The Precepts of the Church in General
[The current regulations are given after each chapter.]

1 Q. Besides the Commandments of God what else must we observe?
A. Besides the Commandments of God we must also observe the Precepts of the Church.

2 Q. Are we obliged to obey the Church?
A. Undoubtedly we are obliged to obey the Church, because Jesus Christ Himself commands us to do so, and because the Precepts of the Church help us to observe the Commandments of God.

3 Q. When does the obligation to observe the Precepts of the Church begin to bind?
A. As a rule the obligation to observe the Precepts of the Church begins to bind us as soon as we come to the age of reason.

4 Q. Is it a sin to transgress a Precept of the Church?
A. Knowingly to transgress a Precept of the Church in grave matter is a mortal sin.

5 Q. Who can dispense from a Precept of the Church?
A. Only the Pope, or one who has received from him the power to do so, can dispense from a Precept of the Church.

6 Q. Name the Precepts of the Church.
A. The Precepts of the Church are: 1. To hear Mass on all Sundays and on Holydays of obligation. 2. To fast during Lent, on Ember Days and appointed Vigils, and not to eat meat on forbidden days. 3. To confess our sins at least once a year, and to receive Holy Communion at Easter each one in his own parish. 4. To contribute to the support of the Church, according to local custom. 5. Not to solemnize marriage at forbidden times, that is, from the first Sunday in Advent until the Epiphany, and from the first day of Lent until Low Sunday.

The First Precept of the Church

7 Q. What does the First Precept of the Church: To hear Mass on all Sundays and on Holydays of obligation, order us to do?
A. The First Precept of the Church: To hear Mass on all Sundays and on Holydays of obligations, orders us to assist devoutly at Mass on all Sundays and on Holydays of obligation.

8 Q. At which Mass does the Church desire us to assist on Sundays and on Holydays of obligation?
A. The Mass at which the Church desires us to assist, if possible, on Sundays and Holydays of obligation is the Parochial Mass.

9 Q. Why does the Church recommend the faithful to assist at the Parochial Mass?
A. The Church recommends the faithful to assist at the Parochial Mass: (1) In order thatall the parishioners of the same parish may unite in prayer together with their Pastor, who is their head; (2) In order that the parishioners may participate more abundantly in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is applied principally for them; (3) In order that they may hear the truths of the Gospel, which Pastors are bound to explain during Mass; (4) In order that they may learn the regulations and notices which are published at that Mass.

10 Q. What is meant by the Lord’s Day?
A. The Lord’s Day means the day of the Lord, that is, the day specially consecrated to divine service.

11 Q. Why in the First Precept of the Church is special mention made of the Lord’s day?
A. In the First Precept of the Church special mention is made of the Lord’s Day, because it is the principal Christian festival, as the Sabbath was the principal Jewish festival, and because it was instituted by God Himself.

12 Q. What other festivals have been instituted by the Church?
A. The Church has instituted Feasts of our Lord, of the Blessed Virgin, of the Angels and of the Saints.

13 Q. Why did the Church institute other Festivals of our Lord?
A. The Church instituted other Festivals of our Lord in memory of His divine Mysteries.

14 Q. And why have Festivals of the Blessed Virgin and of the Saints been instituted?
A. Festivals of the Blessed Virgin and of the Saints have been instituted: (1) In memory of the graces which God has given them, and to thank His divine goodness; (2) In order
that we may honor them, imitate their example, and be aided by their prayers. [The universal law of the Church reckons ten Holydays of obligation: the feasts of Christmas, the Circumcision, the Epiphany, the Ascension, Corpus Christi, the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, St. Joseph, Sts. Peter and Paul, and All Saints (CIC 1917: Can.1247; CIC 1983, Can. 1246). In many countries, by local concessions, they are reduced.]

The Second Precept of the Church

15 Q. What is commanded by the Second Precept of the Church in the words, To fast on the days prescribed?
A. By the words, To fast on the days prescribed, the Second Precept of the Church commands us to observe the fast: (1) During Lent; (2) On certain days of Advent, where this is prescribed; (3) On Ember Days; (4) And on certain Vigils.

16 Q. In what does fasting consist?
A. Fasting consists in taking but one meal a day and in abstaining from prohibited kinds of food.

17 Q. On fast days may a collation be taken in the evening?
A. Through the concession of the Church, a collation may be taken in the evening on fast days.

18 Q. What is the good of fasting?
A. Fasting serves to dispose us better to prayer; to do penance for past sins; and to preserve us from sinning again.

19 Q. Who are bound to fast?
A. Every Christian over twenty-one years of age who is not dispensed, or excused for some good reason, is bound to fast.

20 Q. Are those who are not bound to fast, exempt from all mortification?
A. Those who are not bound by the obligation of fasting are not exempt from all mortification, because all are bound to do penance.

21 Q. For what purpose has Lent been instituted?
A. Lent has been instituted to imitate in some way the rigorous fast of forty days undergone by Jesus Christ in the desert, and to prepare us by penitential exercises to celebrate the feast of Easter devoutly.

22 Q. Why has the Advent fast been instituted?
A. The Advent fast has been instituted to prepare us to celebrate devoutly the Feast of our Lord’s Nativity.

23 Q. Why has the fast of Ember Days been instituted?
A. The fast of Ember Days has been instituted: (1) To consecrate each of the Four Seasons of the year by some days’ penance; (2) To beg of God the preservation of the fruits of the earth; (3) To thank Him for those already given us; (4) And to beseech Him to give good priests to His Church, the usual days for ordaining priests being the Ember Saturdays.

24 Q. Why has fasting on Vigils been instituted?
A. Fasting on Vigils has been instituted to prepare us to celebrate the principal Feasts devoutly.

25 Q. What is forbidden on Fridays, and also on Saturdays where not dispensed?
A. On Fridays, and also on Saturdays where not dispensed, it is forbidden to eat meat, except in case of necessity.

26 Q. Why does the Church wish us to abstain from eating meat on these days?
A. In order that we may do penance each week, and especially on Friday, in honor of the Passion, and on Saturdays in memory of the burial of Jesus Christ, and in honor of the Blessed Virgin.

[From the Code of Canon Law of 1917, with the modifications approved in 1949, (complete) abstinence only is to be observed on all the Fridays throughout the year. Fast and (complete) abstinence is to be observed on Ash Wednesday, the Fridays of Lent, Ember Fridays, the Vigils of the Assumption and Christmas, and Holy Saturday. Fast only (and partial abstinence) is to be observed on: all weekdays of Lent, Ember Wednesdays and Saturdays, and the Vigils of Pentecost and All Saints. On the days of fast, only one full meal is allowed. Two other meatless snacks, sufficient to maintain strength may be taken according to each one’s needs, but together they should not equal another full meal. Meat may be taken at the principal meal on a day of fast except on the days of complete abstinence. Eating between meals is forbidden, but liquids including milk and fruit juices are allowed. On holydays of obligation, except in Lent, there is neither fast nor abstinence.
The laws of abstinence binds all who have completed their seventh year of age; the law of fasting binds all persons from the completion of their twenty first year until the beginning of their sixtieth. (The completion of the seventh year means the day after the seventh birthday). According to the 1983 Code of Canon Law, “All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and times throughout the universal Church. Abstinence from eating meat . . . is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and (Good) Friday. All adults who have completed their fourteenth year are bound by the law of abstinence; all adults (from age 18) are bound by the law of fast up to the beginning of their sixtieth year.”

The Episcopal Conference can modify these general rules.
In the United States, “Catholics are obliged to abstain from the eating of meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during the season of Lent. They are also obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday. Self-imposed observances of fasting on all weekdays of Lent is strongly recommended. Abstinence from flesh meat on all Fridays of the year is especially recommended to individuals and to the Catholic community as a whole.”
In Australia, “Abstinence from meat, and fasting, are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On all other Fridays of the year the law of the common practice of penance is fulfilled by performing any of the following: (a) prayer, as for example Mass attendance, family prayer, . . . (b) self-denial, e.g. not eating meat, not eating sweets or dessert, . . (c) helping others, e.g. special attention to someone who is poor, sick, elderly, . . .”

Since a clarity and precision in a law helps for its fulfillment, the faithful are strongly recommended to follow the traditional rules, though only the recent regulations oblige under pain of mortal sin.]

The Third Precept of the Church

27 Q. What does the Church command us in the words of the Third Precept: To go to Confession at least once a year?
A. By the words of the Third Precept: To go to Confession a least once a year, the Church obliges all Christians, who have come to the use of reason, to approach the sacrament of Penance at least once a year.

28 Q. What is the best time to satisfy the precept of annual Confession?
A. The best time to satisfy the precept of annual Confession is Lent, in accordance with the usage introduced and approved by the whole Church.

29 Q. Why does the Church say that we are to confess at least once a year?
A. The Church uses the words at least to let us see her desire that we should approach the sacraments more frequently.

30 Q. Is it useful, then, to go often to Confession?
A. It is most useful to go often to Confession, especially as it is difficult for one who goes only rarely to make a good Confession and to avoid mortal sin.

31 Q. What does the Church command us to do by the other words of the Third Precept: To receive Holy Communion at Easter, each one in his own parish?
A. By the words of the Third Precept: To receive Holy Communion at Easter, each one in his own parish, the Church obliges all Christians who have come to the age of discretion to receive the Blessed Eucharist every year at Paschal time in their own parish.

32 Q. Are we bound to go to Holy Communion at other times besides Easter?
A. We are also bound to go to Holy Communion when in danger of death.

33 Q. Why is it said that we are to receive Holy Communion at least at Easter?
A. Because the Church earnestly desires us to approach Holy Communion which is the divine food of our souls, not only at Easter, but as often as we possibly can.

34 Q. Is this Precept fulfilled by a sacrilegious Confession or a sacrilegious Communion?
A. This Precept of the Church is not fulfilled by sacrilegious Confession and Communion, because the intention of the Church is that we receive those Sacraments for the end on account of which they were instituted, that is, for our sanctification.

The Fourth Precept of the Church

35 Q. How are we to observe the Fourth Precept: To contribute to due support of the Church?
A. The Fourth Precept is satisfied by paying the dues or making the offerings which have been established in recognition of God’s supreme dominion over all things and as a means of providing for the becoming support of His ministers.

36 Q. How are these dues and offerings to be paid?
A. They are to be paid in the way and manner customary in the place in which we live.

The Fifth Precept of the Church

37 Q. What does the Church forbid in the Fifth Precept: Not to solemnize marriage at forbidden times?
A. In the Fifth Precept the Church does not forbid the celebration of the sacrament of marriage; but only the nuptial solemnities, from the first Sunday of Advent until the Epiphany, and from the first day of Lent until Low Sunday.

38 Q. What are the nuptial solemnities which are forbidden?
A. The nuptial solemnities forbidden by this Precept are the celebration of the nuptial Mass, the nuptial benediction, and marriage festivities on a large scale.

39 Q. Why are marriage festivities on a large scale out of place in Advent and Lent?
A. Pompous displays are out of place in Advent and Lent because these seasons are specially consecrated to penance and prayer.

The Commandments of God in General

1 Q. What is treated of in the third part of Christian Doctrine?
A. The Commandments of God and of the Church are treated of in the third part of Christian Doctrine.

2 Q. How many Commandments of God’s Law are there?
A. There are Ten Commandments of God’s Law:
I am the Lord thy God:
1. Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me;
2. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain;
3. Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day;
4. Honour thy Father and thy Mother,
5. Thou shalt not kill;
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery;
7. Thou shalt not steal;
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness;
9. Thou shalt not covet another’s wife;
10. Thou shalt not covet another’s goods.

3 Q. Why are the Commandments of God so named?
A. The Commandments of God are so named because God Himself has stamped them on the soul of every man; promulgated them, engraved on two tables of stone, on Mount Sinai, in the Old Law; and Jesus Christ has confirmed them in the New Law.

4 Q. Which are the Commandments of the first table?
A. The Commandments of the first table are the first three, which directly regard God and our duties towards Him.

5 Q. Which are the Commandments of the second table?
A. The Commandments of the second table are the last seven, which regard our neighbor, and our duties towards him.

6 Q. Are we bound to observe the Commandments?
A. Yes, we are bound to observe the Commandments, because we are all bound to live according to the will of God who created us, and because a serious transgression against even one of them is enough to merit hell.

7 Q. Are we able to observe the Commandments?
A. Yes, without doubt we are able to observe God’s Commandments, because God never commands anything that is impossible, and because He gives grace to observe them to those who ask it as they should.

8 Q. What, in a general way, should we consider in each of the Commandments?
A. In each of the Commandments we should consider its positive part and its negative part, that is, what it commands and what it forbids.

The First Commandment

1 Q. Why is it said at the commencement of the Commandments: I am the Lord thy God?
A. It is said at the commencement of the Commandments: I am the Lord thy God, to show us that God being our Creator and Lord, can command whatever He wills, and that we, being His creatures, are bound to obey Him.

2 Q. In the words of the First Commandment: Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me, what does God command us?
A. By the words of the First Commandment: Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me, He commands us to acknowledge, adore, love and serve Him alone as our Sovereign Lord.

3 Q. How do we fulfill the First Commandment?
A. We fulfill the First Commandment by the practice of internal and external worship.

4 Q. What is internal worship?
A. Internal worship is the honor which is given to God with the faculties of the soul alone, that is with the intellect and the will.

5 Q. What is external worship?
A. External worship is the homage that is given to God by means of outward acts and of sensible objects.

6 Q. Is it not enough internally to adore God with the heart alone?
A. No, it is not enough internally to adore God with the heart alone; we must also adore Him externally with both soul and body, because He is the Creator and absolute Lord of both.

7 Q. Can there be external worship without internal worship?
A. No, in no way can there be external worship without internal, because unless external worship is accompanied by internal, it is destitute of life, of merit, and of efficacy, like a body without a soul

8 Q. What is forbidden by the First Commandment?
A. The First Commandment forbids idolatry, superstition, sacrilege, heresy, and every other sin against religion.

9 Q. What is idolatry?
A. Idolatry is the giving to any creature, for example, to a statue, to an image, or to a man, the supreme worship of adoration that belongs to God alone.

10 Q. How is this prohibition expressed in Holy Scripture?
A. This prohibition is expressed in Holy Scripture in these words: Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or on the earth beneath; and thou shalt not adore them or serve them.

11 Q. Do these words forbid every kind of image?
A. Certainly not; but only those of false divinities, made to be adored, as idolaters adore them. So true is this, that God Himself commanded Moses to make images, as, for example, the two statues of the Cherubim for the Ark, and the Brazen Serpent in the desert.

12 Q. What is superstition?
A. Superstition is any devotion that is contrary to the teaching and practice of the Church; as also the ascribing to any action or any thing whatever a supernatural virtue which it does not possess.

13 Q. What is a sacrilege?
A. A sacrilege is the profanation of a place, of a person, or of a thing consecrated to God and set apart for his worship.

14 Q. What is heresy?
A. Heresy is a culpable error of the intellect by which some truth of faith is obstinately denied.

15 Q. What else does the First Commandment forbid?
A. The First Commandment also forbids all dealings with the devil, and all association with anti-Christian sects.

16 Q. If one were to have recourse to and invoke the devil, would he commit a grave sin?
A. If one were to have recourse to and invoke the devil, he would commit an enormous sin, because the devil is the most wicked enemy both of God and of man.

17 Q. Is it lawful to put questions to speaking or writing tables or in any way to consult the souls of the dead by means of spiritism?
A. All the practices of spiritism are unlawful, because they are superstitious; and often they are not free from diabolical intervention; and hence they are rightly condemned by the Church.

18 Q. Does the First Commandment forbid us to honor and invoke the Angels and Saints?
A. No, it is not forbidden to honor and invoke the Angels and Saints; on the contrary, we should do so, because it is a good and useful practice highly commended by the Church; for they are God’s friends and our intercessors with Him.

19 Q. Since Jesus Christ is our only mediator with God, why have recourse also to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints?
A. Jesus Christ is our Mediator with God, because being true God and true man He alone in virtue of His own merits has reconciled us to God and obtains us all graces. But in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, and through the charity which unites them to God and us, the Blessed Virgin and the Saints help us by their intercession to obtain the graces we ask. And this is one of the great benefits of the Communion of Saints.

20 Q. May we also honor the sacred images of Jesus Christ and of the Saints?
A. Yes, because the honor we give the sacred images of Jesus Christ and of the Saints is referred to their very persons.

21 Q. May the relics of the Saints be honored?
A. Yes, we should honor the relics of the Saints, because their bodies were living members of Jesus Christ and temples of the Holy Ghost, and will rise gloriously to eternal life.

22 Q. What is the difference between the honor we give to God and the honor we give to the Saints?
A. Between the honor we give to God and the honor we give to the Saints there is this difference, that we adore God because of his infinite excellence, whereas we do not adore the Saints, but honor and venerate them as God’s friends and our intercessors with Him. The honor we give to God is called Latria, that is, the worship of adoration; the honor we give to the Saints is called Dulia, that is, the veneration of the servants of God; while the special honor we give to the Blessed Virgin is called Hyperdulia, that is, a special veneration of the Mother of God.

The Second Commandment

1 Q. What does the Second Commandment: Thou shalt not take the Name of God in vain, forbid?
A. The Second Commandment: Thou shalt not take the Name of God in vain, forbids us: (1) To utter the Name of God irreverently; (2) To blaspheme God, the Blessed Virgin or the Saints; (3) To take false, unnecessary, or unlawful oaths.

2 Q. What is meant by: Not to utter the Name of God irreverently?
A. Not to utter the Name of God irreverently means not to mention this Holy Name, or any other name that in a special way refers to God Himself, such as the name of Jesus, of Mary and the Saints, in anger or in joke or in any irreverent way whatsoever.

3 Q. What is blasphemy?
A. Blasphemy is a horrible sin which consists in words or acts of contempt or malediction against God, the Blessed Virgin, the Saints, or sacred things.

4 Q. Is there any difference between blasphemy and imprecation?
A. There is a difference, because by blasphemy one wishes evil to or curses God, the Blessed Virgin or the Saints; while by imprecation one wishes evil to or curses one’s self or one’s neighbor.

5 Q. What is an oath?
A. An oath is the calling on God to witness the truth of what one says or promises.

6 Q. Is it always forbidden to take an oath?
A. It is not always forbidden to take an oath; an oath is lawful and even gives honor to God, when it is necessary, and when one swears with truth, judgment and justice.

7 Q. When is an oath without truth?
A. When one affirms on oath what he knows or believes to be false, or when one promises under oath to do what one has no intention of doing.

8 Q. When is an oath without judgment?
A. When one makes oaths imprudently and without mature consideration, or in trivial matters.

9 Q. When is an oath without justice?
A. When one makes an oath to do something unjust or unlawful, as, for example, to swear to take revenge, or to steal, and so on.

10 Q. Are we obliged to keep an oath to do unjust or unlawful things?
A. Not only are we not obliged, but we should sin by doing such things, because they are forbidden by the laws of God and of the Church.

11 Q. What sin does he commit who swears falsely?
A. He who swears falsely commits a mortal sin, because he grievously dishonors God, the Infinite Truth, by calling Him to witness what is false.

12 Q. What does the Second Commandment command us to do?
A. The Second Commandment commands us to honor the Holy Name of God as well as to keep our oaths and vows.

13 Q. What is a vow?
A. A vow is a promise made to God regarding something which is good, within our power, and better than its opposite, and to the keeping of which we bind ourselves just as if it had been commanded us.

14 Q. If the keeping of a vow were to become very difficult, in whole or in part, what is to be done?
A. Commutation or dispensation may be sought from one’s Bishop or from the Pope, according to the character of the vow.

15 Q. Is it a sin to break a vow?
A. It is a sin to break a vow and therefore we should not make vows without mature reflection, nor, as a rule, without the advice of our confessor or other prudent person, so as not to expose ourselves to the danger of sinning.

16 Q. May vows be made to our Lady and the Saints?
A. Vows are made to God alone; we may, however, promise God to do something in honor of our Lady or the Saints.

The Third Commandment

1 Q. What does the Third Commandment: Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day, command us to do?
A. The Third Commandment: Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day, commands us to honor God by acts of worship on festivals.

2 Q. What are festivals?
A. In the Old Law they were Saturdays and certain other days regarded as specially solemn by the Jews; in the New Law they are Sundays and other festivals instituted by
the Church.

3 Q. Why is Sunday sanctified instead of Saturday in the New Law?
A. Sunday, which means the Lord’s Day, was substituted for Saturday, because it was on that day that our Lord rose from the dead.

4 Q. What act of worship is commanded us on festivals?
A. We are commanded to assist devoutly at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

5 Q. With what other good works does a good Christian sanctify festivals?
A. A good Christian sanctifies festivals: (1) By attending Christian Doctrine, sermons, and the Divine Office; (2) By frequently and devoutly receiving the sacraments of Penance and the Blessed Eucharist; (3) By the practice of prayer and works of Christian charity.

6 Q. What does the Third Commandment forbid?
A. The Third Commandment forbids servile works and any other works that hinder the worship of God.

7 Q. What servile works are forbidden on festivals?
A. The servile works forbidden on festivals are those works called manual, that is, those material works in which the body has more part than the mind, such, for instance, as are ordinarily done by servants, labourers, and artisans.

8 Q. What sin does one commit by working on festivals?
A. One commits a mortal sin by working on festivals; brevity of time, however, will excuse from grave sin.

9 Q. Is no servile work at all permitted on festivals?
A. On festivals those works are permitted which are necessary for life, or for the service of God; as well as those done for a grave reason, with leave, when possible, from the Pastor.

10 Q. Why is servile work forbidden on festivals?
A. Servile work is forbidden on festivals in order that we may the better attend to divine worship, and to the care of our souls; And to enable us to rest from toil. Hence innocent recreation is not forbidden.

11 Q. What else above all should we avoid on festivals?
A. We should above all avoid sin and whatever leads to sin, such as dangerous diversions and dangerous places of amusement.

The Fourth Commandment

1 Q. What does the Fourth Commandment: Honor thy father and thy mother, command?
A. The Fourth Commandment: Honor thy father and thy mother, commands us to respect our parents, obey them in all that is not sinful, and assist them in their temporal and spiritual needs.

2 Q. What does the Fourth Commandment forbid?
A. The Fourth Commandment forbids us to offend our parents by word or by deed or in any other way.

3 Q. What other persons does this Commandment include under the names of father and mother?
A. Under the names of father and mother this Commandment also includes all our superiors, both ecclesiastical and lay, whom we must consequently obey and respect.

4 Q. Whence are derived the authority of parents to command their children and the duty of children to obey their parents?
A. The authority possessed by parents to command their children and the obligation children are under to obey their parents, are derived from God who constituted and established family life in order that in it man might have the first helps that are necessary towards his spiritual and temporal well-being.

5 Q. Have parents any duties towards their children?
A. Parents are bound to love, support and maintain their children; to attend to their religious and secular education; to give them good example; to keep them from the occasions of sin; to correct their faults; and to help them to embrace the state to which God has called them.

6 Q. Has God given us an example of a perfect family?
A. God gave us an example of a perfect family in the Holy Family in which Jesus Christ lived subject to the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph until His thirtieth year, that is, until He began the Mission of preaching the Gospel entrusted to Him by His Eternal Father.

7 Q. If families were to live alone, cut off one from the other, could they provide for all their material and moral needs?
A. If families lived alone, cut off one from the other, they could not provide for their individual needs, and hence it is necessary that they be united in civil society so as mutually to aid one another for the common good and happiness.

8 Q. What is Civil Society?
A. Civil Society is the union of many families under the authority of one head for the purpose of assisting each other in securing their mutual perfection and temporal happiness.

9 Q. Whence comes the authority which rules Civil Society?
A. The authority which rules Civil Society comes from God, who established it for the common good.

10 Q. Are we under any obligation to obey the authority that governs Civil Society?
A. Yes; all who form part of Civil Society are bound to respect and obey authority because that authority comes from God and because the common good so demands.

11 Q. Are all laws imposed by the Civil Authority to be respected?
A. Yes; in accordance with the command and example of our Lord Jesus Christ, all laws imposed by the Civil Authority are to be respected, provided they are not contrary to the law of God.

12 Q. Have those who form part of Civil Society any other duties besides respect and obedience to the laws imposed by authority?
A. Besides the obligation of respect and obedience to the laws, all those who form part of Civil Society are bound to live in peace, and to endeavor, each according to his means and ability, to render that society virtuous, peaceful, orderly and prosperous.

The Fifth Commandment

1 Q. What does the Fifth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill, forbid?
A. The Fifth Commandment, Thou shalt not kill, forbids us to kill, strike, wound or do any other bodily harm to our neighbor, either of ourselves or by the agency of others; as also to wish him evil, or to offend him by injurious language. In this Commandment God also forbids the taking of one’s own life, or suicide.

2 Q. Why is it a grave sin to kill one’s neighbor?
A. Because the slayer unjustly invades the right which God alone has over the life of man; because he destroys the security of civil society; and because he deprives his neighbor of life, which is the greatest natural good on earth.

3 Q. Are there cases in which it is lawful to kill?
A. It is lawful to kill when fighting in a just war; when carrying out by order of the Supreme Authority a sentence of death in punishment of a crime; and, finally, in cases of necessary and lawful defense of one’s own life against an unjust aggressor.

4 Q. Does God also forbid us in the Fifth Commandment to do harm to the spiritual life of another?
A. Yes, in the Fifth Commandment God also forbids us to do harm to another’s spiritual life by scandal.

5 Q. What is scandal?
A. Scandal is any word, act, or omission which is the occasion of another’s committing sin.

6 Q. Is scandal a grave sin?
A. Scandal is a grave sin because, by causing the loss of souls, it tends to destroy the greatest work of God, namely, the redemption; it effects the death of another’s soul by depriving it of the life of grace, which is more precious than the life of the body; and is the source of a multitude of sins. Hence God threatens the severest chastisement to those who give scandal.

7 Q. Why does God, in the Fifth Commandment, forbid the taking of one’s own life or suicide?
A. In the Fifth Commandment God forbids suicide, because man is not the master of his own life no more than of the life of another. Hence the Church punishes suicide by deprivation of Christian burial.

8 Q. Is dueling also forbidden by the Fifth Commandment?
A. Yes, dueling is also forbidden by the Fifth Commandment, because dueling has in it the guilt both of suicide and of homicide; and whoever voluntarily takes part in it, even as a simple onlooker is excommunicated.

9 Q. Is dueling also forbidden when there is no danger of being killed?
A. This sort of dueling is also forbidden, because not only are we forbidden to kill, but even voluntarily to wound ourselves or others.

10 Q. Is the defense of one’s honor an excuse for dueling?
A. No, because it is not true that the offence is repaired by dueling; and because honor cannot be repaired by an unjust, irrational and barbarous act such as dueling.

11 Q. What does the Fifth Commandment command?
A. The Fifth Commandment commands us to forgive our enemies and to wish well to all.

12 Q. What should he do who has injured another in the life of either body or soul?
A. He who has injured another must not only confess his sin, but must also repair the harm by compensating his neighbor for the loss he has sustained, by retracting the errors taught, and by giving good example.

The Sixth and Ninth Commandment

1 Q. What does the Sixth Commandment, Thou shalt not commit adultery, forbid?
A. The Sixth Commandment, Thou shalt not commit adultery, forbids every act, every look and every word contrary to chastity; it also forbids infidelity in marriage.

2 Q. What does the Ninth Commandment forbid?
A. The Ninth Commandment expressly forbids every desire contrary to that fidelity which husband and wife vowed to observe when contracting marriage; and it also forbids every guilty thought or desire of anything that is prohibited by the Sixth Commandment.

3 Q. Is impurity a great sin?
A. It is a most grave and abominable sin in the sight of God and man; it lowers man to the condition of the brute; it drags him into many other sins and vices; and it provokes the most terrible chastisements both in this world and in the next.

4 Q. Is every thought that comes into the mind against purity a sin?
A. The thoughts that come into the mind against purity are not of themselves sins, but rather temptations and incentives to sin.

5 Q. When is a bad thought a sin?
A. Bad thoughts, even though resulting in no bad deed, are sins when we culpably entertain them, or consent to them, or expose ourselves to the proximate danger of consenting to them.

6 Q. What do the Sixth and Ninth Commandments command?
A. The Sixth Commandment commands us to be chaste and modest in act, in look, in behavior, and in speech. The Ninth Commandment commands us in addition to this to be chaste and pure interiorly, that is, in mind and in heart.

7 Q. What must we do to observe the Sixth and Ninth Commandments?
A. To be able to observe the Sixth and Ninth Commandments, we ought to pray often and from our hearts to God; be devout to the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of purity; remember that God watches us; think on death, on the Divine chastisements, and on the Passion of Jesus Christ; guard the senses; practice Christian mortification; and frequent the Sacraments with the proper dispositions.

8 Q. What must we avoid in order to preserve ourselves chaste?
A. To preserve ourselves chaste we must shun idleness, bad companions, the reading of bad books and papers, intemperance, the sight of indecent statues or pictures, licentious theatres, dangerous conversations, and all other occasions of sin.

The Seventh Commandment

1 Q. What does the Seventh Commandment, Thou shalt not steal, forbid?
A. The Seventh Commandment, Thou shalt not steal, forbids all unjust taking and all unjust keeping of what belongs to another, and also every other way of wronging our neighbor in his property.

2 Q. What is meant by stealing?
A. It means taking another’s goods unjustly and against the owner’s will, that is to say when he has every reason and right to be unwilling to be deprived of them.

3 Q. Why is it forbidden to steal?
A. Because a sin is committed against justice and an injury is done to another by taking or keeping against his right and will that which belongs to him.

4 Q. What is meant by another’s goods?
A. Everything that belongs to him everything of which he has the ownership, or the use, or the custody.

5 Q. In how many ways can another’s goods be unjustly taken?
A. In two ways: by theft and by robbery.

6 Q. How is theft committed?
A. Theft is committed by taking another’s goods secretly.

7 Q. How is robbery committed?
A. Robbery is committed by taking another’s goods openly and with violence.

8 Q. In what cases may another’s goods be taken without sin?
A. When the owner consents or even when he unjustly refuses. Thus, one in extreme necessity may take another’s goods without sin, provided that he takes only so much as is absolutely necessary to relieve pressing and extreme need.

9 Q. Is it only by theft and robbery that another can be injured in his property?
A. He can also be injured by fraud, usury, and any other act of injustice directed against his goods.

10 Q. How is fraud committed?
A. Fraud is committed in trade by deceiving another by false weight, measure and money or by bad goods; by falsifying writings and documents; in short, by deceit in buying and selling or in contracts in general, as well as by refusing to pay what is just and agreed upon.

11 Q. How is usury committed?
A. Usury is committed by exacting, without just title, an unlawful interest for money lent, thus taking an unfair advantage of another’s need or ignorance.

12 Q. What other sorts of injustice may be committed with regard to another’s goods?
A. By unjustly causing him to lose what he has; by injuring him in his possessions; by not working as in duty bound; by maliciously refusing to pay debts or wages due; by wounding or killing his stock; by damaging property held in custody; by preventing another from making just gains; by aiding thieves; and by receiving, concealing or buying stolen goods.

13 Q. Is it a grave sin to steal?
A. It is a grave sin against justice when the matter is grave; for it is most important for the good of individuals, of families, and of society that each one’s right to his property should be respected.

14 Q. When is stolen matter grave?
A. When that which is taken is considerable, as also when serious loss is inflicted on another by taking that which in itself is of little value.

15 Q. What does the Seventh Commandment command?
A. The Seventh Commandment commands us to respect the property of others, to give the laborer fair wages, and to observe justice in all that concerns what belongs to others.

16 Q. Is it enough for one who has sinned against the Seventh Commandment to confess his sin?
A. It is not enough for one who has sinned against the Seventh Commandment to confess his sin; he must also do his best to restore what belongs to others, and to repair the loss he has caused.

17 Q. What is meant by repairing the losses caused?
A. Repairing the losses caused means the compensation which must be made to another for the goods or profits lost owing to the theft or other acts of injustice committed to his detriment.

18 Q. To whom must stolen property be restored?
A. To him from whom it has been stolen; to his heirs, if he is dead; or if this is really impossible the value of it should be devoted to the poor or to some charity.

19 Q. What should one do who finds something of great value?
A. He should diligently seek the owner and faithfully restore it to him.

The Eighth Commandment

1 Q. What does the Eighth Commandment, Thou shalt not bear false witness, forbid?
A. The Eighth Commandment, Thou shalt not bear false witness, forbids false testimony in a court of justice, and it also forbids backbiting, detraction, calumny, adulation, rash judgment and rash suspicion and every sort of lying.

2 Q. What is detraction or backbiting?
A. Detraction or backbiting is a sin which consists in making known another’s sins and defects without sufficient reason.

3 Q. What is calumny?
A. Calumny is a sin which consists in maliciously attributing to another faults and defects which he did not possess.

4 Q. What is adulation?
A. Adulation is a sin which consists in deceiving another by falsely praising him or others for the purpose of profiting thereby.

5 Q. What is rash judgment or rash suspicion?
A. Rash judgment or rash suspicion is a sin which consists in judging or suspecting evil of others without sufficient foundation.

6 Q. What is a lie?
A. A lie is a sin which consists in asserting as true or false by word or act that which one does not believe to be really the case.

7 Q. How many kinds of lies are there?
A. There are three kinds: The jocose lie, the officious lie, and the malicious lie.

8 Q. What is a jocose lie?
A. A jocose lie is that which is told in jest and without injury to anyone.

9 Q. What is an officious lie?
A. An officious lie is a false statement to benefit oneself or another without injuring anyone else.

10 Q. What is a malicious lie?
A. A malicious lie is a false statement made to the injury of another.

11 Q. Is it ever lawful to tell a lie?
A. It is never lawful to tell a lie, neither in joke, nor for one’s own benefit, nor for the benefit of another, because a lie is always bad in itself.

12 Q. What kind of sin is a lie?
A. A lie when jocose or officious is a venial sin; but when malicious it is a mortal sin if the harm done is grave.

13 Q. Is it always necessary to say all one’s mind?
A. It is not always necessary, especially when he who questions you has no right to know what he demands.

14 Q. Is it enough for him who has sinned against the Eighth Commandment to confess the sin?
A. It is not enough for him who has sinned against the Eighth Commandment to confess the sin; he is also obliged to retract whatever he said when calumniating another, and to repair as far as he can the harm he has done.

15 Q. What does the Eighth Commandment command us to do?
A. The Eighth Commandment commands us to speak the truth at the proper time and place, and, as far as we can, to put a good interpretation upon the actions of our neighbour.

The Tenth Commandment

1 Q. What does the Tenth Commandment, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods, forbid?
A. The Tenth Commandment, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods, forbids the wish to deprive another of his goods and the wish to acquire goods by unjust means.

2 Q. Why does God forbid even the desire of another’s goods?
A. God forbids the unregulated desire of another’s goods, because He wishes us to be just even in thought and will, and to hold ourselves completely aloof from unjust acts.

3 Q. What does the Tenth Commandment command?
A. The Tenth Commandment commands us to be satisfied with the state in which God has placed us, and to bear poverty patiently should God have placed us in that condition.

4 Q. How can a Christian be content in a state of poverty?
A. A Christian can be content in a state of poverty by reflecting that our greatest good is a pure and peaceful conscience; that our true home is heaven; and that Jesus Christ made Himself poor for love of us and has promised a special reward to those who bear poverty patiently.

1 Q. What is the sacrament of Holy Orders?
A. Holy Orders is a sacrament which gives power to exercise the sacred duties connected with the worship of God and the salvation of souls, and which imprints the character of Minister of God on the soul of him who receives it.

2 Q. Why is it called Orders?
A. It is called Orders because it comprises various grades, the one subordinate to the other, from which the sacred Hierarchy is composed.

3 Q. Which are these grades?
A. The highest is the Episcopate, which contains the fullness of the Priesthood; then comes the Priesthood; then the Diaconate, the Sub-diaconate, and the Orders called Minor.

4 Q. When did Jesus Christ institute the Sacerdotal Order?
A. Jesus Christ instituted the Sacerdotal Order at the Last Supper when he conferred on the Apostles and their successors the power of consecrating the Blessed Eucharist. Then on the day of His resurrection He conferred on them the power of remitting and retaining sin, thus constituting them the first Priests of the New Law in all the fullness of their power.

5 Q. Who is the Minister of this sacrament?
A. The bishop is the Minister of this sacrament.

6 Q. Is the dignity of the Christian Priesthood a great dignity?
A. The dignity of the Christian Priesthood is great indeed, because of the two-fold power which Jesus Christ has conferred upon it — that over His real body and that over His mystical body, or the Church; and because of the divine mission committed to priests to lead men to eternal life.

7 Q. Is the Catholic Priesthood necessary in the Church?
A. The Catholic Priesthood is necessary in the Church, because without it the faithful would be deprived of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and of the greater part of the sacraments; they would have no one to instruct them in the faith; and they would be as sheep without a shepherd, a prey to wolves; in short, the Church, such as Christ instituted it, would no longer exist.

8 Q. Will the Catholic Priesthood therefore never cease on this earth?
A. In spite of the war that hell wages against it, the Catholic Priesthood will last until the end of time, because Jesus Christ has promised that the powers of hell shall never prevail against His Church.

9 Q. Is it a sin to despise Priests?
A. It is a very grave sin, because the scorn and insults cast on Priests fall upon Jesus Christ Himself, who said to His Apostles: He who despises you, despises Me.

10 Q. What motive should he have who embraces the ecclesiastical state?
A. The motive of one who embraces the ecclesiastical state should be the glory of God and the salvation of souls alone.

11 Q. What is necessary to enter the ecclesiastical state?
A. To enter the ecclesiastical state a divine vocation is necessary before all else.

12 Q. What should be done to find out whether God calls us to the ecclesiastical state?
A. To find out if God calls us to the ecclesiastical state we should: (1) Fervently pray the Lord to make known His will to us; (2) Consult our Bishop or a learned and prudent director; (3) Diligently examine whether we have the capacity necessary for the studies, the duties, and the obligations of this state.

13 Q. If one were to enter the ecclesiastical state without a divine vocation would he do wrong?
A. If one were to enter the ecclesiastical state without a divine vocation he would commit a great wrong and run the risk of being lost.

14 Q. Do those parents sin who, from worldly motives, impel their sons to embrace the ecclesiastical state without any vocation?
A. Those parents who, for worldly motives, impel their sons to embrace the ecclesiastical state without any vocation commit a very grave sin, because by thus acting they usurp the right God has reserved to Himself alone of choosing His own ministers; and they expose their children to the danger of eternal damnation.

15 Q. Which are the duties of the faithful towards those who are called to Holy Orders?
A. The faithful should: (1) Give their children and dependents full liberty to follow the call of God; (2) Pray God to deign to grant good pastors and zealous ministers to His Church — it is precisely for this end that the fasts of Quarter Tense have been instituted; (3) Have special respect for all who are consecrated by Holy Orders to God’s service.

1 Q. What is Extreme Unction?
A. Extreme Unction is a sacrament instituted for the spiritual as well as for the temporal comfort of the sick in danger of death.

2 Q. What are the effects of Extreme Unction?
A. The sacrament of Extreme Unction produces the following effects: (1) It increases sanctifying grace; (2) It remits venial sins, and also mortal sins which the sick person, if contrite, is unable to confess; (3) It takes away weakness and sloth which remain even After pardon has been obtained; (4) It gives strength to bear illness patiently, to withstand temptation and to die holily; (5) It aids in restoring us to health of body if it is for the good of the soul.

3 Q. When should Extreme Unction be received?
A. Extreme Unction should be received when the illness is dangerous, and after the sick person has received, if possible, the sacraments of Penance and the Blessed Eucharist; it is even well to receive it while he has the use of his senses, and has still some hope of recovery.

4 Q. Why is it well to receive Extreme Unction when the sick person has still the use of his senses, and has still some hope of recovery?
A. It is well to receive Extreme Unction while the sick person retains the use of his senses, and while there remains some hope of his recovery because: (1) He thus receives it with better dispositions, and is hence able to derive greater fruit from it; (2) This sacrament restores health of body (should it be for the good of the soul) by assisting the powers of nature; and hence it should not be deferred until recovery is despaired of.

5 Q. With what dispositions should the sacrament of Extreme Unction be received?
A. The principal dispositions for receiving Extreme Unction are: To be in the state of grace; to have confidence in the power of this sacrament and in the mercy of God and to be resigned to the will of the Lord.

6 Q. What should be the sick person’s feelings on seeing the priest?
A. On seeing the priest, the sick person should feel thankful to God for having sent him; and should gladly receive the comforts of religion, which, if he is able, he should request himself.