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Chaplain’s Catechism

Joeepb fRcSorleis

Of the Paulist Fathers

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THE

CHAPLAIN’S CATECHISM

A BOOK FOR BEGINNERS

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Compiled by

Joseph ftlcSorleis

OF THE

Paulist Fathers

THE PAULIST PRESS

120-122 West 60th Street

New York

1917



IKUbtl ©bstat:

ARTHUR J. SCANLAN, S.T.D.

Censor Librorum,

IFmprimatur:

4<J0HN cardinal FARLEY,

Archbishop of New York.

Copyright, 1917, by **The Missionary Society of

St. Paul the Apostle in the State

of New York''

DeaM^d



THE

CHAPLAIN^S CATECHISM

I.

GOD.

Who made us? God.

Who is God? God is the Creator of

heaven and earth.

What is God to us? God is our

Father in heaven.

Is God all powerful? Yes; He can

do anything.

Is God all good? Yes, He is per-

fectly good and He loves everyone.

Does God know everything? Yes;

He sees our most secret actions and

knows even our thoughts.

Can we understand all that God

does? No, God does many mysterious

things which we cannot explain.



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II.

^JUDGMENT.

What did God make us for? To be

good.

What will happen to us immediately

after death? We shall be judged.

Where will the good go? To

heaven.

For how long? Forever.

Where will the bad go? To hell.

For how long? Forever.

If we are not good enough for

heaven and not bad enough for hell,

zvhere shall we go? To purgatory.

For how long? Until we are good

enough to go to heaven.



III.

THE BLESSED TRINITY.

Is there more than one God? No.

How many persons are there in

God? Three :'God, the Father; God,

the Son
;
and God, the Holy Ghost.

Is each Person really and truly

God? Yes.

Are there three Gods? No, there

are Three Persons in God, but there

is only One God.

IV.

JESUS CHRIST.

. Did One of the Three Persons be-

come man? Yes, the Second Person,

God, the Son, became man.

What name did He take when He

became man? Jesus Christ.

Who zvas His Mother? The Blessed

Virgin Mary.



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Did He love His Mother? Of

course Jesus Christ loved His mother.

Does He wish us to love her? Of

course He wishes us to love her.

Why did God, the Son, come into

this world? To save us from sin and

hell.

On what day was Jesus Christ horn?

On Christmas Day.

On what day did He die? On Good

Friday.

On what day did He rise from the

dead? On Easter Sunday.

V.

THE CHURCH.

What is the Catholic Church? It is a

world-wide Society composed of all

the children of God.

Who founded the Catholic Church?

Jesus Christ.



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What person did He put at the

head of His Church? Saint Peter.

Who is head of the Church today?

The successor, of Saint Peter.

What do we call the successor of

Saint Peter? The Pope.

Hozv do we know which is the true

Church? The true Church has the

Pope at its head.

VI.

THE SACRAMENTS.

What are the Sacraments? Gifts of

God to help us to heaven.

How many Sacraments are there?

Seven: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy

Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction,

Holy Orders and Matrimony.

Where do we get the Sacraments?

Jesus Christ gave them to the Church
;

and the Church gives them to us.



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VII.

BAPTISM.

Are we horn in a' state of sin?

Yes.

What do we call the sin in which

zve are born? Original Sin.

Why? Because it comes to us from

our first parents.

How do zve get rid of Original Sin?

By Baptism.

What does Baptism do for us? It

makes us Christians and children of

God.

Who can be baptized? Anyone who

is sorry for his sins, and wants to be-

come a Catholic.

How would you baptize a man, if
no priest could he obtained? I would

pour water on his forehead and at

the same time say the proper words.



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What are the words used in Bap-

tismf They are these : 'T baptize thee

in the name of the Father and of the

Son and of the Holy Ghost/’

Was the Blessed Virgin Mary born

in Original Sin? No; she was an ex-

ception.

VIII.

CONFIRMATION.

What do we receive in Confirma-

tion? We receive God, the Holy

Ghost, the third Person of the Blessed

Trinity.

What does He do for us? He

makes us strong Christians and sol-

diers of Jesus Christ.

IX.

PENANCE (OR CONFESSION).

What is the other name of the Sac-

rament of Penance? Confession.



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What does Confession do for usf

It forgives us the sins we may have

committed after Baptism.

Tell me what is the worst evil in

the world? To die in sin.

Can a bad man become good? Yes,

by making a good confession.

What must we do to make a good

Confession? Three things: i. Be

sorry for our sins. 2. Tell all our

sins to the priest. 3. Promise God

not to sin any more.

Does the priest give us any punish-

ment for our sins? Yes; he tells us

to say some prayers.

What are those prayers called?

They are called our penance, or our

punishment.

Would confession forgive our sins

if zve were not sorry for them? No,



II

When should we go to Confession?

Whenever we feel that we have fallen

into sin.

X.

HOLY EUCHARIST (OR COMMUNION).

What is Holy Eucharist? The Sac-

rament which is the food of our souls.

What do we call it? Holy Com-

munion.

What de we receive in Holy Com-

munion? The Body and Blood of Our

Lord, Jesus Christ.

Under what form, or appearance, do

we receive the Body of Christ? Un-

der the form, or appearance, of bread.

Is it really bread? No
;

it looks like

bread, but it is really the Body of Jesus

Christ.

When does the bread become the

Body of Jesus Christ? At Holy Mass.



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What is Holy Mass? Holy Mass is

the renewal of the death of Jesus

Christ upon the cross.

What is the most importatit prep-

aration for Holy Communion? To

make a good confession.

What else is necessary on the morn-

ing of Holy Communion? To eat

nothing from midnight until after our

Communion.

How often are we bound to receive

Holy Communion? At least once a

year.

. At what season of the year? About

Easter time.

Is it good to receive Holy Commun-

ion often? Yes; we should receive

Holy Communion as often as we can.

XL

EXTREME UNCTION.

What is Extreme Unction? The



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Sacrament which gives strength to

both soul and body in time of serious

illness.

XII.

HOLY ORDERS.

What is Holy Orders? The Sacra-

ment which makes a man a priest.

XIII.

MATRIMONY.

What is Matrimony? The Sacra-

ment which unites a man and woman

in lawful marriage.

Can Catholics he married except by

a priest? No; Catholics cannot be

truly married except by a priest.

XIV.

CONCLUSION.

What is an indulgence? It is a less-



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ening of the punishment we deserve

to receive for our sins.

How do we gain an indulgence?

We must be in the state of grace;
and we must do some good work.

What is the state of grace? Free-

dom from mortal sin.

What is mortal sin? Serious sin.

Tell^me two important duties that

occur each zveek? To go to Mass on

Sunday, and not to eat meat on Friday.

What prayer is always used in Con-

fession? The Act of Contrition.

Say the Act of Contrition, O my

God, I am heartily sorry for having

offended Thee, and I hate my sins be-

cause they displease Thee, and I re-

solve with Thy help never to offend

Thee again. Amen.

What do you say when you make the

Sign of the Cross? In the name of



IS

the Father, and of the Son, and of the

Holy Ghost. Amen.

DAILY 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 tres-

passes as we-forgive those who tress-

pass 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 art thou among

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.

Glory be to the Father, and to the

Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it



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was in the beginning, is now, and

.
ever shall be, world without end.

Amen.

I Believe in God, the Father Al-

mighty, 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, suf-

fered under Pontius Pilate, was cruci-

fied; died, and was buried. He de-

scended into hell; the third day He

arose again from the dead; He as-

cended 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.