Chapter 4

Q. 278. {52} What is actual sin? A. Actual sin is any wilful thought, word, deed, or omission contrary to the law of God.

Q. 279. {53} How many kinds of actual sin are there? A. There are two kinds of actual sin--mortal and venial.

Q. 280. {54} What is mortal sin? A. Mortal sin is a grievous offense against the law of God.

Q. 281. {55} Why is this sin called mortal? A. This sin is called mortal because it deprives us of spiritual life, which is sanctifying grace, and brings everlasting death and damnation on the soul.

Q. 282. {56} How many things are necessary to make a sin mortal? A. To make a sin mortal, three things are necessary: a grievous matter, sufficient reflection, and full consent of the will.

Q. 283. What do we mean by "grievous matter" with regard to sin? A. By "grievous matter" with regard to sin we mean that the thought, word or deed by which mortal sin is committed must be either very bad in itself or severely prohibited, and therefore sufficient to make a mortal sin if we deliberately yield to it.

Q. 284. What does "sufficient reflection and full consent of the will" mean? A. "Sufficient reflection" means that we must know the thought, word or deed to be sinful at the time we are guilty of it; and "full consent of the will" means that we must fully and wilfully yield to it.

Q. 285. What are sins committed without reflection or consent called? A. Sins committed without reflection or consent are called material sins; that is, they would be formal or real sins if we knew their sinfulness at the time we committed them. Thus to eat flesh meat on a day of abstinence without knowing it to be a day of abstinence or without thinking of the prohibition, would be a material sin.

Q. 286. Do past material sins become real sins as soon as we discover their sinfulness? A. Past material sins do not become real sins as soon as we discover their sinfulness, unless we again repeat them with full knowledge and consent.

Q. 287. How can we know what sins are considered mortal? A. We can know what sins are considered mortal from Holy Scripture; from the teaching of the Church, and from the writings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church.

Q. 288. Why is it wrong to judge others guilty of sin? A. It is wrong to judge others guilty of sin because we cannot know for certain that their sinful act was committed with sufficient reflection and full consent of the will.

Q. 289. What sin does he commit who without sufficient reason believes another guilty of sin? A. He who without sufficient reason believes another guilty of sin commits a sin of rash judgment.

Q. 290. {57} What is venial sin? A. Venial sin is a slight offense against the law of God in matters of less importance, or in matters of great importance it is an offense committed without sufficient reflection or full consent of the will.

Q. 291. Can we always distinguish venial from mortal sin? A. We cannot always distinguish venial from mortal sin, and in such cases we must leave the decision to our confessor.

Q. 292. Can slight offenses ever become mortal sins? A. Slight offenses can become mortal sins if we commit them through defiant contempt for God or His law; and also when they are followed by very evil consequences, which we foresee in committing them.

Q. 293. {58} Which are the effects of venial sin? A. The effects of venial sin are the lessening of the love of God in our heart, the making us less worthy of His help, and the weakening of the power to resist mortal sin.

Q. 294. How can we know a thought, word or deed to be sinful? A. We can know a thought, word or deed to be sinful if it, or the neglect of it, is forbidden by any law of God or of His Church, or if it is opposed to any supernatural virtue.

Q. 295. {59} Which are the chief sources of sin? A. The chief sources of sin are seven: Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth, and they are commonly called capital sins.

Q. 296. What is pride? A. Pride is an excessive love of our own ability; so that we would rather sinfully disobey than humble ourselves.

Q. 297. What effect has pride on our souls? A. Pride begets in our souls sinful ambition, vainglory, presumption and hypocrisy.

Q. 298. What is covetousness? A. Covetousness is an excessive desire for worldly things.

Q. 299. What effect has covetousness on our souls? A. Covetousness begets in our souls unkindness, dishonesty, deceit and want of charity.

Q. 300. What is lust? A. Lust is an excessive desire for the sinful pleasures forbidden by the Sixth Commandment.

Q. 301. What effect has lust on our souls? A. Lust begets in our souls a distaste for holy things, a perverted conscience, a hatred for God, and it very frequently leads to a complete loss of faith.

Q. 302. What is anger? A. Anger is an excessive emotion of the mind excited against any person or thing, or it is an excessive desire for revenge.

Q. 303. What effect has anger on our soul? A. Anger begets in our souls impatience, hatred, irreverence, and too often the habit of cursing.

Q. 304. What is gluttony? A. Gluttony is an excessive desire for food or drink.

Q. 305. What kind of a sin is drunkenness? A. Drunkenness is a sin of gluttony by which a person deprives himself of the use of his reason by the excessive taking of intoxicating drink.

Q. 306. Is drunkenness always a mortal sin? A. Deliberate drunkenness is always a mortal sin if the person be completely deprived of the use of reason by it, but drunkenness that is not intended or desired may be excused from mortal sin.

Q. 307. What are the chief effects of habitual drunkenness? A. Habitual drunkenness injures the body, weakens the mind, leads its victim into many vices and exposes him to the danger of dying in a state of mortal sin.

Q. 308. What three sins seem to cause most evil in the world? A. Drunkenness, dishonesty and impurity seem to cause most evil in the world, and they are therefore to be carefully avoided at all times.

Q. 309. What is envy? A. Envy is a feeling of sorrow at another's good fortune and joy at the evil which befalls him; as if we ourselves were injured by the good and benefited by the evil that comes to him.

Q. 310. What effect has envy on the soul? A. Envy begets in the soul a want of charity for our neighbor and produces a spirit of detraction, back-biting and slander.

Q. 311. What is sloth? A. Sloth is a laziness of the mind and body, through which we neglect our duties on account of the labor they require.

Q. 312. What effect has sloth upon the soul? A. Sloth begets in the soul a spirit of indifference in our spiritual duties and a disgust for prayer.

Q. 313. Why are the seven sources of sin called capital sins? A. The seven sources of sin are called capital sins because they rule over our other sins and are the causes of them.

Q. 314. What do we mean by our predominant sin or ruling passion? A. By our predominant sin, or ruling passion, we mean the sin into which we fall most frequently and which we find it hardest to resist.

Q. 315. How can we best overcome our sins? A. We can best overcome our sins by guarding against our predominant or ruling sin.

Q. 316. Should we give up trying to be good when we seem not to succeed in overcoming our faults? A. We should not give up trying to be good when we seem not to succeed in overcoming our faults, because our efforts to be good will keep us from becoming worse than we are.

Q. 317. What virtues are opposed to the seven capital sins? A. Humility is opposed to pride; generosity to covetousness; chastity to lust; meekness to anger; temperance to gluttony; brotherly love to envy, and diligence to sloth.

LESSON SEVENTH. ON THE INCARNATION AND REDEMPTION.

Q. 318. What does "incarnation" mean, and what does "redemption" mean? A. "Incarnation" means the act of clothing with flesh. Thus Our Lord clothed His divinity with a human body. "Redemption" means to buy back again.

Q. 319. {60} Did God abandon man after he fell into sin? A. God did not abandon man after he fell into sin, but promised him a Redeemer, who was to satisfy for man's sin and reopen to him the gates of heaven.

Q. 320. What do we mean by the "gates of heaven"? A. By the "gates of heaven" we mean the divine power by which God keeps us out of heaven or admits us into it, at His pleasure.

Q. 321. {61} Who is the Redeemer? A. Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of mankind.

Q. 322. What does the name "Jesus" signify and how was this name given to Our Lord? A. The name "Jesus" signifies Saviour or Redeemer, and this name was given to Our Lord by an Angel who appeared to Joseph and said: "Mary shall bring forth a Son; and thou shalt call His name Jesus."

Q. 323. What does the name "Christ" signify? A. The name "Christ" means the same as Messias, and signifies Anointed; because, as in the Old Law, Prophets, High Priests and Kings were anointed with oil; so Jesus, the Great Prophet, High Priest and King of the New Law, was anointed as man with the fullness of divine power.

Q. 324. How did Christ show and prove His divine power? A. Christ showed and proved His divine power chiefly by His miracles, which are extraordinary works that can be performed only by power received from God, and which have, therefore, His sanction and authority.

Q. 325. What, then, did the miracles of Jesus Christ prove? A. The miracles of Jesus Christ proved that whatever He said was true, and that when He declared Himself to be the Son of God He really was what He claimed to be.

Q. 326. Could not men have been deceived in the miracles of Christ? A. Men could not have been deceived in the miracles of Christ because they were performed in the most open manner and usually in the presence of great multitudes of people, among whom were many of Christ's enemies, ever ready to expose any deceit. And if Christ performed no real miracles, how, then, could He have converted the world and have persuaded sinful men to give up what they loved and do the difficult things that the Christian religion imposes?

Q. 327. Could not false accounts of these miracles have been written after the death of Our Lord? A. False accounts of these miracles could not have been written after the death of Our Lord; for then neither His friends nor His enemies would have believed them without proof. Moreover, the enemies of Christ did not deny the miracles, but tried to explain them by attributing them to the power of the devil or other causes. Again, the Apostles and the Evangelists who wrote the accounts suffered death to testify their belief in the words and works of Our Lord.

Q. 328. Did Jesus Christ die to redeem all men of every age and race without exception? A. Jesus Christ died to redeem all men of every age and race without exception; and every person born into the world should share in His merits, without which no one can be saved.

Q. 329. How are the merits of Jesus Christ applied to our souls? A. The merits of Jesus Christ are applied to our souls through the Sacraments, and especially through Baptism and Penance, which restore us to the friendship of God.

Q. 330. {62} What do you believe of Jesus Christ? A. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, true God and true man.

Q. 331. Cannot we also be called the Children of God, and therefore His sons and daughters? A. We can be called the Children of God because He has adopted us by His grace or because He is the Father who has created us; but we are not, therefore, His real Children; whereas, Jesus Christ, His only real and true Son, was neither adopted nor created, but was begotten of His Father from all eternity.

Q. 332. {63} Why is Jesus Christ true God? A. Jesus Christ is true God because He is the true and only Son of God the Father.

Q. 333. {64} Why is Jesus Christ true man? A. Jesus Christ is true man because He is the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary and has a body and soul like ours.

Q. 334. Who was the foster father or guardian of Our Lord while on earth? A. St. Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin, was the foster-father or guardian of Our Lord while on earth.

Q. 335. Is Jesus Christ in heaven as God or as man? A. Since His Ascension Jesus Christ is in heaven both as God and as man.

Q. 336. {65} How many natures are there in Jesus Christ? A. In Jesus Christ there are two natures, the nature of God and the nature of man.

Q. 337. {66} Is Jesus Christ more than one person? A. No. Jesus Christ is but one Divine Person.

Q. 338. From what do we learn that Jesus Christ is but one person? A. We learn that Jesus Christ is but one person from Holy Scripture and from the constant teaching of the Church, which has condemned all those who teach the contrary.

Q. 339. {67} Was Jesus Christ always God? A. Jesus Christ was always God, as He is the second person of the Blessed Trinity, equal to His Father from all eternity.

Q. 340. {68} Was Jesus Christ always man? A. Jesus Christ was not always man, but became man at the time of His Incarnation.

Q. 341. {69} What do you mean by the Incarnation? A. By the Incarnation I mean that the Son of God was made man.

Q. 342. {70} How was the Son of God made man? A. The Son of God was conceived and made man by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Q. 343. {71} Is the Blessed Virgin Mary truly the Mother of God? A. The Blessed Virgin Mary is truly the Mother of God, because the same Divine Person who is the Son of God is also the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Q. 344. {72} Did the Son of God become man immediately after the sin of our first parents? A. The Son of God did not become man immediately after the sin of our first parents, but was promised to them as a Redeemer.

Q. 345. How many years passed from the time Adam sinned till the time the Redeemer came? A. About 4,000 years passed from the time Adam sinned till the time the Redeemer came.

Q. 346. What was the moral condition of the world just before the coming of Our Lord? A. Just before the coming of Our Lord the moral condition of the world was very bad. Idolatry, injustice, cruelty, immorality and horrid vices were common almost everywhere.

Q. 347. Why was the coming of the Redeemer so long delayed? A. The coming of the Redeemer was so long delayed that the world--suffering from every misery--might learn the great evil of sin and know that God alone could help fallen man.

Q. 348. When was the Redeemer promised to mankind? A. The Redeemer was first promised to mankind in the Garden of Paradise, and often afterward through Abraham and his descendants, the patriarchs, and through numerous prophets.

Q. 349. Who were the prophets? A. The prophets were inspired men to whom God revealed the future, that they might with absolute certainty make it known to the people.

Q. 350. What did the prophets foretell concerning the Redeemer? A. The prophets, taken together, foretold so accurately all the circumstances of the birth, life, death, resurrection and glory of the Redeemer that no one who carefully studied their writings could fail to recognize Him when He came.

Q. 351. Have all these prophecies concerning the Redeemer been fulfilled? A. All the prophecies concerning the Redeemer have been fulfilled in every point by the circumstances of Christ's birth, life, death, resurrection and glory; and He is, therefore, the Redeemer promised to mankind from the time of Adam.

Q. 352. Where shall we find these prophecies concerning the Redeemer? A. We shall find these prophecies concerning the Redeemer in the prophetic books of the Bible or Holy Scripture.

Q. 353. If the Redeemer's coming was so clearly foretold, why did not all recognize Him when He came? A. All did not recognize the Redeemer when He came, because many knew only part of the prophecies; and taking those concerning His glory and omitting those concerning His suffering, they could not understand His life.

Q. 354. {73} How could they be saved who lived before the Son of God became man? A. They who lived before the Son of God became man could be saved by believing in a Redeemer to come, and by keeping the Commandments.

Q. 355. {74} On what day was the Son of God conceived and made man? A. The Son of God was conceived and made man on Annunciation Day--the day on which the Angel Gabriel announced to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she was to be the Mother of God.

Q. 356. {75} On what day was Christ born? A. Christ was born on Christmas Day, in a stable at Bethlehem, over nineteen hundred years ago.

Q. 357. Why did the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph go to Bethlehem just before the birth of Our Lord? A. The Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph went to Bethlehem in obedience to the Roman Emperor, who ordered all his subjects to register their names in the towns or cities of their ancestors. Bethlehem was the City of David, the royal ancestor of Mary and Joseph, hence they had to register there. All this was done by the Will of God, that the prophecies concerning the birth of His Divine Son might be fulfilled.

Q. 358. Why was Christ born in a stable? A. Christ was born in a stable because Joseph and Mary were poor and strangers in Bethlehem, and without money they could find no other shelter. This was permitted by Our Lord that we might learn a lesson from His great humility.

Q. 359. In giving the ancestors or forefathers of Our Lord, why do the Gospels give the ancestors of Joseph, who was only Christ's foster-father, and not the ancestors of Mary, who was Christ's real parent? A. In giving the ancestors of Our Lord, the Gospels give the ancestors of Joseph: (1) Because the ancestors of women were not usually recorded by the Jews; and (2) Because Mary and Joseph were members of the same tribe, and had, therefore, the same ancestors; so that, in giving the ancestors of Joseph, the Gospels give also those of Mary; and this was understood by those for whom the Gospels were intended.

Q. 360. Had Our Lord any brothers or sisters? A. Our Lord had no brothers or sisters. When the Gospels speak of His brethren they mean only His near relations. His Blessed Mother Mary was always a Virgin as well before and at His birth as after it.

Q. 361. Who were among the first to adore the Infant Jesus? A. The shepherds of Bethlehem, to whom His birth was announced by Angels; and the Magi or three wise men, who were guided to His crib by a miraculous star, were among the first to adore the Infant Jesus. We recall the adoration of the Magi on the feast of the Epiphany, which means appearance or manifestation, namely, of Our Saviour.

Q. 362. Who sought to kill the Infant Jesus? A. Herod sought to kill the Infant Jesus because he thought the influence of Christ--the new-born King--would deprive him of his throne.

Q. 363. How was the Holy Infant rescued from the power of Herod? A. The Holy Infant was rescued from the power of Herod by the flight into Egypt, when St. Joseph--warned by an Angel--fled hastily into that country with Jesus and Mary.

Q. 364. How did Herod hope to accomplish his wicked designs? A. Herod hoped to accomplish his wicked designs by murdering all the infants in and near Bethlehem. The day on which we commemorate the death of these first little martyrs, who shed their blood for Christ's sake, is called the feast of Holy Innocents.

Q. 365. How may the years of Christ's life be divided? A. The years of Christ's life may be divided into three parts: (1) His childhood, extending from His birth to His twelfth year, when He went with his parents to worship in the Temple of Jerusalem. (2) His hidden life, which extends from His twelfth to His thirtieth year, during which time He dwelt with His parents at Nazareth. (3) His public life, extending from His thirtieth year--or from His baptism by St. John the Baptist to His death; during which time He taught His doctrines and established His Church.

Q. 366. Why is Christ's life thus divided? A. Christ's life is thus divided to show that all classes find in Him their model. In childhood He gave an example to the young; in His hidden life an example to those who consecrate themselves to the service of God in a religious state; and in His public life an example to all Christians without exception.

Q. 367. {76} How long did Christ live on earth? A. Christ lived on earth about thirty-three years, and led a most holy life in poverty and suffering.

Q. 368. {77} Why did Christ live so long on earth? A. Christ lived so long on earth to show us the way to heaven by His teachings and example.

LESSON EIGHTH. ON OUR LORD'S PASSION, DEATH, RESURRECTION, AND ASCENSION.

Q. 369. What do we mean by Our Lord's Passion? A. By Our Lord's Passion we mean His dreadful sufferings from His agony in the garden till the moment of His death.

Q. 370. {78} What did Jesus Christ suffer? A. Jesus Christ suffered a bloody sweat, a cruel scourging, was crowned with thorns, and was crucified.

Q. 371. When did Our Lord suffer the "bloody sweat"? A. Our Lord suffered the "bloody sweat" while drops of blood came forth from every pore of His body, during His agony in the Garden of Olives, near Jerusalem, where He went to pray on the night His Passion began.

Q. 372. Who accompanied Our Lord to the Garden of Olives on the night of His Agony? A. The Apostles Peter, James and John, the same who had witnessed His transfiguration on the mount, accompanied Our Lord to the Garden of Olives, to watch and pray with Him on the night of His agony.

Q. 373. What do we mean by the transfiguration of Our Lord? A. By the transfiguration of Our Lord we mean the supernatural change in His appearance when He showed Himself to His Apostles in great glory and brilliancy in which "His face did shine as the sun and His garments became white as snow."

Q. 374. Who were present at the transfiguration? A. There were present at the transfiguration--besides the Apostles Peter, James and John, who witnessed it--the two great and holy men of the Old Law, Moses and Elias, talking with Our Lord.

Q. 375. What caused Our Lord's agony in the garden? A. It is believed Our Lord's agony in the garden was caused: (1) By his clear knowledge of all He was soon to endure; (2) by the sight of the many offenses committed against His Father by the sins of the whole world; (3) by His knowledge of men's ingratitude for the blessings of redemption.

Q. 376. Why was Christ cruelly scourged? A. Christ was cruelly scourged by Pilate's orders, that the sight of His bleeding body might move His enemies to spare His life.

Q. 377. Why was Christ crowned with thorns? A. Christ was crowned with thorns in mockery because He had said He was a King.

Q. 378. Could Christ, if He pleased, have escaped the tortures of His Passion? A. Christ could, if He pleased, have escaped the tortures of His Passion, because He foresaw them and had it in His power to overcome His enemies.

Q. 379. Was it necessary for Christ to suffer so much in order to redeem us? A. It was not necessary for Christ to suffer so much in order to redeem us, for the least of His sufferings was more than sufficient to atone for all the sins of mankind. By suffering so much He showed His great love for us.

Q. 380. Who betrayed Our Lord? A. Judas, one of His Apostles, betrayed Our Lord, and from His sin we may learn that even the good may become very wicked by the abuse of their free will.

Q. 381. How was Christ condemned to death? A. Through the influence of those who hated Him, Christ was condemned to death, after an unjust trial, at which false witnesses were induced to testify against Him.

Q. 382. {79} On what day did Christ die? A. Christ died on Good Friday.

Q. 383. {80} Why do you call that day "good" on which Christ died so sorrowful a death? A. We call that day good on which Christ died because by His death He showed His great love for man, and purchased for him every blessing.