 530 532 2 532 535 2 4 535 536 10 536 538 2 538 555 16 555 560 4 10 560 573 12 11 574 578 4 1 578 590 11 2 590 604 13 6 604 606 1 5 607 607 8 608 615 6 8 615 619 3 619 625 5 10 625 638 12 11 640 640 2 640 642 1 9 642 649 6 5 649 655 6 2 655 656 1 7 657 672 14 5 672 676 4 2 676 678 1 2 678 682 3 6 682 683 10 684 685 10 685 686 1 686 687 11 687 701 13 8 701 705 3 2 705 707 2 7 708 708 708 715 7 715 731 15 8 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 65 NAME. 92. St. Gregory III., Syria 93. St. Zacharias, Greece 94. Stephen II., Rome 95. Stephen III., Rome 96. St. Paul I., Rome 97. Stephen IV., Syracuse 98. Adrian I., Rome 99. St. Leo III., Rome 100. Stephen V., Rome 101. St. Paschal I., Rome 102. Eugenius II., Rome 103. Valentine, Rome 104. Gregory IV., Rome 105. Sergius II., Rome 106. St. Leo IV., Rome 107. Benedict III., Rome 108. St. Nicholas I. (the Great), Rome. 109. Adrian IL, Rome 110. John VIII., Rome 111. Marinus L, Gallicia 112. Adrian III., Rome 113. Stephen VL, Rome 114. Formosus, Ostia 115. Boniface VI 116. Stephen VII., Rome 117. Romanus, Gallese 118. Theodorus II., Rome 119. John IX., TivoU 120. Benedict IV., Rome 121. Leo v., Ardea 122. Christophorus, Rome 123. Sergius III., Rome 124. Anastasius III., Rome 125. Landus, Sabina 126. John X., Ravenna. 127. Leo VL, Rome 128. Stephen VIIL, Rome 129. John XL, Rome 130. Leo VII., Rome 131. Stephen IX., Rome 132. Marinus IL, Rome 133. Agapitus IL, Rome 134. John XII., Rome 135. Benedict V., Rome 136. John XIIL, Rome 137. Benedict VL, Rome 138. Domnus IL, Rome 139. Benedict VII., Rome 140. John XIV., Pavia 14L Boniface VIL, France 142. John XV., Rome 143. John XVI 144. Gregory V., Germany Date of Date Acces- of sion. Death. A.D. A.D. 731 741 741 752 752 752 752 757 757 767 768 771 771 795 795 816 816 817 817 824 824 827 827 827 827 844 844 847 - 847 855 855 858 858 867 867 872 872 882 882 884 884 885 885 891 891 896 896 896 897 898 898 898 898 898 898 900 900 903 903 903 903 904 904 911 911 913 913 914 915 928 928 929 929 931 931 936 936 939 939 942 943 946 946 956 956 964 964 965 965 972 972 973 973 973 975 984 984 985 985 985 985 996 996 996 996 999 Duration of Pon- tificate. Y. 10 10 5 10 3 5 23 10 20 7 3 16 2 8 2 9 4 10 1 1 6 4 1 2 3 7 2 14 2 4 3 3 3 10 7 1 9 10 2 M. 8 3 1 o 7 6 1 11 3 6 6 10 5 4 6 2 3 2 1 6 3 2 6 2 8 1 10 6 4 6 3 9 1 6 11 1 3 66 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION NAME. Date of Date Duration Acces- of of Pon- sion. Death. tificate. A.D. A.D. Y. M. 999 999 10 999 1003 4 1 1003 1003 4 1003 1009 5 7 1009 1012 2 8 1012 1024 11 11 1024 1033 9 8 1033 1044 11 1044 2 8 1046 1647 9 1048 1048 1049 1054 5 7 1055 1057 2 3 1057 1058 7 1058 9 1059 1061 2 6 1061 1073 11 6 1073 1085 12 1 1087 1087 4 1088 1099 11 4 1099 1118 18 5 1118 1119 1 1119 1124 5 10 1124 1130 5 1 1130 1143 13 8 1143 1144 5 1144 1145 11 1145 1153 8 4 1153 1154 1 4 1154 1159 4 8 1159 1181 21 11 1181 1185 4 2 1185 1187 1 10 1187 1187 1 1187 1191 3 3 1191 1198 6 9 1198 1216 18 6 1216 1227 10 8 1227 1241 14 5 1241 1241 1243 1254 11 5 1254 1261 6 5 1261 1264 3 1 1265 1269 3 9 1271 1276 4 4 1276 1276 5 1276 1276 1 1276 1277 8 1277 1280 2 8 1281 1285 4 1 1285 1287 2 1288 1292 4 1 1294 .... 5 145. John XVII 146. Sylvester II., France 147. John XVIII., Rome 148. John XIX., Rome 149. Sergius IV., Rome 150. Benedict VIII., Rome 151. John XX., Rome 152. Benedict IX., Rome 153. Gregory VI., Rome (abdicated in 1046) 154. Clement II., Saxony 155. Damasus II., Bavaria 156. St. Leo IX., Germany 157. Victor II., Svevia 158. Stephen X., Germany 159. Benedict X 160. Nicholas II., France 161. Alexander II., Milan 162. St. Gregory VII., Soana 163. Victor III., Benevento 164. Urban II., Reims 165. Paschal II., Tuscany 166. Gelasius II., Gaeta 167. Calixtus II., Burgundy 168. Honorius II., Bologna 169. Innocent II., Rome 170. Celestine II., Citta di Castello , . , 171. Lucius II., Bologna 172. B. Eugenius III., Montemagno. 173. Anastasius IV., Rome 174. Adrian IV., England 175. Alexander III., Siena 176. Lucius III., Lucca 177. Urban III., Milan 178. Gregory VIII. . Benevento 179. Clement III., Rome 180. Celestine III., Rome 181. Innocent III., Anagni 182. Honorius III., Rome 183. Gregory IX., Anagni 184. Celestine IV., Milan 185. Innocent IV., Genoa 186. Alexander IV., Anagni 187. Urban IV., Troves 188. Clement IV., France ^ 189. B. Gregory X., Piacenza 190. Innocent V., Savoy 191. Adrian V., Genoa 192. John XXL, Lisbon 193. Nicholas III., Rome 194. Martin IV., France 195. Honorius IV., Rome 196. Nicholas IV., Ascoli 197. St. Celestine V., Lavoro (resigned) CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 67 NAME. 198. Boniface VIH., Anagni 199. B. Benedict XI., Treviso 200. Clement V., Fr. (removed to Avignon). . 201. John XXII., France 202. Benedict XII., France 203. Clement VI., France 204. Innocent VI., France 205. B. Urban V., France 206. Gregory XI., Fr. (restored See to Rome) 207. Urban VI., Naples 208. Boniface IX., Naples 209. Innocent VII., Sulmona 210. Gregory XII., Venice (resigned — ) 211. Alexander V., Bologna. 212. John XXIII., Naples (resigned 1415). . . 213. Martin V., Rome 214. Eugenius IV., Venice 215. Nicholas V., Sarzana 216. Calixtus III., Spain 217. Pius II., Siena 218. Paul II., Venice 219. Sixtus IV., Savona 220. Innocent VIII., Genoa 221. Alexander VI., Spain 222. Pius III., Siena 223. Julius II., Savona 224. Leo X., Florence 225. Adrian VL, Utrecht 226. Clement VII., Florence 227. Paul III., Rome 228. Julius III., Tuscany 229. Marcellus II., Montepulciano 230. Paul IV., Naples 231. Pius IV., Milan. 232. St. Pius v., Bosco 233. Gregory XIII., Bologna 234. Sixtus v., Ancona 235. Urban VII., Rome 236. Gregory XIV., Cremona 237. Innocent IX., Bologna 238. Clement VIII., Florence 239. Leo XL, Florence 240. Paul v., Rome 241. Gregory XV., Bologna 242. Urban VIIL, Florence 243. Innocent X., Rome 244. Alexander VII., Siena 245. Clement IX., Pistoia 246. Clement X., Rome 247. Innocent XI., Como 248. Alexander VIIL, Venice 249. Innocent XII., Naples 250. Clement XL, Urbino Date of Date Duration Acces- of of Pon- sion. Death. tificate. A.D. A.D. y. Ur 1294 1303 8 9 1303 1304 8 1305 1314 8 10 1316 1334 18 3 1334 1342 7 4 1342 1352 10 6 1352 1362 9 8 1362 1370 8 1 1370 1378 7 2 1378 1389 11 6 1389 1404 14 11 1404 1406 2 1406 2 6 1409 1410 10 1410 5 1417 1431 13 3 1431 1447 15 11 1447 1455 8 1455 1458 3 3 1458 1464 5 11 1464 1471 6 10 1471 1484 13 1484 1492 7 10 1492 1503 11 1503 1503 1503 1513 9 3 1513 1521 8 8 1522 1523 1 8 1523 1534 10 1 1534 1549 15 1550 1555 5 1 1555 1555 1555 1559 4 2 1559 1565 5 11 1566 1572 6 3 1572 1585 12 10 1585 1590 5 4 1590 1590 1590 1591 10 1591 1591 2 1592 1605 13 1 1605 1605 1605 1621 15 8 1621 1623 2 5 1623 1644 20 11 1644 1655 10 3 1655 1667 12 1 1667 1669 2 5 1670 1676 6 2 1676 1689 12 10 1689 1691 1 3 1691 1700 9 2 1700 1721 20 3 68 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION NAME 251. Innocent XIII., Rome '252. Benedict XIII., Rome 253. Clement XII., Florence 254. Benedict XIV., Bologna 255. Clement XIII., Venice 256. Clement XIV., S. Angelo in Vado 257. Pius VI., Cesena 258. Pius VII., Cesena 259. Leo XII., Spoleto 260. Pius VIII., Cingoli 261. Gregory XVI., Belluno 262. Pius IX., Sinigaglia 263. Leo XIII, Carpineto 264. Pius X., gloriosamente regnante. . Date of Date Acces- of sion. Death. A. D. A. D. 1721 1724 1724 1730 1730 1740 1740 1758 1758 1769 1769 1774 1775 1799 1800 1823 1823 1829 1829 1830 1831 1846 1846 1878 1878 1903 1903 Duration cf Pon- tificate. Y. 2 5 9 17 10 5 24 23 5 1 15 31 25 M. 9 8 6 8 6 4 6 5 4 8 3 7 5 EXPLANATION OF THE LIST. Owing, chiefly, to the fact that during what is called the Great Schism of the West, there were sometimes several claim- ants to the Holy See, only one of whom could be the lawful successor of St. Peter, authorities differ concerning the correct list of the Popes. Some reckon that Pius X. is the two hun- dred and fifty-eighth successor of St. Peter. The foregoing list is taken from a series of portraits, painted in medallions, on the nave walls of the Basilica of St. Paul, on the Ostian Way, near Kome. This magnificent church was built over the tomb of the great Apostle, under the reign of Constantine the Great, by Pope St. Sylvester, about the year A.D. 320. The portrait of that Pope, and of Marcus, his suc- cessor, and of the thiry-three Popes who had preceded them, were all painted apparently by the same hand. The portraits of the succeeding Popes were generally added, one by one, by different hands, probably soon after death, and by the care of their successors. This, however, seems to have been omitted in some instances, possibly on account of the troublous times; for we find that the series has been continued by medallions of two or three Popes evidently executed by the same artist. The most considerable interruption of such a character was in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when seven medallions seem to have been painted during the reign of Martin V. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 69 This is the largest and most interesting series of historical portraits in existence. Artists are able to read, as it were, and recognize the work and painter as easily and as surely as ordi- nary mortals read and recognize the varying handwriting of individuals. Even in the case of the earlier Popes before St. Sylvester, they see evidences that the artist was in possession of such knowledge as enabled him to give to each face the marked individuality of a portrait. For the subsequent Popes down to the present time there is no difficulty. However im- perfect the workmanship, even in the mediaeval centuries, and although the fading colors may have been retouched by equally unskilful hands, it is always evident that the painter originally presented the features of a real face — not an ideal or fancy sketch. The Basilica of St. Paul was destroyed by fire in 1823 and this series of portraits unfortunately perished in the flames. But half a century before all these portraits had been care- fully engraved on copperplate and published. From these engravings Pope Pius IX. caused the portraits to be repro- duced in imperishable mosaics, and they again decorate the nave of the splendid Basilica of St. Paul, which has been re- built, and which he consecrated a few years ago. From the copperplates other copies have been made in copperplate, steel, lithograph, and photograph, of various sizes, and may be easily obtained. Under each medallion in the Church was an in- scription giving the name of the Pontiff, and the length of his pontificate. Ordinarily, in the case of contemporary Popes, this is testimony of the highest character. Where, as in the case of the earlier Popes, the inscription could only give the judgment of the painter as to dates long past, it obviously cannot claim the same high value. It might be, and in some cases has been, held to be uncertain, and in others erroneous. Some Popes, also, have been inserted in this list, doubtless in deference to the claims urged at the time by their adherents, and perhaps for the sake of peace. A more critical and im- partial spirit has doubted or denied their right to such honor, and classed them as Antipopes. In these two points we find the explanation of the difference between this list of Popes and those found elsewhere. We give the list as published in the Gerarchia Cattolica, Rome, 1875, with a few corrections, which were evidently typographical errors. A COMPLETE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGIOK INTRODUCTION. On the End of Man. 1. For what end are we in this world? We are in this world that we may know God, love Him^ and serve Him, and thereby attain Heaven. 2. What is Heaven? Heaven is a place of eternal and perfect happiness. 3. Are not the things of this world intended to make us happy? Xo ; the things of this world cannot possibly make us happy. 4. Why cannot the things of this world make us happy? 1. Because all earthly things are vain and perishable; and 2. Because man is made for God and for everlasting happiness in Heaven. 1. 'I heaped together for myself silver and gold, and the wealth of kings and provinces. And whatsoever my eyes de- sired, I refused them not, and I withheld not my heart from en- joying every pleasure. But I saw in all things vanity and vexa- tion of mind, and that nothing was lasting under the sun. ^ Thus spoke Solomon^ the happiest of kings (Eccles. ii. 8-11). 'What is your life? It is a vapor which appeareth for a little while, and afterwards shall vanish away' (James iv. 15). 2. Tor Thyself, O God, Thou hast made us; therefore our heart will be restless until it rests in Thee' (St. Augustine). 70 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION 71 5. For what end, then, were the things of this world principally given to us? That we may use them for the purpose of knowing and serving God. ^All men are vain, in whom there is not the knowledge of God, and who by these good things that are seen could not understand Him that is, neither by attending to the works have acknowledged who was the Workman' (Wisd. xiii. 1). 'Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God' (1 Cor. x. 31). 6. Why does God require us to know Him, love Him, and serve Him? God requires us^ 1. To know Him^ because he is the Eternal Truth; 2. To love Him^ because He is the most bountiful and most lovable God; and 3. To serve Him, because He is the Sovereign Lord. 7. What will become of those who will not know, love, and serve Him? God will cast them from Him for ever. * The unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior dark- ness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth ^ (Matt. XXV. 30). 8. What is, then, most necessary in this life? In this life the most necessary thing is^ that we should know^ love^ and serve God^ and thereby obtain eternal happiness. ^Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice' (Matt, vi. 33). ^For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?' (Matt. xvi. 26). 9. What must we do, if we would know and serve God, and be eternally happy? 1. We must believe all that God has revealed; 2. We must keep all the Commandments which God has or- dered to be kept; and 3. We must use the means of grace which God has ordained for our salvation. Or, in other words: We must have Religion; for BeJigion (from religare) is the lively union of man with God, which 72 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION springs from faith, charity, and grace, and is confirmed by the faithful observance of the Divine Commandments. 10. Why must we, in order to be saved, believe, keep the Commandments, and make use of the means of grace? We must^ in order to be saved^ 1. Believe^ because it is only by faith that we get a right knowledge of God; 2. We must keep the Commandments^ because by keeping the Commandments we serve God; and 3. We must also use the means of grace^ because by them we obtain the help necessary to salvation. 11. Where do we get a right knowledge of the truths of Divine faith, of the Commandments, and of the means of grace? In the Christian Doctrine. 12. What do you call the book which briefly contains the Christian Doctrine in question and answer? The Catechism. 13. What, then, does the Catechism treat of? 1. Ot Faith; 2. Of the Commandments; and 3. Of the Means of Grace, namely^ the Sacraments and Prayer. Application. Xever neglect going to the instructions on Christian Doctrine ; and when there^, be always atten- tive^ that you may learn to know and love God properly, and thus attain your last end^ which is eternal happiness in Heaven. ^ Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom ^ (i.e., the knowledge and love of God). ^ She is more precious than all riches ; and all the things that are de- sired are not to be compared with her. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her; and he that shall re- tain her is blessed^ (Prov. iii. 13-18). PART I. FAITH. Chapter I. Faith in General. § 1. Nature and Necessity of Faith. 1. What is Faith? Faith is a virtue infused by God into our souls, by which we believe^ without doubting, all those things which God has revealed, and proposes by His Church to our belief. * To delieve' means, in general, to hold to be true what an- other says, and for this reason, because he says it. To believe God means, therefore, to hold firmly and without doubting what God has revealed, and because He has revealed it, although we can neither see nor completely understand it; for faith is founded, not on our seeing or complete understanding, but on the word of God. ^ Faith is the evidence of things that ap- pear not^ (Hebr. xi. 1). 2. Why do we say that faith is infused by God into our souls? Because it is a gift of God^ and an effect of His grace, which enlightens our understanding and moves our will to believe, without doubting, all those things which God has revealed. ^For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: for it is the gift of God^ (Eph. ii. 8). 3. Why must grace not only enlighten our understand- ing, but also move our will? Because a good will also belongs to faith; for no one can believe but he who is willing: to believe. 73 ^ 7^ CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION Therefore faith is also rewarded by God, and unbelief pun- ished. ^He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be condemned' (Mark xvi. 16). 4. Why must we believe all that God has revealed? Because God is the eternal and infallible truth. 5. Is faith necessary to salvation? Faith is absolutely necessary to salvation ; for Soitliout faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebr. xi. 6). ^He that doth not believe is already judged' (John iii. 18). 'He that believeth not shall be condemned' (Mark xvi. 16). 6. Will any faith save us? ^0; only the true faith^ which Christ our Lord has taught^ will save us. 'He that believeth in the Son hath life everlasting: but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him' (John iii. 36). 7. Why will that faith only which Christ has taught save us? Because by this faith alone^, and by no other^ we are made partakers of Christy and without Christ there is no salvation. 'For there is no other name under Heaven given to men whereby we must be saved' (Acts iv. 12). 8. Is it, then, a sin to say that it does not matter what faith we profess? Yes, it is a grievous sin to say so, or even only to think so : for we despise God by it, who has given us the one true faith, and, therefore, has sent his Only Begotten Son into the world (Short Hist, of Revealed Religion^ Concl. Eem. 1). If it did not matter what we believe, it would not have been necessary for God to reveal a religion, and our ancestors might all have remained heathens or Jews. But 'this is the judgment/ says Jesus Christ: ' because the light is come into the world, and men love darlcness rather than the light ^ (John iii. 19) ; i.e.y because many were obstinate in their unbelief, although they saw the truth, or could have seen it, provided they had been sincere. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION 75 9. But is it not written: *He that feareth God, and worketh justice, is acceptable to Him'? (Acts x. 35). Yes; but he who fears God does also believe all that He has revealed^ as Cornelius did (Acts x.). He^ on the €ontrar)''^ who does not believe all that God has revealed does not fear Him either^ but rejects His Word^ and de- nies His veracity. § 2. Object and Rule of Faith. 10. What means, * all that God has revealed'? It means all that God has made known for our salva- tion by the Patriarchs and Prophets^ and at last by His Son Jesus Christ and the Apostles. 'God, who, at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the Prophets, last of all, in these days hath spoken to us by His Son^ (Hebr. i. 1, 2). 11. Was it necessary that God should have revealed to us the truths of salvation, in order that we might know them? Yes^ because without Divine Eevelation we should have known some of them only with great difficulty^ and very imperfectly ; and most of them would have remained entirely unknown to us. 'And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth: and with labor do we find the things that are before us. But the things that are in Heaven^ who shall search out? And who shall know Thy thought, except Thou give wisdom, and send Thy Holy Spirit from aboveT (Wisd. ix. 16, 17). 12. How do we know the truths which God has re- vealed? We know the truths which God has revealed by means of the Catholic Churchy which is infallible; that is by means of the Pope^ the successor of St. Peter^ and by the BishopS;, the successors of the Apostles^ who were taught by Christ Himself. 13. Are we certain of the truths which the Church teaches? 76 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION We are most certain of the truths which Holy Church teaches^ because Jesus Christ has pledged His word that the Church shall never be deceived. 14. Have not the Protestant sects also received their doctrine from Christ Himself, and preserved it uncor- rupted? JsTo; for^ 1. It is impossible that they should have re- ceived it from Christ Himself^ since they did not begin to exist till long after Christ; and 2. It is equally im- possible that they should always have preserved uncor- rupted whatever portion of the doctrine of Christ and His Apostles may be held among them^ because they teach at different times different principles^ whereas Christ and the Apostles always taught the same. 15. What, therefore, must the Catholic believe? He must believe all that God has revealed and the Catholic Church proposes to his belief^ whether it be contained in the Holy Scripture or not. The Church is considered to propose a truth to our belief when she recognizes it to be revealed by God, and commands as to believe it. 16. By what sinful act is faith lost? Faith is lost by denying or wilfully doubting any sin- gle article proposed to us by the Church to be believed. 17. How is faith regained if it has been lost? Faith when lost is regained by repenting of the sin committed and believing anew all that the Church be- lieves and teaches. 18. If, then, the true faith is essentially necessary to salvation, and the Catholic faith is the only true one, is it not a great grace to be a Catholic Christian? To be a Catholic Christian is an invaluable grace, for which we cannot thank God enough^ and which we ought most earnestly to turn to our advantage. Application, Eejoice^ and often thank God that you are a child of the Catholic Church; for ' there is/ as St. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 77 Augustine says^ ' no greater wealih, no greater treasure, than the Catholic faith/ provided we live as our faith teaches us. The truth of this is especially felt by Catho- lics at the hour of death. In matters of faith never trust your own judgment^ but always humbly submit to the de- cisions of Holy Church; for when you believe what the Church teaches^ you believe the Word of God. § 3. Mysteries, 19. Can we understand all the truths of Faith? No ; we cannot understand all the truths of Faith^ be- cause some of them are mysteries. 20. What are Mysteries? Mysteries are truths beyond reason^ which we cannot completely understand ; but we believe them to be. ^The divine mysteries by their own nature so far transcend the created intelligence that, even when delivered by Kevelation and received by Faith, they remain covered with a veil of Faith itself, and shrouded in a certain degree of darkness, so long as we are pilgrims in this mortal life, not yet with God: ^^for we walk by Faith and not by sight ^^ (2 Cor. v. 7).' (Counc. of Vat., Dogmatic Constitution, On Faith, IV.) 21. Are Mysteries contrary to reason? Mysteries are beyond reason^ but not contrary to it. 'Although Faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between Faith and reason; since the sam-e God who reveals Mysteries and infuses Faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, and God cannot deny Himself, nor can truth contradict truth. ^ (Council of Vatican, lb.) § 4. Holy Scripture. 22. Where are the truths revealed of God contained? The truths revealed by God are contained in the Holy Scripture and tradition. 23. What is the Holy Scripture? The Holy Scripture is a collection of books which were written by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and ac- knowledged by the Church as the Word of God. 78 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 'Prophecy came not by the will of man at any time; but the holv men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost' (2 Pet. i. 21). 24. How is the Holy Scripture divided? The Holy Scripture is divided into the books of the Old and the Xew Testament, or of the Old and the Xew Law. 25. What Revelations does the Old Testament con- tain? The Old Testament contains the Divine Eevelations which were made to man before the coming of Christ. 26. Of what books does the Old Testament consist? The Old Testament consists^ 1. Of Twenty-one His- torical Books, which relate the Creation of the world, the lives of the Patriarchs, and the History of the Jew- ish nation; 2. Of Seven Moral Books, which are collec- tions of Psalms, of holy maxims, and of rules of life; and 3. Of Seventeen Prophetical Books, which mostly contain prophecies. The Historical Boolcs are: The Pentateuch, or ^ve Books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, ISTumbers, Deuteronomy) ; the Book of Josue; the Book of Judges; the Book of Kuth; the four Books of Kings; the two Books of Chronicles or of Para- lipomenon; the Book of Esdras; the Book of Nehemias, which is also called the Second of Esdras; the Book of Tobias; the Book of Judith; the Book of Esther; and the two Books of the Machabees. The Moral Boolcs are: The Book of Job; the Psalms; the Proverbs; Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher; the Canticle of Canti- cles; the Book of Wisdom; and Ecclesiasticus, or Jesus, the Son of Sirach. The Prophetical BooliS: Isaias; Jeremias; Baruch; Ezechiel; Daniel; Osee; Joel; Amos; Abdias; Jonas; Micheas; Nahum; Habacuc; Sophonias; i^ggeus; Zacharias; and Malachias. 27. What Revelations does the New Testament con- tain? The New Testament contains the Eevelations which we have received through Jesus Christ and the Apostles. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 79 28. Of what books does the New Testament consist? The Xew Testament consists^ 1. Of the four Gospels according to St. Matthew^ St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John, which relate the history of Jesus; 2. Of the Acts of the Apostles, by St. Luke; 3. Of fourteen Epistles of St. Paul, and seven by other Apostles, which contain dogmatical and moral instructions; and 4. Of the Apocalypse, or the Eevelation of St. John, which fore- tells the combats and victories of the Church. The Epistles of St. Paul are: One to the Eomans; two to the Corinthians; one to the Galatians; one to the Ephesians; one to the Philippians; one to the Colossians; two to the Thessa- lonians; two to Timothy; one to Titus; one to Philemon; and one to the Hebrews, The other Epistles are: One of St. James; two of St. Peter; three of St. John; and one of St. Jude, surnamed Thaddeus. 29. From whom alone can we know the true sense of Holy Scripture? ^\e can know the true sense of Holy Scripture from the Church alone; because the Church alone cannot err in interpreting it. 30. May no one, then, presume to explain the Scrip- ture contrary to the interpretation of the Catholic Church? Xo; for this would be as if he understood the Scrip- ture better than the Holy Ghost, who inspires the Church with the true meaning of it. 31. But is the meaning of the Holy Scripture not clear in itself, and easy to be understood by every one? Xo; for the Holy Scripture is a Divine and mys- terious book^ ' in tvhich/ as St. Peter says, speaking of the Epistles of St. Paul, ' are certain things hard to he understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest to their own destruction' (2 Peter iii. 16). * What else gives rise to so many heresies, save that the Scrip- ture, which, good in itself, is ill understood?' (St. Augustine.) 32. Is it not, then, true that the Bible alone is the only Rule of Faith? Or, in other words: Is not every private 80 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION individual to search the Bible, and nothing but the Bible, until he finds out what he has to believe? Xo; for not the Bible alone^ but the Bible and Tra- dition, both infallibly interpreted by the Church, are the right Eule of Faith. 1. If it were the will of our Saviour that we should arrive at the knowledge of the truths of salvation simply by reading and searching the Scripture, why is it written : ^ Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the [preaching of the] Word of Christ'? (Rom. x. 17.). And why, then, did not Christ Himself write? Why did He not commission His Apostles to write? Why did they write only after the lapse of a long space of time, and only upon special occasions? Why did they not all write? Why did He Himself ^ give some Apostles, and some Prophets, and other some Evangelists, and other some Pastors and Doctors^? (1 Cor. xii., Eph. iv.). Why did He not com- mand that every one, or at least every Christian, should learn to read? Why did God allow printing to be invented so late? etc. 2. The Christian Religion had been spread, and flourished, before the Books of the New Testament were written; and even after they had been written, there were many Christian nations, as St. Irenaeus testifies, who did not so much as possess the Holy Scriptures. 33. What has the Church decreed with regard to the reading of the Bible in the vulgar tongue? 1. That we should have the learning and piety requi- site for it; and 2. That the translation should be ac- companied with explanations^ and that both should be approved of by the Church. By this wise provision the Church by no means intends to withhold the Word of God from the faithful^ since she desires nothing more than that all should know it and meditate upon it; she merely wishes to guard them against corrupted Bibles, which are often designedly offered to ignorant people, and against erroneous interpretations, sects, and schisms. § 5. Tradition, 34. Is it enough to beheve only those doctrines which are contained in the Holy Scripture? No; we must also believe Tradition — i,e., those re- CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 81 yealed truths which the Apostles preached, but did not commit to writing. St. Paul, therefore, exhorts the first Christians by saying: ^Therefore, brethren, stand fast: and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word or by our Epistle' (2 Thess. ii. 14). 35. Have not, then, the Apostles written all that Jesus Christ has taught? No ; the Apostles have not even written all that Jesus has done^ far less all that He has taught ; for Christ did not commission them to write, but to preach His doctrine (Mark xvi. 15; Matt, xxviii. 19). ^Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of His dis- ciples, which are not written in this book^ (John xx. 30). The Bible, therefore, does not contain the entire Eevelation of God. The Bible nowhere tells us how many Divine books there are, and which they are; if we did not know this for cer- tain from Tradition, we should not even have a Bible. — The Bible does not, in doubtful passages, decide upon the true meaning of its words; therefore, all sects have always appealed to the Bible, in order to prove their contradictory doctrines, and each one of them pretended to have hit on its true meaning. — If we would consult the Bible only, without Tradition, we ought, for instance, still to keep holy the Saturday with the Jews, in- stead of Sunday, and to refrain ourselves from things strangled, and from blood (Acts xv. 20) ; moreover, we ought, with the Anabaptists, to let little children, who are incapable of being instructed, die without Baptism; since, according to the mere words of the text, Christ has commanded, first to teach, and then to baptize (Matt, xxviii. 19). 36. Why is the unwritten doctrine of the Apostles called * Tradition'? It is called Tradition — that is, a handing down — be- cause, since the times of the Apostles, it has, without interruption, been handed down in the Catholic Church from generation to generation. 'And the things which thou hast heard of me by many wit- nesses, the same commend to faithful men, who shall be fit to teach others also' (2 Tim. ii. 2). 37. Where are the teachings of Tradition contained? The teachings of Tradition are contained chiefly in 82 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION the Decrees of the Councils^ in the writings of the Holy Fathers^ in the Acts of the Holy See^ and in the words and usages of the Sacred Liturgy. 38. What value must be placed on Tradition? The same value as is placed on the Word of God re- vealed in the Holy Scripture. 39. Why must we beheve Tradition as well as the Holy Scripture? Because Tradition is revealed by God just as well as what is contained in Holy Scripture. 40. From whom are we to learn the true meaning of Tradition? From the Church alone, because she alone has received from God the authority and the guidance necessary to interpret infallibly all the doctrine that He has revealed, whether in Holy Scripture or in Tradition. § 6. Qualities of Faith, 41. What must be the qualities of our faith? Our faith must be^ 1. Universal; 2. Firm; 3. Lively; and 4. Constant, 42. When is our faith * universal ' ? Our faith is universal when we believe not only some but all the truths which the Catholic Church proposes to our belief. 43. Is, then, no one at liberty to admit and believe only some points of the Christian faith? Xo; for^ 1. Christ says without exception: "^ Preach the Gospel to every creature ; he that believeth not shall be condemned ^ (Mark xvi. 15, 16). And again : ^ Teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you' (Matt, xxviii. 20)". And St. John says: 'Whoso- ever revolteth, and continueth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God' (2 John i. 9). And 2. He who believes of the doctrine of Christ only what he pleases CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 83 has no faith at all ; for such a one does not believe God, but his own judgment. 44. When is our faith ' firm ' ? Our faith is firm when we believe without the least doubt. Examples. Abraham, rewarded for his firm faith: ^In the promise of God he staggered not by distrust, but was strength- ened in faith; and therefore it was reputed to him unto justice^ (Rom. iv. 20, 22). Moses and Aaron, punished on account of a doubt (Numbers xx. 12). 45. When is our faith * lively ' ? Our faith is lively when we live up to it ; that is, when we avoid evil^ and do good in the manner our faith pre- scribes. ^As the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead' (James ii. 26). 46. Will a dead faith also save us? No; our faith must prove itself active by charity, or else it is not sufficient for obtaining eternal salvation. ^In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith, that worketh by charity' (Gal. v. 6). ^And if I should have all faith, so that I could remove moun- tains, and have not charity, I am nothing' (1 Cor. xiii. 2). 47. When is our faith * constant ' ? Our faith is constant when we are ready to lose all, even our life, rather than fall away from it. ^ Take heed, brethren, lest perhaps there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, to depart from the living God' (Hebr. iii. 12). — Example of the holy Martyrs. 48. What leads people to fall away from their faith? 1. Pride and excessive reasoning on the mysteries of our religion; 2. Xeglect of prayer and of the other re- ligious duties; 3. Worldiiness and a wicked life; and 4. Eeading irreligious books, intercourse with scoffers at religion, and such matrimonial or other connections as endanger the true faith. 1. 'I confess to Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, 84 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION and hast revealed them to little ones' (Matt. xi. 25). 2. 'The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof (Matt. xxi. 43). 3. 'Hav- ing faith and a good conscience, which some rejecting have made shipwreck concerning the faith' (1 Tim. i. 19). 4. 'Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves' (Matt. vii. 15). 'A little leaven corrupteth the whole lump' (Gal. v. 9). 49. How do we especially show that our faith is firm and constant? By never den^dng it^ not even in appearance, but by candidly professing it on every occasion by word and deed. 'Every one that shall confess me before men, I will also con- fess him before my Father who is in Heaven. But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in Heaven^ (Matt. x. 32, 33). 'With the heart, we be- lieve unto justice: but, with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation' (Rom. x. 10). — Example of Eleazar. 50. Is there also a particular sign by which Catholics profess their faith? tYes^ the Sign of the Cross, 51. Why do we use the sign of the cross in order to profess our faith? Because it expresses the two principal mysteries of our religion — namely^ the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity^ and the mystery of our Eedemption by Christ on the cross. 52. Whence comes the custom of making the sign of the cross? This custom is very old^ and descends from the apos- tolic times. 53. When should we make the sign of the cross? It is good and wholesome to make it frequently^ as the first Christians did; especially when we rise and when we go to bed^ before and after prayers^ before every important occupation, and in all temptations and dan- gers. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGIOIST 85 54. Why is it wholesome frequently to make the sign of the cross? Because^ by devoutly making the sign of the cross^ we arm ourselves against the snares of the devil^ and draw down the blessings of Heaven upon us. 55. Why do we usually make the sign of the cross on our forehead, mouth, and heart, at the reading of the Gospel? That God;, through the merits of Christ Crucified^ may give us grace to comprehend the Gospel with our mind^ to profess it with our mouthy and to love it with our heart. Application. Never be ashamed of the Catholic faith, or of the sign of the cross ; let this be your motto : ^ God forbid that I should glory^ save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ^ (Gal. vi. 14). Shun most carefully all intercourse with irreligious and wicked persons^ and es- pecially beware of such books as might stagger you in the true f aith^ or lead you astray from the path of virtue. Chapter II. Chief Truths of Faith. The Apostles' Creed, 1. Where are the chief things which we must above all know and believe, briefly contained? In the twelve articles of the Apostles' Creed. 2. Why is it called the * Apostles' Creed ' ? It is called the ^ Apostles' Creed ' because it is an abridgment of the truths of the faith taught by the Apostles. The First Article. ' I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.' 86 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION § 1. On God and His Attributes or Perfections. ^I believe in God/ 3. Who is God? God is an infinitely perfect Spirit^ the Lord of Heaven and earthy and the Author of all good. 4. Can we see God? Xo ; we cannot see God with corporeal eyes^ because He is a Spirit. 5. How, then, can we come to a knowledge of God? God has made Himself known to us in two ways; that is^ in a natural^ and in a supernatural way. 6. How has God made Himself known to man in a natural way? 1. By the visible world, which He has created and continually governs; for nobody can reasonably think that the world has made itself, or that the regular and perfect order in it originated and subsists by itself. Only ^the fool hath said in his hearty There is no God^ (Ps. xiii. 1). Therefore St. Paul says of the Gentiles that thej are inexcu- sable, if they do not believe in God : ' For the invisible things of Him^ from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood y the things that are made : His eternal power also, and Divinit ^ (Rom. i. 20). ^Nevertheless He left not Himself without testimony, doing good from Heaven, giving rains and frui^-ful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness' (Acts xiv. 16; comp. Wisdom 13). 2. By the voice of conscience, which admonishes us to dread an invisible avenger of sin^ and to hope in a re- warder of virtue (Eom. ii. 15). Conscience has not been made by man. Its action is often so painful that man would prefer, if he could, to be without it. It exists in us by the will of God, who made it an essential part of our human nature, in order that we might be taught by its voice. 7. How has God made Himself known to man in a supernatural manner? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 87 By the Revelation, which He has given us by the Prophets, and last of all by His Son. (See p. 75^ quest. 10.) ^No man hath seen God at any time; the Only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him' (John i. 18). 8. Why do we say, * I believe in God,' and not only,. *I beUeve God'? Because we must not only believe that there is a God^ and that all that He has said is true ; but we must like- wise give ourselves up to God with love and confidence. 9. Why do we call God a * Spirit ' ? We call God a Spirit because He has understanding- and free will^ but no body (John iv. 24). 10. And why do we say that * God is infinitely per-^ feet'? Because God is not like created beings^ good only in some measure^ but because He unites in Himself all good perfections without measure^ or bounds^ or number. 11. Which are the principal Attributes or Perfections of God? These : God is eternal and unchangeable, omnipresent^ omniscient or all-knowings all-wise^ all-powerful; He is- infinitely holy and just; infinitely good^ nrerciful^ and long-suffering; infinitely true and faithful.'^ 12. What means * God is eternal'? God is eternal means that He is always^ without be- ginning and without end. ^ Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was formed; from eternity to eternity Thou art God' (Ps.. Ixxxix. 2). 13. What means * God is unchangeable'? God is unchangeable means that He remains eternally the same^ without any change either in Himself or in His decrees. ^With whom [God] there is no change, nor shadow of altera- tion' (James i. 17). ^My counsel shall stand, and all my will shall be done' (Isai. xlvi. 10). 88 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 14. What ought we to do, since God is eternal and unchangeable? We ought to serve and love Him for ever and ever. ^ Thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is my por- tion for ever^ (Ps. Ixxii. 26). 15. What means * God is omnipresent' ? God is omnipresent means that He is everjrwhere : in Heaven, on earth, and in all places. ^Do not I fill Heaven and earth? saith the Lord' (Jer. xxiii. 24). 'God is not far from every one of us; for in Him we live, and move, and are' (Acts xvii. 27, 28). Although God fills all space, nevertheless He is everywhere entire and perfect, and en- compassed by no space; for He is immense. 16. What means *God is all-knowing'? God is all-knowing means that He knows all things perfectly and from all eternity ; He knows all things past, present^ and to come^ even onr most secret thoughts. ^ The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, behold- ing round about all the ways of men, and the bottom of the deep, and looking into the hearts of men, into the most hidden parts; for all things were known to the Lord God before they were created: so also after they were perfected He beholdeth all things^ (Ecclus. xxiii. 28, 29). See the whole Psalm cxxxviii. — Examples: Predictions of Christ and of the Prophets. 17. What benefit do we derive from the frequent re- membrance of God's omnipresence and omniscience? 1. It keeps us everywhere^ even in secret^, from evil,- and incites us to good; and 2. It gives us courage and consolation in all difficulties and troubles. 1. ^It is better for me to fall into your hands without doing it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord' (Dan. xiii. 23). 'That thy alms may be in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee' (Matt. vi. 4). 2. 'Though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for Thou art with me' (Ps. xxii. 4). 'Behold my witness is in Heaven, and He that knoweth my conscience is on high' (Job xvi. 20). 18. What means * God is all-wise'? God is all-wise means that He knows how to dispose all things in the best manner^ in order to attain His end. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION 89 'How great are Thy works, O Lord! Thou hast made all things in wisdom^ (Ps. ciii. 24). — Examples: The child Moses saved; Joseph exalted; Aman disgraced. 19. What means *God is all-powerful or almighty'? God is all-powerful means that He can do anything, and has only to will^ and the thing is done. 'Whatsoever the Lord pleased He hath done, in Heaven, in earth, in the sea, and in all the deeps ^ (Ps. cxxxiv. 6.). ^Be- cause no word shall be impossible with God' (Luke i. 37). — Ex- amples: The Creation; the wonders in Egypt and in the desert. 20. To what should our belief in God's infinite power and infinite wisdom incite us? It should incite ns^ 1. To place all our confidence in God; and 2. To be always resigned to His dispensations^ 1. ^Put not your trust in the children of men, in whom there is no salvation. Blessed is he whose hope is in the Lord his God^ (Ps. cxlv. 2, 5). — Example: Gedeon. 2. * Commit thy way to the Lord and trust in Him and He will do it' (Ps. xxxvi. 5). — Example: Job. 21. What means ^ God is holy'? God is holy means that He loves and wills only what is good — i.e., what is in accord with His perfections — and that he abhors all that is evil. 'Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity' (Ps. xliv. 8). — Example: The giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. 22. What means * God is just'? God is just means that He rewards and punishes men according to their deserts. 'He will render to every man according to his works: . . . for there is no respect of person with God' (Kom. ii. 6, 11). Examples: The world punished by the deluge and Sodom and Gomorrha destroyed by fire from heaven ; but Noe and Lot pre- served. 23. When will perfect retribution be made? Perfect retribution will not be made until the soul is in the other world ;^ there is^ however, even in this life, no true happiness for the wicked/ and no true unhappi- ness for the just.^ ^Parable of the cockle and the wheat (Matt. xiii. 30) ; of the 90 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION rich man and Lazarus (Luke xvi.). ^'We wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity and destruction, and have walked through hard ways' (Wisd. v. 7). — Examples: Cain, Absalom, Achab, Antiochus. ^ * The souls of the just are in the hand of God' (Wisd. iii. 1). — Examples: Joseph, Tobias, Susanna, Daniel, St. Paul (2 Cor. vii. 4). 24. To what should the remembrance of God's holi- ness and justness animate us? It should animate us^ 1. Carefully to avoid all evil^ and to become more and more holy; and 2. Not to pride ourselves in our pretended righteousness. 1. Tear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him that can destroy both soul and body into helP (Matt. x. 28). ^I am the Lord your God: be holy, because I am holy' (Levit. xi. 44). 2. 'I am not con- scious to myself of anything, yet I am not hereby justified; but He that judgeth me is the Lord' (1 Cor. iv. 4). 25. What means *God is good'? God is good means that out of love He will do good to all creatures^ and that He really bestows innumerable blessings upon us. 'Thou lovest all things that are, and hatest none of the things which Thou hast made^ (Wisd. xi. 25). 'Thus saith the Lord: Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? And if she should forget, yet will not I forget thee' (Isai. xlix. 15). 26. Which is the greatest proof of God's love and goodness? That He delivered His own Son up to death for the salvation of us sinners. 'God is charity. By this hath the charity of God appeared towards us, because God hath sent His Only-begotten Son into the world, that we may live by Him' (1 John iv. 8, 9). 27. What means *God is merciful'? God is merciful means that He is disposed to avert all evil from His creatures^ and therefore willingly par- dons all truly penitent sinners. 'The mercy of God is upon all flesh' (Ecclus. x\dii. 12. Comp. Jon. iv. 11). 'As I live, saith the Lord God, I desire not the cleath of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 91 and live' (Ez. xxxiii. 11). — Ex.: The Ninivites; Parable of the prodigal son (Luke xv.). 28. What means *God is long-suffering'? God is long-suffering means that He often waits a long time before He punishes the sinner^ in order to give him time for repentance. ^ Thou overlookest the sins of men for the sake of repentance ^ (Wisd. xi. 24). — Examples: Manasses (2 Paral. xxxiii); Jeru- salem (Matt, xxiii. 37) ; Parable of the barren fig-tree (Luke xiii.). 29. What should we do, since God is so good, so mer- ciful, and so long-suffering? We should, 1. Be thankful to God, and love Him with all our heart; 2. When we have sinned, we should with confidence beg pardon of Him; and 3. We should be good and merciful to our neighbors. 1. ^Give glory to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever^ (Ps. cvi. 1). — Examples: Ingratitude of the Israelites in the desert punished. 2. ^ I will arise and will go to my father' (Luke xv. 18). 3. ^Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is mercifuP (Luke vi. 36). Parable of the unmerciful servant (Matt, xviii). 30. What means * God is true ' ? God is true means that He can neither err nor lie, and can reveal nothing but truth. ^It is impossible for God to lie' (Hebr. vi. 18). 31. What means *God is faithful'? God is faithful means that He surely keeps His promises, and executes what He threatens. ^And thou shalt know the Lord thy God, He is a strong and faithful God, keeping His covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and repaying forthwith them that hate Him, so as to destroy them' (Deut. vii. 9, 10). 32. What does the truth and faithfulness of God oblige us to do? 1. To believe most firmly in the Word of God, and steadfastly to trust in His promise; and 2. Always to speak the truth, and to keep the promise we have made. 92 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION 1. 'Blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed' (John XX. 29). — Examples: Abraham. 2. Punishment of An- anias and Saphira (Acts v.). Application. ^My son^ give me thy heart ^ (Prov. xxiii. 26). Oh! give it to Him^ the Eternal^ the Infi- nitely Perfect^ Eich^ Good, and Faithful God, without delay, *f or ever and ever. God alone has a right to pos- sess it, and He alone has the power to render it happy through all eternity. § 2. On the Three Divine Persons. 'I believe in God the Father.' 33. Why do we say, *I believe in God the **Father"'? 1. Because God is our invisible Father in Heaven; and 2. Because in God there is more than one Person, the first of whom is called the Father. 34. How many Persons are, then, in God? There are three Persons in God : the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 'Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost' (Matt, xxviii. 19). 'There are three who give testimony in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are One^ (1 John v. 7). 35. Is each one of the three Persons God? Yes, the Father is true God, the Son is true God, and the Holy Ghost is true God. 36. Why are the three Persons but one God? Because all three Persons have one and the same in- divisible nature and substance. 37. Is any one of these Persons older, or more power- ful, than the others? No; all three Persons are from eternity; all three are equally powerful, good, and perfect ; because all three are but one God. 38. Is there, then, no distinction at all between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION 93 As to the Persons they are distinct; but as to the sub- stance they are one. 39. How are the three Divine Persons distinct from one another? By this : that the Father is begotten of no one, nor proceeds from any one; the Son is begotten of the Father; and the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son. 40. But if the Son is begotten of the Father, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from both, why, then, is none of the Divine Persons older than the others? Because the Son is begotten from all eternity^, and the Holy Ghost also proceeds from all eternity. 41. Why is the Father called the * first,' the Son the 'second,' and the Holy Ghost the * third' Person? They are so called^ not to show any superiority^ but the order in which the one proceeds from the other from all eternity. 42. What works are principally attributed to each of the three Divine Persons? 1. To the Father are attributed the works of omnipo- tence, and particularly the Creation; 2. To the Son, the works of wisdom, and particularly the Eedemption ; and 3. To the Holy Ghost, the works of love, and particu- larly Sanctification ; although these works are common to all three Persons. The work's of Omnipoterice and Creation are particularly at- tributed to the Father, because He is the principle to which the two other Persons owe their eternal origin. The works of Wis- dom to the Son, because the Father begets the Son by the knowledge of Himself, wherefore the Son is also called the es- sential 'Image,' the eternal 'Word' of the Father. The works of Love are attributed to the Holy Ghost, because He proceeds from the mutual love of the Father and of the Son. 43. What do we call the mystery of one God in three Persons? We call it the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity. 94 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 44. Can we comprehend this mystery? Xo ; it is impossible that our weak and limited intel- lect^ which cannot understand even created things ex- cept imperfectl}^ should understand a mystery which is infinitely above all created things. ^ Great art Thou in counsel, and incomprehensible in thought ' (Jer. xxxii. 19). ^For we know in part. We see now through a glass in a dark manner^ (1 Cor. xiii. 9, 12). However incom- prehensible this mystery may be, yet it does not contradict any of the truths acknowledged by reason; for we do not say that Ood has one nature and three natures, but that, though He has but one nature, yet there are three Persons in Him. The Unity refers to the nature, and the Trinity to the Persons. (Compari- son with the soul, which has memory, will, and understanding.) 45. Is the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity also im- portant to us? Yes/ it is most important; for it is the principal and fundamental doctrine of Christianity^ insomuch that to reject it would be to deny the Christian Faith. Application. That the grace of this saving Faith may not be withdrawn from you^ nevsr forget what thanks you owe to the Most Blessed Trinity for the inestimable benefits of your creation^ redemption^ and sanctification^ and what you have solemnly promised to the same Trin- ity in the holy Sacrament of Baptism. (Feast of the Blessed Trinity.) § 3. On the Creation and Government of the World, 'Creator of Heaven and earth.' 46. Why is God called * Creator of Heaven and earth ' ? Because God created — i.e., made out of nothing — the w^hole worlds the heavens and the earthy and all that is in them. 47. How has God created the whole world? By His almighty will. 'Thou hast created all things; and for Thy will they were and have been created' (Apoc. iv. 11). CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION 95 48. Did God create the world because He needed it? No ; God is infinitely rich and happy in Himself^ and needs nothing besides Himself. 'Thou art mj God, for Thou hast no need of my goods ^ (Ps^ XV. 2). 49. If God needs nothing besides Himself, why did He create other beings? He created them because He is infinitely good^ and desired to impart His goodness also to other beings. 'We are, because God is good' (St. Augustine). 'God was- not impelled to create by any other cause than a desire to com- municate to creatures the riches of His bounty' (Cat. of the Counc. of Trent). 50. Did, then, God create the world for His creatures? No; God created the world for Himself — that is^, for His glory — but^ nevertheless^ for the good of His crea- tures. 'The Lord hath made all things for Himself (Prov. Ixxvi. 4). 'And every one that calleth upon my name, I have created him for my glory, I have formed him, and made him' (Isai. xliii. 7). 51. What does God still do, that the world which He has created may not return into its original nothing? He preserves and governs it. 52. How does God preserve the world? By the same power of His will with which He ere- ated the world He causes it also to continue^ in the man- ner He pleaseS;, and as long as He pleases. 'How could anything endure, if Thou wouldst not?' (Wisd.. xi. 26.). 53. How does God govern the world? He takes care of all things/ orders all things^ and^ in His wisdom and goodness^ directs all things to the end for which He has created the world.^ ^ ' God made the little and the great, and He hath equally care of all^ (Wisd. vi. 8). 'But the very hairs of your head are all numbered^ (Matt. x. 30), ^^She [the wisdom of God] reach- eth therefore from end to end mightily, and ordereth all things 96 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC KELIGION sweetly' (Wisd. viii. 1). — Example: Deliverance of the Jews through Esther. 54. What do we call this supreme care of God in pre- serving and governing the world? His Divine Providence. 55. But if God orders and directs all things in the world, why, then, is there so much evil done? Does He will it? No^ God wills not the evil; but He permits it, 1. Be- cause He has created man free; and 2. Because He knows also how to turn evil into good. Examples: The history of Joseph in Egypt: 'You thought evil against me; but God turned it into good^ (Gen. 1. 20). Thus God, the Almighty, turned even the murder of our Savi- our by the Jews to the salvation of the world, and the impeni- tence of the same Jews to the conversion of the heathens. And thus He still avails Himself every day of the designs of the wicked in order to glorify His Church; ^for there is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel against the Lord' (Prov. xxi. 30). 56. And if God takes care of all things, why are we subject to so many sufferings? 1. That the sinner may acknowledge the chastisement of God and mend his ways^ and not perish for ever ; and 2. That the just man may be more and more purified^ and more abound in merits, and thus obtain a greater reward in Heaven. 1. Examples: The brothers of Joseph: 'We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned against our brother' (Gen. xlii. 21). Manasses (2 Paral. xxxiii.) ; Jonas (Jonas ii.). 2. ^ Gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation' (Ecclus. ii. 5). 'Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake. Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in Heaven' (Matt. v. 11, 12). 57. But why does God often permit the wicked to prosper, whilst evil befalls the good? 1. Because He will not only deter the sinner from his evil ways by punishment^ but will also win him by bene- CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 97 .fits; 2. Because He reserves to Himself to punish the wicked^ and to reward the good, especially in eternity; and 3. Because He will not even leave the little good which the wicked may do entirely unrewarded, and,, therefore, as He cannot reward it in the next world on account of their impenitence, He will reward it here be- low. 1. *What is there that I ought to do more to my vineyard that I have not done to it? Was it that I looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it hath brought forth wild grapes?' (Isai. V. 4). 2. ^The Lord patiently expecteth, that when the- day of judgment shall come, He may punish them in the fulness of their sins' (2 Mach. vi. 14). 3. ^Woe to you that are rich; for you have your consolation; that is, your reward here in this world' (Luke vi. 24). — Example: Achab: ^Because Achab hath humbled himself for my sake, I will not bring the evil in his days' (3 Kings xxi. 29). 58. How ought we to receive the sufferings that come upon us? We ought to receive them as graces of God ; for ^ whom the Lord loveth He chastiseth ^^ (Hebr. xii. 6) ; and ' be-^ fore he be glorified^, it [his heart] is humbled^ (Prov. xviii. 12). ^ ' For it is a token of great goodness when sinners are not suffered to go on in their ways for a long time, but are pres- ently punished^ (2 Mach. vii. 13). Application. ' Cast all your care upon the Lord, for He hath care of you^ (1 Pet. v. 7). ^Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns, and your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Consider the lilies of the field,^ etc. (Matt. vi. 26- 33). Take willingly everything that is disagreeable to you as coming from the hand of God : ^ As it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done ; blessed be the name of the Lord ^ (Job i. 21) ; and never be so rash as to complain of the dispensations of God. Whatever may come, ' To them that love God, all things work together unto good ^ (Eom. viii. 28.). 98 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION § 4. On the Angels, 59. Has God created nothing else but the visible world? God has also created an invisible world — namely in- numerable spirits called Angels (Dan. vii. 10). The Angels are divided into nine different Orders or Choirs — namely, Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim (Col. i. 16; Eph. i. 21; Ezech. x. ; Isai. vi. 2). 60. In what state were the Angels when God had created them? They were all good and happy^ and endowed with ex- cellent gifts. 61. Did the Angels all remain good and happy? 1^0, many rebelled against God; therefore they were cast away from Him for ever^ and hurled into hell. ^God spared not the Angels that sinned, but delivered them, drawn down by infernal ropes to the lower hell, unto torments^ (2 Pet. ii. 4; comp. Jude vi.). 62. How has God rewarded the Angels that remained faithfiU? He has rewarded them with eternal happiness^ which consists in seeing and possessing Him everlastingly. ^ Their Angels in Heaven always see the face of my Father who is in Heaven' (Matt, xviii. 10). 63. How are the good Angels affected towards us? The good Angels love ns ; therefore they protect ns in soul and body, W^J ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ exhort us to do good. ^ He hath given His Ang3ls charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways' (Ps. xc. 11). — Examples: Agar, Lot, Tobias, Judas, Machabeus (2 Mach. x. 29, 30) ; Peter in prison; Corne- lius the centurion. 64. How do we call those Angels who are particularly given to man for his protection? Guardian Angels. 65. What is our duty towards our Guardian Angels? CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION 99 We must venerate them with great devotion^ be thank- ful to them^ and readily follow their admonitions. 'Behold I will send my Angel, who shall go before thee. Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned^ (Exod. xxiii. 20, 21). 66. How are the fallen or wicked Angels affected towards us? The wicked Angels^ through hatred and envy^ lay snares for us^ in order to injure us in soul and body^ and,. by enticing us to sin^ to plunge us into eternal perdition. ^Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour' (1 Pet. v. 8). — Examples: Eve^ Job, Sara, the demoniacs, Judas. See also Luke viii. 12, and Apoc. xii. 67. Why does God permit the wicked Angels to lay snares for us? He permits it because He knows how to make their snares serve unto His own honor and to the salvation of men. ^And they talked among themselves, saying: What word is- this, for with authority and power He [Jesus] commandeth the unclean spirits, and they go out? And the fame of Him was- published into every place of the country' (Luke iv. 36, 37). *And the people with one accord were attentive to those things which were said by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For many of them had unclean spirits, who, cry- ing with a loud voice, went out' (Acts viii. 6, 7). 68. What must we do on our part, in order that the snares of the wicked Angels may serve to our salvation? We must fight against them full of faith and confi- dence, making use at the same time of the arms of prayer, and availing ourselves of the blessings sanctioned by the Church ; and we must firmly resist all temptations to evil. 'For our wrestling is not [only] against flesh and blood; but against the spirits of Avickedness in the high places, i. e., in the air^ (Eph. vi. 12). 'In all things taking the shield of faith,, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one' (Eph. vi. 16). 'Kesist the devil, and he 100 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC EELIGION -will fly from you' (James iv. 7). — Example: Tobias and Sara