Children and convert instruction card : first confession / Joannes Gregorius Murray. Imprimatur Die Feb. 7a, 1946 Joannes Gregorius Murray, Archiepiscopus Sancti Pauli (Compact Simplified Catholic Doctrine) Children and Convert Instruction Card FIRST CONFESSION Prayers OUR FATHER, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace! the Lord is with thee; Blessed are thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. O my God! I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, because Thou art all good and I firmly purpose by the help of Thy grace not to offend Thee again. (S. Penitentiary 300 days. Jan. 13, 1921.) Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. A SIN is any wilful thought, word, act, or omission against the commandments of God or the Church. The TEN COMMANDMENTS made by God are: 1. I am the Lord thy God, 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. Honor thy father and thy mother. 5. Thou shalt not kill. 6. Thou shalt not com- mit adultery. 7. Thou shalt not steal. 8. Thou shalt not tell lies about thy neighbor. 9. Thou shalt not desire thy neighbor’s wife. 10. Thou shalt not desire thy neighbor’s goods. (Read Booklet No. 14.) • * « • For copies, address: Rumble dc Carty Radio Replies, St. Ic each card Paul, Minn. I^ddined Tidipit Commandments made by the Church aret l.'CA to Mass on Sundays and holy days. 2. Fast and abstain on the days prescribed. 3. Go to confession Wit least once a year. 4. Receive Holy Communion dur- ing the Easter time. 5. Support the church. 6. Be mar- ried by the priest in the Catholic Church and do not ma^y contrary to the laws of the Church. (Read B9»klet No. 9.) ' There are two kinds of sin, ORIGINAL and ACTUAL. Actual sins are committed by ourselves. They may be serious enough to kill the life of grace and then they are called mortal—or they may be less serious and then they are called venial. Original sin is the sin which we inherit from our first parents. A SACRAMENT is an (1) outward sign (2) instituted by Christ (3) to give grace. There are SEVEN SACRAMENTS: Baptism, Con- firmation, Holy Communion, Confession, Marriage, Last Anointing for the sick, and Holy Orders for the priest. BAPTISM is a sacrament which cleanses us from Original Sin, makes us Christians, children of God, and heirs of heaven. Baptism is necessary to salvation, because without it we cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. The two sacraments that clean away sin, or death, from the soul are Baptism and Confession, and they are called sacraments of the DEAD. CONFESSION is the telling of our sins to the priest for the purpose of obtaining forgiveness. To make a GOOD CONFESSION we must do five things: 1. Think of our sins. 2. Be sorry for our sins. 3. Promise not to sin again. 4. Tell all our sins to the priest. 5. Do the penance which the priest gives us. The most important thing in confession is sorrow or contrition for our sins. I should be sorry for my sins for two reasons: 1. Because sin offends God who died on the cross to save me. 2. Because I am in danger of losing heaven and suffering the pains of hell. (Read Booklet No. 4.) In telling our sins we should tell not only the (1) kinds of sin we have committed, but also the (2) num- ber of times since our last confession. To tell a lie or to hide a sin in confession is a SAC- RILEGE against God and makes our whole confession bad. It should be told the next time we go to con- fession, and if possible, the same day. After making our confession we should immediately say the penance. FIRST COMMUNION Prayers ACT OF FAITH. O my God! I firmly believe that Thou art one God in three Divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; I believe that Thy Divine Son became man, and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, who canst neither deceive nor be deceived. ACT OF HOPE. O my God! relying on Thy infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon for my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. ACT OF LOVE. O my God! I love Thee above all things, with all my heart and soul, because Thou art all good and worthy of all my love. I love my neigh- bor as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and ask pardon of all whom I have injured. Before Holy Communion. “O Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof. But say only the word and my soul shall be cleansed of all its iniquities.** _ . The principal means of obtaining God*s grace are PRATER and the SACRAMENTS. (Read Booklet No. 10.) PRAYER is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God, to adore Him and thank Him for His blessings, to ask His forgiveness, and to beg of Him all the graces we need whether for soul or body. Prayer is necessary for salvation and without it no one having the use of reason can be saved. We should pray especially on Sundays and holy days, every morning and night, in all dangers, temptations and afflictions. We should pray with attention and humility, with a great desire for what we ask, with trust in God*s good- ness, and especially with perseverance. Prayers said with wilful distractions are of no value. The daily prayers most recommended to us are the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Apostles Creed, and the acts of Faith, Hope, Love and Contrition. The sacraments always give grace if we receive them worthily. The sacraments may be received more than once except Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders. These three sacraments print a mark or character on the soul which remains even after death. Confirmation, Holy Communion, Marriage, Last Anointing and Holy Orders are called sacraments of the Living. To receive them worthily we must be living in a state of grace, or freedom from mortal sin. The greatest of all the sacraments is the HOLY EUCHARIST, which contains the (1) body and (2) blood, (3) soul and (4) divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine. By the appearances of bread and wine I mean the figure, the color, the taste, and whatever appears to the senses. HOLY COMMUNION is the receiving of the body and blood of Christ. (Read Booklet No. 8.) CHRIST instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper the night before He died. He took bread and blessed it. Then He broke it and gave it to His apostles saying: **Take ye and eat. This is my body.” Then taking a cup of wine He blessed it and gave it to the apostles saying: “Drink ye all of this. This is my blood which shall be shed for the remission of sins. Do this for a commemoration of me.” This CHANGE of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ continues to be made in the Church by the words of the priest at Mass. Christ gave His priests the POWER to change the bread and wine into His body and blood in order to remind us of His death on the cross, to make a daily sacrifice for us till the end of the world, and to be united with us often in Holy Communion. The SACRIFICE of the MASS is the same as that of the cross, except that in the Mass there is no real shedding of blood nor real death, because Christ can die no more. We should assist at Mass with all possible respect and devotion. To make a GOOD COMMUNION we must do three things: 1. Go to confession and be sorry for our sins. 2. Do nothing bad before receiving Communion. S. Do not eat or drink anything from midnight till Holy Communion. The best preparation for Holy Communion is to live a good life and to avoid the occasions of sin. The OCCASIONS OF SIN are all persons, places and things that may easily lead us into sin. The EFFECTS of a good Communion are three: 1. It increases grace and virtue in the soul. 2. It strength- ens us to lead a holy life. 3. It reminds us of the union between God and the saints which we shall also enjoy in heaven. After Communion we should spend some time in adoring our Lord, in thanking Him for the grace we have received, and in asking Him for the blessings we need. We are bound to receive Holy Communion during the Easter time and when in danger of death, but we should try as often as possible to receive this holy sacrament.