Friday, March 16, 2007

An Abridgement of Christian Doctrine.

I came across this in the front of my Missal. I thought it a handy summary for those who are, like me, new to the Faith.

The Ten Commandments of God[1]
I AM the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange Gods before Me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon their children unto the third and fourth generation of those that hate Me; and showing mercy unto thousands of those that love Me and keep My commandments.
2. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the Name of the Lord his God in vain.
3. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works; but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; thou shalt do no work on it, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and the sea, and all the things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day, therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.
4. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long-lived upon the land which the Lord Thy God will give thee.
5. Thou shalt not kill.
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
7. Thou shalt not steal.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, nor his servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his.

The Six Precepts of the Church

1. To hear Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation.
2. To fast and abstain on the days commanded.
3. To confess our sins at least once a year.
4. To receive the Blessed Eucharist at Easter or within the time appointed.
5. To contribute to the support of our Pastors.
6. Not to solemnize marriage at the forbidden times; nor to marry persons within the forbidden degrees of kindred, nor otherwise prohibited by the Church, nor secretly.

The Seven Sacraments

Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, Holy Matrimony.

The Three Theological Virtues

Faith, Hope and Charity.

The Four Cardinal Virtues

Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance.

The Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost

Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and the Fear of the Lord.

The Twelve Fruits of the Holy Ghost

Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Longanimity, Goodness, Benignity, Mildness, Fidelity, Modesty, Continence and Chastity.

The Spiritual Works of Mercy

To give counsel to the doubtful.
To instruct the ignorant.
To admonish sinners.
To comfort the afflicted.
To forgive offenses.
To bear patiently the troublesome.
To pray for the living and the dead.

The Corporal Works of Mercy

To feed the hungry.
To give drink to the thirsty.
To clothe the naked.
To shelter the needy.
To visit the sick.
To visit the imprisoned.
To bury the dead.

The Eight Beatitudes

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2. Blessed are the meek; for they shall possess the land.
3. Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.
4. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice; for they shall be filled.
5. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.
6. Blessed are the clean of heart; for they shall see God.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.
8. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The Seven Deadly Sins

Pride. Covetousness. Lust. Anger. Gluttony. Envy. Sloth.

Contrary Virtues

Humility. Liberality. Chastity. Meekness. Temperance. Brotherly Love. Diligence.

Sins Against the Holy Ghost

Presumption upon God's mercy. Despair. Impugning the known truth. Envy of another's spiritual good. Obstinacy in sin. Final impenitence.

Sins Crying to Heaven for Vengeance

Wilful murder. The sin of Sodom. Oppression of the poor. Defrauding labourers of their wages.

Nine Ways of Being Accessory to Another's Sin

By counsel. By command. By consent. By provocation. By praise or flattery. By concealment. By partaking. By silence. By defense of the ill done.

Three Eminently Good Works.

Alms-deeds, or works of mercy. Prayer and Fasting.

Three Evangelical Counsels

Voluntary Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.

Subjects for Daily Meditation

Remember, Christian soul, that thou hast this day, and every day of thy life:

God to glorify, Heaven to gain,
Jesus to imitate, Eternity to prepare for,
The Angels and Saints to invoke, Time to profit by.
Neighbors to edify,
A soul to save, The world to despise,
A body to mortify, Devils to combat,
Sins to expiate, Passions to subdue,
Virtues to acquire, Death perhaps to suffer,
Hell to avoid, Judgment to undergo.

Among the truths which faith teaches us, there are several which all ought to know and believe, viz., the existence of one God; the Mystery of the Holy Trinity; the Mystery of the Redemption of mankind by the Incarnation and death of Jesus Christ, and the future state of reward and punishment.
These are things which every Catholic is bound to know, by the express command of either God or the Church. These things are:

1. The three most ordinary Christian prayers, viz., the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Apostle's Creed; and also, at least in substance. 2. The Commandments of God; 3. The Precepts of the Church; 4. The Doctrine of the Sacraments, and especially these three, which are necessary to every one, viz., Baptism, Penance, and the Holy Eucharist; 5. The duties and obligations of one's state of life. It is a mortal sin for a Christian to be ignorant of these things, if it be through his own wilfulness or neglect.

[1]Remarks are abstracted from The Daily Missal and Liturgical Manual, from Editio Typica of the Roman Missal and Breviary, 1962 Pps. 31-34.
(Baronius Press Limited, London, 2004, in conjunction with the Fraternal Society of St. Peter, www.baroniuspress.com)

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