Question 1

Who made the world?

Accepted Answer

God made the world.

Question 2

Who is God?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 3

What is man?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 4

Is this likeness in the body or in the soul?

Accepted Answer

This likeness is chiefly in the soul.

Question 5

How is the soul like to God?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 6

Why did God make you?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 7

Of which must we take more care, our soul or our body?

Accepted Answer

We must take more care of our soul than of our body.

Question 8

Why must we take more care of our soul than of our body?

Accepted Answer

We must take more care of our soul than of our body, because in losing our soul we lose God and everlasting happiness.

Question 9

What must we do to save our souls?

Accepted Answer

To save our souls, we must worship God by faith, hope, and charity; that is, we must believe in Him, hope in Him, and love Him with all our heart.

Question 10

How shall we know the things which we are to believe?

Accepted Answer

We shall know the things which we are to believe from the Catholic Church, through which God speaks to us.

Question 11

Where shall we find the chief truths which the Church teaches?

Accepted Answer

We shall find the chief truths which the Church teaches in the Apostles' Creed.

Question 12

Say the Apostles' Creed.

Accepted Answer

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 arose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and 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.

Question 13

What is God?

Accepted Answer

God is a spirit infinitely perfect.

Question 14

Had God a beginning?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 15

Where is God?

Accepted Answer

God is everywhere.

Question 16

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 17

Does God see us?

Accepted Answer

God sees us and watches over us.

Question 18

Does God know all things?

Accepted Answer

God knows all things, even our most secret thoughts, words, and actions.

Question 19

Can God do all things?

Accepted Answer

God can do all things, and nothing is hard or impossible to Him.

Question 20

Is God just, holy, and merciful?

Accepted Answer

God is all just, all holy, all merciful, as He is infinitely perfect.

Question 21

Is there but one God?

Accepted Answer

Yes; there is but one God.

Question 22

Why can there be but one God?

Accepted Answer

There can be but one God, because God, being supreme and infinite, cannot have an equal.

Question 23

How many Persons are there in God?

Accepted Answer

In God there are three Divine Persons, really distinct, and equal in all things--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Question 24

Is the Father God?

Accepted Answer

The Father is God and the first Person of the Blessed Trinity.

Question 25

Is the Son God?

Accepted Answer

The Son is God and the second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

Question 26

Is the Holy Ghost God?

Accepted Answer

The Holy Ghost is God and the third Person of the Blessed Trinity.

Question 27

What is the Blessed Trinity?

Accepted Answer

The Blessed Trinity is one God in three Divine Persons.

Question 28

Are the three Divine Persons equal in all things?

Accepted Answer

The three Divine Persons are equal in all things.

Question 29

Are the three Divine Persons one and the same God?

Accepted Answer

The three Divine Persons are one and the same God, having one and the same Divine nature.

Question 30

Can we fully understand how the three Divine Persons are one and the same God?

Accepted Answer

We cannot fully understand how the three Divine Persons are one and the same God, because this is a mystery.

Question 31

What is a mystery?

Accepted Answer

A mystery is a truth which we cannot fully understand.

Question 32

Who created Heaven and earth, and all things?

Accepted Answer

God created Heaven and earth, and all things.

Question 33

How did God create Heaven and earth?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 34

Which are the chief creatures of God?

Accepted Answer

The chief creatures of God are men and angels.

Question 35

What are angels?

Accepted Answer

Angels are bodiless spirits created to adore and enjoy God in heaven.

Question 36

Were the angels created for any other purpose?

Accepted Answer

The angels were also created to assist before the throne of God and to minister unto Him; they have often been sent as messengers from God to man; and are also appointed our guardians.

Question 37

Were the angels, as God created them, good and happy?

Accepted Answer

The angels, as God created them, were good and happy.

Question 38

Did all the angels remain good and happy?

Accepted Answer

All the angels did not remain good and happy; many of them sinned and were cast into Hell, and these are called devils or bad angels.

Question 39

Who were the first man and woman?

Accepted Answer

The first man and woman were Adam and Eve.

Question 40

Were Adam and Eve innocent and holy when they came from the hand

Accepted Answer

Adam and Eve were innocent and holy when they came from the hand of God.

Question 41

Did Adam and Eve remain faithful to God?

Accepted Answer

Adam and Eve did not remain faithful to God; but broke His command by eating the forbidden fruit.

Question 42

What befell Adam and Eve on account of their sin?

Accepted Answer

Adam and Eve, on account of their sin, lost innocence and holiness, and were doomed to misery and death.

Question 43

What evil befell us through the disobedience of our first

Accepted Answer

Through the disobedience of our first parents we all inherit their sin and punishment, as we should have shared in their happiness if they had remained faithful.

Question 44

What is the sin called which we inherit from our first parents?

Accepted Answer

The sin which we inherit from our first parents is called original sin.

Question 45

Was any one ever preserved from original sin?

Accepted Answer

The Blessed Virgin Mary, through the merits of her Divine Son, was preserved free from the guilt of original sin, and this privilege is called her Immaculate Conception.

Question 46

Did God give any command to Adam and Eve?

Accepted Answer

To try their obedience God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of a certain fruit which grew in the garden of Paradise.

Question 47

Which were the chief blessings intended for Adam and Eve had they remained faithful to God?

Accepted Answer

The chief blessings intended for Adam and Eve, had they remained faithful to God, were a constant state of happiness in this life and everlasting glory in the next.

Question 48

What other effects followed from the sin of our first parents?

Accepted Answer

Our nature was corrupted by the sin of our first parents, which darkened our understanding, weakened our will, and left in us a strong inclination to evil.

Question 49

Why is this sin called Original?

Accepted Answer

This sin is called Original because it comes down to us from our first parents, and we are brought into the world with its guilt on our soul.

Question 50

Does this corruption of our nature remain in us after Original Sin is forgiven?

Accepted Answer

This corruption of our nature and other punishments remain in us after Original Sin is forgiven.

Question 51

Is original sin the only kind of sin?

Accepted Answer

Original sin is not the only kind of sin; there is another kind of sin, which we commit ourselves, called actual sin.

Question 52

What is actual sin?

Accepted Answer

Actual sin is any wilful thought, word, deed or omission contrary to the law of God.

Question 53

How many kinds of actual sin are there?

Accepted Answer

There are two kinds of actual sin--mortal and venial.

Question 54

What is mortal sin?

Accepted Answer

Mortal sin is a grievous offense against the law of God.

Question 55

What is venial sin?

Accepted Answer

Venial sin is a slight offense against the law of God in matters of less importance; or in matters of great importance it is an offense committed without sufficient reflection or full consent of the will.

Question 56

Which are the chief sources of sin?

Accepted Answer

The chief sources of sin are seven: Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth; and they are commonly called capital sins.

Question 57

What is this strong inclination to evil called, and why did God permit it to remain in us?

Accepted Answer

This strong inclination to evil is called concupiscence, and God permits it to remain in us that by His grace we may resist it and thus increase our merits.

Question 58

Why is this sin called original?

Accepted Answer

This sin is called original because it comes down to us from our first parents, and we are brought into the world with its guilt on our soul.

Question 59

Does this corruption of our nature remain in us after original sin is forgiven?

Accepted Answer

This corruption of our nature and other punishments remain in us after original sin is forgiven.

Question 60

Why is this sin called mortal?

Accepted Answer

This sin is called mortal because it deprives us of spiritual life, which is sanctifying grace, and brings everlasting death and damnation on the soul.

Question 61

How many things are necessary to make a sin mortal?

Accepted Answer

To make a sin mortal three things are necessary: a grievous matter, sufficient reflection, and full consent of the will.

Question 62

Which are the effects of venial sin?

Accepted Answer

The effects of venial sin are the lessening of the love of God in our heart, the making us less worthy of His help, and the weakening of the power to resist mortal sin.

Question 63

Did God abandon man after he fell into sin?

Accepted Answer

God did not abandon man after he fell into sin, but promised him a Redeemer, who was to satisfy for man's sin and reopen to him the gates of heaven.

Question 64

Who is the Redeemer?

Accepted Answer

Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of mankind.