Catholic Formation Library

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Answer · Questions / God

Who is God?

God is the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things.

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Answer · Questions / Human person

What is man?

Man is a creature composed of a body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God.

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Answer · Questions / Human person

How is the soul like to God?

The soul is like God because it is a spirit that will never die, and has understanding and free will.

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Answer · Questions / Christian life

Why did God make you?

God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in the next.

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Answer · Questions / God

What is God?

God is a spirit infinitely perfect.

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Answer · Questions / God

Had God a beginning?

God had no beginning; He always was and always will be.

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Answer · Questions / God

If God is everywhere, why do we not see Him?

We do not see God, because He is a pure spirit and cannot be seen with bodily eyes.

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Answer · Questions / Trinity

How many persons are there in God?

In God there are three divine persons really distinct and equal in all things—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

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Answer · Questions / Trinity

What do you mean by the Blessed Trinity?

By the Blessed Trinity I mean one God in three Divine Persons.

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Answer · Questions / Faith and reason

What is a mystery?

A mystery is a truth which we cannot fully understand.

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Answer · Questions / Creation

How did God create heaven and earth?

God created heaven and earth from nothing, by His word only; that is, by a single act of His all-powerful will.

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Answer · Questions / Creation

What are angels?

Angels are pure spirits without a body, created to adore and enjoy God in heaven.

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Answer · Questions / Jesus Christ

What do you believe of Jesus Christ?

I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, true God and true man.

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Answer · Questions / Jesus Christ

How many natures are there in Jesus Christ?

In Jesus Christ there are two natures; the nature of God and the nature of man.

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Answer · Questions / Jesus Christ

What do you mean by the Incarnation?

By the Incarnation I mean that the Son of God was made man.

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Answer · Questions / grace

What do you mean by grace?

By grace I mean a supernatural gift of God bestowed on us, through the merits of Jesus Christ, for our salvation.

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Answer · Questions / grace

What is sanctifying grace?

Sanctifying grace is that grace which makes the soul holy and pleasing to God.

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Answer · Questions / Virtues

What do you call those graces or gifts of God by which we believe in Him, hope in Him, and love Him?

Those graces or gifts of God by which we believe in Him, and hope in Him, and love Him, are called the divine virtues of faith, hope, and charity.

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Answer · Questions / Faith and reason

What is faith?

Faith is a divine virtue by which we firmly believe the truths which God has revealed.

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Answer · Questions / Virtues

What is hope?

Hope is a divine virtue by which we firmly trust that God will give us eternal life and the means to obtain it.

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Answer · Questions / Virtues

What is charity?

Charity is a divine virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

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Answer · Questions / sacraments

What is a sacrament?

A sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.

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Answer · Questions / sacraments

How many sacraments are there?

There are seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.

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Answer · Questions / baptism

What is Baptism?

Baptism is a sacrament which cleanses us from original sin, makes us Christians, children of God, and heirs of heaven.

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Answer · Questions / confession

What is the Sacrament of Penance?

Penance is a sacrament in which the sins committed after baptism are forgiven.

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Answer · Questions / confession

How does the Sacrament of Penance remit sin, and restore the soul to the friendship of God?

The Sacrament of Penance remits sin and restores the friendship of God to the soul by means of the absolution of the priest.

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Answer · Questions / confession

How do the priests of the Church exercise the power of forgiving sins?

The priests of the Church exercise the power of forgiving sins by hearing the confession of sins, and granting pardon for them as ministers of God and in His name.

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Answer · Questions / confession

What must we do to receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily?

To receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily we must do five things: (1) We must examine our conscience. (2) We must have sorrow for our sins. (3) We must make a firm resolution never more to offend God. (4) We must confess our sins to the priest. (5) We must accept the penance which the priest gives us.

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Answer · Questions / Christian life

Which are the chief means by which we satisfy God for the temporal punishment due to sin?

The chief means by which we satisfy God for the temporal punishment due to sin are: prayer, fasting, almsgiving, all spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and the patient suffering of the ills of life.

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Answer · Questions / Christian life

Which are the chief spiritual works of mercy?

The chief spiritual works of mercy are seven: to admonish the sinner, to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to comfort the sorrowful, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive all injuries, and to pray for the living and the dead.

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Answer · Questions / Christian life

Which are the chief corporal works of mercy?

The chief corporal works of mercy are seven: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to ransom the captive, to harbor the harborless, to visit the sick, and to bury the dead.

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Answer · Questions / eucharist

What is the Holy Eucharist?

The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament which contains the body and blood, soul and divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine.

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Answer · Questions / eucharist

When did Christ institute the Holy Eucharist?

Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the night before He died.

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Answer · Questions / eucharist

Is Jesus Christ whole and entire both under the form of bread and under the form of wine?

Jesus Christ is whole and entire both under the form of bread and under the form of wine.

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Answer · Questions / eucharist

What is this change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Our Lord called?

This change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Our Lord is called Transubstantiation.

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Answer · Questions / mass

When and where are the bread and wine changed into the body and blood of Christ?

The bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ at the consecration in the Mass.

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Answer · Questions / mass

What is the Mass?

The Mass is the unbloody sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ.

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Answer · Questions / mass

How is the Mass the same sacrifice as that of the cross?

The Mass is the same sacrifice as that of the cross because the offering and the priest are the same—Christ Our Blessed Lord: and the ends for which the sacrifice of the Mass is offered are the same as those of the sacrifice of the cross.

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Answer · Questions / Prayer

Is there any other means of obtaining God's grace than the Sacraments?

There is another means of obtaining God's grace, and it is prayer.

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Answer · Questions / Prayer

What is prayer?

Prayer is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God to adore Him, to thank Him for His benefits, to ask His forgiveness, and to beg of Him all the graces we need whether for soul or body.

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Answer · Questions / Prayer

At what particular times should we pray?

We should pray particularly on Sundays and holy-days, every morning and night, in all dangers, temptations, and afflictions.

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Answer · Questions / Prayer

How should we pray?

We should pray: first, with attention; second, with a sense of our own helplessness and dependence upon God; third, with a great desire for the graces we beg of God; fourth, with trust in God's goodness; fifth, with perseverance.

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Answer · Questions / Prayer

Which are the prayers most recommended to us?

The prayers most recommended to us are the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Apostles' Creed, the Confiteor, and the Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition.

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Answer · Questions / Commandments

Which are the Commandments that contain the whole law of God?

The Commandments which contain the whole law of God are these two: first, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with thy whole soul, with thy whole strength, and with thy whole mind; second, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

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Answer · Questions / Commandments

Why do these two Commandments of the love of God and of our neighbor contain the whole law of God?

These two Commandments of the love of God and of our neighbor contain the whole law of God because all the other Commandments are given either to help us to keep these two, or to direct us how to shun what is opposed to them.

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Answer · Questions / Commandments

What are we commanded by the fifth Commandment?

We are commanded by the fifth Commandment to live in peace and union with our neighbor, to respect his rights, to seek his spiritual and bodily welfare, and to take proper care of our own life and health.